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:NAVY TO DROP ALL-CAPS COMMUNICATIONSCaps off to the Navy’s plan to drop all-…CulturePittsburgh in the Round review of The Outsiders”It’s due to a slew of rich, physically …BooksAt Age…
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:Jury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureRT @PhilKomarny: A…
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:Merchant of Venice Part 2 live, now! #PPTPlaytimeDramaHave you been "workslopped" by a bot?If you have ever experienced this, you m…AcademiaTSA Agent ConfessionIt was May 2007.…
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:Really, WCCC? AcademiaIt is often said that autistic people lack empathy. Some autistic people are told that the…@ItsEmilyKaty supplies another excellent…CultureI sometimes snark at the @Turnitin interface, but…I sometimes snark at the @Turnitin…
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:My Son Plays Mozart Too Fasthttps://youtu.be/gXAtRI1NLxs He says “M…AmusingGrading writing: The art and science — and why computers can’t do itTech companies and university administra…AcademiaHow do I cite generative AI in MLA style? | MLA Style CenterWe ask students to cite encyclopedia art…AcademiaBeautiful, meditative video…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Why Teachers, Parents, and Society at Large Have Destroyed Kids’ Love of LearningI have experimented with rewarding stude…CultureMemories of Toronto Yonge Street EncountersI arrived in Toronto in 1992 as a 22yo g…CultureA few Dwarven Moments in Stage Right's Snow WhiteThe dwarf scenes were a real…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Infinite Scrolling: XKCD's Creative Insight on a Common Interface IndignityAmusingLEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing parents[C]hildren play to get oxygen, to unders…CultureSuch deep roots you have: How Little Red Riding Hood's tale evolvedDid all these stories spring from a comm…HomeMemories of Toronto Yonge Street EncountersI…
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Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:Students whom I haven't met yet… Students whom I haven’t met yet, I’l…AcademiaWith actor Ken Bolden, who appears in Quantum Theatre's gripping (and hilarious, and shock… Mix the paranoia of 1984, the…
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:RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaHabits for happiness: tips…
I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:1,000-pound rosary sends heavy message: PrayThe rosary that retired quarry worker Be…AestheticsCanada's Globe and Mail Uses Expandable Inline Meta-articles to Explain Its CoverageJournalism matters. Educated citizens wh…CybercultureBecause Internet: the new linguistics of informal EnglishI’m planning to begin my online Shakespe…CultureHow to Disagree Academically:…
These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:My "Writing About Literature" Students Are Sampling Text Adventure GamesI’m having my students play Adam Cadre’s…CultureThat "Top 5" countdown listicle stuffs 5 pages of runners-up between #2 and #1.Relaxing in bed on the first Sunday morn…BusinessAttribution, Editorializing and DefamationIn the Nightly Noodle Monthly, former No…Current_EventsIs your child…
A thoughtful reflection on religion in Star Trek. While Humans aren’t depicted as participating in any form of organized religion (there is a reference to a Christmas party here, a nod to monotheism there), the series also includes a distrust of science and technology, regularly depicting mad scientists, societies over-dependent on technology, etc.) that insists…
If you’re legally present on a public street or sidewalk, you can legally photograph anything in plain view. (This includes children and crime victims… but just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea.) If law enforcement engages you, ask whether you are free to go; if so, then move out of the…