Stemwinder

Moving the Works...

2011-06-09T12:37:00.001-04:00

I'm going to try WordPress, and a new blog name.

Find me here:

http://preoccupedia.wordpress.com/

A Triumph of Regulation over Humanity

2009-10-13T17:00:00.001-04:00

The interesting thing about this story, addressing the expulsion of an elementary kid from school, is the way it veers away from the ridiculousness of the boy's punishment (45 days in reform school for bringing a Cub Scout mess kit utensil to school). You can't make a rule that covers every situation the same. You have to hire teachers and administrators who *can* make smart decisions and then *let* them make those decisions. This is *less safe* than going nuclear on every kid who wields a pointy stick like a sword. But it is also more human, and more prone to create an environment where kids learn human values and wisdom. Maybe public schools need these kinds of rules to avoid liability, but that suggests deep, deep trouble in public school land.

Watch the story veer into the suggestion that a teacher needs law enforcement training in order to begin addressing a situation like Zachary Christie's:

It’s a Fork, It’s a Spoon, It’s a ... Weapon? - NYTimes.com

“There are still serious threats every day in schools,” Dr. Ewing said, adding that giving school officials discretion holds the potential for discrimination and requires the kind of threat assessments that only law enforcement is equipped to make.

Really? Really really?

We're Shooting the Moon

2009-10-09T12:09:00.001-04:00

The Associated Press: NASA to moon: Get ready, here we come

Two NASA spacecraft are barreling toward the moon at twice the speed of a bullet, about to crash Friday into a lunar crater...

So Crazy He Broke the Translator. Yikes.

2009-09-26T18:48:00.001-04:00

Translator collapsed during Khadafy's rambling diatribe

That is all.

One Heckler Disrupting Staged Political Drama

2009-09-11T02:29:00.001-04:00

YouTube - Toledo Mayoral Candidate Ben Konop Heckled at Press Conference

Man, people make me laugh. People make me laugh, man.

Counting Crows Comes Up wth a Brilliant Way to Tour

2009-09-01T01:30:00.001-04:00

Traveling Circus and Medicine Show - Counting Crows, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and Augustana Official Tour Page

Why Can't R2D2 Talk?

2009-08-21T19:28:00.001-04:00

For some reason I imagine that George Lucas has layers of staff people whose job it is to keep him from seeing "commentary" of this kind of Star Wars.

AMC - Blogs - SciFi Scanner - John Scalzi's Guide to the Most Epic FAILs in Star Wars Design

Laser swords are still awesome, though.

Reasons to Like Bob Dylan

2009-08-16T00:54:00.001-04:00

Bob Dylan was picked up by the police last month in New Jersey. This version from ABC has more detail, but Dylan fans will especially enjoy the first and last lines of this shorter version.

For Fans of Kludges and Impending Disasters

2009-08-15T12:32:00.001-04:00

There, I Fixed It: Epic Kludges + Jury Rigs

Department of Overthinking It

2009-08-15T00:29:00.001-04:00

The linked story comes up with a complicated reason why hipster boys have decided beer bellies are cool. I have an easier one. They bought really tight t-shirts that were cool when they were 22. They still buy the same size, from the same stores, because that's what guys do. But they're 27 now, and they haven't worked out in a while, and, even if they did, they'd still have older, different bodies. Like a prof of mine once said to me, "Everything starts to go at 25!" They'll buy new shirts soon. And new cargo shorts.

Noticed - It’s Hip to Be Round - NYTimes.com

Clunkonomics

2009-08-13T00:42:00.001-04:00

So... Cash for Clunkers is kind of a stinker. And it doesn't seem that hard to explain or understand why. C'mon congress. C'mon journalists. Do better.

The Godzilla Solution - Forbes.com

John Hughes

2009-08-10T20:39:00.001-04:00

You may have already seen this, but if not, it's a worthwhile tribute to John Hughes:

We'll Know When We Get There: Sincerely, John Hughes

13-Year-Old and His Ghostwriter Try Out Walkman

2009-06-29T11:39:00.001-04:00

This story about a 13-year-old kid trying out an old Sony Walkman is making the rounds.

It's a funny and smart piece, and I do buy that all these thoughts could have been had by a bright 13-year-old, even if I think some hack journalist or editor may have punched up the prose a bit in places. E.g., Only a small percentage of middle schoolers might come up with this sentence: "Furthermore, there were a number of buttons protruding from the top and sides of this device to provide functions such as "rewinding" and "fast-forwarding" (remember those?), which added even more bulk." Especially the "remember those" part.

Favorite bit: Where he tries hitting rewind and stopping it randomly to create a kind of shuffle play. This is the way we always use new-to-us tech, right? We try to make it do what our "old' tech does...

Blood-Curdling Tales of Bureaucratic Run-Around: Italian Airport Edition

2009-05-31T02:24:00.001-04:00

Teaser for Michael J. Totten's Blog Post, "The Worst Airline Company in the World"

"After spending several weeks each in Iraq and Lebanon at the end of 2008, I bought a plane ticket to the U.S. from Beirut on December 22 and figured I had plenty of time to get home for Christmas. I had no idea, though, that I had purchased my ticket from the worst airline company in the world – Italy’s national carrier Alitalia – and that a two-hour layover in Rome would turn into an ordeal that lasted longer than a week."

Could raise your blood pressure just reading this. You've been warned.

Napkin Art

2009-05-30T21:05:00.001-04:00

Christoph Niemann explains his relationship to coffee using coffee and napkins.

Movie Review Moments

2009-05-22T11:28:00.001-04:00

A. O. Scott's Terminator: Salvation review contains the awesome made up word of the day:

"A detailed recap of the franchise’s empretzeled chronology will not be possible here."

And Scott's Night at the Museum: Battle of Ben Stiller review gives a nice shout out to Amy Adams, who is funnier than you.

"Ms. Adams, impersonating Earhart as a flame-haired screwball-comedy heroine, is entirely delightful, though whether the pioneering pilot would ever have developed a crush on Ben Stiller is a matter for
scholars to ponder."

That is all.

Sea Worm

2009-03-20T17:15:00.001-04:00

Super Creepy Sea Worm

That is all.

Prawo Jazdy

2009-02-22T11:44:00.001-05:00

AFP: Ireland cracks case of worst Polish driver

Great Live Music: La Blogotheque

2009-02-15T15:41:00.001-05:00

LA BLOGOTHEQUE

If you liked the Black Cab Sessions, you'll like this, too.

Ten tips from Whedon

2009-02-07T19:53:00.001-05:00

Scriptwriting in the UK: Joss Whedon's Top 10 Writing Tips

I enjoyed the mix, here, of realism about process (and discipline) and desire to tell a good, human story.

Black Cab Sessions

2009-01-17T23:05:00.001-05:00

This just makes me happy. These guys are getting great musicians to play one song live while taking a cab ride. It'll make you happy, too, I bet.

BLACK CAB SESSIONS

Picasso Versus Cézanne

2008-12-26T17:26:00.001-05:00

A thought provoking article about art, practice, late blooming, early genius, and related phenomena. Best bits, for my money, touch on exploration, experimentation, research, hard work, and friendship. This one's long, but it'll be worthwhile especially for young creative types.

"Late Bloomers" (by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker)

A Pedagogy Geek "Woohoo" for SlideShare's PowerPoint Plugin

2008-12-16T13:53:00.001-05:00

SlideShare.net has just released a free PowerPoint plugin that allows users to upload presentations to SlideShare from within PowerPoint. Since my new university-supplied tablet PC means I'll be doing more with PowerPoint in the near future (and less with Mac's friendlier Keynote app), I'm excited to try this out. It looks like a quick-and easy way to post those presentations I'd like my students to be able to access after class and to keep those presentations up to date.

Lifehacker on the SlideShare PowerPoint plugin

SlideShare, PowerPoint

NYT Notable Books for 2008

2008-12-13T04:08:00.001-05:00

The list is out. I always like to look at the list.

Holiday Books - 100 Notable Books of 2008 - NYTimes.com

Muncie News

2008-12-07T01:08:00.001-05:00

"Smoke Break" Arrest
Samurai Arrest
Estrada on Patrol