"They may love capitalism. They may have no interest whatsoever in political theory. But they believe that Marx was always right and always good." English professors? Hardly. —Marx, Money, and Mysticism after Mao (Partisan Review) Similar:We're Teaching Books That Don't Stack UpOur provost sent this link to English fa…AcademiaBye Facebook, hello Instagram: Users make beeline…
“This bridge will be a massive undertaking: the Rhine is a wide, deep, and fast-moving river. My engineers and I have devised a way to build the bridge in such a way that the stronger the current, the more secure the bridge will be.” —Bloggus Caesari (Julius Caesar’s Weblog) Similar:What Can You Do With An…
; trendy young dot-com refugees come begging. (WashPost) —Boring, grey-haired government contractors are hot Similar:The A.V. Club's AI-Generated Articles Are Copying Directly From IMDbI’ve enjoyed human-written A/V Club arti…BusinessThis is what an "umm" looks likeThis image, of the audio waveform from a…MediaResearch Before Google Books (from 2006)Me: It took a few days for the spool…
“i was a 20-something dethroned dotcom ceo that went to work the counter at mcdonald’s” [scott heiferman didn’t cut it as a dot-com CEO, and apparently doesn’t know how to use the shift key, either.] Similar:Scientists Trace Society's Myths to Primordial OriginsAncient cultures from Africa to Asia to …CultureThis morning I awoke to YouTube’s live…
"Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same colour as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated…" wrote Hemingway in his 1952 novel, The Old Man and the Sea. Gregorio Fuentes was Hemingway’s friend, and probably the inspiration for the story. —Hemingway’s "Old Man"Dies at 104 (BBC) Similar:Story Pitch: How…
“Once ejected into space, wouldn’t the flattened, living-room-sized, and extremely solid panes of trash that result from such a primitive, unidirectional trash compactor pose serious hazards for Empire starships in the vicinity?” —On the Implausibility of the Death Star’s Trash Compactor (McSweeney’s) Similar:SMS Generator SMS Generator.AmusingHelvetica Bold Oblique Sweeps FontysHelvetica Bold Oblique was the big…
A teenager has attracted international attention for developing a glove that can translate sign language into printed text. —Glove Lends the Deaf a Hand (USA Today) The article suggests that a glove that reads finger positions will free deaf teenagers from needing the services of adult interpreters. Yet sign language is a rich and complex…
"The practice of using the secret Word format for interchange impedes the growth of our community and the spread of freedom. While we notice the occasional annoyance of receiving a Word document, this steady and persistent harm to our community usually doesn’t come to our attention." Richard Stallman —We Can Put an End to Word…
This is the time of year that college departments hiring new faculty members whittle down to two or three promising candidates, from the dozens or even hundreds of applicants. (A candidate for a UWEC English department job is interviewed towards the end of the article.) —The Tightening [Adacemic] Job Marketb> (Chronicle) Similar:R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)…
: "Nowadays, art that prompts ‘controversy’ usually has one thing in common: it’s bad. Bad in conception or bad in execution, and frequently bad in both." Lileks —Does the Pope S– In the Woods? Similar:Weaving: Breathing: Thinking: The poetics of Emerson's NatureText derives from texere, which means “t…AestheticsThe Last Outpost (ST:TNG Rewatch. Season 1, Episode…
"If Einstein had died as a child, someone else would have discovered General Relativity; if Beethoven had died as a child, the Opus 111 Sonata would never have been written." Dennis Dutton —What is Genius? (Philosophy & Literature) Similar:Vandal scratches Poe phrase into car at dealershipLanguage nerds will appreciate this news…AmusingThe future is in interactive…
"With the rise of search tools that unerringly bring you to the page you want, the need for a highly specific domain name — one that a casual Web user would be able to guess — has practically disappeared." Dan Gillmor —"’Google Effect’ Reduces Need for Many Domains"b> (SiliconValley.com) Similar:What if Generative AI turned out…
(Abstracts due Feb 7) "We’re looking for essays that shed light on the history of interactive fiction, especially if they discuss how IF has evolved technologically and in its conventions; essays that teach and illuminate the craft of IF, including but not limited to puzzle design, world building, characters, prose style, and atmosphere; and essays…
A student project on why Microsoft is evil includes this parody of the Alcoholics Anonymous "12 step" program. Sammy Carranza —12 Steps to Stop Using Microsoft Similar:Former Facebook Workers: We Routinely Suppressed [a Certain Political Slant] NewsOne day when I was an undergraduate work…BusinessBlender Griffin, Part 3Okay, that’s enough work for one evening…AestheticsRobert Morris University…
A clueless fellow looking for a job in information technology sends out his resume in a mass mailing. Bernard Shifman, an unrepentant spammer, then threatens to sue practically anyone who even mentions the incident. Pete Moss documents what is most likely the end of Mr. Shifman’s career. —Bernard Shifman is a Moron Spammer Similar:The woman…
From a blurb on the National Coalition against Censorship webpage: Jan Carroll’s weblog offers a substantial amount of collected poems written in response to September 11; articles on poetry and politics; interviews with poets about September 11; and musings on the role of art and aesthetics in times of tragedy.” [Jan created her poetry weblog…
An experiment in which group members could pay for the privilege of fining free-loaders suggests that the threat of being punished by angry peers helps to check selfish behavior. (Consider this in light of the "Bernie Shifman" article.) —Anger Plays Key Role in Human Cooperationb> (New Scientist) Similar:Pompeii artifacts at the Carnegie Science Center The…
“It began as a fireside story spun by a Catholic dad. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings became a great epic that has inspired conversions, steeled young people in virtue, and changed lives — including mine.” John Zmirak —The Lord and the Ring (catholic.net) Similar:This image of Mark Zuckerberg says so much about our futureA…
“There’s only so much time. And there are so many great books. And every year more books are published, some of which will be great. Reluctantly, the reader begins to acknowledge the appalling necessity of choosing to read certain good things and not other good things.” —Reading Anxiety (Nat’l Post) Similar:Advice to First Year College…
Hundreds of websites that used to give their content away for free are now charging for their services. This weblog chronicles the changes. —The End of Free Similar:Opt Out of Pre-approved Credit Mailings Requires SSN and DoB? Not So Fast!I was horrified to see that, in order to…BusinessFigured out how to configure my iPad as…