“Shakespeare was a hugely popular commercial writer who asked big questions about the world he lived in. The world has changed but the questions remain the same, and they still need asking.” —Guns and Roses (Guardian) Similar:Carolyn Jerz (Viola): Meet the cast of Twelfth Night! #PSTTwelfthNightMeet the cast of Twelfth Night! (May 2-1…CultureWhy Our Brains…
“Open the pod bay doors, please,” astronaut Dave implores Hal 9000. We command, the machines execute. If they fail, they do so politely: “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” W. Wayt Gibbs —Whatever You Say (Scientific American) Yeah, after they have killed our astronaut partner, but that’s not the point the author’s…
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…
“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:What Do People Do on Mobile Devices? (Infographic)A handful of vignettes communicating the…BusinessAn Excerpt from Mechanisms [2]: 'Professor RAMAC'Among…
“A Writer’s Perspective on an Emerging Medium” —What’s Happening on the Web? Similar:When a Textbook Plagiarizes Your Student's WorkIn a few days I’ll be gearing up to teac…AcademiaVideo-Game Violence Is Now a Partisan IssueScholar and essayist Ian Bogost traces t…CultureCourage Wolf: Write "Could Of" or "Would Of." I Dare You.AmusingThe elements, in haikuEach element of…
“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:McCain's 2008 Concession Speech: Republicans interrupt their…
“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:Programming as Magic Spells in Erica Sandbothe's New NovelIn her new novel, Codecrafter, Sandbothe…BooksWhy Teachers, Parents,…
(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:Being a dad-nerd means finding new ways…
“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:Wood pile stacking animation (Blender 3D)For a medieval project, I wanted a wood …AmusingMe waiting for students to drop by during office hours. AcademiaThe Chronicle of Higher…
“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:Visionary #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 3, Episode 17) Time-jumping O'Brien Must SufferRewatching ST:DS9 The episode starts …BusinessThe Child…
“{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:Starship Mine (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 18) Picard…
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:"We are not Amazon franchises": booksellers respond to Amazon Source Wonderful snark from…
“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:How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common…
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:The Righteous MindI just finished “The Righteous Mind: Why…CultureWe Are Hopelessly Hooked…
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:Two Trains Running ( #AugustWilson #CenturyCycle, 7 of 10)August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoi…BooksA salute lost to historyHistory is complex and baffling and fasc…CultureShe was the PTA mom…