Author Archives: jbj

This is a first for me: A blog post reconstructed from text messages, but here goes: A friend of mine at another university–for strict anonymity’s sake we’ll call him “Brian”–wrote this afternoon to ask whether I had any practical advice … Continue reading →

Last week I was in Porto for WikiSym 2008. It was both fun and informative, in ways some followup posts will explore. Perhaps the most interesting and invigorating part was the opportunity to be at a conference that was both … Continue reading →

Matt Sedensky has an interesting article out today on the problem of institutionalizing elderly Holocaust survivors. Here’s the lead: Nearly every night, Martin Hornung’s nightmare unfolds to the same haunting strains. Of Auschwitz. Of screaming voices. Of scenes he would … Continue reading →

It’s odd that these three came out within a week of each other, as they were conducted several months apart, but I do have three new interviews up over the past 10 days or so: In Clarkesworld Magazine, an interview … Continue reading →

The school board seems to have met to discuss the issue of “Kaizen Thursdays,” after a storm of criticism erupted from many parents who felt that they hadn’t been consulted, or even informed. And I think that Rick Guiness, the … Continue reading →

1. At meetings of each, there can frequently be more passionate discussion of the by-laws governing the election than the candidates for election or actual issues. 2. At both, it’s hard to find people willing to hold office. Thus, 3.  … Continue reading →

A few days ago I posted a low-tech way to notice more details in an English classroom; here’s a more web-friendly way. Assuming you have an electronic version of your text–generally (though not always) a safe assumption for my Victorian … Continue reading →

. . . both for us and for the 5-yr-old. We’re unready for the start of classes on campus, but the boy’s pretty excited about the start of kindergarten tomorrow. In part, this is the unfortunate effect of a name … Continue reading →

Yesterday we received a letter from the boy’s elementary school. (Dated 8/18, but received 8/30.) The school is supposed to be a good one, but the letter’s still got gaffes a-plenty. We’ll pass over the fact that they misspell the … Continue reading →

Wired calls Leland Chee “the Star Wars continuity cop,”  the man responsible for  “keep[ing] meticulous track of not just the six live-action movies but also cartoons, TV specials, scores of videogames and reference books, and hundreds of novels and comics.” … Continue reading →