The first space colonists will probably take their faiths to the stars. The reference to “Star Trek” in the title of the article is cute, but Star Trek: The Next Generation was almost universally hostile to religious concepts (except when aliens presented them, that is). The more recent TV show Bablylon 5, although created by…
A progressive critique of Bush’s response to the 9-11 attacks, interpreting Bush in terms of George Orwell’s bleak totalitarian novel 1984: "1984 has arrived. In his address to Congress Thursday, George Bush effectively declared permanent war — war without temporal or geographic limits; war without clear goals; war against a vaguely defined and constantly shifting…
“‘Nigerian Money Offers’ zoomed from the seventh to the third most common type of online fraud last year, and the reason is obvious. In days gone by, the scammers had to canvass potential victims one at a time by fax and snail mail; now they have the speed, cost-effectiveness and anonymity of the Internet at…
"Asked by the firing squad commander if he had a last request, James Roges said, ‘Why yes. A bullet-proof vest!‘" Christopher Orlet —The Last Words (Vocabula Review) Similar:I Love Books: A Campus Library EvolvesI love books. I love smelling them, t…AcademiaGinger Christ Superstar!AestheticsSave our children from the Grammar TribeSimilarly, “dived” is the traditional pa…CultureWilliam Shakespeare’s…
The survey, published by an organization promoting "World Book Day," probably does not count time spent in chat rooms, reading web pages as "reading", but the news item does not raise that issue. Related question: has feminism harmed boys? —Girls Read Twice as Much as Boys (BBC) Similar:On Immigration, Poetry Isn’t Policy, but Poetry Matters,…
A "collaborative hyperdrama" purports to be the archives of a young psychiatrist offering his services to the employees of a dot-com. "Through transcripts of therapy sessions, patient diaries and logs, doodles, personnel records, telephone conversations, and other written and graphical materials, the Company Therapist is designed to allow a deep exploration of its characters and…
Fine-Tuned is a free, text-based game, playable in many formats. From a review by Adam Cadre: “Not only has the author created an absolutely wonderful world, full of ‘anti-autoists,’ roving herds of goats, and fist-shaking train engineers, but it dares — and manages to pull off — a number of pieces of participatory comedy, which…
"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:One Author Breaks…
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:We Had the Vaccine the Whole TimeYou may be surprised to learn that of th…Current_EventsToasting Shakespeare at the Bard's Birthday BashOrganized by Pittsburgh Shakespeare in t…CultureSetonianThe first issue of the student paper is …Current_EventsEaster Blessings 2021 Current_EventsTwitter and the "Two Minutes Hate"Another of the many, many reflections on…CultureJournalism,…
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:Pulitzer Alert: Local TV Reporter Throws Cookies to Dramatize Destructive Walmart Flash Ro…The serious-faced TV anchor introduces a…DesignMy Transplanted Heart and I Will…
: "No more blog blog blog!" — line not quite spoken by Captain Kirk ("Miri," Star Trek). —William Shatner’s Weblog Similar:Key and Peele sportscenter teacher parody: New sketch imagines teachers as athletes (VIDEO…Oh, how I wish we lived in a world where…CulturePac-Man”The kids who grew up steering Pac-Man a…DesignThose shoggoths hacked from lungs unspeakable1) Last…
"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:No, the AHCA Doesn't Make Rape a Preexisting ConditionA Republican Facebook friend…
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:Booby Trap…
(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:The Hut Where the Internet Began – Atlantic MobileLet’s start at the end point: what you’r…CyberculturePress X to Teach…
: 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:Microsoft has no shame: Bing spit on my ‘Chrome’ search with a fake AI answer It…
"…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:Your Brain…
My student Matt Hoy sent me this link. Thanks, Matt! —Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog Similar:Peer Review Paranoia: The system is built on trust between scholars. AI is undermining tha…From an essay that includes a reflection…AcademiaA Word About Group ProjectsOkay, students… who loves group projec…Academia'The Meatball: Not a Funny Rhyme' says Peter Jerz, age 5-3/4; or, Child…
(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:What Causes the Smell of New & Old Books?Generally, it is the chemical breakdown …AestheticsHow 'A Wrinkle in Time' Changed Sci-Fi…