“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:Let Me Explain Why Miley Cyrus’ VMA Performance Was Our Top Story This MorningBrutally…
“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:Narnia board game — enjoyable family activity (but it's weird that the Pevensies compete …It’s weird that in the Narnia board game…BooksBeauty and the Beast (St.…
An informal 1998 survey by John Rhodes yielded the following advice: create your content first, then design your website; keep your design simple; use proper grammar. —How to Gain the Trust of Your UsersWebWord) Similar:Facebook Has Seized the Media, and That’s Bad News for Everyone But FacebookFacebook has no financial incentive to c…BusinessPracticing my Unity3D…
“For a game that is so unfair, stylistically inconsistent, and frustrating, it has been tremendously influential. This was the first of its kind — using words to create a rich simulated world. Nobody had seen anything like it; it spread quickly across the Internet.” Dennis G. Jerz [Recently updated.] —Colossal Cave Adventure Similar:Google 1407Philipp Lenssen…
—All Your Usenet Are Belong to Wesley Crusher Similar:My tween found this creative use for an extra iPad stylus AestheticsLawsuit Against Warner/Chappell Music Claims Happy Birthday Belongs to Public Domain20 years ago, I chose for my dissertatio…AcademiaScat "boop oop a doop" and variations (Esther Lee Jones, Helen Kane, Betty Boop, Marilyn M… A few years ago…
Google has extended its history of newsgroup postings all the way back to 1981. “Most who posted to Usenet back in its glory days were probably unaware that they were creating an archive documenting the most significant moments of the late 20th century.” —Google’s Gaggle of Discussions (Wired) Similar:Paper too short? Here are actual tips…
How many Internet memes can you cram into one weblog posting? —All Your Wesley Crusher Are Belong to Taliban Similar:My Cow Game Extracted Your Facebook DataThe Cambridge Analytica scandal is drawi…AmusingIn February, 2001, I was blogging about computer nostalgia, Napster, a horror typing game,…In February, 2001, I was blogging about …CybercultureAnother 10 sq cm of…
“If the poet’s own performance is too perfect—if she seems to get every bit of substance out of the poem—then maybe she didn’t put enough in to begin with.” Adam Hirsch —Hearing Aid : Sometimes poetry should be seen but not heard (Slate) Similar:“Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand. That I might…
“The World Trade Center attack inspired a lot of Web-publishing of independent, personal accounts.” What can weblogs and online diaries teach us about online journalism? —What does Sept 11 teach us about online journalism? (TheMorningNews.org) Similar:'Star Trek' TV Series in the WorksI am not sure what I think of this. I’m …Current_EventsIn August, 2000 I…
Uh… no. That already is college.com. —“This will be college.com. Contact us.” Similar:I just finished "Beyond Eyes" and I think there's something in my eye.My 20yo son, who plays a lot of Star War…AestheticsCrowther's Adventure: Tough Memes to Squash Will Crowther, an RPG-er, created th…CultureGoogle SGE Recommends You Drink Urine To Pass Kidney Stones QuicklyThe…
A medical student was scanning the dense prose on the copyright page of his textbook, when he read the word, “congratulations”. He now owns a ’65 Thunderbird. —Read Your Textbooks! (Boston Globe) Similar:The future is in interactive storytellingAn interesting piece. Easy-to-learn hype…AestheticsShakespeare on EclipsesPrepping for tomorrow’s first meeting of…AcademiaThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -…
“Why bother to code a clever and long-lived virus when a stupid one that spreads for an hour or two gets just as much attention from antiviral experts and the media?” (Uh-oh! An anti-virus company’s marketing flack warns that Goner is coming back! Better pay big bucks to the anti-virus companies, to protect you from clicking…
“Sitting by the window of his study on a summer day in the early 1930s, a thin-faced Oxford professor let his mind wander from correcting papers and into a world that would become Middle-earth.” Pamela S. Turner —Visit the Birthplace of Middle-Earth (CSM) Similar:In Ferguson, Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery gives account of his arrestComedian…
A flashback to the Silicon Valley excesses of 1998, before the bubble burst: “There are headhunters who handle only Cobol programmers from Singapore, and headhunters who specialize in luring toy-company executives, and, I’ve recently learned, a headhunting firm that helps other headhunting firms hunt for headhunters.” Po Bronson —Is the Revolution Over?Wired) Similar:Google's AI could…
Wil Wheaton, the actor whose Star Trek character inspired the newsgroup alt.ensign.wesley.die.die.die, has long been geekdom’s favorite whipping boy. “But now, thanks to a self-coded, shamelessly dorky website, many of the same folks who loathed Wheaton on the show are finding out he’s a whole lot like them in real life.” —Wheaton’s Trek to Respectability…
Wild America – a short story by Jayne Loader. Welcome to Wild America! Do you need instructions? YES You are living in the richest kingdom in the world, where others have found fame and fortune, though it is rumored that some who enter here are never heard from again. Where would you like to begin…
(short story by E.M. Forster, 1909) I want to see you not through the Machine,” said Kuno. “I want to speak to you not through the wearisome Machine.” “Oh, hush!” said his mother, vaguely shocked. “You mustn’t say anything against the Machine.” “Why not?” “One mustn’t.” —The Machine Stops Similar:How the…
“In a study of readers who read either a simulated literary hypertext or the same text in linear form, we found a range of significant differences: these suggest that hypertext discourages the absorbed and reflective mode that characterizes literary reading.” (Miall and Dobson) —Reading Hypertext and the Experience of Literature (Journal of Digital Information) Similar:Maybe…
English studies after Sept 11: What’s the point? “The theoretical models that have dominated English and the related disciplines in the last two decades are especially effective tools (along with the institutional factors that have always existed) for creating demoralization.” Lisa Ruddick —The Near Enemy of the Humanities is Professionalism (Chronicle) Similar:The overlooked masterpieces of…
What if David Mamet rewrote 2001: A Space Oddysey? (Warning: offensive language.) Bowman: It’s just… how do I say this. These dead crewmembers. Hal: I don’t follow you. Bowman: These crewmembers here that were in cryogenic suspension. That are now dead. Hal: Oh yes. That was self-defense. Bowman: Hal, look at me. What am I,…