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…
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 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:Each building in my #medievalyork simulation has four…
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 (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 (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:I know stuff must be important to people who don't spend their evenings generating 1400-wo…In…
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…
“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,…
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…
As recently as a few years ago, Aftab said the profile of an online victim was a young woman who felt alone, didn’t have many friends and craved attention. Then, in 2002, 13-year-old Christina Long of Danbury was strangled in a Danbury mall parking lot by a 26-year-old man she met on the internet. Long…
Another good place to start for people new to the text adventure format would be Galatea, Emily Short‘sfree-form piece based around conversation rather than puzzle-solving. It‘snot as no-nonsense as 9:05, but it‘spotentially more rewarding, and there are plenty of conversational paths and trees to explore, which lends itself to multiple replays. The online version of…
After 145 years, Western Union has quietly stopped sending telegrams. —Era Ends: Western Union Stops Sending Telegrams (Live Science) Similar:Facebook’s News Feed: Often Changed, Never GreatI’ve never liked Instant Articles — Fac…BusinessInfinite Scrolling: XKCD's Creative Insight on a Common Interface IndignityAmusingFilmmakers Find Section of Destroyed Space Shuttle Challenger on Ocean FloorInstead of World War II-era plane…
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…
Michael Kinsley made me laugh a decade ago when he argued against Web populists replacing professional writers, saying that when he goes to a restaurant, he wants the chef to cook his entree, not the guy sitting at the next table. I’m not laughing anymore: When there are millions of aspiring chefs in the room…
Expiry Date for Courses (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) In my in box today, a question to ponder. What courses from your program should not be accepted for transfer credit after 10 years have passed? If you started a science major 10 years ago, and took some foundational courses, and then dropped the major, how much of what…
While it is important to understand how the culture that led to the creation of a particular work differs from the culture in which you are reading that work, you should understand that a work is a particular author’s personal, creative, artistic representation of reality. Even when basing a story on a fictional event, authors…
With upswept roofs and, often, curvaceous, geometric shapes, and bold use of glass, steel and neon, it decorated many a motel, coffee house and bowling alley in the 1950s and 1960s. It epitomises the spirit a generation demanded, looking excitedly towards a bright, technological and futuristic age. As it became clear that the future would…
Modern American celebrity culture has certainly magnified the latest incident: Woodruff is recognizable, relatable, respectable. He was selected for his job as co-anchor not just for his undoubted journalistic credentials but also because ABC decided he was the kind of person Americans would want to welcome into their homes every night. His injury, therefore, feels…
It has been one year since the “Great Video Game Experiment” was started at the public library where I work. And in those twelve months I’d have to say it has gone as good as anyone could have hoped. In the end, the numbers don’t lie, and a success is all this experiment can be…
Meaning Usually refers to one’s family. Sometimes used (as in Shakespeare’s original) to denote all living creatures. Origin From Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Clown: I have been, madam, a wicked creature, as you and all flesh and blood are; and, indeed, I do marry that I may repent. —Flesh and Blood (The Prhase Finder) Er, no, that’s not…