“A gap between how web designers and ordinary surfers think is causing frustration on the net.” —Web Design “Causes Confusion” (BBC) Nothing really new here, but it’s good to see the mainstream press covering usability issues. Similar:Halloween Candy Poisonings, School Shootings and Human Psychology What can parents do to minimize thei…Current_EventsIn August, 2001 I was…
“A Writer’s Perspective on an Emerging Medium” —What’s Happening on the Web? Similar:Allergic to Grammar ErrorsSource: Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm…AmusingNews report from 1981 about the Internet.A human interest story about an early ex…BusinessI Regret to Inform You That My Wedding to Captain Von Trapp Has Been CanceledI must confess to being rather blindside…AmusingWriting a Cutline…
“Someone made a mistake and forgot to get you a glittery Token Autistic Author with three Ph.D.s and a Nobel prize. Instead they accidentally got you one out of the trash heap you put us in after you are done putting up with us in school.” —The Conference Presentation I Won’t Make (But Want To)…
“A threatening letter from her lawyer and an opportunity to retake an exam hours before graduation helped a West Valley high school student get her diploma last month.” —Student Gets Diploma After Threatening Lawsuit (Arizona Republic) “I weep for the future,” writes Matt, a former student of mine. Similar:Police, citizens and technology factor into Boston…
“The principal of Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica . . . banned the children’s game of tag–for reasons that included issues of self-esteem–from the playground late last month.” —At This School, “It” Is a Touchy Subject (LA Times) Similar:Get ready for Generation ZStudents continue to change… I’m doing…CultureJane Elliott’s “National Brotherhood Week” Lesson https://youtu.be/oGvoXeXCoUYCultureEducation:…
(University of Illinois press release) “When dads or other father figures get personally involved, kids do better in school. The finding, says a University of Illinois researcher, suggests that schools should encourage male interaction, especially with at-risk kids.” — Personally Involved Father Figures Enhance Kids’ Learning in School Similar:Final grades are due tomorrow. My Fall…
“The study of English is whatever people within the community of inquiry known as ‘the English department’ happen to count as the study of English. There is no objective referent, such as “the nature of literary language,” to use as an arbiter among approaches. The foundation has not shifted–it has vanished.” Louis Menand —Unidisciplined (Wilson…
“The National Science Foundation’s annual symposium concluded Monday, with the 1,500 scientists in attendance reaching the consensus that science is hard.” —National Science Foundation: Science Hard (The Onion) Similar:New Video Game's Second-Person Shooter Mode Features Someone Just Describing Game To YouI’m introducing text adventure games to …AmusingFact Check: No, an NPR story on the Trump…
“These critics and, unfortunately, most video game players have a basic misunderstanding about the nature of games. They believe that the purpose of a game is to imitate something in life. They think the more realism the game has, the closer it will come to imitating life, and the better the game will be. They…
“A group of girls tormented one poor soul by sending her flowers under the name of a boy she had a crush on, sending him a sexually explicit letter under her name and telling a teacher she was cheating on tests. These examples provide a darkly fascinating portrait of the incredible lengths to which girls…
“[B]y reading evidence of Communist influence into every film with a rich villain, a corrupt politician or a dispossessed hero, Radical Hollywood inadvertently makes McCarthy and HUAC seem more rational than they really were.” —Radical Hollywood (Salon) Similar:Using "Strive" as a NounObviously I know what my students mean w…CultureJust remember: what you’re seeing and what…
“{A}fter September 11, a slew of new or refocused media junkie/political sites reshaped the entire Internet media landscape. Blog now refers to a Web journal that comments on the news–often by criticizing the media and usually in rudely clever tones–with links to stories that back up the commentary with evidence. —Online Uprising (American Journalism Review)…
Admit it. You didn’t read the f—ing manual. You didn’t read it because you’re a geek and you don’t need no stinkin’ manual. Or you didn’t because you’re not a geek, and the manual gave you brain cramps. —Read The F—ing Story, Then RTFM (Wired) Similar:How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? |…
AARDVARK a million miles to put 26 animal puns in alphabetical order. I’d BADGER you and I’d keep CARPING on the subject, until I have no i-DEERs left. I’d have no EGRETs, however, as I FERRET out more animal puns. Jim Ertner Similar:Here are some real statements from Pope Leo that many people who have…
“The typewriter is in the process of becoming a thing of the past, along with dial phones and vinyl records. ‘Things of the past’ are still present, of course — it’s their world that is absent…” Richard Polt —Typology: A Phenomenology of Early Typewriters (Classic Typewriter Page) Similar:Hacking the Attention EconomyThe techniques that are unfolding…
On a page that collected links to articles about online navigation, Allen Smith posted a short quote from Jakob Nielsen, and added links to pages that illustrated Nielsen’s points. What are the ethical implications of adding inline links to quoted text? —Website Navigationwww.allensmith.net) Similar:How We Can Help Students Survive in an Age of Anxiety Today’s…
Surgeons who stay out late drinking suffer a noticeable decline in surgical performance the next morning, new research shows.” According to Reuters, the researchers were “quite surprised.” Similar:Sobering data; stunning visualization.This NYT story on the effects of race on…CultureYour Letters Helped Challenger Shuttle Engineer Shed 30 Years Of GuiltOn Jan. 27, 1986, the former engineer…
“Who was Carolyn Keene, the pen name of the series author? It would take 50 years before fans found out that Keene was Mildred Wirt Benson, a gutsy, hard-working, fiercely independent journalist from Toledo, Ohio, with a penchant for adventure, both real and imagined.” —Creator of Teen Sleuth Nancy Drew Dies at 96 (Philadelphia Inquirer)…
Alex Golub notes that some weblogs are full of personal chatter, which reveals the personality of the ‘blogger. Other weblogs (like this one) are mostly links to outside sources. “Any choice between alternatives is by definition information. The more alternatives there are, the more information is signaled in the choice.” —Filtering as PersonhoodGolublog) Similar:Dead metaphor…
Today is the day the medieval church celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi (“Body of Christ”); the festivities in the town of York, England, included a massive theatrical performance, involving 300 speaking roles, which lasted from 4:30am until well after dark. —York Corpus Christi Play Simulator Similar:Psychology Today: Dreams: Night SchoolJay Dixit, in Psychology Today,…