Book recounts 100 years of county courthouse – Tribune-Review

Jennifer Reeger of the Tribune-Review (Pittsgurgh) reports on my colleague’s local (Westmoreland County) history book. “Thank God we do have this beautiful building,” said Mike Cary, professor of history and political science at Seton Hill University and an editor of a book on the courthouse’s history. “People remember Greensburg — they remember that dome when…

When Musicians Play Interactive Fiction

Nick Montfort, Grand Text Auto: Leonard Cohen Manhattan: Taken. Berlin: Taken. Similar:Let's talk about books, old sport.BooksBreaking up with your favorite racist childhood classic booksA good article analyzes the strong cultu…Books4 writing lessons from the comedy of Joan RiversAll writers can learn from studying the …Current_EventsIt not only went VROOM, it carried chunky plastic letters…

John Henry was a steel-drivin' bastard

Via MetaFilter: You’ve got just over two weeks to make it to the John Henry celebration in Leeds, Alabama, where some folks believe the legendary steel driving contest actually took place. Maybe you already made it to John Henry Days in Talcott, West Virginia (or read a fictionalized account), where some more folks claim the…

The Tale of the Mechanical Virus

Sean McBride: The problem I discovered was that one of the thin walls between the holes had broken and bent down, forming a ramp. When I plugged the DVI adapter into my computer, two of the pins went into the same hole, and the projector could no longer understand the output from my computer. However,…

Full Moon Rising

This evening, I was out in the yard playing with the kids, when they noticed the full moon rising above a house a little ways down the street. Similar:Carolyn and spider friends performing "Power" from Stage Right's Sleeping B…PersonalNight Terrors (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 17) Trapped crew grows paranoi…Rewatching ST:TNG After discovering t…PersonalMy…

YouTube – Short Letterpress Documentary (Wonderful)

  Similar:15 more sites that forbid you from linking to them » Malcolm ColesSome people don’t seem to get it. Here,…CybercultureThe Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Rewatching ST:DS9 Space Dad fusses ho…AmusingI Felt a Great Disturbance in the Font. And the Margins.You don’t want to…

Colossal Cave Adventure — History

Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d do some more work on the Wikipedia entry for Colossal Cave Adventure. Similar:Sons of Mogh #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 15) Worf's brother Kurn seeks an ho…Rewatching ST:DS9 Worf wins a furious…EthicsNYT newsroom integration memoBy integrating the newsrooms we plan to …BusinessWhat My Classroom Looks Like During Today's Video Journalism…

YouTube – The Wilhelm Scream Compilation

The Wilhelm Scream is a sound effect that appears in many action films, as an in-joke among sound designers. Similar:What is a CRT and Why Don't We Use Them Anymore?I remember when I started seeing politic…AestheticsYouTube distortion after the same clip is re-uploaded 1000 timesIn theory, technology lets people make a…AestheticsIn Purgatory's Shadow #StarTrek #DS9…

Going South

It’s funny, because it’s true…. David Galef satirizes the humiliation humanities professors have to go through when requesting research funds: To Professor Michael Wall, Chair, English Department: This has to do with the travel budget for the coming academic year. As we discussed last spring, I need something on the order of $700 for the…

Is There Anything Good About Men?

Roy F. Baumeister One can imagine an ancient battle in which the enemy was driven off and the city saved, and the returning soldiers are showered with gold coins. An early feminist might protest that hey, all those men are getting gold coins, half of those coins should go to women. In principle, I agree.…

One in four read no books last year

One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices. The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole,…

First Day Fun…Everday (Pedablogue)

Here’s a collection of teaching tips for the first day of classes brought to us by Honolulu Community College (check their reference lists for more good sources, too). The Pig Personality Profile [try here — DGJ] is frivolous fun, but probably a good icebreaker and something I might even use when I teach Memoir Writing…