I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:I’m still teaching journalism and my usual courses, but after 21 years I’ve stepped aside …I’m still teaching journalism and my usu…AcademiaThe case for puns as the most elevated display of wit Geary admits that he often makes pun i…CultureStop Using 'Poet Voice'This…
These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:If you want to work with words, then journalism courses are very practical options.AcademiaCurse you, conference proposal word limits. I’m frustrated by these accursed c…AcademiaOde to Huckleberry Finn, Dec’d(Inspired by Emmeline Grangerford, Dec’d…CultureGo Ask AliceFrom the tangled tale of mass literacy o…BooksRespect the Text: Teaching…
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…
Standardized testing rewards standardized thinking, while excluding creativity, resilience & other “soft” skills. I have started gong out of my way to remind students in my classes that I am not comparing their papers to a “correct answer” in the back of my book — I want them to learn a habit of mind that…
It’s a good day when one’s nerdiness is an asset to a colleague. Similar:The College Fear FactorWhat happens in a literature discussion …AcademiaThe reception line begins. Grad2018PersonalThank you, 1993 Dennis, for documenting this low-resolution (the background image was 640x…Thank you, 1993 Dennis, for documenting …AestheticsFake News Remains Top Industry Concern in 2017“In the past, people…
I’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-obligated-for-jury-duty citizen. Similar:Set design for a virtual production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Post-apocalypti… AestheticsAnother homeschool year ends successfully. Here are the kids with their external evaluator…PersonalWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationTake a look at the moon tonight!I…
Keep a local backup of anything important you’ve entrusted to online services. There’s no guarantee that, years from now, those services will honor the terms you agreed to. Backed by new investors, including singer Justin Timberlake, Myspace (after dropping the capital ‘S’) has been rebranded as a music-streaming service, with a new sleek interface, and…
Penn and Teller are involved with this story. Worth a read. The only record of the game’s existence was a handful of review copies that had been sent out to journalists in the weeks before the publisher went bust, in 1995. The game remained a curious rumor until September, 2005, when Frank Cifaldi, a freelance…
Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices. #ethics #books The Federal lawsuit claimed that Apple, led by then-CEO Steve Jobs and senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue, conspired with HarperCollins, Hatchett, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster to drive e-book prices up from the $9.99 price point Amazon had established. –readwrite.com Similar:No, This…
RT @spj_tweets: How TV could suffer the fate of newspapers: @alanmutter shares the second installment of his two-part blog – http://t.co/l… Similar:RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsClassroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessIt's been nice knowing you, iPad3 It’s been nice knowing you, iPad3,…
RT @DepressedDarth: Dear J.J. Abrams, If the new Star Wars is bad, you will forever be known as Jar Jar Abrams. Sincerely, Star Wars fans Similar:Imma Let You Integrate QuotationsIn the poem “Imma Let You Integrate Quot…AcademiaCarolyn will portray Cosette Saturday at 2pm with 70 talented Stage Right castmates.The teen summer camp production of Les…
I really like MailChimp’s “Social” plugin, which not only publishes a WordPress blog entry to Twitter and Facebook, but also collects responses from Twitter and Facebook users and collects them as WordPress comments. Today I installed a different plugin, Twitter Tools, which is really just a single tool — it lets you create a WordPress…
Habits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of life. At bedtime, in order to avoid a nightly litany of complaints, I ask my glass-is-half-empty-and-I-hate-the-pirate-glass-and-there’s-a-bug-in-it tween to list three good things, two neutral things, and one sad thing about her day. Sometimes if she needs to share more than one sad thing, I…
While researching my obligations for #juryduty Thursday, I came across this “Juror’s Creed.” The gender-specific reference to men, the instruction to reflect upon the virtues of democracy, and the instruction to respect the judge’s education all hint at a historical context for the creed. Institutions never put their creeds into writing unless they feel those…
Spent a productive work day doing nothing but optimizing my blog. Added a very nice plugin for displaying thumbnails of related posts. Similar:Oh that sweet, sweet feeling of progress.PersonalHow Not to Be a Jackass at Your Next Academic ConferenceOkay, I confess, I was once in the audie…AcademiaMe, contemplating the implications of maybe doing a socialize…
RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fascination with Apps – bit.ly/lv1ZyR #parenting #technology Similar:Public, Private, Political: Social Theories and Blogging PracticesPublic, Private, Political: Social Theor…AcademiaBully: She told her son, ‘hit him hard’ –and she learned a lessonThis is a great story about a parent who…CultureFrom The 'London Times' of 1904A Mark Twain short story, written in…
Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in my trash folder! Similar:Jerz Nerdcation 2013On a visit to the Washington DC area for…CultureDid you like or share that social media post about two Camp Mystic girls found in a tree? From an article in the Houston Chron…Current_EventsHow the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive The ink used in a…
“Bach is not for the weak of mind.” — Miss Renee, my kids’ piano teacher. “I’m in trouble.” — Peter, my son. Similar:Hospice/Honeymoon “Hospice.” Once the word is uttered a…CultureHeadlines matter. Were they migrants, people who happened to be at a migrant center, pedes…Do the headlines encourage empathy, or d…CultureProfessor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other…
While I am uncomfortable with the whole “classroom as marketplace” metaphor, since it’s pretty much gamifying without the fun, I am nonetheless interested in this strategy for encouraging students to collaborate by having them attach a value to the artifacts they present to the class for sharing.. We shop for everything from apps to ideas.…