Poems About Fathers

—Poems About Fathers (Poetry Foundation) Having a father and being a father, I found this page interesting. When my own daughter is a teenager, I might not like “Fifteen” as much as I do now. Similar:This is How Literary Fiction Teaches Us to Be HumanPracticing empathy through drama and poe…BooksSchisms (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode…

Will you, won't you… Blackwell's Quadrille

Will you, won’t you… Blackwell’s Quadrille (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) “Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?” — Lewis Carroll’s “Lobster Quadrille” I just tried to order an examination copy of a book from Blackwell Publishing, and when I got what looked like an error message on the final screen (or…

Shakespeare hates your emo poems

—Shakespeare hates your emo poems (Threadless) Interesting cultural phenomenon… sell a T-shirt, then create a website that lets customers upload photos of themselves wearing the T-shirt. The result turns the rebellious and snarky T-shirt designs into the uniforms of conformist consumer zombies. Similar:Good example of ‘do NOT remove things from photos.’Hat tip to my former student…

The civil war in four minutes

—The civil war in four minutes (YouTube) Similar:Grandpa Joe's Candy Store.Sugar rush at Grandpa Joe’s Candy Store….AestheticsChess robot grabs and breaks finger of seven-year-old opponent Last week, according to Russian media …CybercultureShakespeare portrait said to be only one made in his lifetime on sale for £10m A portrait said to be the only signed …ArtI worked…

PLAY-PEN: Games Due for a Lit Course

Modern interactive fiction, much more than its technically limited earlier counterparts, displays an incredible range of literary influences, tributes and styles. For Sherwin’s part, science fiction is an inspiration, but the greater part of his text adventures’ efficacy comes from the unique and anarchic style of his characters’ dialogue. “I have been greatly influenced by…

Deleted Scenes

—Deleted Scenes (StarTrekHistory.com) An awesome collection of painstakingly-restored still shots and script excerpts, from scenes that were filmed but never aired. Similar:Remnants of a Legendary Typeface Rescued From the River ThamesA little over a century ago, the printer…AestheticsThe Nagus (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 11) Quark is named the financial lead…Rewatching ST:DS9 In an episode…

A Fair(y) Use Tale

—A Fair(y) Use Tale (YouTube) Amazing demonstration of creative repurposing of Disney’s copyrighted material. Similar:Quick visit to see my mother and siblings.AestheticsCollegewide game encourages small interactions around campusI confess I often check my messages and …AmusingFancy iPad Holder with Compartment For Storing Your BabyFisher-Price enters the Apple aftermarke…AestheticsDeus Ex MemoriesI’ve just finished my final training run…CybercultureSeven…

Mastering podcasts with Audacity

Open source software makes podcasting easy — too easy. Listening to a playlist of first-timer podcasts can leave your ears ringing from sudden changes in playback volume. The problem is audio mastering. Recording sound is simple, but mastering that sound — compressing volume differences, maintaining a decibel ceiling, and similar operations — is anything but.…

Why We're Doing This

We know that pro-am journalism can work only if people are persuaded to give their time, lend their knowledge, pool their intelligence. Those are donations, but not of money. Often they are more critical than money. To succeed in this, we have to persuade several hundred people to donate good work to one big story…

Objections to Turnitin

We should be jumping for joy every time a student plagiarizes, because that means our existence as teachers of composition is validated, as we have something to teach them – citation, research, the need for critical thinking. We should get down on our knees and thank the Internet for making it easier to plagiarize, because…

Who Isn't Afraid of Google?

In this strange, strange tale the Davids are the size of companies like Microsoft and Yahoo, rumoured to be discussing an alliance to take on the search leader. The list of detractors is longer than other search providers, though; privacy experts, advertisers, startups, and Hollywood executives are all frustrated with the company for one reason…

Mixed Reception

This activity is set in a research group that is developing an antivenom for spider bites. In the opening scene, Nelson Pogline, a talented graduate student, dies unexpectedly at a university reception. As a detective, you must use chemistry concepts to determine if this was murder and if so, solve the case. You can interview…