On the Five-Paragraph Essay

Mike says that the five-paragraph format is a shortcut, and “short-cuts — whether a five-paragraph theme or a preemptive military strike — seldom offer lasting solutions.” Amanda says that “[w]hat it generates is more a list than an essay.” I agree with what Amanda says when she argues (implicitly) that it’s not so much the…

Rossum's Universal Robots

Le règne des robots

Écrite en 1920 et jouée pour la première fois à Prague l’année suivante, cette pièce de théâtre, intitulée Rossum’s Universal Robots (R.U.R.), introduit le terme robot, qui remplacera dorénavant celui d’automate. La pièce de Capek fut acclamée dans le monde entier. — Dennis G. Jerz (via an anonymous translator) —Le règne des robots (L’Encyclopédie de L’Agora)…

An Excerpt from Mechanisms [2]: ‘Professor RAMAC’

Among the attractions at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium, visitors would have beheld “Professor RAMAC,” a four-ton IBM machine capable of offering up responses to users’ queries on a two thousand year historical span… [T]he Professor offered the general public its first encounter with the magnetic disk storage technology today called the hard…

Weblog Tweaking

Weblog TweakingJerz’s Literacy Weblog) I’ve made a few very minor tweaks to the blog, as I re-familiarize myself with JSP. Will is planning on making some changes to the site soon, and I want to be up to speed so I can more fully understand what he’s accomplished for me. The underlying code that he…

Blurring the Borders of Rhetoric and Hypertextuality in Weblogs

Early, link-heavy blogs were, for the most part, a method of sharing links. They usually contained entries that consisted of one or two hyperlinks, the blogger’s commentary on the link’s content, and a place for other bloggers to make comments about the entry. These early blogs often focused on what <a href=”htttp://www.rebeccaspocket.net/essays/weblog_history.html”>Blood calls “the dissemination…

Virginia Nabs Two Big Spammers

Two North Carolina men were indicted for violating the state’s junk e-mail law by sending thousands of e-mail pitches for investments, software and other products, in what prosecutors said was the nation’s first felony charges for unsolicited e-mail. —Virginia Nabs Two Big Spammers (Wired/AP) I’d like to think this will make a difference… maybe it will,…

Citing a Weblog Comment in MLA Style

Works Cited “Susan” (smgct1@comcast.net). “Oddly enough…” [Weblog comment.] N.d. “More Questionable Use of My Work.” Dennis G. Jerz. Jerz’s Literacy Weblog. Seton Hill University. 10 Dec 2003. (http://jerz.setonhill.edu/weblog/permalink.jsp?id=1998) Poster’s Lastname, Firstname, I. (or screen ID) “Title of comment, or first few words.” [Weblog comment.] Date comment was posted. Title of blog entry. Author of blog…

Citing a Weblog Entry in MLA Style

Works Cited Jerz, Dennis G. “Citing a Weblog in MLA Style.” [Weblog entry.] Jerz’s Literacy Weblog. Seton Hill University. 11 Dec 2003. (http://jerz.setonhill.edu/weblog/permalink.jsp?id=2000). 11 Dec 2003. Lastname, Firstname, I. “Title of individual blog entry.” [Weblog entry.] Name of Weblog. Sponsoring organization — if any. Date posted. (URL to permalink.) Date accessed. Note: See also “Citing…

What Not to Do When You Blog

Often, while sifting through the mountain of daily Gothamist correspondence, we come across emails asking for advice about starting a blog. Why anyone would consider Gothamist an authority on the sweet, intricate science of blogging is beyond us — but we are loathe to sidestep our obligation to respond. Here then, based on our blog-exploration…

Spam and excuses

Think about it — do you really believe that person who says they couldn’t do something because “something came up?” That they couldn’t do their homework because the printer broke? Lame…. These lies will work as excuses because no one believes excuses anyway! And to think, if they are outrageous lies, they will become more…

I'll Link to Whoever He's Linking To

One only needs to have had a weblog for about five minutes to see the relevance to blogging of Cialdini‘s ideas about how we are persuaded and how we reach decisions — particularly concerning whom one links to or adds to one‘s blogroll. If you’re honest, you’ll recognize that at least some of Cialdini‘s principles…