SmartFlix: SmartFlix will rent you nearly four thousand How-To DVDs in English. Subjects range from construction techniques (tile laying, cabinet making, timber framing), outdoor activities (kayaking, archery), and self-help, to such specialties as welding, lock-picking, and primitive fire-making. —– this might be better than netflx

Intellectual Property Watch » Inside Views: Indigenous Communal Moral Rights: A more and more robust literature on traditional cultural expressions is being written, discussed and even filtered into legislation. Most academic thinking on the topic agrees that Western intellectual property (IP) laws do not offer adequate or appropriate protection for certain types of creations. One […]

If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind: Did you see NCLB–The Football Version? Author Unknown l. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will […]

The Dream Palace of Educational Theorists – New English Review: Professionals have their own credentialing systems: You may have graduated law school, but you’ll still have to pass the bar exam, and so on. Then why make aspiring lawyers go to law school? Presumably for the same reason we insist on cube jockeys having bachelor’s […]

They Might Be Giants covers Phil Ochs: —— I dreamed i saw phil och’s last night as live as he could be.— billy bragg to the tune of Joe Hill.

10 signs to identify the hacking spirit in your son: Who knew that youtube could be so darn educational!… that is, you can learn how to identify if your son is a computer hacker. —— Biella finds television to be useful….

Lost for words | Books | The Australian: Pierce is concerned that academics who specialise in Oz lit are getting on or getting out. But what are universities to do if students won’t sign up for Australian literature courses? Pierce says the claim that students are no longer interested is a “chicken and egg argument”. […]

What caused Nietzsche’s insanity and death?: A paper just published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica reconsiders the insanity and death of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who is commonly thought to have died of neurosyphilis. In contrast, the authors of the new study suggest that Nietzsche died of frontotemporal dementia – a type of dementia that specifically affects […]

Is That a Razr in Your Pocket, or is the FBI Glad to See Me?: Nextel and Samsung handsets and the Motorola Razr are especially vulnerable to software downloads that activate their microphones, said James Atkinson, a counter-surveillance consultant who has worked closely with government agencies. “They can be remotely accessed and made to transmit […]

Licensed Librarians: They license librarians in the Philippines. I wish they would do this in the US. Reasons forthcoming in my column for Information Today (February 2007 issue). (via) ——– perhaps a licensure of librarians is a good thing…