"…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:No, this…
My student Matt Hoy sent me this link. Thanks, Matt! —Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog Similar:The Declaration of IndependenceI recorded a recitation of the Declarati…CultureIn February, 2002, I was blogging about…In February, 2002, I was blogging about …ArtAssassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaOn 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinan…CultureHaving a rough day. But in a span…
(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:All the 'Happy Birthday' song copyright claims are invalid, federal judge rules In a stunning reversal of decades of c…BusinessMy son…
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:Vandal scratches Poe phrase into car at dealershipLanguage nerds will appreciate this news…AmusingMotivation Amid Crisis (Autotrophic Bat)As part of an independent study project,…BooksEnglish…
“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:Old English Has a Serious Image ProblemThis fall I…
“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:Dr Jerz I think your microphone glitchedhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPqnXF7A…AcademiaThe Minecraft GenerationIt’s a world of trial and error and cons…AestheticsWhat Each Side of the COVID-19 Debate Should Understand About the…
"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:Skeleton Crew at BarebonesSupport the arts in your community. BusinessJoyful white guys finish ahead of…
“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:No space for over-30s as relaunched MySpace erases…
“…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 Piano Lesson ( #AugustWilson #CenturyCycle, 4 of 10)August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoi…BooksHaiku'da Been a Spam FilterLatest weapon against…
“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:Vintage Freebies for DesignersI wish I had time for cool stuff like…
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:Blog ten-beat lines of verse, like Shakespeare wrote. Blog ten-beat lines of verse, like…
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:Teaching Shakespeare in a Maximum Security PrisonGood essay by Mikita Brottman. When I r…CulturePart of my daily…
“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:In an Unpredictable Job Market, How Should People Think…
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:Paparazzi-proof clothing that's…
(Word Circuits): Hypertext poetry by Stephanie Strickland —The Ballad of Sand and Harry Soot Similar:Flipped Classes: Omit Housekeeping Mechanics from Recorded Lectures to Lengthen Their Shel…When a Facebook friend asked for tips on…AcademiaThe joy of text – the fall and rise of interactive fictionAlthough the IF community first formed a…CybercultureMy son showed me #PacificRim.My son…
"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:Looking for Par'Mach in All the Wrong Places…
"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:Commonly Misused Words: ITS and IT'S AmusingWhy Writing Matters When You Advertise a Cragslist GiveawayThe latest example of why writing matter…Current_EventsIn April, 2002, I was blogging about an autistic…