Melissa Terras’ Blog: Male, Mad and Muddleheaded: Academics in Children’s Picture Books

Labcoats, suits (but not if you are female!) or safari suits (but not if you are female!) are the academic uniform du jour. The names given to the academics are telling, with the majority being less than complimentary: Professor Dinglebat, Professor P. Brain, Professor Blabbermouth, Professor Bumblebrain, Professor Muddlehead, Professor Hogwash, Professor Bumble, Professor Dumkopf,…

The Out-of-Control Author

When you’re writing just for yourself, you’re in control. Of everything. You control what your characters do, what they say and think and wear, what happens to them, where their story begins and ends. Every aspect of the story is completely in your hands. It’s your book. All yours. When you work with a publisher,…

Alice in Quantumland: A Charming Illustrated Allegory of Quantum Mechanics by a CERN Physicist

Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory of Quantum Physics is absolutely fantastic in its entirety, certain to engage the simultaneous states of entertainment and education with unequaled grace. Complement it with scientists’ answers to little kids’ questions about how the world works, then bend your mind by considering what it’s like to live in a universe…

Infinite Scrolling: XKCD’s Creative Insight on a Common Interface Indignity

Similar:Okay, not my most thrilling #blender3D creation, but a fantasy steampunk ship-of-the-line …Design14 Machines That Were Brilliant in 1985I used something very similar to this sh…CultureWhat Do Happy Teens Do? Hint: It doesn't involve their phones.I was surprised to see how closely happi…CultureContext for Hayles, My Mother was a Computer (Ch 3 & 4)My undergraduates…

Computer scientists quantify elements of writing style that differentiate successful fiction

“Predicting the success of literary works poses a massive dilemma for publishers and aspiring writers alike,” Choi said. “We examined the quantitative connection between writing style and successful literature. Based on novels across different genres, we investigated the predictive power of statistical stylometry in discriminating successful literary works, and identified the stylistic elements that are…

Nerd-buddies

“He likes Lord of the Rings, Star Wars *and* Star Trek!!” — my nerdling daughter, eyes shining, about a new friend. Similar:The Psychology of Getting More Done In Less TimeSummary of not-so-new scholarship, but p…CultureOut for a walk during some downtime. Paused to appreciate this beautiful city of #Pittsbur…AestheticsCarolyn featured on Steel City News for…

The Desolation of Tolkien

In the same way the Arkenstone is buried under tons of coin, poor old Bilbos tale is buried under easily 45 minutes of chases, captures, narrow escapes, more escapes, melees and other heroics, often comically-staged with acrobatics, and sometimes gruesome with orc-beheadings. —Boing Boing. Similar:The Case Against Reading EverythingRight now, I’m teaching “American Lit 19…BooksPlay-Doh was…

I’m nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”

I’m nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” He’s halfway through it now. (Nerd kids are awesome kids.) Similar:In May, 2001 I was blogging about lanuguage, design and Cliffs NotesIn May 2001, I was blogging about B…AmusingDon't Be Cruel[M]angled syntax, disordered thinking, a…AcademiaCarolyn will portray Cosette…

“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks he’s going to procure an entire library in the middle of the ocean.”

“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks he’s going to procure an entire library in the middle of the ocean.” –student who didn’t listen closely to my speech (where I mentioned both a shipboard library and my iPad) in the “Vote to Drown Professors Representing Disciplines That Threaten Your Worldview Lifeboat Debate.” (Not the…

Digital Storytelling (EL231: Topics in Creative Writing)

EL231 “Digital Storytelling” (Dec 18-Jan 22) Unit 1 (Dec 18-22) mostly experiencing digital stories (reading, watching, listening, playing, whatever), and reading articles & discussing them online. (We take a break Dec 23-Jan 1: no classes, no homework.) Unit 2 (Jan 2-7) trying out 4-5 tools for creating digital stories, and learning two in a little…