“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:CNN Profiles Former White House "Chief Calligrapher"Today was the last day of the manuscript…AestheticsDC Art Science Evening Rendezvous (DASER)Live in the…
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:Winnie the Pooh saga turns 100 years old todayOne hundred years ago today a Canadian s…BooksMy brother set my parents up for…
“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:Mars Panorama — 10yo with iPad Pretends Her Bed Is NASA Roverhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4rCkr0oA…Current_EventsWinners Chosen in Annual Shakespeare Monologue and Scene ContestMichael Henninger took this…
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:Opinion | Fake News Comes to AcademiaThe three academics…
“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:The woman and the car: a chatty little handbook for all women who motor or want to…
“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:"Chores"…
, 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:Trump, halting…
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:5 Ways to Avoid Being Rude (According to 100-Year-Old Etiquette Rules)If you are a gentleman, never lower the …CultureWriting Computer…
“Ever since Stalin and the Nazis, reality has transcended fiction.” (BBC) —Playwright Arthur Miller on Terrorism Similar:President JoAnne Boyle Announces Plans to Retire from Seton Hill University in June 2013An amazing, inspiring set of accomplishm…AcademiaHow To Read a Poem Out LoudRead the poem slowly. Most adolescents s…Humanities The Expensive Education of Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley…
‘‘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:They called it a "flashlight" because early handheld lights weren't designed to shine stea…A student’s short story featuring a trea…CulturePrime Stage Theatre to end 2018-2019…
“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:Donald Trump's chilling escalation of his war with the mediaA journalist’s response to President Tru…Current_EventsAmazon’s Tactics Confirm Its Critics’ Worst SuspicionsThis week, as part of a contract…
10:19 a.m. To: Dad Call Kozue [my wife] and tell her I’m fine. We evacuated my office and I’m walking somewhere. War zone. Jonathan Segal —Another Eyewitness Account Similar:Earth doesn't need more 'successful people'.The plain fact is that the planet does n…AestheticsThe Declaration Of Independence, 240 Years Later (NPR)When in the Course of human events,…
The Internet has succeeded in becoming a tool that many regular people turn to in lieu of alternatives for communicating and for finding information. It has become a new, often-used tool in their personal toolbox. Dan Bricklin —The Internet is Now a Dominant Tool for Regular People Similar:Why Writing Matters When You Advertise a Cragslist…
Large collection of links to the World Trace Center tributes that have sprung up after the towers came down. —www.derrickito.com Similar:CNN Profiles Former White House "Chief Calligrapher"Today was the last day of the manuscript…AestheticsNested (procedurally generated game of expanding drop-down lists)A text game that you play by opening fol…AwesomeDuke stops assigning numeric values to essays,…
“Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don’t think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake. Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around.” Gordon Sinclair, 1973 —The Americans Similar:Headlines:…
Harrowing first-person account from a survivor. —“I was in the building when it all happened.” Similar:Essay on meaning of a life grounded in the liberal arts @insidehigheredFor David N. DeVries, the critical think…AcademiaWoodward dismisses CNN's lawsuit against the White House; Fox sides with CNNBob Woodward, half of the Washington Pos…CultureMixed ReceptionThis activity is set in…
Interesting article focuses on how people are using the Internet to react to the terrorists attacks on New York and Washington. Globe and Mail —Net Draws Fire, Offers Comfort in Wake of Disaster Similar:Post-Pandemic News: 7 Lessons We Can’t Afford to ForgetJournalists are often criticized for emp…CulturePeople who caught Covid in first wave get ‘no…
“One of the broadest definitions is that of Umberto Eco, who states that ‘semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign’ (Eco 1976, 7). Semiotics involves the study not only of what we refer to as ‘signs’ in everyday speech, but of anything which ‘stands for’ something else.” Daniel Chandler —Semiotics…
“Skyscrapers in general, and the twin towers of the World Trade Center in particular, symbolize, for many writers, either prideful arrogance, or a new technological beauty.” Dennis G. Jerz —World Trade Center: Reflections on the Disaster Similar:Adventure | T.M. CampGreat story of nerdiness and discovery a…CybercultureProfessor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other Things”By drawing parallels between…