The second most popular form of entertainment after television, video games have rapidly become the largest segment of the entertainment industry. Mounting evidence lends support to what parents have suspected all along — violent videogames encourage violent behavior. Contemporary Pediatrics Similar:Why We’ll Never Live in SpaceAs much as I love escapist science ficti…BusinessDisaster (#StarTrek #TNG…
: “Every report you ever write from this day until the day you die should start out by saying something nice about the product or service you are reviewing. Then you can get down to business.” Tog —How to Deliver a Report Without Getting Lynched Similar:I can't believe I'm fact-checking a viral story about the…
. Painfully funny small-town satire from The Onion. —Wal-Mart Opens Store in Winesburg, Ohio Similar:Let Me Explain Why Miley Cyrus’ VMA Performance Was Our Top Story This MorningBrutally honest satire, from The Onion. …AmusingBusiness as Usual #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 18) Quark accepts a lucrative …Rewatching ST:DS9 Playing tongo at the …BusinessPublic, Private,…
“If anything, the recent expansion of literacy and educational opportunities has increased our access to literature and our enjoyment of it.” J. Peder Zane —What Good is Literature? Similar:Educated, uplifted, boosted, and fed. Block party celebrating August Wilson continues thro…CultureFirst Stanford code poetry slam reveals the literary side of computer codeLeslie Wu, a doctoral student…
“Today, I’m one of the world’s leading anthropologists, an accomplished archaeologist, and an award-winning novelist. And, at 41, I’m only now becoming aware of the globetrotting rut I’ve been in my entire life. Looking back on everything I’ve seen and done, I can’t help but ask, ‘Is that all there is?’” more satire from The…
Microsoft Word requires at least 30% more keystrokes and 100% more mouse moves to accomplish certain editing tasks than would an optimal word processor. Forbes —Bad Design Can Be Costly Similar:Why We’ll Never Live in SpaceAs much as I love escapist science ficti…BusinessLego faces are getting angrier, study findsThe headline is hype. How about “Lego…
“We are the Gist Generation. We have acquired a taste for hit-and-run, cut-and-paste knowledge. We expect a home page or e-mail correspondence to give us the gist and only the gist—time is money and you’re a click away from an iconographic trash can, so get to the point.” Jeff Barbian Similar:An Unexpecting MinorityTruthfully, I expected…
This computer game tries something new. “If a character tells you he’ll call you tomorrow, he’s not kidding. You’ll have to wait a day to get his information. Faxes may arrive without warning, and instant messages may pop up onscreen when you least expect them — maybe even while you’re at work.” Wired.com —“Majestic” Invades…
“Organized religion was a primary target of every one of the twentieth century’s regimes of terror. But as is evident in Nazi and Communist terrors alike, organized irreligion (to put it in Royal’s sharp formulation) has proved far more dangerous than organized religion ever was.” Alicia Mosier Similar:Soldiers and Sailors Memorial and Museum Another visit…
You might assume there could not be a worse time for a field calling itself “Internet studies.” You would be wrong. The Chronicle of Higher Education Similar:At Age 11, I Named the Curiosity RoverWonderful story! I still remember that …EducationRevision: Don't just wash off your old sedan. Turn it into a pink monster truck or…
“Lambert received the e-mail in December, a piece of scrap in the vast electronic junkyard that is the World Wide Web. Regrettably, she says now, she removed the letter’s forwarding markers and unintentionally put her name at the bottom, making it appear that she was the author.” Washington Post —Don’t forward that e-mail just yet!…
“[W]hat could be more scholarly than a nice, authoritative statistic, quoted from a professional journal in the student’s field?” The Chronicle of Higher Education —Telling the Truth About Damned Lies and Statistics Similar:NINE officials have COVID-19 after 'superspreader' SCOTUS eventSo negative! Why does the lying America-…Current_EventsNo, this Jeopardy! contestant was not making a white supremacist…
The longer the company’s annual report, the less successful the company. This isn’t really a technical writing issue — usually companies with bad news to report need a lot of words to explaining themselves. But if this is what it takes to get some pinhead CEOs to appreciate brevity, so be it. Wired Similar:Want a…
Danielle Preston —You Know You’re a Technical Writer When… Similar:How "Hail Mary" Became Inextricably Linked to American FootballI am revamping an existing “News Writing…CultureGoogle 1407Philipp Lenssen and I had a bit of fun i…AestheticsDance of "the awkward nerd trying to act really cool" Carolyn (doing a really cool dance m…AestheticsJimmy Kimmel Reveals "Worst Twerk Fail…
A student of mine makes comments on interactive fiction, garish colors, and dancing text. Jan Carroll —Just For the Record Similar:BREAKING: All ITT Campuses Will CloseAll ITT Tech campuses will be shut down,…AcademiaMy 4Cs StoryI chaired a session on Friday, and gave …AcademiaAdobe steals your colorWhat a horrible situation. The Adobe mon…AestheticsMy brother set my…
learns something from my freshman comp students. On March 13, 2000, I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen to tell him that six of my freshmen spent 8-30 minutes on his site without finding a plain-text “search” link on the home page. A week or so later, I noticed that Nielsen changed his page, making the…
“[W]hen it comes to writing, whether you’re a seventh grader, a college student, a professor, a beginning copywriter, or an accomplished novelist, a B isn’t good enough.” Kathy Henning —For Writers, Writing Is Never a Waste of Time: Part 2 Similar:A tale of two headlines: CNN and Fox shade their reports of UFC crowd's reaction…
“[A] society without literature, or a society in which literature has been relegated–like some hidden vice–to the margins of social and personal life, and transformed into something like a sectarian cult, is a society condemned to become spiritually barbaric, and even to jeopardize its freedom.” Mario Vargas Llosa Similar:Humans Aren’t Mentally Ready for an AI-Saturated…
The creator of Cliffs Notes has died. Here’s his obituary — although I know you probably won’t bother to read the whole thing. Similar:Student journalist experiences the 'trickle down' of hostility toward the pressMy own students haven’t described encoun…AcademiaWhat Is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for Non-GeeksI’ve been following the frustrating slow…Current_EventsPerspective | How NPR’s…
On the tasteless side, but still very funny: “Some Features You May Need on Your Computer“ Similar:Page Layout 101: Proximity creates context. Don't let this happen to you.DesignMore #steampunk control panel goodness. #blender3d #design #aesthetics #blender3dartAestheticsThat Class Where Stanford Profs Projected Hundreds of Zoom Students on a Video WallOf course, not all institutions happen t…AcademiaImagine,…