10 Myths about Copyright Explained

“An attempt to answer common myths about copyright seen on the net and cover issues related to copyright and USENET/Internet publication.” Brad Templeton —10 Myths about Copyright Explained Similar:The White House’s plan to colonize the moon, briefly explained: Putting humans on the moon… Political tensions alone could be a ma…BusinessThere is a thing in literature,…

Scott Adams: Storytelling in Computer Games

The author of the first commercial computer game (“Adventureland,” 1978) leads a lively discussion on narrative, copyright, and violence. He also describes his first night playing EverQuest.  UWEC English Festival.  —Scott Adams: Storytelling in Computer Games Similar:First Day in the Theatre for Twelfth Night (May 3-12) Daughter: (is sad her “first day in …CultureIn March,…

Helvetica Bold Oblique Sweeps Fontys

Helvetica Bold Oblique was the big winner at Tuesday’s 73rd Annual Fonty Awards, taking home 11 statues, including those for Best Sans Serif and the highly coveted 2001 Best Font prize. Satire from The Onion —Helvetica Bold Oblique Sweeps Fontys Similar:I can’t fix this broken world but I guess I did okay using #blender3d to…

Confusion Over Free Speech and Copyright

Dimitri Sklyarov is an unlikely poster boy for American freedom. The Russian programmer was arrested after he spoke at the “Def-Con” hacker convention in Las Vegas about a program, offered for sale by his employer Elcomsoft, which cracks the encryption in Adobe’s e-book software. The Irish Times —Confusion Over Free Speech and Copyright Similar:Thirteen seconds.…

Forecasts of an E-Book Era Were, It Seems, Premature

“While the lack of interest in buying electronic books may baffle some big publishers, the tepid demand comes as no surprise to some bibliophiles.” NY Times (requires free registration) —Forecasts of an E-Book Era Were, It Seems, Premature Similar:In April, 2001 I was blogging about interactive fiction, Roget's Thesaurus, John Lennon, H… A student newspaper…

Law School Dean Fired for Plagiarism

He taught ethics classes in California! LA Times —Law School Dean Fired for Plagiarism Similar:ChatGPT Can't Kill Anything Worth PreservingMany are wailing that this technology sp…AcademiaDisagreement Hierarchy: Arguments, ranked from name-calling to the careful refutation of a…My weekend coronavirus lockdown project …AcademiaTrump admitted he attacks press to shield himself from negative coverage, 60 Minutes repor…Lesley…

The Write Stuff

“Handwriting is a basic skill that serves us all our lives. Unfortunately, a problem that primarily affects boys is rarely on anyone’s list of educational priorities.” Christina Hoff Summers —The Write Stuff Similar:T.S. Eliot: "when we do not know enough, we tend always to substitute emotions for thought…I remember being fascinated with and cha…Culture‘Twelfth Night’…

The Other in literary criticism

“[O]nce you have observed that the other is typically portrayed as lazy, dirty, stupid, crafty, womanly, passive, rebellious, sexually rapacious, childlike, enigmatic and a number of other mutually contradictory epithets, it is hard to know what to do next apart from reaching for yet another textual illustration of the fact.” London Review of Books  —The…

Data Smog

Too much information?  “[T] this weed in our informational landscape has just sprouted–it is only about 50 years old. Up until then, more information was almost always a good thing.” David Shenk —Data Smog Similar:Robot Dramas: Autonomous Machines in the Limelight on Stage and in SocietyA thoughtful overview of robots in cultu…AestheticsNo, Running Online Classes…

What Do the US News Rankings Measure?

“Log onto almost any college Web site and you’ll see the same beautiful students talking about their beautiful campuses and how much they learn. But there are no numbers, no studies, no objective measurements.” —Wash. Monthly —What Do the US News Rankings Measure? Similar:More Fake News from the Biased Fake Crappy Bad MediaClearly the pesky…

Velma Rules — Jinkies!

“Hey, all you crafty, capable women wearing chunky, horn-rimmed glasses (this year) and doing your brainy chick thing…” Hank Stuever, Wash. Post —Velma Rules — Jinkies! Similar:The Fantasticks (Oct 18-27, Theatre Factory)  https://youtu.be/SYp1jQaSwjo …CultureExploring Myst's Brave New World”We wanted a true persistent world. If y…CybercultureDetails from the author's life are not the magic ticket to…

Industry Standard

Failed to Practise What It Preached The magazine that chronicled the excesses of the dot.com revolution did not spot the extravagances that led to its own downfall. Mark Tran —Industry Standard Similar:Synchronous Online Classes: 10 Tips for Engaging StudentsEvery time I have taught an online class…AcademiaAssociate Dean of What?The idea of students as customers relies…AcademiaThe…

Real Headlines

Include Your Children when Baking Cookies New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half —Real Headlines Similar:We don’t need more STEM majors. We need more STEM majors with liberal arts training.A chemist celebrates the liberal arts. …AcademiaCNN sues President Trump and top White House aides for barring…

E-Books Solving a Problem Consumers Don't Have.

Despite the technological hoopla, nobody’s paying attention to e-books but the courts.  “Digitizing the printed page has put the very nature of books up for grabs, unleashing heated battles among writers, readers, librarians and technologists over who should control electronic books.” Chicago Tribune —E-Books Solving a Problem Consumers Don’t Have. Similar:Kids Rarely Read Whole Books…

CNN Should be Named the Crappy News

Not-Work: “CNN acts like they’re the network of record in Millennial America, just because of their award-winning Gulf War coverage. That was so 10 years ago, and people only watched because there was no MSNBC back then.” The Onion —CNN Should be Named the Crappy News Similar:Most Americans have a high opinion of the humanities,…

A New Read on Huck Finn's Distinctive Voice

At first, Huck Finn said “as if” instead of “like,” “wasn’t” and not “warn’t,” and described a night sky “sprinkled”–not “speckled”–with stars. A new edition of the American classic traces Mark Twain’s efforts to refine the speech of his most famous character. LA Times —A New Read on Huck Finn’s Distinctive Voice Similar:What Causes the…

First Rule of Usability? Don't Listen to Your Readers.

  (Watch them instead.) “Create a few alternative designs, show them to a group of users, and ask which one they prefer. Wrong. If the users have not actually tried to use the designs, they’ll base their comments on surface features.” Jakob Nielsen —First Rule of Usability? Don’t Listen to Your Readers. Similar:The quest to…

But what about Jemima Puddle-Duck?

At a graveyard near where Beatrix Potter (author of the “Peter Rabbit” stories) spent her youth: “Names on headstones included Mr Nutkin, Mr McGregor, Jeremiah Fisher, Tommy Brock – and even a Peter Rabbett.” BBC —But what about Jemima Puddle-Duck? Similar:What Jonson meant by Shakespeare's "small Latin and less Greek" Jonson famously eulogized Shakespeare …CultureYou…