Tag: education

Aug192011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Here’s some stuff I enjoyed this week

Here’s some stuff I enjoyed this week

Internet, Links
Here’s a fresh batch of some quality interweb finds I’ve come across over the last 7 days or so:  You've read endless commentary on the Miami University football booster scandal involving Nevin Shapiro, why not read the original investigation by Charles Robinson? (Yahoo! Sports) A very cool photo gallery by Natsumi Hayashi, the "levitating girl" from Tokyo (Geekologie) Will Google+ be able to unseat Flickr as the premiere destination for photographers on the web? (TechCrunch) A fascinating gallery of photographs taken by the East German Stasi (secret police) during the Cold War era. (Conscientious Extended) You'd swear this article on the role of police patrols and the impact of broken windows in a neighborhood wasn't written almost 30 years ago, it's so relevant (The Atlan
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Aug102011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Retrotisements — Back to School edition

Retrotisements — Back to School edition

Advertising, Retrotisements
One of the few advantages to being out of school is that I don't get to experience the huge buzzkill that occurs around mid-to-late summer, when the first Back to School ads start appearing. There you are, all happy and carefree when BAM! -- you walk into the mall and see giant displays of backpacks, notebooks, and other implements that have absolutely no use outside of school. So for the rest of the summer, you can't quite enjoy yourself on the same level because there's that little nagging reminder in your subconscious that any day now, it's all over. See, I don't have to deal with that anymore because I work for a living. Every day is like that, so eventually your soul is numbed and you kind of get used to it after awhile. Anyway, here's some ads to either get you back in the ...
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Jan262011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
The word cloud of Robert Burton’s letter to Jeff Hathaway

The word cloud of Robert Burton’s letter to Jeff Hathaway

Sports
For those who haven't heard of Robert G. Burton, he's the winner of January's Douchebag of the Month award.  Burton, who has donated millions of dollars to the University of Connecticut football program and whose name adorns their athletic complex, was most displeased with the recent hiring of head coach Paul Pasqualoni. That's pretty standard I guess.  Boosters get pissy all the time when a coach gets hired/fired, or some other decision is made that they don't agree with.  But Burton took it a step further, firing off a rambling, boastful, and just plain obnoxious six-page letter to UConn Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway. The letter itself (excluding attachment notices and other miscellaneous text) is more than 1,700 words long.  So here's the word cloud for it, which pretty much sum
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Jun82007 by Chris Holmes7 Comments
Posters of the WPA

Posters of the WPA

Ephemera
Back in the day (1935 to be precise), President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA), an enormous government program aimed at providing employment for millions of Americans affected by the Great Depression. The legacy of the WPA is a host of public works (bridges, roads, etc.) and cultural projects. That's all well and good obviously, but what I really care about are the cool posters designed to promote many of the WPA's programs. All of these images and hundreds more are available as part of the Library of Congress's "Posters of the WPA" collection. I've simply picked what I feel are some of the most visually appealing and added my usual pithy commentary. As you'll see, these great images are very much of their time and most display an Art Deco sensibili...
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Oct42005 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
“Boys Beware,” or The Courtship of Jimmy Barnes

“Boys Beware,” or The Courtship of Jimmy Barnes

Movies
Before the salad days when children and teenagers could look to trusted role models like MTV and professional athletes for guidance on how to behave, there were educational films. School kids were treated to lectures in the popular "talkie" format that showed them how to conduct themselves in all facets of life. So after reading, writing and 'rithmetic, Little Johnny got to learn the do's and don'ts of important areas such as dating, hygiene, good study habits, avoiding the pervasive influence of filthy Communists and, of course, our pal the atom! In retrospect, most of these films appear rather quaint and benign, if not a bit creepy. And then there's 1961's "Boys Beware." In just ten minutes, this Sid Davis Production managed to simultaneously entertain, confuse, and frighten a
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