The nesting of clauses that lay in the sentence that Cheney said

Why is Cheney snowcloning ‘The House That Jack Built’? —Benjamin Zimmer —The nesting of clauses that lay in the sentence that Cheney said (Lanugage Log) Similar:Slash: Not Just a Punctuation Mark AnymoreI will have to watch for these uses of “…AcademiaBoston bombings: Social media spirals out of controlA thoughtful analysis. Problem-solver…CultureSorry, not sorry. I don't want…

Babylon 5's Katsulas Dies

Andreas Katsulas, the character actor known to SF fans as G’Kar on Babylon 5 and a familiar face from Star Trek and other SF&F TV shows, died Feb. 13 of lung cancer in Los Angeles, his agent, Donna Massetti, confirmed to SCI FI Wire. He was 59. —Babylon 5’s Katsulas Dies (SciFi.com) This man brought an…

Who Gets In? The key to admission remains a mystery

“Along with the Sphinx, the DaVinci code and Easter Island, college admissions is one of the world’s great mysteries,” said Mary Beth Kurilko, associate director of undergraduate admissions at Temple University. “I see it in the faces of the parents who hover around their children during our information sessions. They’re listening for it, leaning forward…

Dick Cheney Quail Hunt Game

—Dick Cheney Quail Hunt Game File this under “What took you so long?” Similar:I'm enjoying "William Shakespeare's Star Wars" more than I expectedI didn’t expect a pseudo-Elizabethan ren…AmusingDate a girl who reads.I earned a +8 or +9 spousal bonus when I…AmusingHong Kong: journalist permanently blinded in one eye amid increased police violence A rubber bullet…

The Secret Cause of Flame Wars

The reason for this is egocentrism, or the difficulty some people have detaching themselves from their own perspective, says Epley. In other words, people aren’t that good at imagining how a message might be understood from another person’s perspective. —Stephen Leahy —The Secret Cause of Flame Wars (Wired) Similar:Keeping things in the proper perspective at 4Cs:…

Happy, Happy Poetry

The Swing Robert Louis Stevenson HOW do you like to go up in a swing,   Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing   Ever a child can do! Up in the air and over the wall,   Till I can see so wide, Rivers and trees and cattle and all…

Better living through video games?

The York team recently compared 94 bilinguals and monolinguals between the ages of 30 and 80. It found that while both groups started showing cognitive decline by age 60, the rate of slowing for bilinguals was much slower. Now young people who play video games are showing this similar pattern of high performance in resisting…

Cubists Launch Unnavigable Web Site

The International Society of Cubists officially launched its Web site today, a brilliant rejection of natural form and perspective that metaphysically establishes the implication of movement, analytically redefines spatial relationships, and is an absolute bitch to navigate. “What the hell is this? I can’t tell how to get anywhere,” one of the site’s first visitors…

Superman to the rescue of Jesus

Superman will help teach British children about Jesus in state-mandated religious education classes, The Telegraph reports. —Superman to the rescue of Jesus (JoanneJacobs.com) I’m blogging this one not just because it’s odd enough to be interesting, but because of Joanne Jacobs’ final suggestion, just before “Posted by joannej”. Similar:Trump’s war on the media is driving students…

The Professor as Instant Messenger

I regularly use computers in my classroom, and have long been a fan of the educational potential of online discussion groups. So I was completely taken aback a few months ago when a colleague informed me of something she had recently learned from her students: Teenagers no longer check their e-mail. I confirmed that in…

Blogging Slowdown

Blogging Slowdown (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) I’m going to slow down my blogging here for a while, because I’m in the process of moving to a new server. I’ve got a backup of the site as of sometime yesterday, and I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to get another backup before the new site goes online.…

Ten Things About Ten Things About Writing

—Ten Things About Ten Things About Writing (Paperback Writer) A top ten list of top-ten lists about writing. (A former student of mine, Kathy Kennedy, wrote “Short Stories: 10 Tips for Novice Creative Writers” as part of a technical writing class.) Similar:Crazy-looking keyboards that never caught on As the typewriter become popular, it w…AestheticsLecturing is So…

Bottled Water: Nectar of the Frauds?

More fossil fuels are used in packaging the water. Most water bottles are made with polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic derived from crude oil. ”Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 U.S. cars for a year,” Arnold said. Worldwide, some…

A Good Choice

“It says here under your ‘Date Needed” column that you need these on February 7th. I have them scheduled to arrive on February 8th.” He then continued, “But your document is unclear because you did not fill out the “Date Used” column as well. If you had put February 7th in the “Date Used” colum,…

Harper Lee, Gregarious for a Day

They come with cameras dangling on their wrists and dressed, respectfully, as if they were about to issue an insurance policy or anchor the news. An awards ceremony for an essay contest on the subject of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the occasion attracts no actor, politician or music figure. Instead, it draws someone to whom…

Era Ends: Western Union Stops Sending Telegrams

After 145 years, Western Union has quietly stopped sending telegrams. —Era Ends: Western Union Stops Sending Telegrams (Live Science) Similar:Trump Briefly Glanced at Eclipse without Protective GlassesDonald Trump’s persona as a man who does…Current_EventsA Matter of Perspective (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 13) Multiple-POV Courtroom …Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….EthicsD&D-Themed movie Zero Charisma pits Nerds…

''Full House'' Star Admits Meth Problem

During an appearance on Good Morning America Wednesday, Sweetin, who played middle sister Stephanie Tanner on the hit sitcom, revealed that she is a recovering meth addict and once battled a daily drug habit. —”Full House” Star Admits Meth Problem (Yahoo!) I always thought that Jodie Sweetin was a much more talented child performer than either…