—Lileks vs. Salam Roundup (Instapundit) Glenn Reynolds has a good collection of links covering Minnesota blogger and fisker extraordinaire James Lileks’s angry reaction to Iraqi blogger Salam Pax’s criticism of the US-led occupation. Similar:Scholars' unconvincing case about the value of the humanities (essay)A literary work is a powerful tool for s…AcademiaNgram for "postpartum depression," "rest cure"…
It’s no coincidence that the most-read blogs are created by professional writers. They have essentially suckered thousands of newbies, mavens, and just plain folk into blogging, solely to get return links in the form of the blogrolls and citations. This is, in fact, a remarkably slick grassroots marketing scheme that is in many ways awesome,…
Believe me, I’m all for the well-placed bit of flatulence, but this is Dr. Seuss, for Pete’s sake, and the onslaught of burps, farts, pee, puke, and almost-bad words is stunningly miscalculated. —Ty Burr —Kitty Litter: Coarse `Cat in the Hat’ is another case of Seuss abuse (Boston.com) This movie sounds awful, but I haven’t read…
Is it possible to write a policy for academic blogging that respects a university’s mission but doesn’t amount to censorship? The vice-president for academic affairs asked me to draft a policy for student bloggers. Since we are a Catholic institution, the administrator’s off-the-top-of-her-head suggestions included suggestions like “no foul language” and “no links to porn”.…
[Nothing to quote — which is ironic, considering the page is about literacy.] —America’s Most Literate Cities (U Wisconsin, Whitewater) An interesting find, from my student Julie Young. The website itself is an abomination — all these words are images, so you can’t copy and paste, a search engine won’t be able to find it because…
Not completely yes. First: most obviously, the Memex (had it ever been built) would have operated on photo-mechanical, rather than digital technology. (As you watch the animation, you can hear the machanical operation sound, that sound would be a proof to believe that it is not digital media) Second, the operation of the memex is…
We live in the dark ages of digital media. We fantasize about the infinite possibilities and revolutionary potential of the Web, about how free information wants to be, about uploading our brain to a hard drive — but we actually know less about the creative computing that happened in our lifetimes than some people know…
A Picture is Worth… Sigh. Do you remember when Jackson was black? As an academic, I try to keep an open mind… but in my humble opinion, this very talented man is really, really disturbing. I assume the mugshot, which I found on Drudge, is the same one that won’t show up when I try…
Nick Montfort’s Twisty Little PassagesLiteracy Weblog) I just ordered my copy of Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction — Nick Montfort’s study of riddles, Adventure, Zork, and beyond. Similar:The chief engineer of a fantasy #steampunk flagship needs a small booth for shift change r…AestheticsHarvard revokes admission of several students for posting "offensive" memesThe…
James Glassman and TCS have given birth to something quite new in Washington: journo-lobbying. It’s an innovation driven primarily by the influence industry. Lobbying firms that once specialized in gaining person-to-person access to key decision-makers have branched out. The new game is to dominate the entire intellectual environment in which officials make policy decisions, which…
“In order to maintain airspeed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?” Actually, wrong. By comparing the European Swallow with bird species of similar body mass, we can estimate that the swallow beats its wings 18 times a second with an amplitude of 18 cm… Jonathan Corum —Estimating the…
Yesterday was the 140th anniversary of Lincoln’s famous address. There is only one known photograph of President Lincoln at Gettysburg (here’s the detail view if you’re having a hard time spotting him). The Library of Congress website explains that the image sat for more than half a century in the National Archives before anyone recognized…
Their one-star bombs were nasty and relentless?landing at a rate of five a day. My characters were undeveloped, my structure sloppy, my prose trite. There were complaints of money and time wasted and of friends never again to be trusted. Some hated the book so much they were forced to put it down. One argued…
Phone Pranks and Gender on CampusLiteracy Weblog) I’m at my desk, working late. The phone rings. An unfamiliar female voice says, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” I tell her I don’t have one. “That’s a very nice blue shirt you are wearing,” the voice continues. “It goes well with your red tie.” I look out…
—News-Images.com Pretty self-explanatory — like Google News but for people who don’t want to read. Found on Slashdot. Similar:#PPTPlaytime adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.Top — nonverbal addition with Jessica an…DramaMy Latest Classic Tales Online PurchaseJust finished listening to B. J. Harris …BooksNellie Bly: A Race Against Time | Heinz History CenterOn Nov. 14, 1889,…
Reading the news on a computer may soon be passe. Internet-enabled mobile phones and hybrid devices are fueling the next wave of change, and journalists need to know how to deliver content to these devices. —Vivek Shankar —Reporters, readers get new ways to publish and readOnline News Association) This is some light, friendly PR-style coverage…
The world’s only double-barreled cannon is now proudly displayed on the lawn of the Athens City Hall, about a hundred miles off Route 1. It is a monument to every geek who ever had what seemed to be a really good idea at the time. —Michelle Delio —Clocked by Two Smoking Barrels (Wired) Unless you’re into…
How can both neuroscience and literature bear on the question of what makes writers not only able, but want, even need, to write? How can we understand the outpouring of authors like Joyce Carol Oates or Stephen King? Why does John Updike see a blank sheet of paper as radiant, the sun rising in the…
High schools no longer prepare most students to express ideas coherently or follow accepted English, let alone carry on serious intellectual work….. The task falls to me — in courses ostensibly about specified topics, not composition — to patch up these leaky vessels…. I hold that a university education ought to include a significant writing…
Robert Mendler, Holocaust SurviorLiteracy Weblog) I recently heard Holocaust survivor Robert Mendler, a resident of nearby Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who spent six or seven years in 10 different concentration camps. Mr. Mendler is a regular speaker here at Seton Hill and in the region; I attended his visit to a youth group at Our Lady of…