Setonian Photo Editor Wins Second Place for News Photo in Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Contest

Setonian Photo Editor Wins Second Place for News Photo in Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Contest. Similar:100 Careers for English MajorsAnyone with an English degree will tell …Academia'Fontgate': Microsoft, Wikipedia and the scandal threatening the Pakistani PMI would call this “typefacegate,” but th…CultureDoes the phrase "based off of" make you shudder… or shrug?Jerz > Writing >&nb…AcademiaCaptain’s Holiday (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch,…

Three books at heart of investigation in Schofield teacher’s administrative leave

Apparently there is an allegation this teacher read to the class from the internet some age-inappropriate material about prostitutes, but as I undrestand it, the school says it is responding to complaints about three books. In addition to a science fiction novel, a Schofield Middle School teacher now on administrative leave allegedly read excerpts from…

Why Your Infographic Is Evil (And Three Ways To Fix It)

“I can understand why readers like them so much, and in my position I have to follow the trends,” she said. “Even when I can’t stand them.” So until the trend dies, we’ve compiled a list of do’s, don’ts and best practices for creating and using infographics, whether you’re a blogger looking for content or…

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Lesson Plans: Activities Related to Stage Musical & Film — Jerz’s Literacy Weblog

My talented wife wrote this lesson plan, in honor of our local performing arts school (Stage Right! Greensburg)’s production of Joseph this weekend. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, draws its story from the (Old Testament) book of Genesis: Jacob gives his favorite son,…

iPad Review: Apple’s Third-Gen iPad May Be the Last One That Matters

An Apple iPad has never looked so awful. No, I’m not referring to the new iPad, the one with the ballyhooed Retina display. I’m referring to last year’s iPad 2, whose screen now looks grainy and pixelated when viewed alongside Apple’s latest tablet. The improvement in display quality smacks you in the face as soon…

The Neuroscience of Your Brain On Fiction

The brain, it seems, does not make much of a distinction between reading about an experience and encountering it in real life; in each case, the same neurological regions are stimulated. Keith Oatley, an emeritus professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto (and a published novelist), has proposed that reading produces a vivid…

Leprechaun Dance 2012: My Kids on St. Patrick’s Day

Similar:Adding details to a clip-art silhouette, for a project that will be released in a day or t… An important but small detail in a B…AestheticsBuilding a ridiculous amount of detail as I create tiles for distant sections of a #blende…AestheticsAlas for You (Godspell, Stage Right)Three weeks ago tonight, I got an email …DramaThe belief…

Retracting “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory” | This American Life

We’re horrified to have let something like this onto public radio. Many dedicated reporters and editors – our friends and colleagues – have worked for years to build the reputation for accuracy and integrity that the journalism on public radio enjoys. It’s trusted by so many people for good reason. Our program adheres to the…

Culturomics Looks at the Birth and Death of Words

Roughly 30 to 50 years after their birth, they either enter the long-term lexicon or tumble off a cliff into disuse. The authors suggest that this may be because that stretch of decades marks the point when dictionary makers approve or disapprove new candidates for inclusion. Or perhaps it’s generational turnover: Children accept or reject…

‘Google is now an ad company’: Departing exec James Whittaker’s Goldman Sachs-style rant

Whittaker says that CEO Larry Page, who took over the company from Eric Schmidt, had a focus on ‘beating’ Facebook in advertising – which led the company to shift its focus from established products such as Google Mail onto its controversial social network Google Plus and other ‘social’ products built for advertising. –via ‘Google is…

Making Things in the Digital Humanities

I call what I’m doing “digital humanities” when I shift from treating technologies as objects of inquiry (e.g., a cultural history of magnetic recording) to actually expressing my work through them (e.g., using a platform like Scalar). In this regard, my work is significantly influenced by scholars such as Cheryl Ball, Tara McPherson, and Virginia…

15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly

Beautiful synergy of word and image. Proofreading errors aren’t always related to “grammar,” and the explanations are not as instructive as I’d like to see. Students who are already unhappy about being in a freshman writing class might not appreciate being told they are fools and goofs, but I’m always looking for ways to make…

Encyclopedia Britannica Halts Print Edition

My parents bought the 1976 edition, which came in a concise Micropedia and a more detailed Macropedia. We owned both. I remember using them to help flesh out last-minute homework assignments, but I have stronger memories of looking up topics like the psychological development of teenagers, acne, puberty, etc. The Encyclopedia Britannica has announced that…

25 Stupid Newspaper Headlines

25 Stupid Newspaper Headlines. Similar:Ginger Christ Superstar!AestheticsYes Virginia the Musical coming to ConnellsvilleCarolyn Jerz may be only 11 but is alrea…Current_EventsWhy NORAD Tracks SantaThe call had come in on one of the top s…AmusingIn April, 2001 I was blogging about interactive fiction, Roget's Thesaurus, John Lennon, H… A student newspaper article about in…BooksAnother social media…

SXSW 2012: Should Web Sites And Video Games Be Preserved Like Art Is?

Presented by Jason Scott, adjunct archivist at Internet Archive, Kari Kraus, assistant professor at the University of Maryland, and Nick Hasty, director of technology at Rhizome. The “Preserving the Creative Culture of the Web” panel at SXSW addressed an interesting question: “Should web sites and artifacts be treated like works of art or architecture?” Our…

Have online comment sections become ‘a joke’?

Jezebel has made lots of hay off of sexual harassment accusations against American Apparel Chief Executive Officer Dov Charney. Denton said he’d love to see Charney come into the comments section to defend himself. “If you put it to a vote, 90% would vote to ban him. They hate that guy,” Denton said. “If Dov…

‘Hoops,’ Carnegie Science Center’s basketball robot, is losing touch after 17 years

Replacement parts are hard to come by for a 17-year-old robot, so science center staff long have known that Hoops is one major breakdown away from forced retirement. That would leave a void not only for a generation of visitors who have marveled at the lanky mechanical athlete, but also for staff who have grown…

The importance of “show, don’t tell”

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My Memories of “Joseph…” [an original cast member reflects on Rice/Webber/Waring’s amazing technicolor musical]

My high school Drama coach and freshman English teacher Michael Garcia often shared his stories of making ends meet as a struggling young actor. When my 9yo daughter (a budding drama queen) recently started rehearsals for a local Stage Right professional production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and when I found out that…

How Cheap Should Books Be?

Why would Apple have agreed to pay higher prices for books while Amazon was still out there hocking them below cost? Good question. Those curious circumstances are why some, including Justice it now appears, think there might have been collusion on the part of the publishers. The European Commission opened its own formal investigation into…