The Pepe the Frog Meme Is Probably Not Worth Understanding

“Life is short, much of Internet communication is more Dada-esque than denotative, and mastering dank memes has an effort-to-payoff ratio that really, truly is not worth it.” –NPR reporter Camila Domonoske, taking a cleansing breath before explaining the Pepe the Frog meme. Similar:Graphic Design Pun Cards Sara Heffernan designed these wonder…AestheticsThe Post-Coding Generation?I knew the command line…

Ode to Huckleberry Finn, Dec’d

(Inspired by Emmeline Grangerford, Dec’d.) Girls, take his cold dead hand and kiss The knuckle – very thin, And bid adieu and ballyhoo Poor Huckleberry Finn. And was it prowling cannibals Or adversary’s sin That spilled the flood of crimson blood Of Huckleberry Finn? O hear my sad, sad words of woe (As I more…

How to Make a Website: Guide to Web Creation, Design & Styling

Similar:Three-dimenstional PrintersA new generation of three-dimensional pr…DesignThe State Of Media EmploymentThis is why I require my “new media jour…BusinessPage Weight MattersUnexpected consequences, when a develope…CybercultureSynchronous Online Classes: 10 Tips for Engaging StudentsEvery time I have taught an online class…AcademiaScript: Prospero Makes a Circle on the Beach. Scene Designer: "How?"I was amused by this little note…

How to Make a Website: Guide to Web Creation, Design & Styling

I am a textual thinker, not a visual thinker. The resources I create for my own students focus on my own strengths and needs as a college English teacher:  the writing, basic conventions, and genres such as instructions and emails, and user-focused areas I’ve picked up out of necessity after watching my students learn to write for…

The neglected history of videogames for the blind

Similar:Top: flat, monochrome rectangles. Middle: rectangles with a flat bitmapped texture of butt…AestheticsFacebook will Emphasize News Articles; De-emphasize Non-Facebook Meme PhotosFacebook wants you to see more serious n…Business100 Word ChallengeIt is a weekly creative writing challeng…CultureFake News Taints Facebook's Trending TopicsIn an experiment conducted over several …CybercultureThe Future of College Is Facebook Meme GroupsInteresting to…

The neglected history of videogames for the blind

What kind of a “videogame” has no video? Nomenclature aside, this is an interesting exploration of audio-only games. Playing Real Sound as a sighted player, it’s hard not to be disoriented at first. Its dialogue—better acted than in any game I’ve played—cannot be skipped over or sped up by mashing a button repeatedly. We’re used…

My Son Plays Mozart Too Fast

He says “My piano teacher told me not to play it this fast. But I don’t really care, because I am having too much fun.” Similar:Journalists play a vital role in a democracy. That sometimes includes serving the public b…PersonalA Few Good Men at the Pittsburgh Public TheatreFantastic performances, powerful writing…CultureThe Geekling Worked a Shatner/Nimoy…

STEM Education Is Vital–But Not at the Expense of the Humanities

Promoting science and technology education to the exclusion of the humanities may seem like a good idea, but it is deeply misguided. Scientific American has always been an ardent supporter of teaching STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But studying the interaction of genes or engaging in a graduate-level project to develop software for self-driving…

A Dance Mom Gets Schooled by a Ballet Mistress Who Can Write

Avoid trying to publicly shame a ballet mistress who can write.

This morning, someone pseudonymously spammed the parent email list at my daughter’s ballet school, with a scolding complaint about a delayed cast list. It read, in part: “We pay our fees on time…. We received the email to donate to the school’s fundraiser this week on time. But no cast List. This is a teachable moment to demonstrate that being on time, especially when a promise is involved, is important.”

The school’s response, posted about a half hour later, ended thus: “Emailing using an address we can not identify and failing to sign your email shows a lack of conviction. Failing to understand that it is a relatively easy thing to discover your identity through your IP address is another indication that your action was not thought through. If the lessons you wanted to teach here were your own ignorance, arrogance and cowardice, you’ve succeeded.”

The whole response is worth a sincere, rousing “slow clap”.

“Jewish priests do this. It’s where Leonard Nimoy got the Vulcan sign,” says the geekling, who is excited for Fiddler on the Roof auditions.

Similar:1776. Binge-watching Liberty's Kids. New this year: Carolyn singing songs from Hamilt…Personal100 Careers for English MajorsAnyone with an English degree will tell …AcademiaMy third time seeing @shu.pippin. I'll be back tomorrow for closing night.PersonalFox News, accused of manipulating news images, relabels them as "collages," "regrets these…Using bits and pieces of real news in or…CultureRude mechanical…

“What Teachers Make” Sequence of Assignments

Every year I rewatch Taylor Mali’s passionate defense of “What Teachers Make.” As part of a sequence of assignments designed to help students write a more engaging personal literacy narrative, I use Mali’s speech. Yes, it’s my job to teach composition, but composition is a term that applies to music, photography, choreography, athletics, etc. Students…