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:I've completed my second set of 25 #neovictorian control panels, which I'll eventually use… AestheticsThe barbican at Mickelgate was pulled down in the 1800s but I made a rough approximation f…AestheticsBye Facebook, hello Instagram: Users make beeline for Facebook-owned social networkInstagram dialed in early to the power o…BusinessHow to promote your laser skin clinic…

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:Books Wield a Dangerous PowerWhile we might point to violent video ga…Books“Let It Go,” Idina Menzel’s Frozen ballad: It sends the wrong message.This author is probably overthinking thi…CultureEmily Dickinson’s…

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:Musician uses computer algorithm to compose every melody possible in C, releases them for …  A lawyer and…

Redshirt (fan video for Jonathan Coulton song)

Similar:Why ‘Cats’ the Movie Fails So FlamboyantlyI can’t seem to get into superhero movie…AestheticsHollow Pursuits (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 21) Misfit Crewmember Faces…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….AmusingThey Should Have Used Another TypefaceHave you ever noticed that the letters “…AestheticsVandal scratches Poe phrase into car at dealershipLanguage nerds will appreciate this news…AmusingIn July, 2000,…

The Pulse: Seton Hill’s iPad Experiment

This month’s edition of The Pulse podcast features a conversation with Mary Ann Gawelek, provost of Seton Hill University, discussing how her institution’s iPad experiment — begun in 2010 — has fared. RPP_102_iPads-in-Education.mp3 via The Pulse: Seton Hill’s iPad Experiment | Inside Higher Ed. Similar:York Corpus Christi Play Simulator Screencast (PSim 2.1; D.G. Jerz)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwNv1lx3…AcademiaToday's 10…

Youngest-ever National Spelling Bee competitor says fatigue, stress led to misspelling onstage

“Overall, it was just boring. Really boring! Really boring!” —The Washington Post. Similar:We don’t need more STEM majors. We need more STEM majors with liberal arts training.A chemist celebrates the liberal arts. …AcademiaWhat the police really believe: Inside the distinctive, largely unknown ideology of Americ…“That whole thing about the bad apple? I…CultureThe girl around the…

National Headline Contest 2011

Great headlines from winner David Bowman. National Headline Contest 2011. Similar:The Masterpiece Society (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 13) Space Thing Threate…Rewatching ST:TNG When a Space Th…CultureD&D-Themed movie Zero Charisma pits Nerds vs. HipstersMy wife usually gives me nerd-themed DVD…CultureChoose wisely… you have the power to turn this wrap into a sandwich or a…

Reading in the Morning

To qualify for a day at the local water park, my daughter woke up early, and is now happily reading. Similar:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – About the game30th anniversary refit of the cruel, cru…AmusingBloopers from my monologue for @pictclassictheatre 's Shakespeare Webinar this Friday at 2…   View t…AmusingMoon for the MisbehottenEven though…

Updated Journalism Handouts

I updated the journalism portal of my online writing site, and touched up some existing handouts: News Story vs. English Essay Your English instructor carefully reads your essay to evaluate the depth of your knowledge, the breadth of your vocabulary, and the loftiness of your ideas. Joe Sixpack glances quickly at your news story to…