THE world’s newspapers enjoyed buoyant advertising sales in 2003 but overall reader numbers were in marginal decline, according to a report on the state of the industry delivered at the 57th annual World Newspaper Congress today. —Christine Pouget —Newspaper advertising up (Daily Telegraph) An interesting detail buried in this story: “The distribution of free newspapers –…
On 19 September 2001 the Federal Minister for Aged Care the Honourable Bronwyn Bishop MP launched the National Public Toilet Map. The National Public Toilet Map identifies the location of more than 13000 public toilet facilities in Australian towns and cities, including rural areas, and along major travel routes. Useful information is provided about each…
“They struck his head with a reed and spat on him.” — Mk 15:19 —The Crucifixion (in Lego) (The Brick Testament) This site, by “Rev” Brendan Powell Smith, features Lego illustrations of Biblical passages — including many that you don’t often see in kiddie books, including the Dueteronomy passages on rape, bestiality, incest, homosexuality, transvestism, and…
Wikipedia is both an encyclopedia and a wiki community. You can edit articles on Wikipedia right now! Learn how to contribute with the tutorial (or just play around in our sandbox). For more information, post comments at the Village Pump, read the Help directory and our policies, contact other Wikipedians, and keep track of what’s…
Jerzies: Tastes Like Cardboard! After I lamented that I couldn’t design a box of cereal for myself, this is apparently Mike Arnzen‘s way of telling me I’m a flake. Or maybe just that I stay crispy in milk. Thanks, Mike. Similar:Replaying Childhood: On Gifting my Video Games to the Library of CongressTevor Owens writes: Giving…
eeeeeee ee [iiiiiii:’ii] v. to move. e eeeeeeee ee eerp mph; move over, you meatball, I can’t breathe under your furry butt. —Harrap’s Rat-English Dictionary (ratbehavior.org) A rat-English dictionary. Via join the dots. Similar:Google’s healthcare AI made up a body part — what happens when doctors don’t notice? Though not in a hospital setting, the …CultureBrain…
[It’s a visual site with little text to quote.] —Don’t Buy It: Get Media Smart (PBS Kids) Found via watercoolergames, where the “make a cereal box” utility was featured. I couldn’t get that to work on my computer, which is too bad, because I really wanted to make a Jerz’s Literacy Weblog cereal box, and maybe…
How can we ask our students to read great literature and then criminalize them when they respond, on occasion, with the angry bitterness of Hamlet? Clearly, we’re not dealing with the proverbial “isolated incidents” here. FEAR ITSELF is loose in America and it needs to be addressed, strongly, powerfully, by all of us who teach…
Writing bad poetry is easy when you disregard meter, pace, and rhyming scheme. Just make sure to follow a few simple guidelines: 1. Never write about anything cheerful. Remember, you are a tortured artist. Be one. 2. Be sure to use the following words at least once per sentence, no fewer than 50 times per…
The final internet chatroom exchange took place on 28 June last year. “U want me 2 take him 2 trafford centre and kill him in the middle of trafford centre??” said one message. “Yes,” came the reply. Less than 24 hours later, a 14-year-old boy was critically ill in hospital with stab wounds in the…
It’s exciting to see the topic generate such interest and activity — especially since that’s one of the premises on which the Disseminary is based. One of the topics involves the question of what the various conversants mean by “open,” which I’d summarize with the following list of opennesses: “open source” (Stephen Carlson’s emphasis): primary…
Amusement parks just wouldn’t be amusing without all the warnings that we ignore. Whipper-Snapper Whiplash Worries Bull’s-Eye BS Astounding Amusement Park Physics —Dennis G. Jerz —Cruel Amusement Park Instructions (Jerz’s Online Reading Room) Similar:‘NPR Voice’ Has Taken Over the Airwaves In literary circles, the practic…CulturePittsburgh in the Round review of The Outsiders”It’s due to a slew…
“Teenagers need to be engaged as equals, not talked down to,” Niles said, scrubbing the words “Miss Niles is a kunt” from the surface of her desk. “A heavy-handed approach takes the joy out of learning. Some teachers give out detention, but I praise my students for the times they don’t skip class, rather than…
Yes, graduates, as much as you love your Mom and Dad, you’re realistic enough to understand, deep down inside, that they are the two most annoying human beings on the planet. And so the time will come — I give it six weeks — when you realize that you can no longer continue living with…
“When Zaphod first comes out of the temple and is approached by well wishers, the banana alien on the mole-horse needs to replace the multi-headed groupie.” You just don’t get notes like this every day. —Kerry Kirkpatrick —HHGG Interview with Myself (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy [Official Blog]) Similar:Googling Is for Old People. That’s a…
“Under the right circumstances,” Surowiecki argues, “groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them.” For evidence, he cites how groups have been used to find lost submarines, correct the spread on a sporting event, locate a Web page, even predict the president of the United States. So why aren’t…
Traditional sources of water collection are from dams, springs, rivers, streams and farm reservoirs, with the introduction of boreholes where these traditional sources of water are unavailable. Until now such boreholes have been operated by handpumps as the use of modern alternatives such as diesel, petrol or electric pumps are costly to install and have…
Jurors sentenced Carmack to seven years for convictions in March of forgery, identity theft and falsifying business records. He must serve a minimum 3 1/2 years. —Carolyn Thompson —Spammer Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison (AP/MyWay) O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Similar:Fox lawyers Convince Judge that Fox's Tucker Carlson is "not stating actual facts" and "an…To…
A student who admits plagiarising his way through his three-year degree course plans to sue his university for negligence after he was caught out on the day before his final exam. Michael Gunn was told by the University of Kent at Canterbury earlier this month that a routine review of his English literature degree coursework…
Should you happen to find yourself captivated watching slender Lara bound lithely through Tomb Raider’s dark, moist-looking caverns, you will do so without quite forgetting that Lara is, in a sense, you. Like the stranded Marine in Doom, the progenitor of first-person shooters, Lara awaits your input before she makes her decisions. Lara and Doom’s…