Edgar Allan Poe Was a Broke-Ass Freelancer – The Millions

His despair is only part of his artistic journey. When researching Poe last year, I was surprised to come across an anecdote about him playing leap-frog with his wife and splitting his pants, causing both of them to collapse in fits of laughter. I’m sure it was the memory of joyful moments like this that haunted him as she lay dying and long after she was dead.

The boy wins once again. #chess

Similar:On the way to the theater for the show! Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd.PersonalCandy Land Was Invented for Polio Wards It is a game absent strategy, requi…AestheticsInteractive Adventure SongIt seems YouTube will soon discontinue t…AmusingI filed my grades early. I shall now, briefly, do something irresponsible.Grades submitted. I’ll reward myself wit…PersonalLounge area of a steampunk…

Liberal Arts Classes Could Teach Neil deGrasse Tyson a Thing or Two about the Path from Data to Wisdom

Your mileage may vary, but I immediately thought of Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, who states this problem in negative terms. Yes, she’s a made-up character delivering a line in a movie about an imaginary ring from a fantasy book, but anyone who really understands Tolkien’s story will have reflected on the…

‘These are all fake news,’ said the honor student. He was wrong.

Kim Ash teaches the Newseum’s “Fighting Fake News” class. Whereas teachers once feared that teenagers would fall for everything they read online, now they’re concerned young people won’t believe anything they read. —Washington Post Similar:Confessions of a Former Bastard CopMedium is not a peer-reviewed source, an…CulturePreparing for some serious nerd time with the family this…

Paper too short? Here are actual tips for serious students, not dumb tricks your prof will notice.

Is your academic essay a bit short? First, make sure that you have formatted your draft as required (usually professors ask you to double-space). Faking a longer paper won’t make your writing any more persuasive or intelligent or analytical or factual. It won’t help you to learn what your instructor wants you to learn. My…

You cannot serve both…

Similar:Starting my “Writing about Literature” class by having students react to a John Donne sonn…PersonalSalesman at Pittsburgh Public Theatre. PersonalIf Wishes Were Horses (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 16) Hallucinations become…Rewatching ST:DS9 Quark tries to inte…CultureAnother section of a #neovictorian control panel for a #steampunk #blender3d project. I h…AestheticsAnother 10 sq cm of details for…

The girl continues her exploration of Scottish history.

Carolyn: “Does no one have a kind word for my Scotland?” Similar:Weird History offers a good debunking of this persistent myth.PersonalToday's unexpected but welcome moments of grace She waived a fee. He accepted a…AwesomeLet's talk about books, old sport.BooksThe Rivals #PPTPlaytimeA great production of a delightful play.CultureAnother fun 10 sq cm of a #neovictorian #steampunk…

The elements, in haiku

Each element of the periodic table gets its own haiku. What a clever project — traditional haiku frequently celebrate nature. An interactive review of the periodic table — composed of 119 haiku The elements, in haiku Similar:There was a hand, too. Did you bring the hand?AmusingA warning to college profs from a high school teacherMy…

The Girl’s Obsession with Scottish History Continues

Wife: “What did you do with your bedsheet?” Me: “Is that my missing belt?” Girl: “Kilt-y as charged.” Similar:Make America Meme Again! Create your own Trump executive order.Now all the powerful visual rhetoric of …AmusingFaculty lining up for #SetonHill's "Go Orientation" — new ceremony hands students from th…AcademiaDear students, no need to apologize for anything…

Teaching Snapshot: First Amendment Freedoms

Similar:Here for the daughter.AcademiaAdvice for alternate pathways in journalism: re-entering the workforce after taking a brea…A colleague put me in touch with an awar…AcademiaRussian trolls 'spreading discord' over vaccine safety onlineThe good news is that there are fewer Am…CybercultureThe crisis in local journalism has become a crisis of democracyThe paucity of reporters has triggered a…CultureHow…

Anti-globalism Is Common Factor in Social Media Conspiracy Theories, says UW Prof

Fascinating academic effort to find a pattern in apparently random conspiracy theories that regularly pop up in our infostreams during social crises. Experts usually dismiss them because they are so wild and unlikely, and have thus failed to notice their impact. Starbird’s insight was to map the digital connections between all this buzzing on Twitter…

The girl around the house casually dressed “as a Jacobite.”

Similar:Serving at midnight breakfast.PersonalA pleasant Independence Day photo shoot with the daughter.AestheticsWhen you need to record footsteps on a sidewalk, and the carpeted studio has a brick wall.AmusingDaughter made a Rainbow Loom Marty McFly. Note vest jacket and hover board.PersonalPeak Performance (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Two, Episode 21) Riker and his misfit pals challe…Rewatching ST:TNG after…

Classroom Vignette: MLA Style

Student (shouldering backpack and heading for door): Why does MLA Style have to keep changing? Me (checks clock): Well… Similar:A Quick and Comprehensive Guide to Type A Quick and Comprehensive Guide to T…AestheticsNAVY TO DROP ALL-CAPS COMMUNICATIONSCaps off to the Navy’s plan to drop all-…CultureAn Academic Conference Where YOU are the Hero: Interactive Fiction in…

First Evidence That Social Bots Play a Major Role in Spreading Fake News

Shad and co say bots play a particularly significant role in the spread of fake news soon after it is published. What’s more, these bots are programmed to direct their tweets at influential users. “Automated accounts are particularly active in the early spreading phases of viral claims, and tend to target influential users,” say Shao…