A recent Pew study (Smartphone Ownership 2013) found that blacks were about 10% more likely than whites to own smartphones, and that young urban people regardless of income are very likely to own smartphones. (With older people, a smartphone is more of a luxury.) It’s little wonder, then, that phone-friendly Twitter has been such a…
These are shoe-holding racks at a local indoor play area, where I took my daughter and a friend for a few hours. Why buy six different rainbow-colored shoe-holding racks, if you’re not going to arrange them in the proper order? I really wanted to pick up the purple one and at least put it in…
Sample, improved lyrics: “An old man turned 98 /He won the lottery, and died the next day (from a severe paper cut from his lottery ticket).” Similar:"Know that I glory in this nose of mine."Was browsing YouTube for a few of my fav…AestheticsHow Poetry Helps You Improve Your WritingWhile I’d rather see a reminder that…
Rewatching the classic Trek episode “The Conscience of the King,” which features a Shakespearean acting troupe. In one scene, McCoy writes a report on a wedge proto-iPad… …but in the very next scene Kirk scrawls on a piece of paper. This episode also features characters doing computer searches, using an exposition-friendly voice interface to call…
At least three journalists left NBC, after the network aired a tape of George Zimmerman, edited in a manner that substantially altered its content. Filed in Seminole County, the suit adds that “NBC News saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about…
Jon Negroni creates a meta-narrative to connect every Pixar movie, using Boo as the still point in the turning universe. Every Pixar movie is connected. I explain how, and possibly why. Several months ago, I watched a fun-filled video on Cracked.com that introduced the idea (at least to me) that all of the Pixar movies…
The contrast between KTVU’s treatment of its triumphs vs errors reminds us of the difference between journalism vs public relations. Similar:Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesHabits for happiness:…
Last week, the Fox-afiliated KTVU fell for a prank, repeating offensive fake names for the pilots involved in the crash of Asiana Flight 214 last week. [S]even-year veteran KTVU producer Brad Belstock closed his @producerBB Twitter account after his last Friday tweet just moments after the names were read aloud on the air by Tori Campbell.…
Francesca Borri writes of being a freelancer and a woman covering the war in Syria. (When my life gets hectic, a story like this helps me keep some perspective.) Similar:Picture Books Languish as Parents Push ‘Big-Kid Books’Picture books are so unpopular these day…BooksChoice of the Journo: A Branching-path Phone-friendly Role-playing Simulation for Journali…How can a…
Is your Sunday feeling incomplete because you haven’t read anything about punctuation today? This explanation of the semicolon should help. You’re welcome. Similar:AI is better at writing poems than you’d expect. But that’s fine. Even the most rebellious poets follow …CultureNational Day on WritingNCTE, the National Writing Project, and …CultureWithout ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle at…
My wife is something of a hoarder. Now, as it happens, I have saved my half of the slip of paper that I tore so that we could write down each other’s phone numbers back when we were about 22, but she saves old catalogs and phone books (phone books!) from years ago. Sometimes, when…
So I’m not being selfish… this is a parenting strategy. Similar:Hollow Pursuits (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 21) Misfit Crewmember Faces…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….AmusingPhysics simulation demo: crate made up of mostly loose boards. #Blender3d #design #practic… https://youtu.be/OqqlWZvWaqM Physic…AestheticsObamacare's broken website cost more than LinkedIn, Spotify combinedMuch of the criticism of Healthcare.gov …CultureAwesome 1935…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:To Learn More, This High-Schooler Left The ClassroomNick Bain, 17, was in class one day when…CultureFall colors are past their peak but it's still a beautiful late October day.Personal@shu.pippin was great. Four more chances to see it!PersonalAppreciating the production values and so-stupid-it-might-be-brilliant comedy in Avatar:…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Girlhood 2014They don’t even seem to want to watch Fr…CultureSuch deep roots you have: How Little Red Riding Hood's tale evolvedDid all these stories spring from a comm…HomeThe Rule of Capek's Robots: A public lecture, in which the word “robot” is traced, precurs… HomeSchadendrücke: Click-shameHomeVerizon…
Similar:Stephen Coles’ The Anatomy of Type, reviewed.Talk nerdy to me. You’re my type. What …AestheticsPushing and pulling vertices. Components that fit together perfectly when I model them in …Aesthetics6 Problems with our School SystemI spend a lot of time re-educating my st…AcademiaI'm not a big fan of Disney's corporate greed.I’m not a huge fan of…
Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:It’s been a while since something got me into a movie theater. Obviously I wasn’t in a rus… It’s been a while since something got …AmusingMy Shakespeare students are off peer reviewing…
Blogging this so I can find it when I teach my “News Writing” class this fall. People do like to prank journalists with fake names. In this case, the reporter did what you’re supposed to do — get confirmation — but sheesh. KTVU reports fake racist names of Asiana Airlines 214 pilots from NTSB intern…
I recently bought a new phone. since then, I have answered an incoming call in my car. It felt awesome. Similar:Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentIt's…
I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand TextFar from being “stochastic parrots,” the…CybercultureThe Media Pyramid: “Any content where ideology leads to falsehood is bad for you.”You Are the Media You Eat CultureIn MLA Style, use the ellipsis only to mark an omission from the…
These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:New NASA Astronaut Wrote a Limerick to Get Hired “There was a lot of writing involved…AmusingChipping away at Pygmalion and GalateaPygmalion is a legendary sculptor (whose…ArtA student just booked an appointment to discuss picking up journalism as a second major. E…AcademiaExploring Myst's Brave New World”We…