We Only Think We Know the Truth About Salt

WHY have we been told that salt is so deadly? Well, the advice has always sounded reasonable. It has what nutritionists like to call “biological plausibility.” Eat more salt and your body retains water to maintain a stable concentration of sodium in your blood. This is why eating salty food tends to make us thirsty:…

LinkedIn: now officially the most annoying of all social media

I’m generally ambivalent about the whole “LinkedIn experience,” but if it wants to inspire confidence, the company should devote the same amount of attention it currently places on badgering its members on tightening its security. —LinkedIn: now officially the most annoying of all social media | Loren Steffy | a Chron.com blog. Similar:The focus on…

York Corpus Christi Play — Introduction

In an age when the concept of “separation of church and state“ was unthinkable, the Corpus Christi Play was an integral part of the religious, economic, political and artistic context of life in medieval York.  —York Corpus Christi Play Similar:Fake News Remains Top Industry Concern in 2017“In the past, people fabricated content….CultureOver time, Google has made…

It Evolved Into Birds: Ten Science-Fictional Thinkers On the Past and Future of Cyberpunk

Interesting collection of reflections on the status of cyberpunk, that branch of science fiction devoted to the exploration of dystopian networks and augmentations and hacking and  information, rather than galactic empires, huge space objects, aliens among us, etc. It Evolved Into Birds: Ten Science-Fictional Thinkers On the Past and Future of Cyberpunk Similar:NASA finally makes…

MLA Journals Adopt New Open-Access-Friendly Author Agreements

And there was much rejoicing. The journals of the Modern Language Association, including PMLA, Profession, and the ADE and ADFL bulletins, have adopted new open-access-friendly author agreements, which will go into use with their next full issues. The revised agreements leave copyright with the authors and explicitly permit authors to deposit in open-access repositories and…

Maker Faire and Science Education: American kids should be building rockets and robots, not taking standardized tests.

I was at a “serious games” conference several years ago. During a crowded seminar, where I found myself seated on the floor because there were no open seats, one of the industry types was frowning because an educator kept speaking critically of testing. “If you don’t test,” asked the pragmatic businessperson, “how can you assess?”…

We’re Creating a Culture of Distraction

I’d argue that what’s happening is that we’re becoming like the mal-formed weight lifter who trains only their upper body and has tiny little legs. We’re radically over-developing the parts of quick thinking, distractable brain and letting the long-form-thinking, creative, contemplative, solitude-seeking, thought-consolidating pieces of our brain atrophy by not using them. And, to me,…

My Parents (ages 72 and 78) Learn a Polka Step from my iPad

  Similar:Younger Americans and Public LibrariesMillennials are quite similar to their e…BooksConsciousness: Where Are Words?Words, words, words. With the advent of …Culture@CNN This is a mask. It prevents the spread of coronavirus. This is not a political state…https://twitter.com/CNNPR/status/1289161…CultureWhat blogging wasI’ve maintained this blog since the spri…CybercultureLife in Code and Software (Open Humanities Press)This book explores…

My Parents (aged 72 and 78) Demonstrate a Ballroom Dance Pose

This is how my parents finish their Argentine Tango routine. My mother says, “I’d like to get up now.” My father looks down at her. “Oh, you would, would you?” Similar:Checking out of @frontporchtheatricals Grand Hotel. What an experience!My brother had already planned to visit …AestheticsPrepping for the “Celebration of Scholarship and Service” #york2025 #medievaldrama…

President Obama writes sick note for 11-year-old Minnesota boy

I love this story! Mr. Ackerman — Please excuse Tyler… he was with me!” Obama wrote on 11-year-old Tyler Sullivan’s behalf. The Rochester boy skipped school Friday to attend Obama’s visit to a Honeywell factory in Golden Valley with his dad. President Obama writes sick note for 11-year-old Minnesota boy (VIDEO) – NY Daily News. Similar:Fantasy…

Stage Right’s Alice in Wonderland

My daughter shared the role of Alice this weekend (she played “Small Alice”). On one night, she also doubled as the mouse, for a different Alice. Similar:What happens to local news when there is no local media to cover it?The pressures on local news outlets have…CultureMerry Christmas 2019PersonalApparently I’m using boolean modifiers to carve out…

Is Bilderberg a conference on world affairs or a powerful global cabal? Depends on who you ask. – The Washington Post

I love the obscure Prufrock reference win this Washington Post story: So as the motorcades come and go, are they talking of Marco Rubio? via Is Bilderberg a conference on world affairs or a powerful global cabal? Similar:After Hours – Why The Star Trek Universe is Secretly HorrifyingAfter Hours – Why The Star Trek Universe…AmusingThe…

Redshirt (fan video for Jonathan Coulton song)

Similar:The Alternate (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 12) Odo helps a Bajoran scientist… Rewatching ST:DS9 As Odo squelche…EmpathyIn November 2001 I was blogging aboutIn November 2001, I was blogging about …AmusingI Hate Your BlogI hate your blog. Your recipe for vegan …AmusingTin Man (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 20) Sad telepath bonds with…

One in a Billion: email tips – Google Search

In the grand scheme of things, this means very little… but still, it’s kind of cool to be one in a billion. —email tips – Google Search. Similar:ink: Inkle's open source scripting language for writing interactive narrativeGearing up to teach “Digital Storytellin…CybercultureDo television and electronic games predict children’s psychosocial adjustment?Wow… what a drab, unquoteworthy, unsou…AcademiaThe…