The Ballad of Sand and Harry Soot

(Word Circuits): Hypertext poetry by Stephanie Strickland —The Ballad of Sand and Harry Soot Similar:There's No Substitute for FictionWhat do Peskin and Astington recommend f…BooksSalman Rushdie: how Cervantes and Shakespeare wrote the modern literary rule bookBy a set of strange coincidences, compli…BooksThe secret police: Cops built a shadowy surveillance machine in Minnesota after George Flo…Many…

Judge Orders God to Break Up into Smaller Deities

"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:DC Art Science Evening Rendezvous (DASER)Live in the…

The Need for Simple English on the Web

"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:Microsoft has no shame: Bing spit on my ‘Chrome’ search with a fake AI answer It was time to download Google Chrom…BusinessThe reluctant wisdom of a science major in…

Songs about the Macintosh 

"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…

Phantom Weblogger: Kaycee Nicole Never Existed

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…

Face-blindness

  What is life like for a person who has trouble recognizing human faces? —Face-blindness Similar:The worst-case scenario Converging in a tense section of Huntsville: A white police office…This article focuses on a police officer…CultureTrump Briefly Glanced at Eclipse without Protective GlassesDonald Trump’s persona as a man who does…Current_EventsA Christmas Carol (WAOB Audio Theatre)Marley was…

Doom Ahead for Search Engines That Charge

"[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:The White House’s plan to colonize the moon, briefly explained: Putting humans on the moon… Political tensions…

Congressional Web Sites: Not So Good

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:Wonderful Retro Control Panel in Seton Hill University Dining RoomI gather the purpose of these consoles -…AcademiaAI crawlers destroying websites in hunger for contentTraffic on my…

Watercolors by William Blake

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:Gender and Language — Revisiting Advice I Posted in 1998When I was in college and active in a Ca…CultureThe Staying Power of "A Christmas Carol" — Dennis Jerz, for WAOB…

Astrid Lindgren

, creator of Pippi Longstocking, dies at 94. (Guardian) —Astrid Lindgren Similar:Stapler jam during a midterm exam.My years of watching MacGyver definitely…AcademiaWhy I Was Wrong About Liberal-Arts MajorsIt’s a little bit shallow and solipsisti…AcademiaHave 40 years of mobile phones given literature bad lines?The X Files did a good job of embracing …CybercultureMy brother set my…

I Want my Arts & Letters Daily

“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…

Programmers Make Ethical Decisions

"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:SHU Commemoration of September 11 Terrorism Attacks — Looking Back After…

Clutterers Anonymous

(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…

An Accident Rooted in History

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…

I Found it On the Internet: Teaching Students to Locate, Evaluate and Cite Online Sources

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:Police Department, Fire Department Tell Different Versions of Same Richmond IncidentA Richmond police official and a fire of…Current_EventsAI Agents Are Terrible Freelance WorkersAI is getting…

Psychology of Weblogs

"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:A tiny bit of rogue news…

Searchin’ for the Surfer Saint

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.”…

Of Poets, Prophets and Politics

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:Facebook exec erroneously cites The Lord of the Rings when comparing the social network to…A Facebook executive, Andrew “Boz”…