The Picture of Politeness

Dear Jennifer,

If I had lived during the Victorian period I know some things for certain: I'd be a great dresser but I'd have terrible manners when it came to visiting bathrooms on trains. It's good to know one's strengths. Play this game that Leslie emailed to us to see if you'd survive Victorian manner politics.

THE VICTORIAN PERIOD GAME

Sophisticated Procrastination

Dear Jennifer,

When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote "The Great Gatsby" you know he would greatly have preferred the 8-bit medium to bring people into the world of his opus. His original intent certainly would have had Nick throwing his fedora like a boomerang.

THE GREAT GATSBY GAME

Some days, I'd really like to bring back the written word.

Dear Meredith:

Email is great and all, but I do love hand-written notes. At this website, check out old mail from both famous and not-so-famous people - but all fascinating pieces of correspondence.

Letters of Note

Practice makes pretty.

Dear Meredith:

Is all this time typing on computers affecting your handwriting? Here are some handy pointers on how to make the hand-printed word more legible - just in time for all your holiday cards!

The Write Stuff

I really like the solution of only allowing orphans to enroll.

Dear Meredith:

Oh, this made me laugh so hard. So far, I'm not finding it true, as my students seem to prefer to just not show up whenever assignments are due. Seriously.

The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome and the Potential Downfall Of American Society

Everyone loves a sequel

The first book, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" is a national treasure.

Picture sleuth

Dear Meredith:

The premise is simple. First, find the clues. Next, use the clues to identify 50 films. Enjoy!

The Cryptic Canvas

A reminder for the rest of us...

Dear Jennifer,

Have you ever thought that 'normal' dictionaries are just too unimaginative? Well "My First Dictionary" brings a dose of disturbing reality to its definitions that I am sure you will find hilarious. Thanks to Kemper for the find!!

MY FIRST DICTIONARY!

Get your science right!

Dear Jennifer,

Sci-fi can be a lot of fun. But it works best when there's at least some understanding of science involved. This is not always the case. Here to poke holes in common misconceptions is Atomic Rocket. (Thanks to Matt for the link!)

Space is not an ocean!

Twitterific!

Dear Jennifer,

Cliff's Notes may be out of a job. Twitter could be the new way to synopsize classic works of literature.

For instance: THE ODYSSEY on Twitter.

Whoever invented cheese should be given a big fat prize.

Dear Meredith:

I know how much you like cheese. I know how much I like cheese. In this series of highly informative videos, the folks at Murray's Cheese Shop in New York instruct you all about cheese, and how to present the perfect cheese platter.


Murray's Cheese video library

A spoonful of scotch makes the history go down

Dear Jennifer,

Remember American History classes at Westridge? If only O'Connell had taught after a few glasses of scotch or vodka (and if she had used Michael Cera for show and tell), then it MIGHT have been about as entertaining as this:

Drunk History Vol. 1 - Featuring Michael Cera from Michael Cera

Go to Funny or Die for the sequels.

More poetry!

Dear Jennifer,

If it's good enough for Christopher Walken to promote on his Twitter page, then it's good enough for us.

ELIMAE

Visualizing money!

Dear Jennifer.

We both love money. We know it. And we both know how hard a time I have understanding real money and not digitized money that is tracked by my pretty credit card. So - to make it easier for those of us who can't picture how much a trillion dollars (a figure so hotly debated these days) looks like, I direct your attention to this webpage.

Bear in mind - this is what ONE MILLION DOLLARS looks like:



Just wait until you see ONE TRILLION.

XKCD for thee!

Dear Jennifer,

What you need in your life is the joy that can only be brought by a webcomic that is a combination of "Romance, Sarcasm, Math and Language."

Enjoy

WESTLEY FROM PRINCESS BRIDE IS A DICK

Another gadget blog!

But this one focuses on the cool stuff and rumors - not as much the bizarre sideshow gadgets. It's a very informative and entertaining compilation of what's coming and what you need to know about what to buy.

GIZMODO!

Even scientists can be funny sometimes

Like McSweeney's, but all science-related.

Below are three of my favorites to get you started:

• A dialogue with Sarah, aged 3: In which it is shown that if your dad is a chemistry professor, asking "why" can be dangerous
• In which our protagonist learns the importance of the base case
• Language acquisition and "poopie"

The Science Creative Quarterly

"We went to a museum! We saw priceless works of art!"*

Do you ever go to museums yet not really quite know what you're looking at, or why that particular piece of art even deserves to be there? Want to impress someone on a date? (Yes, I have gone on a number of dates at museums.) Just wish you had taken art history back in college? This amazingly comprehensive site will fill in those gaps in your knowledge.

*Bonus points if you know where this quotation comes from.

smARThistory

He saves children...

but not the British children. Happy belated President's Day.

Need a life coach...

...but for free? Check out Lifehacker for tips and guides for how to turn photo frames into remote control caddies, flavor your own vodka with skittles, and the top five ways to organize your film collection.

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

LIFEHACKER