NASA confirms the best-ever evidence for water on Mars
Mars is the only [other] place where we have solid evidence for liquid [water]. —The Washington Post ––
All the ‘Happy Birthday’ song copyright claims are invalid, federal judge rules
In a stunning reversal of decades of copyright claims, the judge ruled that Warner/Chappell never had the right to charge for the use of the “Happy Birthday To You” song. Warner had been enforcing a copyright since 1988, when it bought Birch Tree Group, the successor to Clayton F. Summy Co., which claimed the original…
Joust @setonhilluniversity discussion of summer book #readyplayerone
Pac-Man on Atari 800 @setonhilluniversity discussion of Summer reading book #readyplayerone
Male Microsoft Leaders Ignored Women Who Really Hated Clippy
I hated Clippy, not because it looked like it was leering at me, but because it was so intrusive. [T]he engineers in the room were willing to throw out the focus-group-provided data—data which they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for—because it didn’t cohere to their expectations. The software shipped with 10 male assistants and…
Allergic to Grammar Errors
Source: Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm.net)
Kafka Meets Charlie Brown
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. An opportune time, then, to revisit R. Sikoryak’s “Good ol’ Gregor Brown,” which first appeared in Russ Kick’s The Graphic Canon, from Seven Stories Press. —Literary Hub
Thespian robot doesn’t let stiff acting stop it from applying for Screen Actors Guild card
A clever little stunt, getting a little publicity for the robot and the dance troupe. A robot has taken the first step towards becoming a working actor by applying for a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card.The robot, whose acting style could be considered stiff, is named IRB 2400. It made its screen debut recently by costarring…
Academic robe, Is this the year I finally send you out to be cleaned? Nah, Febreeze is good enough for you. #SHUConvocation @setonhilluniversity
Journalism students guiltily ignoring the “no electronic devices” note in the program during Fall Convocation
That moment when you see a dozen or more of your own journalism students guiltily ignoring the “no electronic devices” note in the program so that they can livetweet Honors Convocation.
#SHUConvocation is about to begin @setonhilluniversity
Thank you, anonymous person who left a container of Oreo minis outside my door.
Beautiful, meditative video shows how books are made
Pretty sure you can’t do this to a Kindle. Posted by Tenth + Fourth on Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Details matter in journalism.
Get the brand of the beer, the make, model and year of the car and the name and breed of the dog. Here’s a great story that suggests journalists also “get the brand of the bra.”
Letter of Recommendation: Fanny Packs
What other accessory ensures the safety of your essentials, with easy access, while also liberating your hands? The fanny pack, when used properly, enables a whole host of activities that other bags render awkward: a deep embrace, a dance party, the ability to quickly find and swipe and secure your MetroCard. Through its rare combination…
Nerd Break! Listening To: Wilhelm Scream / Castle Thunder / Amen Break (While Watching Lights Blink in an Oft-recycled Sci-Fi Prop)
In order to provide some context for a blog post on a blinking lights prop we’ve all seen in dozens of different TV shows and movies, I opened different tabs for compilations of the Wilhelm scream, the castle thunder sound cue, and the Amen break drum solo. All three of those sound effects are now playing at once, and I am…
Why You Hate Google’s New Logo
The new logo retains the rainbow of colors but sheds the grownup curlicues: it now evokes children’s refrigerator magnets, McDonald’s French fries, Comic Sans. Google took something we trusted and filed off its dignity. Now, in its place, we have an insipid “G,” an owl-eyed “oo,” a schoolroom “g,” a ho-hum “l,” and a demented,…
Bias is a noun.
Grumpy Gamer – Happy Birthday Monkey Island
I guess Monkey Island turns 25 this month. It’s hard to tell. Unlike today, you didn’t push a button and unleash your game to billions of people. It was a slow process of sending “gold master” floppies off to manufacturing, which was often overseas, then waiting for them to be shipped to stores and the…
Dean Jones Dead: Disney Actor Was 84
“The Love Bug” was one of the movies that the kids asked for over and over. I didn’t mind watching it with them, becuase Dean Jones, Buddy Hackett, Michelle Lee, and David Tomlinson did such a good job carrying the story. Dean Jones, the affable actor who starred in such classic Disney family comedies as…