Like I really wanted to join (Photo by Abraxas3) Sarcasm is a difficult art form to master, as so aptly demonstrated by such classic fictional characters as Comic Book Guy from "The Simpsons" and Chandler Bing from "Friends." So much of this particular form of rhetoric depends on the delivery of the message, and not the message itself, that it can be difficult to detect without the proper inflection. Enter the beloved Internet, where snarky bloggers, techie elitists, and die-hard gamers converge to pwn n00bs and other people who have it coming to them. However, unlike other social settings, the Internet has the distinct disadvantage of lacking that face-to-face contact that's necessary in picking up on any hint of a sarcastic bite. Without the right tone, even a casual remark can make the cleverest Sarah Silverman look like a troll. How do you deliver a sarcastic retort online without looking like you've missed the punch line? First and most importantly, choose your words wisely. While you might be able to get away with a caustic remark within your immediate social circle, no one knows who you are on the Internet. A carefully thought-out remark is much less likely to be misinterpreted than a brief one saying (in so many words) "you are dumb." Secondly, if you've thought out a sufficiently witty remark and you're still not certain if it will be taken the right way, tweaking the text itself can help signify to others that you're about to enter Dr. Cox territory. Italics, emoticons, and mimicking html formatting by inserting "" at the beginning of a remark are all ways to indicate that your words shouldn't be taken at face value. If all else fails, for less than two bucks you can download the "SarcMark," a new symbol specifically designed to tell others that you're being sarcastic. Though really, if you need a symbol to point out you're being disingenuous, you might need to rethink how witty your comebacks actually are. Suggested Sites... Sarcasm Society - sarcastic jokes, quotes, and blogs. Sarcasm - as explained by the Encyclopedia Dramatica. xkcd - webcomic about math, sarcasm, and romance. How Sarcasm Works - step-by-step guide on how to identify and understand sarcasm in your daily life. How Sarcastic Are You? - find out with this quiz.

Directory categories: Humor, Rants, Computer and Internet Humor, Bitterness, Humorous Blogs

Archived under: Communication, Correspondence, Cyberculture, Email, Etiquette, How-To, Internet, Languages, Sarcasm, Writers

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Watch out for wild beagles! (Photo by Suzi Blakley) We learned last week that there's a population of wild beagles terrorizing Long Island. Surely that was a typo. Eagles? No, you read that correctly: beagles. According to one story, "they look like Snoopy but act like werewolves." Presumably if we were being tormented by a pack of feral beagles -- their long ears flopping menacingly, a ferocious glint in their big, brown eyes -- we'd find them more than a little intimidating. But from the safety of our beagle-free office, it sounds about as sinister as a ravening herd of free-range pugs, or a gaggle of untamed guinea pigs. Of course, we looked into the peculiarity of formerly domesticated animals breeding in the wild, and it turns out that there are untamed guinea pigs out there. While it might be funny to think of a herd of guinea pigs running around the forest making that bizarre "woop-woop-woop" noise, they do, in fact, wreak havoc. Like any non-native species, they disrupt the ecosystem of their new-found home. Even more common are breeding populations of exotic birds in decidedly unexotic cities. The parrots of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco gained some fame from the 2005 documentary about them, but they're just one of many metropolitan flocks. Feral parrots congregate in centers of commerce and industry from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles. Even chickens -- yes, feral chickens -- share our municipalities. Though we scoff at wild populations of chickens roosting under highways off-ramps, some creatures (alligators and Burmese pythons, we're looking at you) really weren't meant for urban lifestyles, so we can't blame them when they end up in our sewers. Untamed humans, please don't release exotic pets into the wild, no matter how cute you think feral hamsters might be. Suggested Sites... Invasive Species Weblog - all about the plants and animals that end up where they're not supposed to be. California Parrot Project - observing and documenting California's wild parrot populations. Brooklyn Parrots - information about Brooklyn's Quaker Parrots, also known as Monk Parakeets. The Parrot Pages - detailed information on the wild parrots of San Francisco. Institute for Biological Invasions - includes the adorable Invader of the Month feature.

Directory categories: Invasive Species, Environment and Nature, Biodiversity, Beagles, Parrots

Archived under: Animals, Biology, Birds, Dogs, Environment, Pets

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Controversial or not, Griffith's artistry still rated a stamp The film industry of 1915 was far different from today's. Movies were short -- rarely more than ten minutes -- and turned out in a matter of days -- director D.W. Griffith made nearly 150 films in 1911 and 1912. Performers were rarely billed (producers were afraid that if actors became well-known, they'd ask for more money), and no one looked at film as an art; it was cheap entertainment as disposable at yesterday's newspaper. Almost no one thought of film as an art -- except for Griffith. Seizing upon the popularity of Thomas Dixon's novel and play, "The Clansman," he determined to create the first film epic; a movie about the Civil War and Reconstruction that would ultimately clock in at more than three hours and change the way Hollywood and the world would think of, and make, movies. Griffith used "The Clansman" -- which he re-titled "The Birth of a Nation" -- to basically invent modern film grammar, using jump cuts, a moving camera, and, most importantly, the close-up to tell his story. In spite of the unprecedented production costs ($112,000 -- about $2.5 million today) and admission prices ($2 -- or about $45 in 2010), the film was a smash hit, grossing $10,000,000 (nearly $250 million in current dollars). Unfortunately, "The Birth of a Nation" has a not-so-small problem: it's arguably the most racist film ever made by a major director -- not that any movie that glorifies the founding of the Ku Klux Klan could be expected to be anything else. Griffith may or may not have been a racist himself -- he grew up in Kentucky just after the Civil War, and his father was a colonel in the Confederate Army -- but he also used many of his films to decry current social conditions, including a 1911 film that painted the Klan as villains. Regardless, the imagery in "The Birth of a Nation," with its white actors made up in blackface committing every form of stereotypical debauchery, is today a red-hot potato. As recently as 2004, the Silent Movie Theatre in Hollywood had to cancel a planned screening of the film because of protests by many groups, including the NAACP. In spite of the film's controversial content, its importance in the canon is undeniable. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked it the #44 American film of all time (though it was dropped when AFI reconsidered the list in 2007). Regardless, it's still readily available for the home viewer, and, because of its innovation and importance, is still taught in film history classes. Griffith, on the other hand, didn't fare as well. In spite of the blockbuster status of "Birth," he spent almost all of his profits financing his follow-up film, "Intolerance," which decried the very intolerance he'd been accused of. While the film was well-received by both the public and critics, it was too expensive to turn a profit. Griffith's reputation still had power, though, and he founded the United Artists company with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks (the biggest stars in the world). But despite some hits in the early '20s, by 1924, his box-office failures had mounted and he left United Artists. He made a brief attempt at a comeback with two unsuccessful talkies, and was basically out of the business by 1931. He still looked for work, but his style, once the most innovative in the world, was thought to be old-fashioned. Even the Directors Guild of America, which had named its annual award for him in 1953, dropped his name in 1999. 95 years ago today, though, there was no one who had a greater vision for the possibilities of what film might be than D.W. Griffith. Suggested Sites... Senses of Cinema: D.W. Griffith - extensive biography of Griffith, "Birth of a Nation," and its aftermath. The Birth of a Nation and Black Protest - history of the controversy. The Box in the Screen - Griffith foresaw the possibilities of movies on television. D.W. Griffith and the Origins of American Cinema - illustrated biography of the director. Internet Archive: The Birth of a Nation - watch for yourself and make up your mind.

Directory categories: D.W. Griffith, Birth of a Nation, Silent Movies, Movie History, Race and Racism

Archived under: 1910s, 1920s, Anniversaries, Civil War, D.W. Griffith, Directors, Entertainment, Filmmaking, History, Movie History, Movies, Silent Movies, Society and Culture

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It's neither stately nor plump, but there's a lot inside Imagine giving yourself the most scandalous novel of the century as a birthday present. That's what James Joyce did on February 2, 1922, when "Ulysses" was published. Joyce was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882, and showed a precocious talent for literature, writing a poem about the death of Irish politician Charles Parnell at the age of nine. At University College Dublin he studied English, French, Italian, and the theatre, and following a brief attempt to study medicine in Paris, he returned to Dublin, where he combined bouts of heavy drinking with writing. On June 16, 1904 (remember that date), he went on a first date with a chambermaid by the unlikely name of Nora Barnacle, who would eventually become his wife. For the rest of his life, Joyce mainly lived in Zurich and Paris, teaching English, dodging wars, and working on various stories and novels. In 1914, he published "Dubliners," a collection of short stories depicting life in and around the Irish capital, followed in 1916 by "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," which follows Joyce's alter ego, Stephen Dedalus, as he discovers his artistic identity. The book was ranked the third-greatest novel of the 20th century, thanks to such then-innovative techniques as stream of consciousness narration and interior monologue. In 1922, after seven years of struggle, he finally finished "Ulysses," a massive novel weaving the stories of Stephen Dedalus and advertising salesman Leopold Bloom as they make their way through Dublin on June 16, 1904. Joyce was meticulous in his settings for the novel, remarking that if the city were somehow destroyed, it could be recreated from the book. Mirroring the mythical journey of the Greek Odysseus, Joyce used virtually every literary technique available -- from stream of consciousness to poetry and play scripts to the Catholic catechism and parodies of cheap romance novels -- to paint a portrait of the two men and their city. "Ulysses" is simultaneously scholarly, hallucinogenic, and (what might seem shocking for such an important work) hilariously funny. Unfortunately, the earthiness of the novel, with its frank descriptions of sex -- alone and with others -- made it ripe for censorship: it was banned in both the United States and Great Britain. About the only way to read it was to travel to Paris and purchase a copy from Sylvia Beach's tiny English-language bookstore, Shakespeare & Company, and smuggle it home. Finally, in 1933, Random House publisher Bennett Cerf arranged to have a copy seized by customs officials in New York in order to test the obscenity ban in court. The judge ruled that it was not pornographic, and in 1934, the first American edition was published to acclaim that has never ceased. In the decades since, "Ulysses" has provided a cottage industry to academics, either trying to bring out "definitive" editions (the manuscript was plagued by typos from the beginning) or explaining and simplifying the forest of references, allusions, and puns planted by Joyce. And, every June 16, Joyceophiles around the world celebrate "Bloomsday," dedicated to reading, discussing, and celebrating what many consider the greatest literary work of the 20th century. While tackling such a monumental work may seem daunting, if you get the chance to read it -- or even to attend a Bloomsday event -- your response should be "yes I said yes I will Yes." Suggested Sites... James Joyce Centre - promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce. The Novel of the Century - information and images about the creation and publication of "Ulysses." How to Read James Joyce's Ulysses - first step: open the book. The Literature Network: Ulysses - read the book, then discuss it with others. Joyce Images: Ulysses - gallery of photos and images of people, places, and things mentioned in the novel.

Directory categories: James Joyce, Ulysses, Bloomsday, Dublin, Irish Authors

Archived under: 1910s, 1920s, Anniversaries, Authors, Birthdays, Books, Censorship, Dublin, Ireland, James Joyce, Legal Cases, Literature, Mythology and Folklore, Ulysses, Writing

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Thanks, Mr. Postman! (Photo by M. Heimburger) Today is Thank a Mailman Day. While there are hundreds of silly made-up holidays out there (way more than one per calendar day), this is one we can get behind. Mailmen -- or if you'll pardon our PC, mail carriers (since there are plenty of, uh, femailmen making their rounds) -- have tougher jobs than you might think. First, there's that whole thing about not being deterred by rain or sleet or dead of night or snow or heat or whatever awful weather nature throws their way. While the occasional natural disaster or freak storm might delay the mail, it generally takes some pretty serious weather to do more than slow things down a bit. Carriers are out there slogging through flood waters, trudging through snowdrifts, and sweating through the dog days of summer while we're impatiently waiting (in climate-controlled comfort) for our daily delivery (which is probably mostly bills, anyway, so calm down). And being a postal carrier might not seem like an especially dangerous job, but consider some of the threats postmen face. Aggressive dogs. Crime-riddled neighborhoods. Disgruntled postal employees. Dangerous traffic on busy roads. Flocks of wild turkeys. Making their appointed rounds all day, mail carriers also end up as victims (or witnesses) of crimes when they walk in on hold-ups on their routes, get mugged for the mail they're carrying, or get caught in the crossfire of other crimes in progress. Finally, though they do get plenty of fresh air and exercise, they also get plenty of fresh air and exercise. Carriers can walk up to ten miles a day, all while carrying a heavy bag of catalogs, bills, cards, and parcels. And while it's not exactly a scientific study, we can report that most of the mail carriers we've known have done their tiring, occasionally dangerous, and physically demanding jobs with cheerful professionalism and genuine dedication to the communities they serve. So celebrate Thank a Mailman Day with us. Need ideas? Show your appreciation with a small present (though cash gifts aren't allowed by the USPS) or homemade cookies. Shovel your sidewalk. Smile nicely when your shipment of Collectible Lead Weights of the World is delivered. Keep your mail-hating dog inside or on a leash when the mail carrier comes to your house. Or just do the obvious thing and take a moment to say thanks. After all, your mail carrier doesn't bring just junk mail and bills; those Netflix DVDs and birthday cards don't deliver themselves. Suggested Sites... Postal Systems of the World - a ThinkQuest project compares over 60 global postal systems. HowStuffWorks: How the U.S. Postal Service Works - includes the history of the American post. Wikipedia: Mail - there's more to the mail than you might think. Mail Delivery 101 - a collection of mail-related how-to articles from eHow. Carrying the Mail: A Career in Public Service - information about life as a mail carrier from the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Directory categories: Postal Services, Postal Authorities, United States Postal Service, USPS Employees

Archived under: Communication, Communities, Employment, Holidays, Mail, Unions, Work

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