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:Incoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks…
“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:Memories of Toronto Yonge Street EncountersI arrived in Toronto in 1992…
“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:14 questions for new journalists…
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:Defunct Web Pages are Not Dead Ends to JournalistsIn my “News Writing” class, I first warn…AcademiaIn June, 2000 I was blogging about anagrams, 1750 Paris, ambiguity, a hyperlink…
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:My Parents (aged 72 and 78) Demonstrate a Ballroom Dance PoseThis is how my parents finish their Arge…AestheticsBoy, this sort of thing sure makes some racist people very angry.https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1305…CultureAddis,…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:Why We Dug AtariGame collectors have their story, too. F…CybercultureLego goes steampunkBe still, my nerdy heart. Steampunk —…AestheticsMemory of Wrestler Yukon Eric”The year is around 1952, the dead of wi…HistoryHow Will Historians of the Future Run MS…
‘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:Journalists dream of puns like this.AmusingPope Francis calls for "news communicated with serenity, precision and completeness"Pope Francis recently addressed Italian …CulturePut up the Hoop Sooner:…
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:Shutting the Door on the Hard-Knock LifeIn sync with the resurgence of labor act…BusinessWitness Accounts in Midtown Hammer…
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:Twine: the program that’s democratised the video gaming worldTwine games look and feel profoundly dif…CybercultureNational Science Foundation announces plan for comprehensive public access…
“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:The Tempest, According to My 9yo DaughterShe’s 10 now, but here is her response t…CultureHey there, chaotic world in academia and beyond,…
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:Captain, the Fake News Detectors are Offline! Slate has a good article about Willi…CybercultureFirst Evidence That Social Bots Play a Major Role in Spreading Fake News Shad and…
“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:50 Years Ago: The World in 1961 – Alan Taylor – In Focus – The…
“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:My copy of Plotkin's Hadean Lands arrived today. Current_EventsDigital literacy is different from print literacy. How do we balance…
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:They called it a "flashlight" because early handheld lights weren't designed to shine stea…A student’s short story featuring a trea…CultureThis…
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:That Much-Despised Apple Ad Could Be More Disturbing Than It LooksApple has apologized, but like writer Pe…AestheticsAdvice for alternate…
(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:‘Heil Trump’ and an anti-gay slur were scrawled on an Indiana church right after Trump’s e…A well-written news story, covering a…
“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:Texas School Censors All Of ‘Huck Finn’ Except The N-Words (Satire from The Onion)Is it only a matter of…
“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:Pope Francis declares evolution and Big Bang theory are right and God isn't 'a…
“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:PICT Classic Theatre brings The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll to the airwavesI’m proud of the daughter for her involv…CultureA Las Vegas public official is held…