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:A Christmas Carol (WAOB Audio Theatre)Marley was dead. (I voice the narrato…BooksPost-Pandemic News: 7 Lessons We Can’t Afford to ForgetJournalists are often criticized for emp…CultureSurprise sidewalk encounter with my…
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:I'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is really noteworthy. Today the Pre…Current_EventsParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesJudge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to…
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:6 Problems with our School SystemI spend a lot of time re-educating my st…AcademiaAre Grading Trends Hurting Socially Awkward Kids? One might argue that the new…
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:Editors and editorial board quit top linguistics journal to protest subscription feesWhen I publish as a scholar, my goal is …AcademiaThe eagles in Lord of the Rings are a plot hole, but also…
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:In one small prairie town, two warring visions of AmericaGreat writing and great photography in t…CultureSelf-Regulation: American Schools Are Failing Nonconformist KidsFor a while, we were part of a homeschoo…CultureThe Daughter's 21st Birthday Current_EventsEmpty InboxMy to-do do list and my “Follow Up” fold…CybercultureWordPress 3.8 “Parker”No…
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Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Take that, grass! Eat rotary analog steel.HomeHypertext as a Teaching Tool — Brown University Poetry Classroom 1974This short film documents an early attem…AcademiaGirlhood 2014They don’t even seem to want to watch Fr…CultureI can probably remove that link to LycosOn a web page that I posted in…
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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:Ground-nesting Yellowjacket WaspsWhile my 16yo son was mowing the lawn wi…CultureFriday night. What am I doing? #partylikeaprofAcademiaBird flight simulator. The boy goes for altitude and distance, the girl does stunts.In the bird-flight…
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:Overheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my…
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These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:Beatrix Potter-pinching and Žižekian swipes: the strange world of book theftsWe caught a gent last Christmas with £40…BooksWhy Do So Many People on YouTube Sound the Same?So it turns out the “YouTube voice” is j…CultureHow Zuckerberg’s Facebook is like Gutenberg’s printing pressHistorian Niall Ferguson notes…
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…