A month in hyper-space can scatter the brain. Traditional books offer readers respite from hyperactivity. The book’s definitive, closed, linear argument lets mind and sensibility enjoy moments of inner harmony. Linear text offers the kind of contemplative thinking that goes beneath the surface. –Heim, Electric Language: A Philosophical Study of Word Processing. New Haven: Yale…
A place to read? How many students come to scholastic grief because they never find one? Last year the daughter of a friend flunked out of a huge state university because, she claimed, she could never actually read anywhere. The dorm room? Her roommates were all fun and games. The library? Far too noisy. In…
The Federation of American Scientists called for major investment in digital educational games that could reshape how students learn and workers are trained for 21st century jobs…. The news may confound some parents, upset about the hours their teenagers “waste” on video-gaming or about the sex and violence portrayed. But scientists have long recognized such…
I just left WoW permanently. I was a leader in one of the largest and most respected guilds in the world, a well-equipped and well-versed mage, and considered myself to have many close friends in my guild. Why did I leave? Simple: Blizzard has created an alternate universe where we don’t have to be ourselves…
If I wanted to meet people, I wouldn’t be sitting on my ass filling out a MySpace profile. So I skip that and move on to Interests. Exhaustive lists of interests are a major feature of MySpace pages, which is odd because very few of them include “reading other people’s exhaustive lists of interests.” I…
Scholars in all fields continue to gain preferment because they are “productive” (the academic euphemism for obsessive), and students continue to emulate them. Future investment bankers pull all-nighters delving into subjects that they will never need to know about again, and years later, at reunions, they recall the intensity of the experience with something close…
In a carefully phrased, 128-bit encoded announcement that has challenged U.S. security agency procedures, top officials of the National Cryptography and Information Security Council warned that “FrpX-K5jE-Oc4n-e5Dn” if “Ha4d-87gH-uiH3-gB5r-g8Bh” late Monday. —U.S. Cryptographers: ‘FrpX-K5jE-Oc4n-e5Dn’ (The Onion (Satire)) Similar:There is no cloud. It's just someone else's computer.I have so far resisted the jump to strea…BusinessMake Video Horizontal…
Universal Music, the world‘slargest record company, has launched the established media industry‘sfirst legal action against user-generated internet sites in the wake of its distribution deal last week with YouTube, the most popular video-sharing website. —Joshua Chaffin —Universal sues video-sharing websites (FT.com) Note that YouTube isn’t the one being sued. YouTube actually cut a deal with Universal.…
Reuters has opened a virtual news agency in the Second Life online world. The bureau will be staffed by Reuters media correspondent Adam Pasick who will report on the lives and business dealings of Second Life’s residents. —Online world to get news bureau (BBC) Similar:Former NFL receiver Antwaan Randle El regrets ever playing football“There’s no correcting…
In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action. —Jakob Nielsen —Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute (Useit.com) Similar:The Most Epic Demo in Computer History Is Now an OperaThis is nice, but what I really want…
The rosary that retired quarry worker Bernard “Chub” Clark has created in his rural three acre yard near Nokomis is made of old bowling balls and probably weighs close to 1,000 pounds, give or take. —Tony Reid —1,000-pound rosary sends heavy message: Pray (Herald & Review) Now that’s style. Thanks for the link, Rosemary. Similar:Turnitin.com UI…
A cartoon version of the life of Pope John Paul II, telling the story of his life and death in animated form, is to be released on DVD by the Vatican. —Cartoon tribute to Pope John Paul (BBC) I’m not at all surprised. John Paul II was an expert at reaching out in all media, so…
As we sat in the admissions office, waiting to meet with a tardy faculty member, my daughter said she liked the place and could see herself enrolling there. But that quickly changed when the brusque and standoffish young professor arrived, coldly staring down at us and simply saying, “So what do you want to know?”…
Is this the way we will all be ‘enjoying’ our television programmes and computer games in the future? —One giant step for home entertainment? (Daily Mail) This will exercise your neck muscles, that’s for sure. Wait a minute… someone forgot to put the flat broom head on top of that helmet. Ohh this makes me angry.…
Reginald Pike’s Yael Staav takes us from model to billboard in under 60 seconds in this impressive new spot from Dove. —Dove – Evolution (‘Boards) A short film that might be very useful for sparking discussion in a class studying the effect of marketing on women’s body image. This advertisement is still banking on the power…
On Wednesday, Friedman ordered Take-Two to give him a copy of the game, along with providing someone to play the game for him to watch before he made a decision. A Take-Two employee played the game for the judge Thursday afternoon, using a cheat code to go through the game faster. A game like Bully…
Response Options trains students and teachers to “lock onto the attacker’s limbs and use their body weight,” Browne said. Everyday classroom objects, such as paperbacks and pencils, can become weapons. “We show them they can win,” he said. “The fact that someone walks into a classroom with a gun does not make them a god.…
Anyone over a certain age — and you know who you are — will remember those wonderful days of peppermint sticks and electric dog-washers, a magic time when running barefoot through the grass and having your cocker spaniel buffed and pressure-rinsed to a glossy sheen at the flip of a switch was every boy’s birthright.…
Why? Why? Why am I spending Friday night clearing out my in box? There were 1900 e-mails in my in box when I sat down an hour ago. Now there are only 1250 or so. I feel good about that, but pathetic at the same time. There has to be a German word for “the…
Dr. Sandry loved jazz–he played clarinet and saxophone–and was a big fan of Dave Brubeck and Charlie Parker. —Dr. Martin Sandry: 1937 – 2006 (Chicago Tribune) Uncle Marty had been married to my father’s sister for over 30 years. I remember him for his passion for jazz music, and his kindness towards my aunt. Thanks…