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:Fun and Games with Samuel Beckett and Pict.Beckett’s…
“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:The girl rehearsing as Babette in Stage Right's Beauty and the…
“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:Without ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle…
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:We Are the Product Facebook SellsFacebook does not care what Hobbit you a…BusinessAdventure | T.M. CampGreat story of nerdiness and discovery a…Cyberculture#MyNYPD Hashtag Promptly HijackedSomeone is regretting this…
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:Visiting the #scienceofpixar exhibit @kaminsciencecenterPopCultThe eagles in Lord of the Rings are a plot hole, but also an us problemPart of my enjoyment of genre franchises…Bookscopyranter: New Milwaukee Public…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:Musician uses computer algorithm to compose every melody possible in C, releases them for … A lawyer and hobbyist musician…AmusingHigh School Poems in a College Writing WorkshopPoems that you wrote in high school to c…AcademiaSynchronous Online Classes:…
‘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:Fact Check: No, an NPR story on the Trump supporters' attempted coup dated January 6, 2021…According to the Internet Archive, this …Current_EventsCarolyn is in PICT…
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:Don't Automatically Blame the Reporter for a Headline ErrorWriters make mistakes. That’s why we hav…Current_EventsReporters’ Privilege Compendium | Pennsylvania…
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:New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand TextFar from being “stochastic parrots,” the…CybercultureThe White House’s plan to colonize the moon, briefly explained: Putting humans…
“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:Shakespeare did not leave his wife Anne in Stratford, letter fragment suggests It has long been assumed that William …CultureJuror's CreedWhile researching…
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:Mask-wearing cuts Covid incidence by 53%, says global study Globally, Covid cases exceeded 250 mil…CultureHomage to PoeMichael Dirda offers a thoughtful assess…BooksPicking a rubric in Canvas should not…
“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:Star Trek The Original SeriesAmazing mural. Amazing. …AestheticsLEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing…
“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:A student just booked an appointment to discuss picking up journalism as a second major. E…AcademiaIn July, 2002,…
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:How journalists should handle racist words, images and violence in CharlottesvilleI have covered protests where people sho…Current_EventsShrek: The Musical…
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:Notes on Teaching August Wilson's Pittsburgh CycleI first taught Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle…AcademiaWatching Shakespeare With Your KidsMy retired parents and…
(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:Above the ready-room desk is the captain's power-napping loft, because self-care is i…AestheticsBrett Favre Urges Ban On Youth Tackle Football, Pleads…
“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:Three different sized buildings. Still working on variations for the biggest one. #blender…Three different sized buildings. Still w…AestheticsCaptain, the…
“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:Phantasms (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 6) Data's Trippy Dreams; Riker's Brai…Rewatching ST:TNG…
“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:Unless Buzzfeed-style Clickbait Replaces all Forms of Human Communication, or Republicans …I love some good meta. I wrote a dialogu…AmusingA Pox On Your Listicle ClickbaitYup, seeing…