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:Former student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…AcademiaWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over…
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:10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsMaybe I'll just delete these…
@ZCharisma Oh, now I feel bad. Similar:Former student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…Academia10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsTweet: Came around the corner…
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:Jane Eyre and the Invention of the SelfThose who remember Jane Eyre solely as r…BooksThank You, Verizon, for this Confusing ScreenA few weeks ago, I had to get a new cred…BusinessStar Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch I was in college and grad school dur…CultureEach building in my #medievalyork simulation has four levels of…
…she’s pretending to be “Spock in a Tree on Omicron Ceti III.” Similar:Is Babylon 5 secretly the most influential TV show of the past 25 years?When my wife and I were grad students in…CultureI absolutely adored Spock. Loving Dad was much more complicated.A great father-son story, written by Ada…AwesomeAuditioning in Pittsbugh (flanked by shots from…
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:My outward-bound editor's graduation cap.PersonalProfessional or college Shakespeare productions in the Pittsburgh area…
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:Parallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…AcademiaWhat kids do…
Not my item, but the pathos caught my eye. Similar:Museum of Endangered SoundsImagine a world where we never again hea…AestheticsIn March 2000, I was blogging about Palm V computers for the Navy, NCAA banning online jou…In March 2000, I was blogging about …AcademiaWhen F. Scott Fitzgerald Judged Gatsby By Its Cover With a big Hollywood…
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:RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments…
A new Emily Dickinson archive is online. Here is the opening of one of her most famous poems. Reading View for Fascicle 23. Similar:Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening – By Donald J TrumpI have a pretty good idea whose woods th…AmusingAccession #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 17) Sisko rethinks his role…
My wonderfully geeky tween made these Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde pendants with her Rainbow Loom. Next on her list: making Pac-Man. Similar:‘I saw the possibility of what could be done – so I did it’: revolutionary video game The ….. Realising that statistics wasn’t for…CybercultureDespicable Me 2 "Bottom" gag will do for A Midsummer…
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…