The New York Times reported “Many Flee Homes to Escape `Gas Raid From Mars’–Phone Calls Swamp Police at Broadcast of Wells Fantasy” and the story of the hoax is firmly embedded in the history books. But the reports of streets full of panicked citizens don’t hold up to scrutiny. There’s only one problem: The supposed…
@ZCharisma On my blog I said my wife usually gives me nerdy DVDs (e.g. Mazes & Monsters), so I expect she’ll give me Zero Charisma one day. Similar:Desert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460…
My student journos were given one class period to film, edit, and publish a 2-min TV news story. Speed journalism! blogs.setonhill.edu/el200-2013-fa/… Similar:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureI'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is really noteworthy. Today the Pre…Current_EventsYes, I do feel rather…
@ZCharisma Oh, now I feel bad. Similar:Jury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsAnd the…
What can parents do to minimize their children’s risk of being hurt or killed by poison or sharp objects in Halloween candy? How many children would you say die each year from eating poisoned candy (or candy with razor blades and such) each Halloween? Just two or three? Maybe only one every few years? In…
My wife usually gives me nerd-themed DVDs as gifts, so I probably won’t make any effort to see this movie on my own. Still, I’m glad to know someone has made a movie that touches on the hipsterization of nerd culture, and I enjoyed reading the well-written review. Like lots of apologists and upholders of…
It: nailed. xkcd: Headlines. Similar:The Chronicle of Higher Education Announces Plan to Limit, Curate CommentsBy 2016, the terrain has shifted. Public…AcademiaRing Theory Helps Us Bring Comfort In … and “dump” our own stuff out.I spent some time listening to someone w…CultureGoodbye, Google Search. I've switched to search.brave.com …for now. I can’t stand Pinterest. I hate…
…she’s pretending to be “Spock in a Tree on Omicron Ceti III.” Similar:Drawing of Once on This Island by the amazing Rebecca Scassellati.PersonalThe Assignment #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 5) Keiko is not herself after a t…Rewatching ST:DS9 On a bustling morning…DramaSpit & Polish ''Pac Gentleman"Spit & Polish: When this game was f…AestheticsFDR in…
The observation car Pearl sings of her love for Rusty, in the “Like ‘Cats’ but with Trains” show “Starlight Express.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma4FusuIgSM By the way, that’s a Star Wars Stormtrooper outfit, with pink accents added by my wife. Post by Stage Right. Similar:A masked, socially distant museum visit. So nice to get away from syllabuses…
Back in my grad school days, I was called a “run-of-the-mill programmer” by a brilliant IT genius. For a guy whose only computer coursework consists of a Pascal class in high school (“taught” by a math teacher who didn’t know the language, and checked my answers against those in the teacher’s manual), I still consider…
King Henry rallies his troops just before the decisive Battle of Agincourt. From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,…
RT @textfiles: Hi internet. In another few minutes I go onstage to point everyone to archive.org/details/histor… and hopefully computer history … Similar:RT @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 iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationAnd the girl…
Not my item, but the pathos caught my eye. Similar:A woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false — tale about Roy Moore. She appears …This looks like a deliberate attempt to …Current_EventsYesterday's Enterprise (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 15) Alternate histor…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaApple faces threat of legal action over…
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: “It’s hard when your idols fall.” Tween: “That’s why I don’t have any. Except for you.” Similar:Parallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few…
A new Emily Dickinson archive is online. Here is the opening of one of her most famous poems. Reading View for Fascicle 23. Similar:‘These are all fake news,’ said the honor student. He was wrong.Kim Ash teaches the Newseum’s “Fighting …CultureDon't Help Your Kids With Their HomeworkGreater parental involvement in school (…AcademiaScammer tricks YouTuber who…
My wonderfully geeky tween made these Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde pendants with her Rainbow Loom. Next on her list: making Pac-Man. Similar:More Evidence that Choosing a Typeface Is ImportantAestheticsJohn Speed’s 1611 map of #medievalyork features a “scale of paces.” My #unity3d placeholde…AestheticsShakespeare's WillPersonalThe grudging emergence of American journalism's classic editorial: New details about ''Is…
Have you heard the story about the lady who spilled coffee on herself and won millions of dollars from McDonald’s? Have you looked up the details on the story, or do you just know the story as a TV show punch line? Stella became a symbol for frivolous lawsuits and fodder for talk show hosts,…
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,…
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…