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:"Do Date" vs "Due Date": Do Profs Really Have to Explain the Difference? If there really are teachers who lis…AcademiaPa. agency explains why it enacted new 'no force-on-force rule' for Bushy Run, other sitesAttending the re-enactment of the Battle…CultureNew NASA Astronaut Wrote a Limerick…

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:Beam me up, Chewie!AwesomeRecording Christmas Stories for WAOB Audio TheatreFor WAOB Audio Theater, my family spent …PersonalPicking up books for another termAcademiaTwitterverse, are we grieving over coder…

YouTube – Short Letterpress Documentary (Wonderful)

  Similar:Essential Journalists: How Coronavirus Changed TV Newshttps://youtu.be/CWcEABVWbfA Current_EventsBye Facebook, hello Instagram: Users make beeline for Facebook-owned social networkInstagram dialed in early to the power o…BusinessOverheard: "This is the best show I've ever seen at the Geyer" and "Who IS that girl playi…Gasps from the audience, shouts of “No!”…CultureTo Learn More, This High-Schooler Left The…

Colossal Cave Adventure — History

Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d do some more work on the Wikipedia entry for Colossal Cave Adventure. Similar:Should the AP Really Have Fired This Pulitzer-Prize War Photographer?The original shot caught a Syrian rebel …Aesthetics'My Fair Lady' Couldn't Actually Dance All Night, So These Songs Had To GoClever little Easter eggs in this articl…DesignThe Passenger (#StarTrek #DS9…

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:Rolling Stone and UVA: The Columbia School of Journalism ReportSloppy journalism can ruin lives. Check …AcademiaBoston marathon bombing: All the mistakes journalists make during a crisis like the Boston… First, do not pass on speculatio…Current_EventsStopping By…

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…