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:It's been nice knowing you, iPad3 It’s been nice knowing you, iPad3, but…TweetsWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who…

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

RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching.” Similar:I'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is really noteworthy. Today the Pre…Current_EventsRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a purse?To stash her Lemonheads…

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:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsCarolyn Gombell…

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:Opinion: Don't link video games with mass shootingsContrary to Dr. Bushman’s suggestion, vi…AcademiaThe “Other Side” Is Not Dumb.The song “No One Is Alone,” from the mus…CultureLetter to the editor: Setting record…

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:The Battle (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 8)…

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:RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsAnd the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear…

‘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:It's such a privilege to…

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:And the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl has succeeded in getting me…TweetsProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureJuror's CreedWhile researching…

@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cas…

@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cast & crew. A great night of theater @setonhill #biglove Similar:Jury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsClassroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an…

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

Setting out to take my teen to see #biglove at #setonhill Similar:Hello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over 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:LEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing parents[C]hildren play to get oxygen, to unders…CultureTolkien v. Orwell: Who understood modern surveillance best?Interesting set of observations explorin…CultureGirlhood 2014They don’t even seem…

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…