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:Security is Sleeping in the Back Seat of…
“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 Nagus (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 11) Quark is…
“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:5 Ways to Avoid Being…
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:Granting a Student SuperAdminGoddessOMGWhatHaveIDone Network PrivilegesI should probably not grant a student su…AcademiaAnd so it begins: the unmarked assignments counterThis little icon will control my life fo…AcademiaThe Most Unexpected…
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:The Random Pulp Science Fiction Title Generator from Cornelius Zappencackler's DERANGE-O-L…From Thrilling Tales (where the future i…AmusingIn June 2021 I roughed out the proportions and deck heights for the…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:We’re in Denial About the True Cost of a Twitter ImplosionThe public disintegration of a platform …Current_EventsAfter Halloween where do all the pumpkins go? Now we knowIn the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jonathan…AmusingHeadlines matter. Were they migrants, people who…
‘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:My colleague Dr. Cusick bakes Irish soda bread every year to honor Saint Patrick's Day.AcademiaShakespeare Popularized Falconry TermsEnglish is full of figures of speech pop…CultureSeton…
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…BusinessBogus hit-and-run story about…
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:That gut-wrenching photo of immigrant children in a cage? First published in 2014.Don’t blame “the media” for using this p…CultureIt Costs So Much…
“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:Adam Savage’s 10 Commandments Of MakingAdam Savage took a few minutes today at …AestheticsOmaha schoolgirl dresses as a different historical figure each…
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:Game Criticism, Why We Need It, and Why Reviews Aren't ItGreg Costikyan on Play This Thing! A re…AcademiaTwo More Chances to See Prime Stage's Twelfth NightThe show runs…
“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:80 Days: "1872, with a steampunk twist. Phileas Fogg has wagered he can circumnavigate the…I…
“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:Despicable Me 2 "Bottom" gag will do for A Midsummer Night's Dream what Disney's Little Me…The name “Bottom”…
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:What's a namber? (archived)Update, December 2024: Sadly, the “what’…CybercultureHow Television Covered the Kennedy Assassination – a 1964 TV Guide…
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:The Masque of the Red Death, by Edgar Allan PoeSo, who else is taking advantage of curr…Current_EventsYork Plays 2025:…
(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:Jimmy Kimmel Reveals "Worst Twerk Fail EVER – Girl Catches Fire" PrankBrilliant. The combination of a looks-to…AmusingPeople with autism spectrum disorder…
“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:BBC News – TS Eliot's widow Valerie dies aged 86 She guarded her late husband’s liter…CultureHappy St. Crispin's DayHere’s…
“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:My meeting was cancelled, so I spent the morning assembling a cabinet for 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:The Duolingo owl has been judging my German every day for the last year.EducationReflections on Flannery O'Connor's "The River"I’m teaching “The River” today in an “In…CultureHow…