Sony Corp. apologized Friday to the Church of England for a violent computer game that features a bloody shootout inside an Anglican cathedral. —Jill Lawless —Sony: Sorry for Cathedral Shootout Game (Brietbart) Similar:It's a Didactic Day in the Neighborhood: Mister Rogers and Educational IdeologyI recently lamented that my kids are gro…AestheticsWhy Tetris is the 'perfect' video…
The best interviews I’ve had were with people obviously familiar with my work. A great interview with a reporter feels like a natural conversation with a friend you’ve never met. They’ll ask you questions that you haven’t answered a hundred times before, and really dive into your experiences that led to something newsworthy. A good…
—Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? (FOX) I had to guess on one of the history questions, but none of the others were very challenging. I don’t watch the show (we only get one station on our cable-free TV). I just hope the show doesn’t make the smart kids look like freaks. Similar:Inside Voices –…
—How children lost the right to roam in four generations (Daily Mail) Interesting article on how over the years parents are holding onto their children more and more tightly. See also Henry Jenkins, “Complete Freedom of Movement: Video Games as Gendered Play Spaces.” Similar:On a little afternoon walk with my son.HealthGames Without Frontiers: Victory in VomitWired…
The New York premiere of the film, on Wednesday, was held to support the organisation Reporters Without Borders, which defends journalists against persecution and combats censorship and laws that undermine press freedom. But several journalists covering the premiere objected when Jolie’s lawyer demanded they sign pre-interview contracts limiting exactly what they could and could not…
Negotiators: Ages Nine and Five (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) I have a nine-year-old and a five-year-old who love each other to death, but do occasionally bicker. I tend to be far more impatient with the older child, since he is much more capable of finding something else to entertain himself. I generally remind him that, if he…
“The words we suggest,” says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, “are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language.” —100 Words Every High School Graduate Should…
When the steam train roared into history, hissing smoke and howling into the night, it was an awesome beast, adorned in the finest woods, ivory, gold, and intricate inlays, like some Serpent King on a sacred tapestry. The automobiles of the 20’s to 60’s, each was a work of art. The television and radio affected…
News emerged over the weekend that Church authorities have complained to Sony about the depiction of Manchester Cathedral in the game. Some reports have stated that the Church may pursue legal action against the company. But according to Alex Chapman of Campbell Hooper solicitors,”The Church will have an uphill battle in a legal claim against…
“There are days when I watch ‘The Daily Show,’ and I kind of chuckle. There are days when I laugh out loud. There are days when I stand up and point to the TV and say, ‘You’re damn right!’” says Brown, chair of the communications department at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications…
The Los Angeles Police Department on Tuesday announced plans to pursue improvements to the city’s 911 system, saying callers in the future will be able to use text messages, photos and even video from cellphones to seek emergency assistance. —Richard Winton —LAPD plans to accept 911 text messages (LA Times) Will future dispatchers have to be…
“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” —Reagan’s ‘tear down this wall’ speech 20 years later (USA Today | AP) Similar:Any Interaction with a Service…
I graduated from SHU this may and I took your American Literature course in Spring 2004. I just wanted to write you an e-mail because I came across my own blog while doing a search on the internet and I starting reading through them. I must admit, I HATED doing them during class because it…
But if Colandrea’s character was there to kill Tony Soprano, the actor who played him isn’t saying. “I do have an idea, but I cannot really talk,” Colandrea said Monday. “I have papers signed that I can’t make any comments on that.” Colandrea, who was born in Naples, auditioned for the role after a casting…
A Courier-Journal sports reporter had his media credential revoked and was ordered to leave the press box during the NCAA baseball super-regional yesterday because of what the NCAA alleged was a violation of its policies prohibiting live Internet updates from its championship events. —Rick Bozich —Courier-Journal reporter ejected from U of L game: Bennett removed…
According to the Courier-Journal, staff blogger Brian Bennett was approached by NCAA officials in the fifth inning of a game between the University of Lousville and Oklahoma State, told that blogging “from an NCAA championship event ‘is against NCAA policies (and) we’re revoking the (press) credential and need to ask you to leave the stadium.’”…
—How NOT To Use Powerpoint By Comedian Don McMillan (YouTube) Thanks for the suggestion, Josh. I generally ask my students to post their presentation notes on their blog, and rather than read through their blog entry word-for-word just take the class through the links and talk us through their main points. Similar:Google, AI Announcements, and the…
We are aware that the decision to place Google at the bottom of the ranking is likely to be controversial, but throughout our research we have found numerous deficiencies and hostilities in Google’s approach to privacy that go well beyond those of other organizations. While a number of companies share some of these negative elements,…
—(BRACKETS) – hidden camera prank on unsuspecting public. (YouTube) Amusing. Similar:I had a grand time recording this little story about a misunderstood genius who just wants… The Cask of Amotillado (read by Denn…CultureA computer scientist urges more support for the humanities (opinion)”Lior Shamir, a computer scientist who’s…AcademiaWhat a fluke (great headline; great story)AmusingOn Immigration, Poetry Isn’t…
“In recognition of his influential and distinctively American contribution to philosophy and, more widely, to humanistic studies. His work redefined knowledge ‘as a matter of conversation and of social practice, rather than as an attempt to mirror nature’ and thus redefined philosophy itself as an unending, democratically disciplined, social and cultural activity of inquiry, reflection,…