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:My Dad Is a Right-Wing Asshole (Village…

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:Woman Yelling at Cat About Academic Argument: an evidence-based defense of a non-obvious p…See: Academic Argument:…

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:ChatGPT Can't Kill Anything Worth PreservingMany are…

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:I have a daughter who does things. If demon curses and buckets of stage blood are your thi…I have a daughter who does things. If de…AmusingOur Publication…

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:Musician uses computer algorithm to compose every melody possible in C, releases them for …  A lawyer and…

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:Between static hand-coded HTML pages and modern content-management systems, there…

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:Beam me up, Chewie. AmusingCollegewide game encourages small interactions around campusI confess I often…

Typology: A Phenomenology of Early Typewriters

“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:My second greenscreen test.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d-LPwKQ…Cyberculture@CNN This is a mask.…

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:Tom Jones, librettist for "The Fantasticks," dies at 95I was so glad…

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:Dear organization from my past that just sent me a scolding email…Dear organization from my past that just…CultureDrumming Kid Is Epic. That Is All.https://youtu.be/MRvHI8tgx8A AestheticsDr. Seuss Racism Controversy:…

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:Love Online”The…

York Corpus Christi Play Simulator

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:How reading fiction can help improve our mental healthIn…

Why Won’t We Read the Manual?

“Americans buy the most sophisticated computers, the coolest digital cameras, the most advanced automobiles, the most versatile cell phones and handheld organizers, and then . . . and then we forget, or decline, or flat out refuse, to read the directions.” Caroline E. Mayer —Why Won’t We Read the Manual? (WashPost) Similar:How Trigger Warnings Are…

The Future of Mind Control

“The spectre of eugenics, which reached its culmination in Nazi Germany, haunts both politicians and public. The fear that the ability to monitor and select for desirable characteristics will lead to the subjugation of the undesirable—or the merely unfashionable—is well-founded.” —The Future of Mind Control (Economist) Similar:Frisbee is a brand name, but how newsworthy is…