A Series of Tubes

Ted Stevens was right…. The Internet is a Series of Tubes (techno remix). But the Parisian telegram system in the early 1900s and the American postal system in the mid 20th century had their own tubes, as Molly Wright Steenson demonstrates (in this example of Pecha Kucha, a genre of speech delivered with exactly 20…

Sisters 'make people happy'

Researchers quizzed 571 people aged 17 to 25 about their lives and found those who grew up with sisters were more likely to be happy and balanced.–BBC News Well, at least “Sisters appear to encourage more open communication and cohesion in families.” The words “make people happy” only appear in the headline. From another point…

Why numbers no longer win arguments

A number in the news is no longer a cold fact, it is a killer fact, with all the murderous zeal that word implies. Journalists everywhere know the meaning of the phrase, the dagger of detail that runs the opposition through: the 23% up! The £16m wasted! The 140,000 children! For an example, try 271.…

Tomas Nilssons portfolio

Remediation of a classic? A satire on visual cruft? http://www.tomas-nilsson.se/ SlagsmÃ¥lsklubben – Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo. Similar:Small Changes in Teaching: The Last 5 Minutes of ClassI just ordered the book Lang mentions in…AcademiaThe Women’s Media Center: The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2014[W]e at the Center are acutely aware tha…BusinessFor…

Keeping J-School Relevant

This article describes how the Columbia School of Journalism is redesigning its program in order to integrate new media and business skills into the traditional journalism program. Currently, most student work in the introductory course is in print — sometimes published by a professor on a course’s Web page. It is Grueskin’s hope that, in…

U.S. bill seeks to rescue faltering newspapers

Cardin’s Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies. Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements. Advertising and…

The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon Gale, 2008

  Similar:Qpid (#ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 4, Episode 20) Q and Vash and Robin Hood, SomehowRewatching ST:TNG Who doesn’t like se…MediaAttached (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 8) Picard and Crusher are telepathical… Rewatching ST:TNG Picard and Crusher…AmusingThe Six Things That Make Stories Go Viral Will Amaze, and Maybe Infuriate, YouOverblown Headline of New Yorker Article…CybercultureCharlie…

TinEye Reverse Image Search

I generally discourage my students from delivering PowerPoint presentations, in part because they typically grab images from everywhere and anywhere, which is a practice I don’t want them to retain if they should start working for the student paper.  I prefer instead for students to post a richly linked blog entry (with links pointing directly…

When NOT To Hyphenate Your Name

Many married women choose to hyphenate their married name and maiden name. But there are times when you just shouldn’t!! (Mature Content) CBS 13 I laughed so hard my six-year-old daughter rushed downstairs to ask why I was crying. Similar:Raise It Up! :: Star-Spangled Banner – 1814-2014I usually start my American Lit I course…CultureAll the…

How to Write a Great Blog Comment

I don’t know any bloggers who don’t crave comments, but there are many more places than blogs that you can leave comments these days: on news articles, photos, videos, comment walls, and more. Comment writing is something of a new art form, and as many people who get comments will tell you, some are great…