“Coming very near the bottom of an official list of religions put out by the [U.K.] Statistics Office, Jedi Knight is known by the code 896. Heathen comes in at 897. Followed by Atheist at 898 and lastly None with 899.” Kieren McCarthy —Jedi Knights Achieve [Sort of] Official Recognition as Religion (The Register) Similar:WARNING:…
“[T]he Internet story has come to an end.” Reuters —Silicon Alley Reporter Magazine Closes (Wired) Similar:Riding on Square WheelsStan Wagon, a mathematician at Macaleste…DesignSCUBA Diving at the PoolBecause a beautiful sunny day at the poo…CultureHealing the WebThe lessons I learned in just over an ho…BusinessShatoetry iPhone app lets you put… words… in… William Shatner's… mouthWilliam…
“a cybernetic process whereby people in power deepen their dominance by using online communication to negotiate for the consent of the subjugated.” Mike Dorsher —Hegemony Online (UWEC) Similar:We’re in Denial About the True Cost of a Twitter ImplosionThe public disintegration of a platform …Current_EventsDonald Trump's chilling escalation of his war with the mediaA journalist’s response…
“The Argument: A dying human being is like an automated spacecraft leaving the Solar System and entering interstellar space. Do we leave this world and arrive at another world?” Poetry by Jonathon Vos Post —Valedictory on Software Similar:BBC News – TS Eliot's widow Valerie dies aged 86 She guarded her late husband’s liter…CultureWhat Twitter Can…
MIT will offer its courses online for free: “This ‘OpenCourseWare’ initiative represents a radically different approach to digitizing, marketing and globalizing education.” —Brave New World for Higher EducationTechnology Review) Similar:I regularly teach Uncle Tom's Cabin, but have never seen it before. BooksWe Are the Product Facebook SellsFacebook does not care what Hobbit you a…BusinessThe Tyranny…
(CNet) :”Sometimes they were raw, sometimes they were pretentious and sometimes they were flat-out wrong–I’d dare say that many times it was all three combined!–but the information was fresh and real and unmediated by any intervening institutions.” Charles Cooper —When Blogging Came of Age Similar:Terms of ServiceFascinating example of new media journal…AestheticsThe College Fear FactorWhat…
(SiliconValley.com) “Via e-mails, mailing lists, chat groups, personal Web journals and non-standard news sources, they received valuable context that the major American media couldn’t, or wouldn’t, provide.” Dan Gillmor —Webloggers Offer View Media Can’t Similar:Our news is dominated by people in expensive suits, shouting at each otherMost of the time, I religiously avoiid w…Culture'Dream' casting…
Of course, you can’t trust everything that you find on the Internet…. weblogs and e-mail chains are also responsible for spreading hoaxes: “Is it true, for instance, that Osama bin Laden profits directly from sales of gum arabic, a food additive? Or that radio DJs are forbidden to play more than 150 popular songs now?” …
“Every time he excuses his own refusal to observe the rules he dictates to everyone else on the grounds that he ‘knows his audience’, take one drink…. Every time he quotes statistics from an unrelated study to prove a point about Web usability, take one drink.” Jakob Nielsen Drinking Game Not that I’m condoning the…
“In which we take apart the news and put it back together all wrong.” A collection of short stories composed by re-arranging the words found in front-page news stories. Shelly Jackson —Front Page News Similar:A ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ Lesson for the Digital AgeIf we were surprised Tuesday night, it w…CultureYes Virginia the Musical coming to…
Imagine 50 people getting together to write a 20,000-line epic poem, on time and on budget. Software programmers have an added constraint — it has to run! —Software Development as Community Poetry Writing Similar:‘Broken Age’ ReviewThis will be my self-reward when I finis…CybercultureYou know the Arsène Lupin story has a few more plot twists in…
“These angry radicals who have now declared war on the West emerged from a movement we financed and armed. Then it turned against us.” LA Times —The Warnings Were on Page 1 Similar:Adorable Dolphin encounter makes Texas sloth video go viralMy social media feed just featured adora…AmusingOpen Access Journals in the Field of EducationUpdate, June…
From the user license for Microsoft FrontPage 2002: “You may not use the Software in connection with any site that disparages Microsoft, MSN, MSNBC, Expedia, or their products or services…” Ed Foster (I don’t have FP 2002, so I can’t check this. –DGJ) —A Punitive Puppeteer? Similar:FULL BLOOM at Latrobe’s Olde Main, Aug 30-Sep 2.CultureActually,…
“The popular image of the computer hacker seems to be part compulsive programmer preferring the company of computers to people, and part criminal mastermind… But this is at best only half the story.” Gisle Hannemyr —Technology and Pleasure Similar:Games Without Frontiers: Victory in VomitWired reviews Mirror’s Edge When you ru…AestheticsScoutship Flyby — #Blender3d and #MakeHumanhttps://youtu.be/8bgqZ_-iBcEAestheticsFacebook’s…
“By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history’s unmarked grave of discarded lies.” George W. Bush —The President’s Speech Similar:California…
, the captain gave an inspirational speech over the loudspeaker, and concluded: “Now, since we’re a family for the next few hours, I’ll ask you to turn to the person next to you, introduce yourself, tell them a little about yourself and ask them to do the same.” Wash Times —Aboard Flight 564 Similar:Salman Rushdie:…
Many modern idioms are mechanical: “she has a screw loose,” or “he broke down crying”. Every culture has its in-jokes and specialized language. The Jargon File defines computing terms such as “404 compliant” and “kluge“. Similar:'The Meatball: Not a Funny Rhyme' says Peter Jerz, age 5-3/4; or, Child Traumatized by 'On…I went into the office…
“Ever since Stalin and the Nazis, reality has transcended fiction.” (BBC) —Playwright Arthur Miller on Terrorism Similar:The Wedding PresentI’m approaching day 900 in my Duolingo a…Culture11 Tips H.P. Lovecraft Had for Novice Writers”Avoid reading so as not to taint your c…CultureA woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false — tale about Roy Moore.…
‘‘Hello,’’ a man’s voice, not my husband’s, said. I had no idea whom I’d called, but I had finally gotten through to New York, to news. NYT Magazine —Talk to Me Similar:Thirteen seconds. Dozens of bullets. One explosive photo.Forget for a moment that the picture is …CultureHow To Talk To Babies About Semiotics (and Marxist…
“The freedom we have enjoyed in the states has been unusual in world history and may be becoming more unusual.” (BBC) —Novelist John Updike witnessed the WTC Attack Similar:Air miles be damned. I say the best way to find out about the joy and complexity of our wo…Essays like this remind me why I picked…