I’m nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”

I’m nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” He’s halfway through it now. (Nerd kids are awesome kids.) Similar:Rightful Heir (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 23) Worf's quest for the return o…Rewatching ST:TNG Worf is uncharacter…CultureInnovative journalism: A game about the rising sea, a podcast…

Modern Masterpieces of Comedic Genius: The Art of the Humorous Amazon Review, Part Deux

I love me a good Amazon mock review. Here are several. From scientific miracles to literary criticism, by way of bodily functions and failures of common sense. Many moons ago, I wrote about the art of the humorous Amazon review as a modern masterpiece of parodic genius, embodying Arthur Koestler’s seminal “bisociation” theory of how…

I would never have chosen to watch “Cowboys and Al…

I would never have chosen to watch “Cowboys and Aliens” but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Similar:Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a purse?To stash her Lemonheads and…

RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching….

RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching.” Similar:Parallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsRT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc……

RT @mkirschenbaum: Can’t see them well enough to r…

RT @mkirschenbaum: Can’t see them well enough to read, but guy sitting next to me is typing out short, broken lines of text. Tempted to ask… Similar:What kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits…

Giving Obsolete Books an Afterlife as Theatre Props

Once, someone really cared about these old periodicals. The bound copies have been weeded out of my school library. Post by Dennis G. Jerz. Similar:Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained DeathSimulations are powerful tools for under…Aesthetics100 Word ChallengeIt is a weekly creative writing challeng…CultureThings That Will Freak out…

Gettysburg Address event marks 150th anniversary of President Lincoln’s historic speech

On the Civil War battlefield where President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that symbolized his presidency and the sacrifices made by Union and Confederate forces, thousands gathered Tuesday, historians and everyday Americans alike, to ponder what the Gettysburg Address has meant to the nation. —The Washington Post. Similar:My semester with the snowflakesInsightful essay from a…

Grr! That “15 Xs who did Y” link looked interestin…

Grr! That “15 Xs who did Y” link looked interesting, but on the first page I saw it was broken up into 63 parts. Bad meme. No link for you. Similar:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaHabits for happiness: tips for looking on…

‘Because’ has become a preposition, because grammar

The construction is more versatile than “because+noun” suggests. Prepositional because can be yoked to verbs (Can’t talk now because cooking), adjectives (making up examples because lazy), interjections (Because yay!), and maybe adverbs too, though in strings like Because honestly., the adverb is functioning more as an exclamation. The resulting phrases are all similarly succinct and…

Do television and electronic games predict children’s psychosocial adjustment?

Wow… what a drab, unquoteworthy, unsoundbiteable, graphics-free presentation of findings that will be of tremendous interest to the general public. TV but not electronic games predicted a small increase in conduct problems. Screen time did not predict other aspects of psychosocial adjustment. Further work is required to establish causal mechanisms.. Similar:Secrets of a 60 Minutes…

RT @avantgame: 11,000 kids tracked for A DECADE to…

RT @avantgame: 11,000 kids tracked for A DECADE to see if videogames lead to negative attention, behavioral, mood impact. Result: NO http:/… Similar:RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids…

@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cas…

@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cast & crew. A great night of theater @setonhill #biglove Similar:It's been nice knowing you, iPad3 It’s been nice knowing you, iPad3, but…TweetsHow hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at…

Setting out to take my teen to see #biglove at #se…

Setting out to take my teen to see #biglove at #setonhill Similar:Proto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureYes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsHello, there, mini.Hello, there,…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu

Nerd siblings are awesome siblings

My 15yo wanted to show me Terminator 4, but he opted to watch T3 w/ his little sister (her first time). Nerd siblings are awesome siblings. Similar:Infinite Scrolling: XKCD's Creative Insight on a Common Interface IndignityAmusingI Canna Give Ye Any More Screens, Cap'n! The iPad Mini and the ChromeBook are…HomeYou'll Cry When You See This…

Udacity’s Sebastian Thrun, Godfather Of Free Online Education, Changes Course

Suddenly, something that had been unthinkable–that the Internet might put a free, Ivy League–caliber education within reach of the world’s poor–seems tantalizingly close. “Imagine,” an investor in the Professor’s company says, “you can hand a kid in Africa a tablet and give him Harvard on a piece of glass!” The wonky term for the Professor’s…