This is a challenging writing task. Presidential biographies are a staple of children’s book publishing, and of classrooms across the country. Nonfiction for children is a surging category, particularly in light of a Common Core mandate that schools put greater emphasis on it in their curriculum. Publishers like Penguin Young Readers, Scholastic and Time for…
All of us with Facebook accounts do work for Mark Zuckerberg. Our tagging, sharing, and liking gives Facebook valuable information that advertisers use to reach us. This article describes how Facebook has been courting news organizations, asking them to provide content tailored to Facebook’s needs. Facebook is not interested in an informed, educated public that…
My kids have never seen The Princess Bride. (This is an odd pop culture gap for my 80s-obsessed girl.) Similar:George Stone Credits Scott Adams Adventure Games for Inspiring "Max Headroom"Scott Adams (creator of “Adventureland,”…CybercultureMars Curiosity rover sings 'Happy Birthday,' dares Earth to collect royalties One year ago today, NASA’s Curio…AmusingI felt a great disturbance in…
A literary work is a powerful tool for simulating what it’s like to inhabit someone else’s life. Not just tolerating difference, or grudgingly giving “the other side” equal time; but generating real empathy for the diversity of humanity. There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away Nor any Coursers like a…
It’s extremely important to understand what a wide range of people are thinking about, and that includes being exposed to influential ideas that I disagree with. I’d rather not hide from an idea that has power, especially if it turns out I can do something about the issue. The headline is a little misleading… there…
NASDAQ.com throws shade via Reuters: Snapchat is popular among people under 30 who enjoy applying bunny faces and vomiting rainbows onto their selfies, but man yon Wall Street are critical of its high valuation, slowing user growth and lack of profitability. Joel Randewich, NASDAQ.com Similar:Is it okay to say clanker?Clanker is a derogatory term used…
Free speech is valuable. It’s dangerous to set the precedent that it’s okay to censor speech as long as you side with the censor and against the position being silenced. A New Jersey school district has suspended a teacher after yearbook photos of two high school students were altered to remove President Donald Trump’s name…
Similar:Chipping away at the total as the final submissions pour in.PersonalTo my daughter for 2020: “You shall prevail.”PersonalAnother section of #steampunk control panel. #neovictorian #design #aesthetics #blender3d …AestheticsI’ve roughed out earthen embankments for the city walls. I know there was at some point a …I’ve roughed out earthen embankments for…CultureNo filter October mist as I…
Similar:Enjoying an ice cream cake, apple pie, and the classic Star Trek episode “The Doomsday Mac…PersonalThere’s Something Off About LED BulbsWhen I’m stressed, or I feel life is spi…AestheticsSnape and Ginny at the Hogwarts Club event.PersonalThe third Google hit for " #steampunk control panel" is a #blender3d image I cre…PersonalA very happy geekling playing…
Similar:15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look SillyBeautiful synergy of word and image. Pro…AestheticsHow CNN Found the Reddit User Behind the Trump Wrestling GIFCNN is protecting the identity of the Re…Current_EventsHappy Flag Day! All flags matter, but nobody needs to say that out loud.Happy Flag Day! All flags matter, but…AestheticsThings may be awful, but at…
Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. Best case scenario? A virtual reality game that is either based around Portal or Half-Life, or unites the franchises into one experience. Valve has invested heavily in VR and clearly values the technology as an entertainment phenomenon – the Portal demo for Vive is one of the…
Similar:That should be the top "Under 800" prize, but the plaque has an extra zero. #chessPeter spent the day at a chess tournamen…GamesI pulled out a shelf on my teaching station and was greeted by this lovingly arrayed arsen…PersonalAdding details to a clip-art silhouette, for a project that will be released in a day…
Similar:Tolkien v. Orwell: Who understood modern surveillance best?Interesting set of observations explorin…CultureAfter Hours – Why The Star Trek Universe is Secretly HorrifyingAfter Hours – Why The Star Trek Universe…AmusingThe woman and the car: a chatty little handbook for all women who motor or want to motor (…Great piece of history, from 1909. Dorot…AmusingVenus Flytraps Are Even…
MTV recently ditched the “Best Actor/Actress” awards in favor of “Best Actor,” which suggests the gender-specific term “actress” is less popular among MTV’s target audience. I added that detail, fixed some broken links, and updated the graphic. See Writing Tips: Gender Neutral Language. Similar:A very shallow story that doesn't provide any context for who is…
With the money I saved by working on the car (watching a lot of YouTube tutorials) I bought a new midrange zoom, in the hopes I won’t miss shots by swapping lenses. And now my camera bag won’t quite zip shut. #ConspicuousConsumption Similar:Opening Night: New "The Little Mermaid"At night, instead of getting ready for b…Current_EventsI…
Similar:First they came… #kristallnacht @nccheshuFirst they came… #kristallnacht @ncchesh…PersonalThey still need work but we have 2 weeks before classes start, so I feel pretty good.They still need work but we have 2 weeks…PersonalYou are personally responsible for becoming more ethical than the society you grew up in.Some people out there will never like yo…CultureAt…
Similar:Father copes with toddler son's cancer by creating 'empathy' gameGreen and Larson both admit that even th…AestheticsShould you trust media bias charts? – PoynterTraditional journalism values a focus on…CultureNew rules governing drone journalism are on the way — and there’s reason to be optimisticMapping disasters? So long as you’ve got…Current_EventsShall I Encode Thee In DNA?…
While doing some spring cleaning around my computer desk at home, I noticed that there are scores of old PC games that are still stacked up within arm’s reach, even though I no longer even use a computer with an optical drive at that workstation. But these are games that have sentimental value for my…
Oppressors deny their own agency and dehumanize their victims by using the passive voice. I want my students to recognize this deliberate strategy, and to look for hidden actors and dehumanized recpients of injustice. (I try to teach about active and passive verbs in a more lighthearted way, but I only bothered to photograph and…
The voice of Wallace has died. The silly, plummy, character-driven steampunk/sitcom hybrid Wallace & Gromit films were a big influence on the tone of the “Captain Gearhart and the Magnificent Blimpship” steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell the kids. Peter Sallis has died at the age of 96, his agents have announced.The actor…