Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Similar:New Data Shatters Video Game Player Stereotypes: Gamers Regularly Involved in Community, C…”Gamers are everywhere and they’re every…BusinessHighlighters and Intellectual Growth in CollegeTucked away in this article on how to av…AcademiaCoding Sucks: Why a Job in Programming Is Absolute HellI enjoyed the essay, but the truths it i…CultureThe Case for Slow Journalism: When to Unplug…

The Language of Gender Violence

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…

Harvard revokes admission of several students for posting “offensive” memes

The First Amendment of the constitution protects the incoming students’ right to say whatever they like, even if Harvard doesn’t like it. And, as a private institution that is not regulated by the First Amendment, Harvard has the right to kick out incoming students unwise enough to exercise their rights in this manner. (The government…

Shakespeare’s Genius Is Nonsense

Just as comedians generally don’t laugh at their own jokes, Shakespeare doesn’t call too much attention to his own linguistic cleverness, which is one reason his work rewards close scrutiny. It’s not that he was being deliberately obscure or flowery — though some of his obsequious characters definitely exhibit such speech patterns. One line of…

I had a singular time voicing Sherlock Holmes in The Mystery of Dr. Watson (WAOB Audio Theatre)

Similar:I’m fairly satisfied with this version of a medieval building trimsheet. (Source photo is …I’m fairly satisfied with this version o…AestheticsAbove the Forward Ops conference platform we see the chief engineer's station and a glimps…AestheticsOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …Academia'Most Transparent’ White…

My theory: Trump was composing therapeutic poetry, and got stuck on the last line.

  Similar:The Anatomy of a Shakespeare Play: King Lear (Free video lecture from Pict, 2pm Friday)PersonalThey figured it out.PersonalPreview of "The Fantasticks" (thanks, Tribune-Review, for covering the arts community)For Luisa, Jerz’s character, “the world …CultureMaking a villain's lair in #Blender3D (this weekend's relaxation)AestheticsEnjoying a visit with an Austrian imperial commander (ahistorically but magnificently pres…Enjoying a…

I should be writing my “Fake News” paper for this weekend’s “Computers and Writing.” Instead….

Could the absurd examples of bizarre public discourse please stop happening so I can investifart some of them? Similar:Laughter and Light Abound in Prime Stage’s “Twelfth Night” Kudos to Prime Stage for a Twelf…CultureOpen Source College Math BookOne day last year, David Lippman got an …AcademiaNBC's Chuck Todd takes aim at CNN”The big danger always confronting…

Liberals and conservatives dislike reading opposing views

Most research subjects, when offered the chance to win $10 and read essays that opposed their views, or $7 and read essays that confirmed their views, chose comfort over the higher potential prize. Liberals and conservatives reacted basically the same–with liberals slightly less willing to read conservative views. (I changed the click-baity headline, which sensationalized the issue…

Trump and JFK: Masters of New Media

I didn’t use Newsweek’s clickbaity headline: “Trump and JFK Are More Alike Than We Like To Think.” They are different in many ways, but JFK was remembered for mastering the new medium of television (people who listened to the Nixon/Kennedy debates on radio were more likely to believe Nixon won, but those who watched the…

Where There’s a Whip, There’s a Way

The girl was singing lyrics she learned from a friend. They were so bad I had to Google them. But the animation and tune were better than I expected. Wocka-chicka makes everything better, including this cheesy-but-catchy orc song from the 1980s animated Return of the King. Saving this for the next time I need motivation. Similar:Full…

Computer scientist Leslie Lamport to [Brandeis] grads: If you can’t write, it won’t compute

I like introducing my English majors to coding. Here’s a computer scientist who’s returning the favor, advocating the importance of writing skills. “If you succeed in attaining a position that allows you to do something great, if you do something that really is great, and if you realize that it’s great, there’s still one more…

Today's workload included requesting a "less-depressing used chair" #lowexpectations #partylikeaprofessor

Similar:I think I’ve mentioned I have a daughter who sometimes does things.I think I’ve mentioned I have a daughter…PersonalSparkle unicorn "Winston" lends ethos to a presentation on moral agency on anima…PersonalJohn Speed’s 1611 map of #medievalyork features a “scale of paces.” My #unity3d placeholde…John Speed’s 1611 map of #medievalyork f…PersonalMany things in the world are…