"In 1044, a Chinese manual on producing gunpowder-based weapons included cannons, bombs for lobbing at invaders, two-stage rockets, and land mines." Chinese researchers stumbled across the formula for gunpowder while researching what they called the "immortality pill". What forces control the way inventions end up being used? Mark Robinson —Accidental Geniusb> (Wired) Similar:Are we spreading…
The genius of Web sites for accommodating multiple points of view is nowhere better illustrated than in the recent on-line craze for public diaries, or “blogs.” The term is a shortening of Weblog – and also the name of the easy-to-use technology available at www.blogger.com: “Push-Button Publishing for the People.” Jeff Warren —Point and Think…
September 11, 2001.It’s been six months since Similar:Beauty and the Beast (St. Vincent Summer Theatre)The girl (blue skirt and pigtails), who …Current_EventsPhysician: "My career of treating patients has ended"Very painful Reddit thread. CultureTrump Fires Senior Adviser’s Son From Transition for Sharing Fake NewsTrump senior adviser’s son, who used a t…Current_EventsRob Rogers' firing is a frightening…
If they throw this renegade hacker hero in jail, it’ll be the first time he’s had a steady place to stay in five years. —He Hacks by Day, Squats by Night (Wired) Similar:Is the United Airlines man being smeared in the media even the right David Dao? It shouldn… “Doctor dragged off United fligh…BusinessCrossover (#StarTrek…
: "No more blog blog blog!" — line not quite spoken by Captain Kirk ("Miri," Star Trek). —William Shatner’s Weblog Similar:Anti-globalism Is Common Factor in Social Media Conspiracy Theories, says UW ProfFascinating academic effort to find a pa…AcademiaOriginal Mickey Mouse Character Enters Public Domain in 2024As a grad student in the 1990s, I chose …AcademiaIn…
"Not telling someone where you got your information from is a kind of power stroke, effectively sealing your book off from any possible scrutiny, debate or challenge." Kathryn Hughes —The re-vision thing: Why are contemporary biographers and historians so afraid of footnotes? (Guardian) Similar:My View: What will you do with an English degree? PlentyI just…
In 1085, William the Conqueror commissioned the Domesday Book. In 1986, the BBC spent £2.5 million to create an electronic version. While William’s original is still in fine shape, there are no computers capable of reading the laser discs on which the BBC version was published. —Ancient Domesday Book Outlives Electronic Versionb> (Ananova) Similar:A WWII…
(ZDNet) "The only way to explain Microsoft’s decisions over the past couple of years is to say that they know their packaged software business is doomed," says open-source advocate Eric Raymond. —Cheap PCs will doom Microsoft Similar:NASA reconnects with Voyager 1 (after months of confusion) NASA says it is once again abl…AwesomeShakespeare's Globe Theatre, Minecraft…
: Plants are psychic. The Russians are interfering with the weather. An early USENET conspiracy theorist from UWEC was once responsible for generating nearly 90% of Internet news traffic. —Robert E. McElwaine from the UWEC is an "Internet Legend" Similar:Text, Speech, Machine: Metaphors for Computer Code in the Law : Computational CultureOn my to-read list…
"…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:How Finland…
My student Matt Hoy sent me this link. Thanks, Matt! —Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog Similar:Could We Just Lose the Adverb (Already)?I can’t really get myself that worked up…CultureA Career-Aligned Major Isn’t EnoughI’ve taken over teaching the English dep…AcademiaMy "Writing About Literature" Students Are Sampling Text Adventure GamesI’m having my students play Adam Cadre’s…CultureThe Google Classroom…
(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:Slow flyby of a scout shop. Starfield backdrop; particle-based engine exhaust; hull uses a…More progress as I continue to level up…
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:11 Tips H.P. Lovecraft Had for Novice Writers”Avoid reading so as not to taint your c…CultureNellie Bly statue to be unveiled at Pittsburgh…
“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:Learn to code? No: Learn a real languageI don’t…
“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:Robots Are Coming for Our PoemsThe robots are quickly and surely coming…AestheticsThe Declaration of Independence (Dramatic Reading)I rather enjoyed recording this oral int…Current_EventsYou Can Smell Trump's FearLike…
"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:Carolyn made it to the next round of the 2017 PPT Shakespeare Monologue contest. Finals…
“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:Let's talk about AI art (long, scrollworthy post…
“…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:The Curtains Were Blue: In Which I Fix Another Meme. Above is my response to a meme that …AcademiaHypertext as…