Surrey with the Syringe on Top

Playwright Arthur Miller, on anabolic steroids: “Let’s imagine you’re a young playwright, trying to stay clean… But over at the Virginia you know there’s a writer shot up with more Lasix than a Kentucky thoroughbred and he’s going to take your ticket-buyers, your house, your money, your troubled and needy movie-starlet wife.” —Surrey with the…

Web Design "Causes Confusion"

“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:Want a tech job? Study this. Advice from Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr and moreStudents often say they hate group work….AcademiaStar…

What’s Happening on the Web?

“A Writer’s Perspective on an Emerging Medium” —What’s Happening on the Web? Similar:No, Trump's tweet about "Heritage, History, and Greatness" is not a quote from a speech Hi… Trump really did tweet “This is a ba…EthicsAlmost Flat DesignApple, Google and Microsoft have very di…AestheticsCarolyn made it to the next round of the 2017 PPT Shakespeare…

Student Gets Diploma After Threatening Lawsuit

“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:Confessions of a Former Bastard CopMedium is…

At This School, "It" Is a Touchy Subject

“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:Open Letter from a Millennial: Quit Telling Us We’re Not SpecialEven the things we do for…

Personally Involved Father Figures Enhance Kids' Learning in School

(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:Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy…

Unidisciplined

“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…

National Science Foundation: Science Hard

“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:UNC student newspaper goes viral for coverage of campus shooting As Emmy Martin was locked down Monday …AcademiaA Matter of Time (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode…

Video Games are Incredibly Stupid!

“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…

Are Girls Mean?

“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…

Radical Hollywood

“[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:Let's conÅ¿ider Å¿ome Å¿urpriÅ¿ing old type: "Did you ever hear Å¿uch a wind-Å¿ucker, as this?"I Å¿hall always treaÅ¿ure…

Online Uprising

“{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)…

Read The F—ing Story, Then RTFM

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:Pioneering Harvard Blog Site Wrapping It UpI still use blogs.setonhill.edu,…

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:Journalists prefer plain language.AestheticsHarper Lee to publish new novel, 55 years after To…

Website Navigation

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:Adding a media project to a semester-long paper assignment is like adding…

News from the Department of “Duh”

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:Journalists Prefer "Said"Journalists prefer the neutral “said” to…Education'We're back': Bushy Run's 2023 battle reenactment will be heldI’m glad to know that this recent contro…CultureMeasuring Humanities Degrees Misses Much…

Creator of Teen Sleuth Nancy Drew Dies at 96

“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)…

Filtering as Personhood

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:Prototypes in…