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:Italian journalist to be beatified for helping Jews…
“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:West Side Story (One-Minute Preview)From Mrs. Lovett two weeks ago to…
“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:CNN Profiles Former White House…
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:Vandal scratches Poe phrase into car at dealershipLanguage nerds will appreciate this news…AmusingHow Different Cultures Understand TimeBusiness Insider calls this article an “…BusinessParamount Erases Archives of MTV Website,…
Yelling out of cars, turning your speakers out the window to blast your music onto the street, setting off M-80 firecrackers, firing automatic weapons into the air—these are all well and good. But none of them create a merry atmosphere of insouciance and bonhomie quite like a revving motorcycle. —Wow, Check out that Motorcycle Revving! (The…
You have not truly lived, until you have seen Star Wars rendered as ASCII animation. The FAQ page includes the answer to “Why (oh, God why)?” Similar:Hero Worship (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 11) Orphaned Boy Idolizes DataRewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-…AmusingTies of Blood and Water #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 19) Kira re-evaluates…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral—corporations didI never found “Harlem Shake” videos to b…BusinessRereading “Writing to Learn”Rereading “Writing to Learn,” William Zi…AcademiaWhat a fluke (great headline; great story)AmusingGoogle engineers mined the text adventure game "Zork"…
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… [More or Livingston? Authorship uncertain.] —“A Visit from St. Nicholas” Similar:Apple threatens to remove Parler social networking service from App Store Apple Inc has threatened to remove the…BusinessWho cares about hyphens, commas and capital letters?…
Very sad: “Sixteen mothers, all of whom were pregnant on Sept. 11 and lost their husbands in the terrorist attacks, and their babies are photographed with news anchor Diane Sawyer.” —Sept. 11 Widows with NewbornsAP via Yahoo!) Similar:Facebook shrinks fake news after warnings backfireIn its efforts to combat the spread of f…BusinessPracticing Intellectual, Evidence-based DisagreementThis…
Programming bugs have bedeviled many a scientific researcher. Now, some researchers in Japan have programmed a bug. Thanks to a surgically-implanted device, scientists can control the motion of “Robo-roach.” —Weird Science (Guardian) Similar:Technical and Literary Writing: What’s the difference? « DekonztruktschonIn an advanced new media class, I’m intr…AcademiaFYI, 13yo skool grl is nu US txt…
“An experiment to uncover the world’s funniest jokes has found that some computer-generated gags can be more amusing than those thought up by humans.” —What Kind of Murderer has Moral Fibre? (New Scientist) Similar:Space:1999 design aesthetic merged detailed miniatures with curvy Euro-futurist interior d…Clearly influenced by Kubrick’s 1969 fil…AestheticsEnglish teaching: Johnson: Talking past each otherWhen…
Children born to high-tech nerds appear more likely to show signs of a behavioral disorder similar to autism. Silicon Valley cases are booming. —The Geek Syndrome (Wired) Similar:The Pointlessness of UnpluggingWhat sex was for the Puritans, technolog…Current_EventsJudge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksMy Freshman Comp Student Didn’t Recognize the…
“We are confident that you will have many years of trouble-free enjoyment if you carefully read these instructions and follow them.” (Note: Anybody who bothers to read instructions at all is probably already grouchy and impatient.) —IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! Similar:Jerz Nerdcation 2013On a visit to the Washington DC area for…CultureHarvard Science Historian Publishes Results…
“Does Jackson’s effort remain reasonably true to Tolkien’s richly imagined universe? And will filmgoers not inculcated with the lore of Middle Earth enjoy it anyway? The answers, happily, are ‘probably’ and ‘definitely.’” —Ring: One for the BookWired) Similar:English Is the Language of Science. That Isn't Always a Good ThingEnglish speakers tend to assume that all…AcademiaThis…
Search an index of 6000 frequently-updated weblogs, news summaries, and opinion pages; or, see a list of the top 40 pages cited by the ‘bloggers who create Internet buzz. My new second-favorite website (after google). —DayPop.com Similar:‘Twelfth Night’ is a Shakespearean hoot, and Prime Stage actors Carolyn Jerz, Malcolm MacK…Why is Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Nigh…AestheticsWhy Were…
Over a century before Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds” hoax, the New York Sun‘s moon hoax claimed that an astronomer discovered life on the moon. The website also describes many other hoaxes —Museum of Hoaxes Similar:My mother-in-law invited me to try out the 60- year-old tape machine that belonged to my f…My mother-in-law invited…
(book review) : “…the activity stilled, the cars, houses and workplaces buried beneath layers of volcanic ash, the artefacts of a single moment preserved. What could we learn…?” —Imagine Silicon Valley Buried Like Pompeii Similar:My colleague Dr. Cusick bakes Irish soda bread every year to honor Saint Patrick's Day.AcademiaMale Microsoft Leaders Ignored Women Who Really…
“Much web design has suffered from an over reliance on graphic design principles. Too many graphic designers have tried to force the Web to be what it is not…” —Information Architecture vs. Graphic Design (New Thinking) Similar:The Problems of Real-Time Feedback in Teaching WritingSometimes my students get nervous becaus…AcademiaHow exactly do bridges bridge? How do…
“My cookies, cakes, and brownies are always the highlight of our church bake sales, and everyone says so,” said parishioner Connie Barrett, 49, openly committing the sin of pride. —All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake SaleSatire from The Onion) Similar:PICT PROUD: PICT actress Carolyn Jerz takes on Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth NightPICT PROUD:…
“From Oklahoma City to New York, we’ve turned violent human loss into epic narratives of suffering and patriotism. Does this help people heal or hurt them?” —Trauma Culture (Salon) Similar:NASA's Perseverance lander brought some Easter eggs with it to MarsIt’s a bit of a stretch to call this Ted…AwesomeMicrosoft is once again asking Chrome users…