"A Visit from St. Nicholas"

‘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:"Know that I glory in this nose of mine."Was browsing YouTube for a few of my fav…AestheticsSherlock Holmes and The Woman (daughter and I rehearsing…

Sept. 11 Widows with Newborns

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:BP Lawyers Cheat by Adjusting Line Spacing in a Legal Brief U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier…BusinessAs if…

Weird Science

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:How to spot video and photo fakes as Russia invades Ukraine – PoynterIn the first hours of the Russian invasi…Current_EventsWhy Even Try if…

What Kind of Murderer has Moral Fibre?

“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:This is How Literary Fiction Teaches Us to Be HumanPracticing empathy through drama and poe…BooksGoodbye, Google Search. I've switched to search.brave.com …for…

The Geek Syndrome

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:A Career-Aligned Major Isn’t EnoughI’ve taken over teaching the English dep…AcademiaMy copy of Plotkin's Hadean Lands arrived today. Current_EventsThe Ongoing Obsession with Shakespeare’s True IdentityI’ve never been all too…

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

“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:My son just handed me my serving of noodles in the butter substitute container. Recycling.AmusingRemember…

Ring: One for the Book

“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:Why 'Gangnam Style' Is Actually a Study in Mind ControlI’m not sure “thank you” is the right wa…CultureContagion…

DayPop.com

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:A Man, a Plan, a Pointless(?) ProgramI readily admit that my accomplishment h…AmusingToday's annoying adventures of adulting: fixing the…

Museum of Hoaxes

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:Facebook’s push of “related articles” to users without checking credibility draws fireThe links under your friend’s post got y…CybercultureAdvice…

Imagine Silicon Valley Buried Like Pompeii

(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:Don't use that "18 school shootings since Jan 1" claim. It's Inaccurate.Don’t use that “18 school shootings sinc…CultureRare find discovered amid…

Information Architecture vs. Graphic Design

“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:Journalists prefer in-person interviews. Emailing questions to strangers and expecting the…An interview means a real-time give-and …EducationLiberal Arts Leaders:…

All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale

“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:Kristin and Haley's Discussion on Poe's "The Raven"I gave my literature students 30 minutes…AcademiaOpen…

Trauma Culture

“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:1949 NBC Radio Adaptation of Orwell's 1984Long before the Apple ad, and Michael Ra…CultureBack in the MLAAs the humanities decline in the United …AcademiaHave 40 years…

How to Gain the Trust of Your Users

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:A Few Good Men at the Pittsburgh Public TheatreFantastic performances, powerful writing…CultureAnother section of #steampunk control panel, because reasons. #blender3d #blender3dartOne…

Colossal Cave Adventure

“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:Why Marlon Brando’s…

All Your Usenet Are Belong to Wesley Crusher

—All Your Usenet Are Belong to Wesley Crusher Similar:Too Short a Season (TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 15) When an old admiral youthens, shows…Rewatching ST:TNG. I was underwhelmed…HistoryStar Wars: TIE Fighter 20th Anniversary RetrospectiveIn the Star Wars films, the empire is ev…CybercultureIt not only went VROOM, it carried chunky plastic letters that could *spell* VROOM.Tonight,…

Google's Gaggle of Discussions

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:Fair use prevails as Supreme Court rejects…

All Your Wesley Crusher Are Belong to Taliban

How many Internet memes can you cram into one weblog posting? —All Your Wesley Crusher Are Belong to Taliban Similar:CNN Holds Morning Meeting To Decide What Viewers Should Panic About For Rest Of DayKicking around ideas ranging from an upt…AmusingShould the AP Really Have Fired This Pulitzer-Prize War Photographer?The original shot caught a Syrian rebel…

Hearing Aid

“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:William Shakespeare’s Star WarsBecause apparently I am not already nerd…AestheticsSlash: Not Just…

What does Sept 11 teach us about online journalism?

“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:Reading Game/Text: EverQuest, Alienation, and Digital Communitiesthough Limbaugh is wrong to decide that …CybercultureChatBot Helps Crack the Case of the…