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:Juror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around…
Not my item, but the pathos caught my eye. Similar:Schieffer: 'We Now Don't Know Where People Get Their News'The legendary Bob Schieffer is calling i…CultureThis is what happened when a KDKA-TV journalist showed biasSocial media platforms are full of peopl…CultureThe Nth Degree (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 4, Episode 19) Barclay Evolves Rewatching ST:TNG Engineering schlub …MediaWe…
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:In Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentIt's been nice knowing you, iPad3 It’s been nice knowing…
A new Emily Dickinson archive is online. Here is the opening of one of her most famous poems. Reading View for Fascicle 23. Similar:August Wilson Trifecta (Two Trains, Ma Rainey and Fences on the same day)Fences was performed in the backyard of …CultureStage Right offers four versions of its musical 'Annie' | TribLIVELeapin‘ Lizards! There…
My wonderfully geeky tween made these Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde pendants with her Rainbow Loom. Next on her list: making Pac-Man. Similar:Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained DeathSimulations are powerful tools for under…AestheticsPict Classic Theatre Romeo and Juliet. PersonalScrooge Is My BrotherMy daughter delivered the opening “Marle…CultureMy current…
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…
“Does size matter?” — student journalist, making a person-on-the street video interview about the new iPad. Similar:Juror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …Academia10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessCarolyn Gombell Is…
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:Maybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesRT…
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 your glasses but you can’t find them because you are already wearing them. Similar:In Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsWhat kids do when Dad won't hand…
Inside Higher Ed Similar:Ushering for a school matinee. Love seeing the kids excited about @prime_stage Frankenstei… CultureWhy Grown-Ups Keep Talking Like Little KidsFelt writey. Because reasons. The other…CultureIndependence of the press: the "essential ingredient of liberty" (Alexis de Tocqueville)CultureI Quit Liking Things On Facebook for Two Weeks.She stopped liking, and started commenti…CybercultureUnscheduled Disasters in Journalism:…
I can’t quite understand a world in which people will pay $4 for a cup of coffee… So I have no particular interest in coffee-shop culture, but the unrelenting advance of automation is worth noting. But note the word “could” in the headline. The Briggo coffee kiosk knows how to make a perfect coffee because…
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…
First of all, I’m always wary about any news article with “could” in the headline. Second, Wired produces a lot of paragraphs without actually giving away anything about the radical new teaching method (which is simply a motion from the “sage on the stage” model to the “guide on the side” — the current state…
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…