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:Desert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the…

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

RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching.” Similar:I asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationAnd the girl…

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 …EducationCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against…

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:Disruptive Decorations: Kids learned better in a sparesly-decorated CMU labKids learned better in a sparse lab sett…AestheticsThe Role of Higher Education in Career Development: Employer PerceptionsGPAs and majors don’t matter to…

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:As part of an ongoing feud over the…

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:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam…

‘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:'Fontgate': Microsoft, Wikipedia and the…

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:10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessAnd the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl has succeeded in getting me…TweetsHabits for happiness: tips…

@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cas…

@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cast & crew. A great night of theater @setonhill #biglove Similar:Loved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsYes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a…

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

Setting out to take my teen to see #biglove at #setonhill Similar:What kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a purse?To stash her Lemonheads and Smarties. ht…AmusingRT @JordanFor: One of the…

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:Annie Sullivan on teaching:  Helen Keller, rendered blind and dea…CultureFacebook, really? More people liked the picture in my post than saw the post that includes…I don’t pretend to understand.…

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…