Portrait of a Ten-Year-Old Girl

This thoughtful article demonstrates how to use colorful details to keep a reader engaged enough to absorb statistics and trends. What could be just an amusing slice of a Canadian girl’s life of carpools, playdates, and self-invention becomes a launching point for social commentary. The author does refer to herself, but deliberately, selectively; to serve…

My son showed me #PacificRim.

My son showed me #PacificRim. Liked the child actress in the flashback. Enjoyed the feuding scientists. The rest? Flashy, soulless CGI. Similar:Rehearsing 'Fiddler on the Roof' is like trying to herd cats onto a grid and make them wal…I’m really enjoying the experience. I’ve…CultureI’m a 12-year-old girl. Why don’t the characters in my apps look…

Conflict Strategies for Nice People

Nothing to do with Christmas… just thinking about the upcoming group projects due in my online J-Term course. I should also probably re-read some Dale Carnegie, which I do every few years. Teams need conflict to function effectively. Conflict allows the team to come to terms with difficult situations, to synthesize diverse perspectives, and to…

What’s wrong with the way I talk?

Wife & daughter competing w each other to imitate brassy actress from Singing in the Rain. “Whaat’s wrong wit’ da way I taawk?” #pleasestop Similar:Top: flat, monochrome rectangles. Middle: rectangles with a flat bitmapped texture of butt…AestheticsThe girl sank her brother's last ship with the homophonous cry "I-1."AmusingEquus. Powerful theatre.PersonalStupid Puns For the WinMy daughter…

Merry Christmas 2013

Similar:My older brother falls to my son's chess skills.PersonalThe girl's entrance as Marley's Ghost.PersonalAmbiguous language in journalism: Monkey Pox and Camel Privates Amazing lead: A veterinarian prescr…AmusingLearning the hard way, by making mistakes and starting over. The fore section of the fanta… AestheticsHarvard revokes admission of several students for posting "offensive" memesThe First Amendment of…

Theory Trading Cards

This set of 21 Theory Trading Cards, published by AltaMira Press, is based upon the online trading cards which have been so popular at David Gauntletts website www.theory.org.uk. Being actual cards, these are two-sided and contain more information; and whereas the online cards were only an official set of 12, for the published version, 21 new…

RT @Historiator: “@dancohen: Finally upgraded to O…

RT @Historiator: “@dancohen: Finally upgraded to OS X 10.9. It feels like a Borges story about OS X 10.8.” @MikeArnzen @DennisJerz Similar:Habits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management…

RT @Rhymestyle: First leaked photo from the set of…

RT @Rhymestyle: First leaked photo from the set of Star Wars Episode VII http://t.co/xji8x9J5zL Similar:What kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved…

RT @Historiator: Nicely balanced, real-time post m…

RT @Historiator: Nicely balanced, real-time post mortem on last night’s Twitter event. @DennisJerz @PhilKomarny @magawelek http://t.co/IwQ0… Similar:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingTweet: Came around the corner…

RT @PhilKomarny: @Historiator @DennisJerz @magawel…

RT @PhilKomarny: @Historiator @DennisJerz @magawelek Glad that it ended with some donations to @AidforAfrica justinesacco.com Similar:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesI asked my geekling…

A Word About Group Projects

Okay, students… who loves group projects! Let’s hear it for group projects! (Crickets… crickets…) Okay employers… who puts “Ability to work in a team” at the top of a Forbes Magazine list of 10 skills employers say they seek in new hires? Employers: (cheering wildly) We do! We do! Here are the 10 skills employers say they seek,…

Why NORAD Tracks Santa

The call had come in on one of the top secret lines inside CONAD that only rang in the case of a crisis. Grabbing the phone, Shoup must have expected the worst. Instead, a tiny voice asked, “Is this Santa Claus?” “Dads pretty annoyed,” said Terri Van Keuren, Shoups daughter, recalling the legend of that…

I Made a Cheerful Maze Game in Scratch

Well, it’s cheerful unless you touch something red AND DIE. Similar:Code is not literatureA literate programmer describes his atte…CybercultureMore than a million people die on roads every year. Meet the man determined to prevent the… Imagine a society that engineers its…CultureFirst Day in the Theatre for Twelfth Night (May 3-12) Daughter: (is sad her “first…

I made a cheerful maze game in Scratch. It’s cheer…

I made a cheerful maze game in Scratch. It’s cheerful unless you touch something read AND DIE. scratch.mit.edu/projects/14908… made w/ Scratch Similar:Jury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether…

RT @Historiator: Please note @PhilKomarny @magawel…

RT @Historiator: Please note @PhilKomarny @magawelek @VissatMaureen “@HistoricalPics: All this technology is making us antisocial. http://t… Similar:Parallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether…

Nerd-buddies

“He likes Lord of the Rings, Star Wars *and* Star Trek!!” — my nerdling daughter, eyes shining, about a new friend. Similar:No, Dr. Anthony Fauci did not write the "How dare you you risk the lives of others so cava…A copy-paste meme I’ve encountered recen…CultureLast night I dreamed I was a stagehand during a metatheatrical…