Adolescence was a long time ago. Grad school taught me to relate to others more as colleagues than friends. If I need reassurance of my students’ esteem, I need look no further than my course evaluations (Ha!). So my sparse friend count doesn’t normally bother me. But when I first opened my account, it read…
Nevertheless, it now appears that the person most responsible for the end of Ms. Plame’s CIA career is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson chose to go public with an explosive charge, claiming — falsely, as it turned out — that he had debunked reports of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Niger and that his report had circulated to…
I know I sound completely backward, but please do not dumb down or slow down the class for me. As time goes on, I know I will become much more proficient and I am sorry if I am off to a clumsy and bumbling start…As I said before I learn fast and once I get…
—books.google.com Google’s latest offering is the ability to download full-text versions of out-of-copyright books, and to sample the contents of many other books. Similar:Is it okay to say clanker?Clanker is a derogatory term used to ins…CybercultureBoston Bombing Survivor Dances Onstage for First TimeTechnology and artistry combine in this …CultureAuthor of 80s classic The Hobbit didn't…
In a picture widely distributed to the media last month, a normal-looking Couric wore a frumpy light gray suit and her trademark smile. But thanks to Photoshop, the popular editing software, the same photo, printed in a CBS magazine, shows her looking much, much thinner – and her suit has become a few shades darker.…
Ibsen.net is the official Internet site for Ibsen year 2006 and is by far the largest website about Henrik Ibsen on the world wide web, as regards both sheer volume of information and number of users. —Ibsen 2006 (Ibsen.net) A portal for world-wide activities recognizing the 100th year of Ibsen’s death. A theatre faculty member just…
Despite claims from the TV news outlet to offer “nonstop news” and “coverage you can count on,” an Onion investigation has uncovered hundreds of instances in which KAMR Channel 4 10 O’Clock Eyewitness News team relied almost exclusively on news reports, weather forecasts, and even special-interest features already generated by the station’s 6 O’Clock Eyewitness…
Among the dark corners where Dr Baker’s thesis – titled Broadcast Space: TV Culture, Myth and Star Trek – shines light is the changing link between the starship Enterprise’s intergalactic adventures and the real world’s space race. Shatner’s monologues were inspired by the visionary speeches of JFK, advocating greater exploration. Thirty years on, the roles…
Of course, students already know how to read the highly emotional and symbolic language of television. They learned it informally by clocking in an average of 5000 hours in front of the set before they reach school age — the same amount of time it takes to jet around the world 148 times, or orbit…
“It’s disappointing in a way, and confusing,” said Patricia Tombaugh, the 93-year-old widow of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh. “I don’t know just how you handle it. It kind of sounds like I just lost my job,” she said from Las Cruces, N.M. “But I understand science is not something that just sits there. It goes…
The computer was how I wrote! My attachment was dangerous as it now threatened to derail my progress on numerous projects, not the least of which was a manuscript I hoped to finish editing by the end of August. Losing time seemed impossible. I had to push through and figure out a way to adapt,…
PDK Question (n=500) “Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense?” Results: 37% Favor 55% Oppose 5% Neither Favor or Oppose 2% Don’t Know/Refused Adjusted Question (n=500) “Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose any school, public or private, to…
Jenny Jenny, you should know better; This is not just another Greek letter. It’s a term that relates two important parameters; If you know the circumference, you can find the diameter. Jenny, you need this number; You should keep it in mind. Jenny, plug in this number: Three point one four one five nine. (Three…
1. Andy Warhol, Liberace, Jackie Gleason, and Lee Marvin have always been dead. 2. They don’t remember when “cut and paste” involved scissors. —Mindset List for the Class of 2009 (Beloit College) Always worth a read. Similar:Split Infinitives in English: Not Actually Wrong, But UnwiseThe rule against split infinitives is a …CultureHeard any good stories lately?My…
When I watched “Sesame Street” in the ’70s, the human cast and the Muppets were quirky adults who didn’t talk down to me with baby voices. Now the human cast gets almost no airtime, and the show is dominated by Elmo, Baby Bear and, now, Abby Cadabby — preschoolers enamored by their own adorable stupidity.…
Still Tweaking Comment Filter (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) Evan Reynolds and Josh Sasmor have both reported that the comments they tried to post got rejected… my apologies. Yesterday and today are mostly taken up with university and committee meetings, so I’ve had very little time to maintain the blog… it will all work out eventually, though. Similar:Wonderful…
A euphemism like “decision-based simulation” maybe, but rarely a “game.” To many, video and computer games represent an adolescent diversion, a parental annoyance that thwarts homework, chores, and all things productive. So when FAS and others stump for games as an educational or training tool, they begin by stating the problem: “You oversee a very…
Rescue workers and staff at the Debelis Corporation used cocoa-butter to thin out the chocolate and pull him free. —US man survives chocolate ordeal (BBC) Thanks to Rosemary, who notes the final line: “The accident involved dark chocolate. “ Similar:Anonymous comment cards from student journalists at the end of the second week. These folks are amazing!…
Those discovered before 1900 would be called simply “planets” while a new sub-category of “plutons” would be introduced as a compromise between those who want to banish Pluto from the planetary club and those who want its status maintained. The move would result in three new “pluton” planets being created along with Pluto: Pluto’s moon,…
I am a very visual and active learner. I draw circles around words or phrases, highlight pertinent passages, make marginal marks and notes, or draw small doodles so I can visualize a concept. I make arrows that connect similiar ideas, draw stars next to passages that I hope I’ll be able to find again, or…