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:Without ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle at the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships. “It doesn’t have…
: “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:Journalism, Fake News, and "Clickbait Defamation"Sometimes when my social media…
. Painfully funny small-town satire from The Onion. —Wal-Mart Opens Store in Winesburg, Ohio Similar:How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled”I remember the first meeting where I ac…BusinessMy #AugustWilson #Steampunk NightmareToday is my last official day teaching a…AcademiaYou have 20 minutes before the sun blows upThis charming game focuses on…
“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:AmLit Rescue — Scratch GameA student in my “American Literature: 19…AcademiaStudents must learn how to get things wrong. Only one subject does that. [English.]I invest a lot…
“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:The Case for Slow Journalism: When to Unplug from the Endless News CycleOften when I see people in my social med…CybercultureThe joy of 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:3-Year-Old's Birthday Party Theme: 'NewsHour'When…
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:Daughter is in 2 theatrical productions opening this…
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:Major benefits for students who attend live theater, study findsI wonder what additional measurable bene…CultureFacebook is predicting the end of the written wordFacebook’s video push threatens the edit…BusinessThe Medium…
“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:Details matter in journalism. Get the brand of the beer, the make, m…EthicsReporters’ Privilege Compendium | Pennsylvania Shield Laws Guide – RCFPThe Pennsylvania…
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:About to…
Danielle Preston —You Know You’re a Technical Writer When… Similar:Higgs and Englert Are Awarded Nobel Prize in PhysicsBeautiful, beautiful science writing by …Current_EventsHaving a rough day. But in a span of about 24 hours, three former students reached out to …One former student said I’m the only adu…AcademiaWhy We Forget Most of the Books We…
A student of mine makes comments on interactive fiction, garish colors, and dancing text. Jan Carroll —Just For the Record Similar:What Do People Do on Mobile Devices? (Infographic)A handful of vignettes communicating the…BusinessIN-ZOOM (A world-premiere 10-minute play)A very current short play by Bill Irwin….CultureBing's AI chatbot helped me solve a technical problem, then showed me…
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:Ross deserves better "Friends": a defense of nerdsI was not a fan of this show,…
“[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:Anyone capitalized in a standard how way…
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:I Don’t Know Why Everyone’s in Denial About College Students Who Can’t Do the ReadingIn my lit classes, I’m definitely teachi…Academia▶ Taylor Mali on "What Teachers Make"I find that re-watching this every…
On the tasteless side, but still very funny: “Some Features You May Need on Your Computer“ Similar:I'd love to do a shift at these gorgeous #neovictorian workstations, created in #Blender3D…AestheticsMisplaced Auto-playing ABC Video Clip (with No Pause Button) Diminishes the Value of the S…The video clip on this page does not mat…AestheticsMake America Meme Again!…