"…in the past three months, the pent-up thirst for knowledge and modern skills has transformed the capital. Dozens of storefront language and computer skills centers have sprung up, and last week several thousand young people showed up to take entrance exams at the newly revived university." —With War Over, Afghans Battle Ignorance (WashPost) Similar:Save our…
My student Matt Hoy sent me this link. Thanks, Matt! —Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog Similar:Teaching Composition with Interactive FictionI’m on a committee that is exploring a m…AcademiaEncyclopedia Smithsonian: Star-Spangled Banner and the War of 1812 When he saw “by the dawn’s early light…AestheticsI’ve been teaching with this handout for over 25 years, updating it regularly.…
(New Yorker) Manhattan treasure hunt: "Across the street, a writer for ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ and a crossword virtuoso named Ellen Ripstein are scrutinizing graffiti in a phone booth. Catercornered to them, the editor of the Wall Street Journal crossword is standing beside a professional palindromist who is riffling through a bin of…
"The history of teaching teems with machines that have jammed and stained. Who can forget that buried next to the ditto are the old-fashioned 8and 16-millimeter film projectors?" —Jamming Together: Remembering the Dittob> (Chronicle) Similar:Breaking: Student consults syllabus before asking question about course scheduleNASHVILLE, TN – Vanderbilt University is…AcademiaI Cannot Begin to Tell You How…
No, he was not squashed by a falling safe or run over by an Acme Indestructo Steel Ball. Jones created the Road Runner and Coyote cartons. Rules from that series: “No dialogue ever, except ‘beep beep.” “No outside force can harm the Coyote — only his own ineptitude or the failure of the Acme products.”…
A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backwards and forwards: "Madam, I’m Adam." Nick Montfort & William Gillsepie have written a whole palindrome story. —2002: A Palindrome Story Similar:Everyone Should Get an ADoes a bus-driver-training school rank i…AcademiaLysistrata live.Current_EventsClever Modernization of Hamlet: Polonius with an iPhoneI teach Shakespeare in a literature…
“The day I came home for Christmas vacation my parents and I were sitting in the kitchen, I looked at them and said, ‘I’m pregnant. Just kidding, I want to change my major.’” Jeanine Savageau —Changing Majors: Junior Realizes Journalism Isn’t for Her (UWEC Spectator; registration required) Similar:Los Angeles sheriff appears to back down after signaling…
“The year 2002. The 20th day of the 2nd month, 2002. And, on the 24-hour clock, at two minutes after 8 p.m., harmony. 2002.” —2002 2002 2002 (Toronto Star) Similar:Progress on a customizable "[E] to Activate" system (Visual Scripting, Unity3D)https://youtube.com/shorts/-X8eBT5QoPY …CybercultureParamount Erases Archives of MTV Website, Wipes Music, Culture History After 30 Plus YearsI was never…
"Traditional publishers… couldn’t understand his willingness to surrender his ‘authority’ over his own work by letting others participate. Nor could they understand his desire to ‘devalue’ his copyright by posting a whole book online." —A Footnote to E-book History (Wired) Similar:Kelly Gallagher on "Readicide" I am reading to my daughter the four…BooksBranding Essentials for the…
“Alongside the boom, however, there have recently been a few faint signs of backlash. As increasing hordes take on the task of trying to keep new sites looking nice, sounding original and free from banalities, more hordes just seem to fail.” —Blah, Blah, Blah and Blog (Wired) Similar:Nellie Bly statue to be unveiled at Pittsburgh…
“…I think the wonder of our aesthetic or religious sense, or musicality, is increased by the fact that it depends on three pounds of jelly in our head.” —Interview with Oliver Sacks (neurologist and novelist) Similar:Winnie the Pooh saga turns 100 years old todayOne hundred years ago today a Canadian s…BooksNew handout: "The Shape of…
“I was eight years old when my parents bought these for me, and I can still remember those chewy little peanut butter sticks more vividly than almost anything else from my childhood. I’ve wanted more of them for three decades!” —Space Food Sticks Similar:True Q (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 6) Visiting Intern Exhibits…
Kathleen, I wanted to do this in this most potentially embarassing way possible, and I figured doing it here and now, in front of a quarter of a million strangers was as good a way as any. CmdrTaco —Geek in Love (Slashdot) Similar:College student makes masks for the deaf & hard of hearing Other than…
A short series of philosophical exercises, in a futuristic setting, which asks you to evaluate different definitions of personal identity. (Do you step into a spacecraft that has a 50% chance of killing you, or have your whole body scanned, destroyed, and re-constructed somewhere else three minutes later?) At the end, your choices are analyzed.…
“I have lost all touch with reality, and only live to comment on the comments that other bloggers have made in reference to my notes about their comments. Is anybody out there?” —Blog ad Nauseam (The Weekly Standard) Similar:PICT PROUD: PICT actress Carolyn Jerz takes on Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth NightPICT PROUD: She’s appeared on…
“It may sound far-fetched, but a U.S. federal court will hear preliminary arguments next week to determine if this most elemental of Internet activities is the business property of a lone company, protected in the form of a patent.” —British Company Claims Patent on Hyperlinks (Wired) Similar:What are 'Judeo-Christian values'? Analyzing a divisive termblock of…
What’s it like interviewing college students at job fairs? "What a snooze. By the sixth interview of the day I vow that I’ll hire anyone who can make me remember their name, and I’ll sign over my 401(k) to any candidate who can make me laugh." Erin Cronin —Honesty, Shining Throughb> (WashPost) Similar:Trying to Tame…
(Word Circuits): Hypertext poetry by Stephanie Strickland —The Ballad of Sand and Harry Soot Similar:Historians Admit To Inventing Ancient GreeksI knew it! Busted!! “One night someone …AcademiaMy 4Cs StoryI chaired a session on Friday, and gave …AcademiaAt Home In Fantasy's Nerd-Built WorldsIn other words, more than the profound l…AestheticsHow Common Core Testing Damaged High School…
"Calling the theological giant’s stranglehold on the religion industry ‘blatantly anti-competitive,’ a U.S. district judge ruled Monday that God is in violation of anti-monopoly laws and ordered Him to be broken up into several less powerful deities." —Judge Orders God to Break Up into Smaller Deitiesb> (TheOnion) Similar:In News, What’s Fake and What’s Real Can…
"Write simply. Keep headings, summaries, sentences, paragraphs and documents short. Get to the point. Then stop." Gerry McGovern —The Need for Simple English on the Web Similar:Reading in the MorningTo qualify for a day at the local water …BooksCarolyn at about 7yo drew Titania in love with Bottom. #tbt #midsummerArtControversial Content in YA Literature: A…