Concerning events in and around Anoka, MN
This is so depressing/infuriating that I actually recommend putting off reading until you have time to decompress afterward. I took it in two chunks.
“This isn’t something you kid about, Brittany,” her mom scolded, snatching the kitchen cordless and taking it down the hall to call the Johnsons. A minute later she returned, her face a mask of shock and terror. “Honey, I’m so sorry. We’re too late,” she said tonelessly as Brittany’s knees buckled; 13-year-old Sam had climbed into the bathtub after school and shot herself in the mouth with her own hunting rifle. No one at school had seen her suicide coming.
plagiarism 101
If you’re ripping off someone else’s talk and forget to mention that your whole act is borrowed material, you should probably do it at a conference where that person is not the keynote speaker. Dan Meyer attended a session this morning that sounded very, very familiar…
from the comments
Michael: As with many academic pursuits, we must restrict our purview to that tiny segment of the field which contains the subject of our discussion, ignoring and sometimes completely forgetting about practical applications of our study within the field and in the world at large.
Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America
My same friend Susan who brought us the critically acclaimed Omega Institute in Your Pants, 2010 edition today supplied the following list, from the book Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David L. Wagner, Dale F. Schweitzer, J. Bolling Sullivan, and Richard C. Reardon:
Sordid Snout
The Herald
Feeble Grass Moth
Dead-wood Borer
The Betrothed
The Little Wife
Serene Underwing
The Consort
Dejected Underwing
Inconsolable Underwing
Tearful Underwing
Sad Underwing
The Penitent
Sappho Underwing
Youthful Underwing
Darling Underwing
Read more
from the moderated comments
Mormons go door to door also. LDS say Jesus came to America gave Mormon founder golden plates.
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus returned second coming October 1914.
Both religions have doctrines scams no better or worse than other religions.
Think we’ll get a Mormon President?
Charles Coleman, the celluloid adventurist
Coleman, 47, is film programmer for Facets Multimedia.
One thing being lost is the art of conversation, of people seeing a movie and then actually having a good talk afterwards. — As told to J.R. Jones.
Man, does this put me in mind of my friend Charlie’s thoughts re: the “hidden cinema” he frequents in Buenos Aires.
from the moderated comment spam
Yes! this jet train built for political prisoners to dump in vast wilderness of Siberia.swift and speedy.one time kommissar directed to design bureau…,more and more jet engines to be fitted for smooth travel.genadi enraskoi of kommissar is responsible to see daily progress of the project.he was so keen to travel by this nasty time capsule.but he died in road accident before the project reached at testing stage.another prototype TURBOPROP,train was destroy after its first experimental run.unfortunatly they can`t perfectly aligned the pushing and pulling engines.soviets are planned new type of tracks for this train.but after some serious controlling and safety problems they abandoned this project.
tweet of the day
In case you need more context.
from the moderated comments
Come on ppl! twitter limits ones tweets…not always easy to express ones thoughts in 140 characters! Like you’ve nvr hit the wrong key…like you’ve nvr mispelled a word…like you’ve nvr had your lock cap on and not realize it. If you follow @cher and are awake when she does tweet you’d understand what she’s talking about…she’s actually answering ppls questions unlike most celebs on twitter. She talks to her fans and even the “haters”. If you don’t like her tweets don’t follow…and leave your comments to yourself! Quite honestly it’s an honor to be talking to such a mega star!!!! Don’t fk with @cher!!!!
from the spam
One day. Xiao Ming another class …. a sudden “rush”(fart) a cry;sitting next to a small U.S. scolded and said: Xiao-Ming Ah ~ if you could not make a noise;
from the comments
Wait, all this time “Tupac scholar” was a valid career option and nobody told me?
from the comments
At the time I worked on campus helping to run the recreational sports program. We visited other schools once a year for the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association conference and either at UNR or Boise State I heard a story about a guy who was hit by a maintenance cart on campus and had minor brain damage. His settlement with the school basically amounted to lifetime tuition plus room and board. He was a career student. According to campus lore he had been on campus for something like 20 years.
I have no idea if any of it was true or if it was just a story they told people responsible for driving those little electric carts around campus (something I got to do every now and again) but it sounded pretty good to me, except for the brain damage part.
headline of the day
Teacher Sets Herself on Fire in Front of Students
writing prompts
Deron asked if I’d be willing to do a weekly update highlighting some of the stuff from the other places I post things. I said yes, especially because it sounded like a few others might be doing the same thing, which I know I would really enjoy. So, here goes. I’ll show you mine if… you know.
The main thing I’ve been throwing internet time at is a Tumblr where I post writing prompts.
headline of the day, II
Kindergartener brings crack pipe, meth for show-and-tell
from the comments
Speaking of cons, as a college freshman I decided I was a talented hair stylist. I announced that I could cut anybody’s hair. I had never done such a thing, except to cut some bubble gum out of my bangs as a 5-year-old. So, three friends with beautiful, long straight hair sat down, one by one, in front of the dorm mirror. I draped their shoulders with towels. And I cut their hair into long shags. They looked fabulous and were very pleased. I continued to give them trims for a while, but eventually got bored with it.
I wish, at the time, I had announced that I was an entrepreneur amassing my first billion dollars…
what’s the difference between the alligator and crocodile?
(via laughing squid)
headline of the day
Calif professor wanted for leading gang, drug ring
from the comments
Daryl’s quote brings to mind Jon Huntsman’s recent newsworthy antics, mainly that he’s distancing himself from his opponents by saying that he trusts scientists’ expertise from everything ranging from global warming to evolution. Strange to see how this has become controversial, but again, I think the bottom line is that A) conservatives also tend to be very religious and science often makes claims that contradict religion and B) conservatives don’t like to be told what to do. Palin et al. often frame the debate around environmental regulations by saying “they want to restrict how you do a, b, and c” – it’s a rhetorical fallacy that never accounts for the actual science or reasoning behind regulations, but it’s been pretty successful so far.
I recently saw that a reporter was questioning Rick Perry on how, if he selectively believed what the scientific community claims, how he could be trusted to responsibly support the scientific community in keeping America on the forefront of technological advancement. Not surprisingly, he didn’t really have an answer.
Take that, Scroggins!
Most of us regard Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five as a masterpiece of thought-provoking science fiction, but the School Board of Republic High School in Missouri felt differently. They decided to ban the novel.
And in response, the Vonnegut Memorial Library offered to provide a free copy to any of the 150 students who were originally supposed to read it.
On the redemption of physical reality
“This is, of course, what (film theorist) Siegfried Kracauer meant when he spoke of the ‘redemption of physical reality.’ It’s also at the heart of Werner Herzog’s new documentary, The Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011), in which he attempts to retrieve the ‘now’ of prehistoric cave painters flickering into life – the analogy often used to explain the psychological power of film.”
In the same way that cutting ourselves off from any older aspect of our culture diminishes us by dimming our awareness of who we were and how that made us who we are, there is something lost when we turn away from the gray ones.
It’s quite a long piece, but it is worth reading. Bill Mesce’s The “Gray Ones” Fade To Black, brought to attention by Ebert.
Matt Damon on Education Policy
Huh.
quote out of context
“I congratulate them for doing what’s right and removing the two books,” said Scroggins, who didn’t attend the board meeting. “It’s unfortunate they chose to keep the other book.”
Mining for college money
In my ongoing quest to find college money, I came across a work related email listing all the scholarships available to undocumentated workers. Mentioned in this list was the Ayn Rand Foundation writing competition. So flock, has anyone read an Ayn Rand novel that is worth writing an essay in hopes of getting scholarship money?
Remembering Scott, 6
From Mark:
Remember those “basic skills” tests we took as TX school children (they were probably administered everywhere) where you’d bubble in the answers? Scott told me that he read the first question, then bubbled in the rest of the test booklet in a design that resembled an eyelet dress fabric that he liked.
