"[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:Beatrix Potter-pinching and Žižekian swipes: the strange world of book theftsWe caught a gent last Christmas with…
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:the history of computer games: from 'pong' to 'pac-man'”in the beginning, there was nothing. we…CybercultureThe bots are coming. And they have poems. Yet in a circle…
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:Affect (v. "to change") vs. Effect (n. "the result")I ran into this problem several times in…AcademiaWhy Drag It Out?The ways that the informal speech of wom…CultureInside Voices — A Weekend…
, creator of Pippi Longstocking, dies at 94. (Guardian) —Astrid Lindgren Similar:Alphabet in Motion: How Letters Get Their Shape: pop-up book by Kelli AndersonA fascinating concept. (Thanks for the s…AestheticsWhat’s Wrong With Being From the South? Just Ask an Academic in the NorthAs an American studying in Toronto durin…AcademiaOld English Has a Serious Image ProblemThis…
“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:The Scapegoat by Richard Maples (1957 Sci-Fi Short Story)I had a…
(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:Beowimp (spoof I wrote for my high school lit magazine c. 1985)I got an email this morning from someone…AmusingThe Current War (Quantum Theatre Musical)Waiting for…
"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:Pop song lyrics use more negative…
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:Hacking the Attention EconomyThe techniques that are unfolding are ha…CultureText Games in a New Era of StoriesClever NYT writer…
"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:Karate, Wonton, Chow Fun: The end of 'chop suey' fonts Close your eyes and imagine the font y…AestheticsParrots learn…
Yes, that’s 1889. —History of Video Games since 1889b> (GameSpot) Similar:Actually, this post really *is* about ethics in journalism.People – journalists and non-journalists…Current_EventsNAVY TO DROP ALL-CAPS COMMUNICATIONSCaps off to the Navy’s plan to drop all-…CultureThe Post drops the ‘mike’ — and the hyphen in ‘e-mail’When I announced these style changes, an…CultureThe Current War (Quantum Theatre…
"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;…
"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:“The Cowherd Who Became a Poet,” by James Baldwin. (Read by Dennis Jerz)Inspiration can come to those with the h…BooksText,…
“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:Portofess”If people can confess on Oprah,…
; trendy young dot-com refugees come begging. (WashPost) —Boring, grey-haired government contractors are hot Similar:i trained an ai chatbot on my childhood journal entries – so that i could engage in real-t…I kept a journal from Feb 3 1983 (the da…CultureHow America fell in love with crazy amounts of air conditioningBy the 1950s, as air conditioners…
“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:The Internet Is RottingI do what I can. It’s disheartening how,…AcademiaThe A.V. Club's AI-Generated Articles Are Copying Directly From IMDbI’ve…