. Painfully funny small-town satire from The Onion. —Wal-Mart Opens Store in Winesburg, Ohio Similar:He Googles for some random memes to connect with weak prose, but what he does next is shoc…BusinessHumanities and STEM Can and Should Get Along BetterIn my lit and writing classes, I regular…AcademiaNot sure whether I should be proud or embarrassed……
“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:Students whom I haven't met yet… Students whom I haven’t met yet, I’l…AcademiaIncoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks and iPads TodayI find it impossible not…
“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:R.I.P. Blogging, Killed By Screenshorts Are screenshorts slowly killing bloggi…CybercultureWriting Tips for Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Matters Pers…AcademiaMy "Writing About Literature" Students Are Sampling Text…
“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:Old English Has a Serious…
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:Will Journalism Be a Crime in a Second…
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:Chapbooks — the latest assignment in my “History and Future of the Book” class.Students have already done a 400-word sp…AcademiaCoding Bootcamps and the New For-Profit Higher EdThere are actually…
“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:Scaring People Can Make Them Healthier, But It Isn't Always The Way To GoAs my freshman writing students assemble…CultureComputers and Writing workshop on…
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:“for every…
Danielle Preston —You Know You’re a Technical Writer When… Similar:It started with a ride down an escalator and ended with a press conference at Four Seasons…Earlier today Trump tweeted that his cam…BooksAnnie — Cabinet TomorrowMy 10yo daughter Carolyn played Annie in…AmusingA Robotic Dog’s MortalityFascinating video journalism from the Ne…CultureUpdated a post about Sarah Rush –…
A student of mine makes comments on interactive fiction, garish colors, and dancing text. Jan Carroll —Just For the Record Similar:No I didn’t exactly *plan* to spend my Sunday evening tweaking the pedestrian access to th…AestheticsA week of nonstop breaking political news stumps AI chatbotsChatbots are designed to give conversati…CybercultureDungeons & Dragons & PhilosophyIn one…
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:Thesis Reminders and Transitions: Touched up and created an infographic for a web page tha…Touched…
“[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:The Uses of Being WrongUnlike that of…
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:Crabby 10yo Ties Self to Pole to Protest InjusticeMy wife confiscated my preteen daughter’…CultureThe battle against airborne COVID has shifted. Why your mask is the last layer of defence There has been…
On the tasteless side, but still very funny: “Some Features You May Need on Your Computer“ Similar:How not to attract women to coding: Make tech pinkJust watched videos of the musicals “Tho…AcademiaKids Turn Bratz into Star Wars Rey DollsSometimes, I catch myself thinking there…AestheticsWhen He Clicked the Link, You Won't Believe How Disappointed He WasAuthors…
“It is our duty, as responsible citizens, to stop the rot. Next time someone touches base with you or moves your goal posts, punch them in the face.” Clint Witchalls —Business and the English Language Similar:Pieces of Earliest Games RecoveredThese small sculpted stones unearthed fr…CultureFirst-Gen Social Media Users Have Nowhere to GoI check into Musk’s…
“Europe once sought to bring enlightenment—literacy, civil society, modern technology—to benighted parts of the world. It did so in the name of progress and civilization. The ethic of Third Worldism dictates that yesterday’s enlightenment be rebaptized as today’s imperialistic oppression.” Roger Kimball Similar:The Most Epic Demo in Computer History Is Now an OperaThis is nice,…