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:It's been nice knowing you, iPad3 It’s been nice knowing you, iPad3, but…TweetsParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from…

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:#MyNYPD Hashtag Promptly HijackedSomeone is regretting this PR move. …Current_EventsVerification HandbookOne of journalism’s most treasured clich…Current_EventsGoogle: "how can u" vs. "how can an individual" is not really about grammar Yes, I got…

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:The Daughter's 21st Birthday Current_EventsFinished the female officers for my neovictorian steampunk personal project. #blender3d, #…   Female officers, from the le…AestheticsDo television and electronic games predict children’s psychosocial adjustment?Wow… what a drab,…

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:Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with…

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:What kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The…

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:Desert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksRT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsJudge: Apple conspired to fix…

The t-shirt many professors would enjoy wearing

Inside Higher Ed Similar:Millennials Shy Away from Voice MailI was happy a few years ago when Seton H…CultureThe Liminal Classroom”What,” I asked, “are we to make of Plat…AcademiaNew Facebook Notifications Alert Users When They Not Currently Looking At Facebook “We hope these helpful new alerts will …AmusingHow ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become — from…

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 @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has…

Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies

  Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies poster. Similar:Bias Check! Consult different sources for a fuller picture.BusinessPa. agency explains why it enacted new 'no force-on-force rule' for Bushy Run, other sitesAttending the re-enactment of the Battle…Culture14 Machines That Were Brilliant in 1985I used something very similar to this sh…CultureWhat Makes Ohio State the Most Unequal…