learnandteachonline.com

An ad on the paidContent.org site might indicate that Web 2.0 design principles are creeping into advertisements. I popped over there from my aggregator to see if there was more on the Lucent story. Yes, but alas, no. There's only a link to a subscribers-only Wall Street Journal article. Lucent's an important employer in Naperville, my town. Or it was. It's sad to see the empty parking lots around those big buildings.

I'm getting visitors who find the site in Google searches on the new adaptation of Bleak House. That must mean there's a need for info about it. Maybe I'll put up a page of links. Would you participate in -- or just read -- a forum if I set one up? Or do you know of a discussion site that already has a good one going?

You can pre-order the video at pbs.org. Release date is Feb. 28. I put in pointers like this sometimes when I use an image or video clip; I figure it mitigates my "crime." We never had much trouble with copyright issues at Pemberley.com, the Jane Austen site I started but don't participate in anymore. I think if producers are smart they realize that fandom does nothing that doesn't spur sales. I mean think about it. How does a still photo from a TV mini series infringe on the series or tend to supplant the actual product? No, quite the opposite.

Since Sarah Vowell is one of my favorite humorists, I was sure I would like her state of the union address when I saw it had made her name one of the most searched on Technorati. Lots of blogs are posting it for the benefit of netizens who don't pay $50 a year to read columnists in the NYT. In Sarah's case, she's a guest columnist. Fills in for Maureen Dowd. Same firewall.

Seems like if a particular piece catches the fancy of the internet, they'd just put it out there for free. Or plan to be light on their feet and offer us a free day or two when such an item catches fire. Think of it as a promo opportunity.

The column is funny and cute and biting at the same time, as usual for Vowell. I gotta say, with all the attention it seemed to be garnering, I expected more of a riproaring zinger from her. Maybe she got edited. Or do they try not to go in for that much when it comes to columnists. I don't know.

Here's my favorite Vowell contribution to This American Life: Teacher Hit Me with a Ruler in act 2. It's a discussion of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, devoting a lot of time to whether the line should be "Let us die to make men free" or "Let us live to make men free." She brought down the house when she clinched it with the rhetorical question, "What would Jesus do?" [Long pause and laughter from the audience members who knew what was coming...] "Die!" Only Sarah can pull something like that off and make it funny.

Here's an excerpt from her book, Assassination Vacation.

Speaking of TAL, now it's to be adapted for TV on Showtime. That shows good taste on Showtime's part.