The Internet has become a grossly commercialized Wild West in so many ways. But the community spirit on which it was founded is alive and well. The Net depends on the same spirit that motivates volunteers in the physical world: a commitment to solve problems and make life better for those who might otherwise not…
“Detective Brown’s death is a great loss,” said Idaville Police Commissioner Rupert “Bugs” Meany, a longtime critic of Brown’s unorthodox investigative technique who nevertheless appeared to be shaken by the murder. “Thanks to him, Idaville has the highest arrest-to-conviction-due-to-obscure-trivia rate in the nation. I believe I speak for everyone in Idaville when I say that…
In his new book, War Against the Weak, investigative reporter Edwin Black makes the case that 20th century American proponents of eugenics — the belief that controlled breeding can improve humanity — had substantive ties to the architects of Hitler’s racial extermination machine. — Dan Vergano —Book explores eugenics’ origins (USA Today) A student in my…
In an elaborate scheme to dupe security companies and journalists, McWilliams acknowledged last night that he purchased the domain name last March and registered it under the name of “Abdul Mujahid of Karachi.” He also left a legitimate mirror site in place on a server in Pakistan and by his own admission has been receiving…
Mr. Kazan’s achievements in theater and cinema helped define the American experience for more than a generation. For Broadway, his legendary productions included “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Death of a Salesman.” His movie classics included “On the Waterfront” and “East of Eden.” —Elia Kazan, Influential Director, Dies at 94 (NY Times) Since the link to…
If I was to get a fake diploma, I’d pick a forger who could SPELL! But then, I have most of the real diplomas I need. Perhaps what this tells us is: if you are clever enough to figure out that a fake diploma needs to be free from typoes and look real, that means…
The nonprofit library cooperative that owns the Dewey Decimal system has filed suit against a library-themed luxury hotel in Manhattan for trademark infringement. —Dewey Decimal Owner Sues ‘Library’ Hotel (AP/Wired) Similar:WATCH two undercover Sunday Times journalists being stung while trying to sting on TVHeidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert who run…AmusingStory Pitch: How writers present an article…
Not only does the author give examples that avoid sexist language, it differentiates between those which are stylistically desirable and those which are stylistically awkward. The site also explains the difference between gender neutral and non-sexist language, something that could be very helpful for students trying to understand sexist language. The author asks (but does…
The House and Senate voted Thursday to grant the Federal Trade Commission explicit authority to create a national “do not call” list for telemarketers, but the move prompted a second federal judge to block the move. —‘Do not call’ list faces more hang-ups (CNN) An amusing side note… the judge who initially blocked the motion has…
The bottom line is that scholarly publishing isn’t financially feasible as a business model — never was, never was intended to be, and should not be. If scholarship paid, we wouldn’t need university presses. —The Invisible Adjunct —Crisis in Scholarly Publishing (Invisible Adjunct) Similar:Finished Reading The Chronicles of PrydainWe could hardly stop reading just before…BooksI didn't…
The Invisible Library is a collection of books that only appear in other books. Within the library’s catalog you will find imaginary books, pseudobiblia, artifictions, fabled tomes, libris phantastica, and all manner of books unwritten, unread, unpublished, and unfound. —The Invisible Library I think I blogged this a long time ago. It’s not in my…
Doctor Who is coming back to BBC One in 2005. It will be a new live-action series, written by Russell T Davies. —New Doctor Who TV series (BBCi/Doctor Who News) My son Peter will be thrilled, as will my wife. She has old videotapes from her teenaged years, and pulled them out to amuse our…
—Who Buys Rainbow Hector Weblog Shares? (Blogshares) Who is deb_c and why, why did she purchase 2,500 blogshares of my Rainbow Hector Weblog just a few hours ago? According to Blogshares (fantasy blog stock market), deb_c’s homepage is www.sugarfused.com. Similar:If Google+ Heads to the Grave, at Least It’ll Have DirectionForced Google+ integration in Google Rea…BusinessA new…
Teachers should teach nothing. Students should learn nothing. Students should know nothing. Nothing is worth teaching. Nothing is worth learning…. —Nothing Matters Read the whole thing — I’ve had students stop after the first section, but the whole page expresses a single unified thought that develops from the first “Nothing Matters” section. I’ve blogged this…
O proud left foot, that ventures quick within Then soon upon a backward journey lithe. Anon, once more the gesture, then begin: Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.Shakespeare’s ‘Hokey Pokey’ (Google It) Via Karissa Kilgore. Originally from a Washington Post contest. I’m sure the link has vanished by now. Similar:Having a rough day. But in a span…
A single sheet looks pretty much like ordinary paper. But the ink can be rearranged electronically fast enough to show video movies. —Philip Ball — Electronic paper reaches video speed (Nature) Similar:In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. @thepublicpghIn a hole in the ground there lived a ho…BooksThe Internet Archive Is Digitizing &…
There are two very different reasons why papers like the Times default to the opposing view format for covering a subject. One is that fights make good stories, and the easiest fights to cast and cover are ones with only two sides…. The second reason that journals, and journalists, default to the Opposing View format…
Microsoft is closing internet chat rooms because their misuse by spammers, paedophiles and others is damaging the reputation of its MSN service and the internet as a whole. —Chris Nutall —Microsoft to curb chat room abuses (Financial Times) Similar:The iPad Falls Short of Expectations—But What Does That Mean? The iPad market is saturated. Table…BusinessJourney's End (#StarTrek…
J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism Hildy, You’re a Newspaperman: Collecting Screen Scribes (“One film I never see on anyone’s list is “Doctor X,” an uneven 1930-something thriller in which the reporter not only climbs a drainpipe to look in a window, but crawls under a sheet to impersonate a corpse (complete with toe-tag) and…
A U.S. court in Oklahoma has blocked the national “do not call” list that would allow consumers to stop most unwanted telephone sales calls, the Direct Marketing Association said on Wednesday. —Judge Blocks ‘Do Not Call’ Law (AP/Arizona Central) Breaking news. Starting next week, it would have been illegal to call people on that list. Curse…