Other Fun Stuff

• "Who killed American literature?" Colleges don't want to teach it anymore. What?!!

 

• When you're thirsty, do you ask for a "pop" or a "soda"? The answer to that question depends on what part of the country you live in. See this map to see where you stand on the great pop or soda question.

 

• Now this is cool! Do you like documentary films? There are a number of internet sites that let you stream hundreds of documentary films — free. They can be found here, here, and here.

 

 

• Is Google Making Us Stupid? The author of this piece has written a book in which he further explores the changes constant internet usage may be causing in our brains.

 

 

•  From high school outcast to adult whiz: What made them outcasts in high school makes them stars in the world.

 

 

• This writer says America's high school students are burned out.

 

• Teaching English as a foreign language can lead to a gap-year experience that lasts a lifetime. The only requirements? That you be at least age 18 and fluent in English.

 

• Are schools offering boys enough career options? Some experts say no.

 

• This is causing a stir: "Death to high school English". The author, a college composition instructor, argues that the emphasis on literature study in high school English classes means students aren't learning how to write. This writer takes it further, asking: "And should accredited high schools be teaching a canon of literature at all? It’s not the business of the state to be imposing taste on the citizens." Hmmmm…

 

• A professor becomes a student, and finds out while sitting in the back of the room -- instead of standing in the front -- that students are not taking notes as they type furiously on their computers; they're posting to Facebook and using other social media…during class!

 

 

• A study showing that only 55% of all college graduates are employed in jobs that require college degrees. Yikes! Choose that major wisely. It also looks at earnings by degree area.

 

 

• E-book sales top paperback book sales for the first time. How long before schools are issuing students Kindles or other e-readers instead of books?

 

• One reviewer says "Scream 4," partly filmed in Ann Arbor, is surprisingly great. I shamelessly love the horror genre, and love the horror-spoof genre even more.

 

• YouTube video: Why Students Don't Read in Class. This video says it's because they don't get to choose what they read.

 

• Why do we capitalize the pronoun "I"? "There’s no grammatical reason for doing so, and oddly enough, the majuscule 'I' appears only in English."

 

• Study points to a single, original language for all humans. Cool!

 

• What makes a great teacher? Do you agree? Disagree?

 

• Are those who choose the Nobel Prize for Literature "clueless" about American literature?

 

• The Daily Telegraph recently published this tongue-in-cheek article, "Not the 50 Books You Must Read Before You Die." Ahhh, British humor. Some classics take quite a satirical beating here.

 

 

• Meet the Whiz Kids: 10 Overachievers Under 21

 

• Today's front page — See what nearly 1,000 newspapers from over 90 countries feature on their front pages each day.

 

• An interesting look at the demise of the American shopping mall. Did Facebook kill the mall?

 

• The number of AP test takers has nearly doubled since 2001. How has that impacted average scores?

 

• A guy who makes his living writing papers for college students tells how he does it. If true, his story is quite stunning.

 

 

• Need a photo for something? Check out Morgue File, a collection of free use photos. And here are more free images available for download.

 

• For the first time in its 245-year history, Rutgers University will pay its commencement speaker this year, American author Toni Morrison, who will receive $30,000 for her commencement address. Apparently this is a growing trend at universities.

 

• An essay from Time magazine: "In Praise of the Humble Comma."

 

• One of my favorite essays: "Shop Class as Soulcraft" — an ode to working with one's hands.

 

 

• To space, twice, or not to space, twice: "Two spaces after a period: Why you should never, ever do it."

 

• "In the Shadow of the Big House": A great article about three Pioneer grads who dreamed of playing football for the Wolverines — and made it.

 

• "How to write a great novel" – 11 top authors tell how they do it.

 

• Another great piece of writing: Jon Krakauer's long, long article in Outside magazine about the 1996 Mt. Everest expedition disaster, that was expanded to become his best-selling book Into Thin Air. Krakauer is a terrific non-fiction writer. While you're at the site, click around. Outside magazine features some great writing.

 

 

• The Top 100 Works of Journalism in the 20th century. You know you want to click over and see at least the top three, don't you? Some I agree with; some I don't.

 

 

• The 140 Best Twitter Feeds. Time magazine says these 140 "tweets," each totaling 140 characters or less, are shaping our national conversations.