RT @textfiles: Hi internet. In another few minutes…

RT @textfiles: Hi internet. In another few minutes I go onstage to point everyone to archive.org/details/histor… and hopefully computer history … Similar:Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalAnd the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl has succeeded in getting me…TweetsIn Defense Of Metaphors In…

One of the Sadder Lost and Found Messages You’ll Probably See Today

Not my item, but the pathos caught my eye. Similar:Symbiosis (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 22)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureCritical Thinking Rhetoric  The IdealistAcademiaThe Problem with Quotes on the InternetAmusingShades of Gray (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Two Episode 22) Forgettable low-budget clipshowRewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaPositive Feedback on a Blogging AssignmentA former student who…

The Amazon Mystery: What America’s Strangest Tech Company Is Really Up To

Seriously: What is Amazon? A retail company? A media company? A logistics machine? The mystery of its strategy is deepened by two factors. First is the company’s communications department, which famously excels at not communicating. Three requests to speak with Amazon officials for this article were delayed and, inevitably, declined. This moves discussions of the…

Tween: “My friends say Bieber’s a jerk now.” Me: “…

Tween: “My friends say Bieber’s a jerk now.” Me: “It’s hard when your idols fall.” Tween: “That’s why I don’t have any. Except for you.” Similar:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureTweet: For an anatomy project, my…

Emily Dickinson Manuscript for “The Chariot”

A new Emily Dickinson archive is online. Here is the opening of one of her most famous poems. Reading View for Fascicle 23. Similar:Where Are the Women?Thanks for the suggestion, Nicole. The …CultureBeatrix Potter-pinching and Žižekian swipes: the strange world of book theftsWe caught a gent last Christmas with £40…BooksCoronavirus: advice from the Middle Ages…

Nerdy Rainbow Loom Crafting

My wonderfully geeky tween made these Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde pendants with her Rainbow Loom. Next on her list: making Pac-Man. Similar:Fancy a game of whist with your nemesis? The prospect of ruin adds piquancy to the pleasur…PersonalTwo computer screens aren't better than oneI turned off the extra screen on my desk…CybercultureThis was a…

AP reporter’s mistake: Did the punishment fit the crime?

Reporters have been sometimes fired for willful misconduct, such as repeated instances of plagiarism or fabrication. Reporters who’ve suffered that fate, such as the New York Times’ Jayson Blair and The Washington Post’s Janet Cooke, were guilty of gross journalistic malpractice. But firing a reporter over an unintentional mistake is “extremely rare,” said Scott Maier,…

The Decline of Wikipedia: Even As More People Than Ever Rely on It, Fewer People Create It

I’m getting ready to introduce my freshman writing students to college-level research, so I found it helpful to read this brief introduction to the internal problems Wikipedia creates for itself. When a major news event takes place, such as the Boston Marathon bombings, complex, widely sourced entries spring up within hours and evolve by the…

“Does size matter?” — student journalist, making…

“Does size matter?” — student journalist, making a person-on-the street video interview about the new iPad. Similar:Tweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaYes, I do feel rather awesome…

RT @joningold: Thing is, the freedom of the parser…

RT @joningold: Thing is, the freedom of the parser is a sham – not because it *doesn’t* understand everything but because no-one plays as t… Similar:Juror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of…

Attribution, Editorializing and Defamation

In the Nightly Noodle Monthly, former North Adams Transcript journalist Isaac Avilucea posts this passage, which he says was removed from a sports feature that got him fired. But there’s a reason she’s not at MountGreylock anymore, choosing to transfer to a school with somewhat inferior academics and athletics. Part of it has to do with the stuffy social atmosphere that…

I just did the thing where you look everywhere for…

I just did the thing where you look everywhere for your glasses but you can’t find them because you are already wearing them. Similar:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsJudge: Apple conspired…

The t-shirt many professors would enjoy wearing

Inside Higher Ed Similar:Professor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other Things”By drawing parallels between things and…AcademiaProgramming as Magic Spells in Erica Sandbothe's New NovelIn her new novel, Codecrafter, Sandbothe…BooksThe Decline of Wikipedia: Even As More People Than Ever Rely on It, Fewer People Create ItI’m getting ready to introduce my freshm…CybercultureSharing memes about news you don’t…

Digital Storytelling (EL231: Topics in Creative Writing)

EL231 “Digital Storytelling” (Dec 18-Jan 22) Unit 1 (Dec 18-22) mostly experiencing digital stories (reading, watching, listening, playing, whatever), and reading articles & discussing them online. (We take a break Dec 23-Jan 1: no classes, no homework.) Unit 2 (Jan 2-7) trying out 4-5 tools for creating digital stories, and learning two in a little…

Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming

Neil Gaiman tells us why books matter: When you watch TV or see a film, you are looking at things happening to other people. Prose fiction is something you build up from 26 letters and a handful of punctuation marks, and you, and you alone, using your imagination, create a world and people it and…

In the publications office with student journalist…

In the publications office with student journalists. I’ve heard them saying “affirmative” and “negative.” The editor just said “Make it so.” Similar:RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…Culture10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very…