Author Archives: insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Wait Til Next Year?

As a Boston/New England sports fan, the first decade of the new century went rather well. Perhaps too well. Our cultural ethos is constructed around losing and misfortune. Might it be that things are returning to normal? This was an … Continue reading

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Reading Cicero Otherwise

So I am more and more coming to the realization that I will likely have to learn at least Latin, if not Greek, in the coming years. My Latin is tolerable enough to work through small passages, but I admit … Continue reading

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Boycott Douglas Coupland–Or Not

Here’s another opportunity to use social media to get something right. Douglas Coupland recently taped a YouTube promotion for an upcoming book. In the promotion, he blatantly rips off an idea from ZeFrank’s The Show called “The Earth Sandwich.” Now, … Continue reading

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Two Bad Ideas from the Guardian

I’m not sure about this story on computers grading standardized tests, because I don’t know about the sophistication of the software or the levels of the students. My gut is to agree with Tim Oates, director of Cambridge Assessment:”Some approaches … Continue reading

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A Few Resources for Class

Here’s some cut and paste on my part from comments on the first two weeks of blogging. First, a few notes on linking. When you link to another blog or publication, try to link to a specific article, not the … Continue reading

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Santos on Hall on Kanye, Wilson, America, and Television

While I agree with Michael Hale’s general critique that Americans pay more attention to “artificial” dramas–be it Wilson’s outburst on the floor of Congress or Kanye’s usurpation of Taylor Swift’s moment, I resist his implication that such attention can be … Continue reading

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They Say, I Say — Kanye West Assignment

Today I want to practice using the They Say, I Say bridges you read this weekend in reference to the recent Kanye West debacle. Take ten minutes or so to explore the following links and reactions to both Kanye’s interruption … Continue reading

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Not All Things Are Equally True

I’ve had a few posts up recently regarding healthcare reform, most recently T.R. Reid’s 5 myths regarding international approaches to healthcare. Casey recently pointed me towards Ann Coulter’s echo of Reid’s piece, writing that he found it quite convincing. I … Continue reading

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4:37 Worth Your Time

Granted, it might be because our daughter is undergoing ridiculously expensive medical treatments, or that, over the last year, my wife and I have seen first hand how insurance companies and hospitals work over err… with…err… people. But watch this: … Continue reading

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Fun with Photoshop

Just in case you didn’t know, apparently multiculturalism hasn’t completed its world tour. This story from /. today: Polish Microsoft add changes a black guy to a white guy but neglects to edit his hand. The official site has gone … Continue reading

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