The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation sponsored a great series on “Digital Media and Learning,” and worked out a deal with MIT press where you can order the print version or you can download the open source version for free. Here’s a link to that site.

However, when I tried just now to browse through one of these open source publications, the MIT press gives me an error and says that the file wasn’t found. What gives? Did someone have “take-backs” on these once free articles?

Somewhere in there, I lost a week. Yikes.

So, nose back to grindstone. I’ll look up eventually, I think.

But losers we are no more.

Today, Will’s team (hey, my team too, right?) finally won one, I believe 3 to 1. Here’s a link to a few pictures of what was a perfectly beautiful spring day, soccer or otherwise.

I guess someone has to start.

On the one hand, I appreciate the experiences being noted/recorded in these two videos. I’ve been there, of course. And I don’t blame these grad assistants for making these two videos and I don’t dismiss the reaction they have to the writing program at Iowa State (if I was running that program, I’d see this video as a bit of a “warning sign,” frankly). But I do have more of an “other hand” here.

First, this is probably more of the kind of video that should have been shown at some kind of GA gathering more or less privately, giggled at, and then put away. Probably not a video to post on YouTube or, um, Facebook. Second, and I don’t mean to sound all old and WPA-ish on people, but it’s never a good idea for GA’s to make fun of students publicly, even it is in modest ways and clearly in fun (as is the case with this video). Third, the administrative folks clearly over-reacted in trying to repress this. That just goes to show you what happens when administrators freak out.

And fourth (no offense to those folks at ISU) this video is probably twice as long as it should be. A little sensible editing would have helped, honestly.

Hangover medicines should be banned

I believe that hangover medicine should be banned. I think that they shouldn’t have medicine for someone who doesn’t do the right thing, and drink too much. Having hangover medicine may encourage people to drink more.

To prevent hangovers in the first place: Don’t drink more than one drink a night.

Your liver breaks down alcohol at the rate of a beer an hour.

Alternate alcohol with

nonalcohol.

It’ll help keep your body hydrated.

Choose your drink selectively.

Congeners are dangerous poisons that appear most in darker drinks.

Grace L. Phillips, Ann Arbor

Thanks again for the advice. Maybe I’ll just stick to caffeine free Diet Pepsi.

In the meantime, here’s a YouTube video of the “show-stopper” number from the documentary Young At Heart, a very moving rendition of the Coldplay song “Fix You:”

As I understand it, this movie was actually made a couple years ago for British TV and is just now being released in the US. We saw it tonight at the Michigan theater, thanks to our friend/all-around good person Rachel and this fine organization, www.BlueprintForAging.org. Go check this movie out if you can– you’ll be glad you did.

Yeah, right. Maybe if we both quit our jobs so we could both do it full-time. As it is, I think Sophie’s main trick will remain barking at people and licking the window in the living room.