[A] de-emphasis in the academy in recent years on the formal elements of poetry, in favor of the social, legal, historic, and cultural background to literature, has meant that even doctoral candidates in English need not concern themselves overly with poetic form. Another quick but, I think, telling example: I was serving on a panel…
I am BOTH a teacher who gets papers from students AND a freelance writer who is receiving solicitations for writing them for students. (If I were truly entrepreneurial, I would design a paper so difficult that students would be likely to turn to professionals for “work for hire,” then take their job offers under a…
Nogroski presented his results before the entire fifth-grade science community Monday, in partial fulfillment of his seventh-period research project. According to the review panel, which convened in the lunchroom Tuesday, “Otters” was fundamentally flawed by Nogroski’s failure to identify a significant research gap. “When Mike said, ‘Otters,’ I almost puked,” said 11-year-old peer examiner Lacey…
The Wall Street Journal on April 11 wrote that ?despite the occasional controversial article, many of the reader-written sites look more like church bulletin boards than, say, the New York Times.? Let‘snot dismiss church bulletin boards. When I wrote editorials in Omaha, Neb., I watched a Republican candidate win his way into Congress via a…
Every grader of blue books was once a writer of blue books, so it might help to think about the process from that end. I remember, with particular shame, a certain undergraduate essay exam of my own for a course in “Modern Moral Philosophy.” The professor was Philippa Foot, who must have been in her…
When was the last time you stretched your arms, locked your fingers together with palms facing out, and executed a satisfying snap before channeling your energies into a one-on-one encounter? I am not referring to the clicking of a mouse button, which is about as immersive as punching a warm soda from a vending machine.…
Theater owners are in three different businesses: showing movies; showing advertisements–previews, which must be shown as part of their contract, don’t generate any revenue–and selling popcorn and soft drinks. The only business that makes a profit for them is the third, so it makes sense to cater to teenage males, who gobble the most popcorn…
M: An argument isn’t just contradiction. A: It can be. M: No it can’t. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition. A: No it isn’t. M: Yes it is! It’s not just contradiction. A: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position. M: Yes,…
You can’t consider yourself a moral person and at the same time allow the field of education to replace well-designed instruction on tough and important material (what it takes to sustain a democracy, how to read accurately and with deep comprehension) with superficial coverage of dumbed-down subjects. You can’t spend your life in silence, smiling…
Of course, computer games and the machines they run on have changed enormously since Zork first appeared in 1980. But I can’t say that the games are any more entertaining. Playing Zork and some of the other games of the day that were called “interactive fiction” was like reading a “Lord of the Rings” book…
For the few seconds between the announcement that Ratzinger was named pope, and the announcement of his choice of name, the Wikipedia entry was titled Pope Joseph… I just happened to catch it on the fly (it was changed before I could update it)… —Stephen Downes, in a comment. —How the Community Can Work, Fast (Dan…
OTBs, or “Outside The Boxers,” as they call themselves, are unconventional thinkers who believe “there are no stupid ideas,” Lessjo says. “We really just wanted to know what would happen if Civil War soldiers fought the crew from ‘Star Trek.’ You never see that in the movies or TV reruns.” —Tim Chitwood —A battle outside…
“God forbid, if someone shot the President, which network would you turn to? It will be cable, the Internet–something other than General Hospital being interrupted.” —Sam Donaldson, former ABC News anchor —Donaldson: Network News Dead (BroadcastingCable.com) Similar:Journalism is now the second draft of historyThe unavoidable truth is that first draf…CultureFor God's sake John, sit down!CultureChoice of…
The school argued a need for it’s services by citing lower test scores in Marlborough, Hudson, Maynard and Clinton than in surrounding areas. Set to open it’s doors in the fall to 276 sixth- and seventh- grade students, the charter school plans to expand it’s enrollment to 826 students in grades six through 12. —Schools…
Google il Papa! (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) Google hasn’t yet started returning meaningful results for “Benedict XVI” in its main search results, though its news service was doing fine right from the start. At 1:45 EST, I googled the new pope’s name, and found plenty of speculation that the next pope after John Paul II would choose…
—i am 8-bit A Los Angeles art show. Website requires Flash. Similar:Criminal Code: Procedural Logic and Rhetorical Excess in VideogamesGreat example of the application of well…CultureThe Post drops the ‘mike’ — and the hyphen in ‘e-mail’When I announced these style changes, an…CultureBill Murray Admits A Painting Saved His LifeDuring a February press conference in Lo…AestheticsTeaching…
Sorry, we were unable to locate document(s) pertaining to your request. Did you mean: zirconium instead of kirschenbaum? —This Morning’s Lesson in Machine Learning (Or, So Said the Search Engine Unto Me) (MGK) This is tremendous news… search technology has advanced to the point where a search engine has become aware of Matt Kirschenbaum’s strong, metallic…
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The real appeal of the game is seeing Star Wars characters rendered in itty-bitty plastic form. By the end of the game, there are more than 30 different little guys you can be in Free Play mode. The good guys are cute, but the evil folks are just adorable. Mini-Maul! Sen. Palpateeny! Bite-sized battle droids!…
And there is no doubt that there are profits to be made in the reconstruction business. There are massive engineering and supplies contracts ($10 billion to Halliburton in Iraq and Afghanistan alone); “democracy building” has exploded into a $2 billion industry; and times have never been better for public-sector consultants–the private firms that advise governments…