Just stumbled across the wonderful “Story of the Week” web page, from the Library of America (publishers of the ubiquitous black-with-a-red-white-and-blue-ribbon classics). The current run of baseball-themed stories aren’t really my thing, but the archives go back to 2009. Further exploration of the site led to this thoughtful response to “Bartleby the Scrivener,” a precursor…
I realize that video-chatting teenagers everywhere already know this, but last night, while holing up in my hotel and preparing for the Conference on College Composition and Communication, I checked in with my family by video call. My wife, who usually doesn’t really care for computers at all, was interested enough to hang around for…
Striking story of how, on the very spot where African captives first landed in the American colonies in 1619, slaves who had been forced to build fortifications for the Confederate Army claimed asylum on Union soil. Back at Monroe — dubbed “the freedom fort” — fugitives continued arriving daily. Each morning, dozens lined up to…
Interesting exploration of correlation vs. causation, on a topic that will likely appeal to freshmen. They called 106 teenagers on special cellphones as many as 60 times over eight weeks and asked what they were doing. About half of the teens had been diagnosed with clinical depression by a psychiatrist. When called, the teenagers reported…
At the Mariott Marquis in Atlanta. A citadel of formed concrete. I’m in a Half Life 2 state of mind. Your browser does not support the video tag Similar:Remember Who The Enemy IsGood article on Catching Fire. (I haven’…BooksOfficial Rules to NanofictionaryI was at a youth car wash today, watchin…DesignCarolyn and Nick in Beauty and…
I wore out my key to the media cabinet. It snapped right off in the lock. Similar:Games Without Frontiers: Victory in VomitWired reviews Mirror’s Edge When you ru…AestheticsCoding Bootcamps and the New For-Profit Higher EdThere are actually a number of narrative…AcademiaHow do you know when your #steampunk fantasy cruiser has enough lamps? #blender3d #unity3dhttps://youtube.com/shorts/YF3z91jL7Pc …AestheticsBattlestar…
The move would transform the electronic market and add to Rowling’s already impressive net worth. J.K. Rowling is considering releasing digital versions of her lucrative Harry Potter books. Though she has declined eBook deals for years, her agent Neil Blair now says, “The e-book format is now something that is being actively considered,” according to the…
via YouTube – Complete History Of The Soviet Union, Arranged To The Melody Of Tetris. Similar:Your Brain Does Not Work Like a ComputerThe brain-as-computer is a powerful meme…HealthComputers and Writing Conference 2013Where a nerd can be a nerd. (Thanks f…HomeWhat my classroom looks like during today's video journalism workshopWithin 3 minutes of being placed into…
Here’s an interesting reflection — are iPads worth the extra cost, when compared to netbooks? EdReach says no. (More on that later.) At Seton Hill, students get a very nice MacBook (and they trade up after two years), as well as an iPad. It’s been great being at a university that is so supportive of…
Okay, this one was cute, too. Top 5 Viral Pictures of 1911. Similar:The Case for Banning Laptops in the ClassroomMaybe the students in this photo are dil…AcademiaMidterm Grades Submitted.AcademiaTurnitin.com UI Woes: One-click, No-confirmation Deletion of QuickMark SetsIn general, I find Turnitin.com’s GradeM…AcademiaDefunct Web Pages are Not Dead Ends to JournalistsIn my “News Writing” class, I…
One of the better April 1 gags I’ve seen in a while. Love the “lick a stamp and place it down” gesture. Gmail Motion BETA. Similar:Trump communications director Murtaugh rallies supporters by tweeting fake Washington Time…Here’s more evidence of just how crucial…CultureBeing a deaf lipreader during a pandemic means increased social anxietyEven social events are a…
Why read? You’d think that with the e-book and the Internet, with Google searching and channel surfing, the experience of curling up with a good book is as archaic as a buggy ride. You’d think, too, that with graphic novels and celebrity memoirs, and with Wikipedia offering their entries in “simple English,” the very idea…
Through the magic of FaceTime and the very light iPod Touch 4, yesterday my daughter gave me a ride in her Barbie car. Today, I took her flying in a Jedi fighter. The iPod Touch easily fits into larger toys. My daughter sat at my MacBook, and watched on the screen as I gave her…
I spent hours fighting to remove a virus from the virtual Windows box on my MacBook. I could have just flipped a switch and restored a backup, but that would have let the bad guys win. Similar:Support the arts in your community!PersonalThe Curtains Were Blue: In Which I Fix Another Meme. Above is my response…
How writers should not respond to criticism. It started when Big Al himself posted a review of a self-published novel by British writer Jacqueline Howett called The Greek Seaman. He starts off with a friendly bio note of the author and offers a link to her own blog, and gives a short objective description of…
Great news from the world of digital archiving. That is in fact the main office of the Internet Archive, yes, that Internet Archive, and yes, this has really happened… It primarily means I can stop thinking about where my next meal is coming from or live in terror of getting sick and start thinking where…
I’m not sure my students really need to read what I tweet while I watch episodes of the 1979 Buck Rogers shows, but it’s very interesting to see how Twitter impacts the perception of a faculty members’ professional ethos. The researchers created three accounts on Twitter for three fictional “professors” named Caitlin Milton, Caitlyn Milton,…
Some people don’t seem to get it. Here, in 2011, are 15 sites I’ve not featured before, all of which try to prevent you linking to them (usually restricting the “right” to link to just the homepage or else requiring written consent). YOU’RE ALL IDIOTS. I have, of course, linked to them – click the…
Highly-paid superstars aren’t preventing the exodus of TV viewers. The mind boggles that the fight to keep TV news profitable led CBS to pay Couric $15 million a year. That expense would provide an attractive living wage to 150 experienced journalists, or 300 cub reporters in feeder markets. Pelley, a Texan who began his career…
All games, from Starcraft to Scrabble to Angry Birds and beyond, provide players with complex problem spaces to explore in ways that are both fun and challenging. These spaces might take on the tone and texture of an ancient civilization, horror film, intergalactic space station, or mafia headquarters. When designed well, games can evoke a…