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:Drumming Kid Is Epic. That Is All.https://youtu.be/MRvHI8tgx8A AestheticsA Classicist Goes to Work in Silicon ValleyKristina Chew writes about what her frie…AcademiaPict Classic Theatre Romeo and Juliet. PersonalIs There a…

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:10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…AcademiaShe doesn't have keys or a phone or…

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

RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching.” Similar:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsRT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsDesert Bus: The…

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:My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does…

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:Sound Design and the Wilhelm ScreamAhh-aaggh! https://www.youtube.com/wa…AestheticsRingling Bros.…

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:10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessJudge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksWhat…

‘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:Stunned by Viola Davis, Chadwick…

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:Desert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsRT @JordanFor:…

@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…TweetsHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam…

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

Setting out to take my teen to see #biglove at #setonhill Similar:Tweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from…

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:When a Blogger Shares a Too-good-to-be-true Meme Featuring Hilarious Handwritten Notes fro…Or something like that.HomeAnnie Sullivan on teaching:  Helen Keller, rendered blind and dea…CultureMore split-screen actinghttp://youtu.be/EGgeZWskEs8DesignWhat my classroom looks…

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…