Foam on the Tank!

Oh give me some foam, whose pieces won’t roam, from the tank, on which its attached, with seldom the sight, of pieces in flight, the shuttle, it hardly gets scratched. Foam! Foam on the tank! Stay stuck, to the place you’re attached! With seldom the sight, of your pieces in flight, The shuttle, it hardly…

Suffer the Little Children

Jesus suffered (i.e. “permitted”) the little children to come unto him. Some were probably squalling. Emily Kasky blogs about an inconsiderate mother who didn’t take her disruptive child out of Mass. I wouldn’t be so hasty to equate non-spanking with lack of discipline, or to equate spanking with the teaching of empathy. I don’t mean…

A World of Warcraft World

Insane, right? I mean, let’s say our friend John has his Bonebiter (one of countless powerful weapons in WoW) and a man steals it somehow. Should the thief be convicted of a crime and punished in the real world? Did you snort with laughter at that question? Why? The victim worked many hours to “earn”…

Ibsen and His Discontents

He was as rabidly hostile to conventional family life as Marx or Engels, but he was a much more effective and powerful critic, because his criticism did not remain on the level of philosophical abstraction. On the contrary, he laid bare the factions and revolutions of family life, its lies and miseries, in compelling and…

''Bloggerhood''?

It’s a beautiful day in this bloggerhood A beautiful day for a blogger Would you read mine Could you read mine It’s a bloggerly day in this bloggerhood A bloggerly day for a blogger Would you read mine Could you read mine I’ve always wanted to read a blogger just like you I’ve always wanted…

Writing Machines

—Writing Machines (Flickr) Great photos of old typewriters and old computers. Similar:Pluto FlybyWhen I was about 10, I wrote to NASA and…Current_EventsI never have time to create materials like this during the academic year. Brand new handou… AP Style follows the standard Englis…AcademiaIs Superman the next Drudge? Clark Kent quits newspapers in latest issue Even Clark…

Disney Erases Hand-Drawn Animation

In the 1960s, Walt Disney joked that one day he’d replace his elite corps of animators, known as the “Nine Old Men,” and their slow, expensive way of making hand-drawn movies, with Audio-Animatronic figures. At the end of last month, Walt’s joke came true. The studio bearing his name announced that, due to a “changing…

The Netscape IPO, a Decade Later

Today is the 10th anniversary of the Netscape initial public stock offering (IPO). To say that the IPO changed things is an understatement. —Dan Gillmor —The Netscape IPO, a Decade Later (Dan Gillmor’s Blog) Similar:In October, 1999 I was blogging about college application essays, Willie Crowther, and Eli… Jessica found herself wishing that s…AcademiaFaceTime Fun: iPod…

Discovery Lands Safely in California

Discovery swooped through the darkness of the Mojave Desert and landed on the Edwards runway at 5:11 a.m. PDT, well before sunrise. It marked the conclusion of the first shuttle re-entry since Columbia’s tragic return. —Alicia Chang —Discovery Lands Safely in California (AP|My Way) Whew! Similar:Fact check: You can safely ignore that "HOW TO FIGHT COVID…

Griffins get wings

They’re a couple-of-dollars part on a $170 helmet, but even the smallest detail must be dealt with when you’re building a football team from scratch. “You can’t play the game without chin straps,” Snyder said. And you can’t play without coaches and a team and a field and helmets and uniforms and the myriad other…

A Rocket to Nowhere

Taken on its own merits, the Shuttle gives the impression of a vehicle designed to be launched repeatedly to near-Earth orbit, tended by five to seven passengers with little concern for their personal safety, and requiring extravagant care and preparation before each flight, with an almost fetishistic emphasis on reuse. Clearly this primitive space plane…

Jennings' Death Ushers in Uncertain Era

The death of Peter Jennings means an era in television news has ended with stunning swiftness, giving broadcasters the challenge of reimagining the nightly news in an age of instant Internet updates. —David Bauder —Jennings’ Death Ushers in Uncertain Era (AP|MyWay) Tom Brokaw retired from NBC last November, and Dan Rather gave up the big chair…