RT @samplereality: Push the button Frank.

RT @samplereality: Push the button Frank. Similar:RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsRT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In…

RT @goudyliv84: “Make it so, make it so, make it s…

RT @goudyliv84: “Make it so, make it so, make it so.” #StarTrek #Christmas youtube.com/watch?v=oiSn2J… @DennisJerz Similar:Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsRT @JordanFor:…

RT @CordeliaLogan: @DennisJerz If you are not watc…

RT @CordeliaLogan: @DennisJerz If you are not watching the Ron Burgundy press conference, you are missing out on real journalism. http://t.… Similar:And the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl has succeeded in getting me…TweetsMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in…

Why Our Brains Make Us Click on Lists

The article-as-numbered-list has several features that make it inherently captivating: the headline catches our eye in a stream of content; it positions its subject within a preëxisting category and classification system, like “talented animals”; it spatially organizes the information; and it promises a story that’s finite, whose length has been quantified upfront. Together, these create…

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…BooksCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsParallel structure in writing: Use it!These…

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

RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching.” Similar:Parallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks…

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:10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingJudge:…

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:Fox apologizes for "error" in news story that…

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…BooksI'm…

‘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:A Message from Hester Prynne…