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:Shakespeare did not leave his wife Anne in Stratford, letter fragment suggests It has long been assumed that William …CultureVideo-Game Violence Is Now a Partisan IssueScholar and essayist…
“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:Chapbooks —…
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:Grading writing: The art and science — and why…
“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:An Opt Out Letter…
“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:Toasting Shakespeare at the Bard's Birthday BashOrganized by Pittsburgh…
“The average [U.K.] reader spends 17 minutes a day reading a newspaper, compared to 11 minutes on a novel. They spend a further seven minutes online, six minutes on non-fiction, five minutes with a magazine, and two minutes looking up things they did not understand in a reference book.” —Novels Lose out to Newspapers (Guardian)…
“I photographed every door or drawer knob, handle, or latch I touched from the time I awoke on Thursday, June 3rd. until I went to bed on Friday, June 4th.” —Doors I Touched Today (Fluxus) Similar:Technology won’t fix America’s neediest schools. It makes bad education worse.[N]o matter how good the design, and des…AcademiaWhen you need…
“No wonder so much poetry boils down to whining over the inadequacy and immorality of the poet’s little world. No wonder that poets, when they do move at all, head right for the handiest anodyne, whether it’s cheap whisky or pop-Buddhism.” Robert Bové —Do Poets Matter? (The Texas Mercury) Similar:Why liberal arts and the humanities…
“The Information Age was dealt a stunning blow Monday, when a factual error was discovered on the Internet. The error was found on TedsUltimateBradyBunch.com, a Brady Bunch fan site that incorrectly listed the show’s debut year as 1968, not 1969.” —Factual Error Found on Internet (The Onion) Similar:Facebook brands and organic reach: Why no one…
More evidence of the collapse of civilization as we know it: a website offering instructions for making a pink-fur-trimmed “Hello Kitty” laptop. Similar:National Headline Contest 2011Great headlines from winner David Bowman…AestheticsNo interior yet. Getting there. Gotta start somewhere. Low-poly background detail for a me…No interior yet. Getting there. Gotta st…AestheticsWhy liberal arts and the humanities…
“Last week’s column about the death of my son Chase from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome set off something of a chain reaction across the Net… by the time I awoke on Thursday, words of support were already in from readers in Japan, Australia, India, and Kuwait.” Robert X. Cringely —Is That a Supercomputer in Your…
“Whereas poetry uses highly-charged combinations of words, equations are the most succinct descriptions of the aspect of reality they describe. Dirac’s most famous poem enabled him successfully to predict the existence of antimatter…” Graham Farmelo —Physics + Dirac = poetry (Guardian) Similar:Some fairy tales may be 6000 years oldFairy tales are transmitted through lang…CultureYep, it's…
Have you ever been watching a movie, with sumptuous re-creations of period costumes, hair, and furniture — only to be annoyed by the anachronistic appearance of a modern typeface? No? Me neither, but Mark Simonson has. —Typecasting Similar:Incredible archer shows his speed-shooting skillsI know next to nothing about archery. Ac…AestheticsHow Finland Keeps Kids Focused Through…
“I can’t change the laws of physics!” [44k wav] says a distraught Scotty in a classic Star Trek episode. But researchers have found evidence that suggests that the value of a fundamental “constant” has changed since the universe was young. —Laws of Physics “May Change” (BBC) Similar:Space Shuttle Challenger (Destroyed 28 Years Ago Today)I was…
(Guardian): Treating earache: 2000BC: Here, eat this root. 1000AD: That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer. 1850AD: Prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion. 1940AD: That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill. 1985AD: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic. 2000AD: That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root. —Alternative Medicine…
With a popcorn plot engineered to appeal to sci-fi fans, Portal is an “interactive novel” published in 1986, and now available online as freeware. Rob Swiggart —Portal: A Dataspace Retrieval Similar:Multiple Choice = GoogleNo big surprises here, but this blog pos…AcademiaForce of Nature (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 9) A Space Thing leads to…
A confusing name for an amusing medieval personality test. What kind of vocation would have suited you back in ye olde days? —KingdomalityCareer Management International) Similar:The posthuman liberal artsAs those familiar with the liberal arts …AcademiaCNN Holds Morning Meeting To Decide What Viewers Should Panic About For Rest Of DayKicking around ideas ranging from an…
Why choose Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” as a subject for poetry? Stewart Conn says “The painting chose me.” —Luncheon of the Boating Party Similar:The Hidden Subversive Messages of [MGM's Screen Adaptation of] The Wizard of OzWhen I tried teaching The Wizard of Oz i…BooksBacon Starry Night MemeI’ve no idea where the “Bacon Starry…
“Some weblogs wither once the first flush of enthusiasm passes, while others go from strength to strength, attracting contributions and feedback from experts and interested Internet surfers.” Laurel A. Clyde —Weblogs and Blogging (FreePint) One of her examples looks very familiar… Similar:BP Lawyers Cheat by Adjusting Line Spacing in a Legal Brief U.S. District Court…