"Poor sad Mac, born in a plastic age. / A time when the world still thought in beige. / Crafted and molded just like a piece of art. / An orphan, abandoned. It’s enough to break your heart." [Which column would you put this one in? Sometimes I wonder why I continue to split my…
Kaycee Nicole, an attractive student dying from leukemia, shared her ordeal via on online diary. Her mother started a companion diary. Web surfers became close friends with this family through email, chatroom, and even phone conversations. The New York Times even quoted Kaycee about college life. When she finally died, her online friends grieved like…
Yahoo recently ran a story about a man suffocated by a stripper’s breasts… but it was a hoax first published in a tabloid. You may have heard recent reports about the airliner passenger stuck to a toilet seat. (MSNBC, BBC, CNN) Note that no names or dates are given. It’s a hoax. (Unless it’s a…
What is life like for a person who has trouble recognizing human faces? —Face-blindness Similar:Why Grown-Ups Keep Talking Like Little KidsFelt writey. Because reasons. The other…CultureJournalism ethics and the elephant in the room.The point of “the Rosenthal Rule” is not…CultureU.S.S. Requin — Extended Tour of the Cold War Submarine at the Carnegie Science CenterSoon…
"[T]he search and directory firms have put their futures in question by flouting time-tested business practices that require an absolutely clear separation between editorial content and advertising." Hal Plotkin —Doom Ahead for Search Engines That Charge (SF Gate) Similar:DOJ Enters Into Landmark Web and Mobile App Consent DecreeUnder the consent decree cite to http://…Current_EventsCharles Schulz's…
When congressional Web sites are good, they’re really good. But most aren’t, says a nonprofit group that rated more than 600 of them. —Congressional Web Sites: Not So GoodCNN) Similar:Lessons from the Covington Catholic FlashpointMy social media network includes people …Culture‘It’s destroyed me completely’: Kenyan moderators decry toll of training of AI modelsOpenAI has already…
found after 165 years. The watercolors were prototypes for engravings that the impoverished poet hoped would pay his bills. (Daily Telegraph) —Watercolors by William Blake Similar:Because words matter, old sport.AcademiaHow I Joined Teach for America and Got Sued for $20 Million”By the time school opened, I was thrill…EducationAve atque valeWhat is a liberal education and…
, creator of Pippi Longstocking, dies at 94. (Guardian) —Astrid Lindgren Similar:Downloading Great ExpectationsA few weeks ago, I bought an audio recor…BooksVaccine hesitancy morphs into hostility, as opposition to shots hardens What began as “vaccine hesitancy” has …CultureWondermark: In Which There Is a TauntingWondermark AmusingA Liberal-Arts Education for Business MajorsThe world needs well-rounded leaders. A…
“The Web has decentralized the control of ideas, as A&LD proves. A few years ago the exchange of opinions and theories had to be managed by people living in great metropolitan centres, the intellectual world’s version of imperialism. But with the Web it can be done anywhere.” Robert Fulford —I Want my Arts & Letters…
"Don’t let anyone tell you that as a programmer you don’t have to make moral or ethical decisions. Every time you decide that making users feel stupid is better than fixing your code, you’re making an ethical decision." —Programmers Make Ethical DecisionsJoel on Software) Similar:Viral App FaceApp Now Owns Access To More Than 150 Million…
(CLA) is a fellowship of individuals who share experience, strength, and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem with clutter and help others recover. The only requirement for membership is a desire to eliminate clutter and bring order into our lives. (via Remarked Bookmarks) —Clutterers Anonymous Ironic: when I was an…
The Space Shuttle’s Solid Rocket Booster problem began with the faulty design of its joint and increased as both NASA and contractor management first failed to recognize it as a problem, then failed to fix it and finally treated it as an acceptable flight risk.” —An Accident Rooted in HistoryNASA) 28 January, 1986. My senior…
The link above goes to the web version of a powerpoint presentation. Dennis G. Jerz —I Found it On the Internet: Teaching Students to Locate, Evaluate and Cite Online Sources Similar:Duke stops assigning numeric values to essays, test scoresThis story is about the admissions proce…AcademiaScratchy "Cloak of Darkness" on Scratch”Scratchy Cloak of Darkness” is based…
"Most weblogs are drivel, banal sh*t written by angst-ridden teenagers and adults sharing feelings, thoughts, and mind-numbing details about their daily lives that provide little insight into anything or anyone. But the gems can be found amongst the long-since abandoned or forgotten sites." John M. Grohol —Psychology of Weblogs Similar:How 'A Wrinkle in Time' Changed…
A prayer before surfing: “Almighty and eternal God, we beseech thee that, through the example of Saint Isidore, bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the Internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Amen.”…
While Westerners may be surprised by the notion that poetry is an effective way to convey a political message, Bassam Frangieh says it is an integral part of Arab culture. —Of Poets, Prophets and Politics (Humanities) Similar:ChatGPT Can't Kill Anything Worth PreservingMany are wailing that this technology sp…AcademiaCrowther's Adventure: Tough Memes to Squash Will Crowther,…
"Whilst it is obviously the case that the main reason subscription now represents 30% of Salon’s revenue is because overall revenue has fallen so dramatically, that doesn’t stop [CEO] Michael [O’Donnel] portraying it as a triumph. That is talent." (22 Jan) Dictionary of the Future [Review]: "’Words are artifacts of culture,’ says Hanft, and in…
Think twice before sending a tartly worded e-mail or prepare for a battle of near-biblical proportions like the one being waged on Chicago computer consultant Bernard Shifman. —Resume Vaults [Chicago] Techie into Spam Battlefield (Chicago Trib) Similar:The Curtains Were Blue: In Which I Fix Another Meme. Above is my response to a meme that …AcademiaThe…
Yes, that’s 1889. —History of Video Games since 1889b> (GameSpot) Similar:On Immigration, Poetry Isn’t Policy, but Poetry Matters, by David French, National ReviewThe conservative National Review offers …ArtAnnoyed and Bored by Lazy Anachronisms in The Great Gatsby MovieI just watched the recent Great Gatsby m…AestheticsYahoo, You Nagged Me Too Many Times; Bye!I have a Yahoo…
"What venerated ‘alpha geeks’ and lowly ‘smurfs’ share is a tendency to talk about people as if they were machines. To be ‘uninstalled’ means being fired or dismissed, whereas a ‘plug-and-play’ refers to a new employee who fits in without any additional training." (Rebuttal: Don’t Tweak the Geeks) —When the Geeks get Snide (NY Times;…