Open Culture » Random

Iceland!

Dan Colman — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:14:47 +0000

via The Daily Dish

Iceland! is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Handy Octopus Opens Bottles

Dan Colman — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:02:42 +0000

Perhaps best filed under Random…

Handy Octopus Opens Bottles is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

An Open Invitation: Suggest & Contribute

Dan Colman — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:52:19 +0000

Somewhere during your day, you spot a great video, an enriching audio lecture, or an excellent free ebook. And you think, that’s perfect for Open Culture. So you shoot us a quick note, and the next thing you know, your personal discovery is live on the site, being shared with thousands of like-minded readers from across the globe — readers from London to New York, from Tehran to Bangalore, from Sydney to Sao Paulo and beyond. And our global village is happy … and better off for it. Sounds good, right? We think so.

So here’s what we ask: Whenever you see a great piece of intelligent media, please quickly send it our way. (We have a nice “Suggest a Link” button on the upper right side of the site.) And, assuming it fits with Open Culture’s general mission, we’ll share it with your fellow readers, give you full credit, and thank you warmly. Look forward to your suggestions, and, if you haven’t already, please join us on Facebook and Twitter.

An Open Invitation: Suggest & Contribute is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Open Culture Makes You Say, “Holy Cow This is So Cool”

Dan Colman — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:46:49 +0000

Yesterday, Jon Gordon (the host of Future Tense, a technology show aired by American Public Media) discussed the major tech innovations of the decade. At the end of the show (around the 49th minute), a caller asked: “What’s the neatest site, in terms of wow factor, that makes you say holy cow this is so cool?” And, in answer, Jon responded: Open Culture. We’re not cutting edge. We’re under-read and under-appreciated. (All probably true — any thoughts on how to fix that?). But we deliver the goods. Thanks very much Jon, and thanks for allowing me the rare self-pat on the back. You can listen to the interview below or access it here. And, if you want, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook and get updated on all new bits of Open Culture.

Open Culture Makes You Say, “Holy Cow This is So Cool” is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

The Open Culture Archive

Dan Colman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:01:23 +0000

Want to see every post that we have written since 2006? Then look back through our Archive. We just created it and added it to the site, partly in response to a reader request. You can permanently find the Archive in the second column, between “Essentials” and “Categories.” Enjoy.

The Open Culture Archive is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Socrates Flubs His Academic Interview

Dan Colman — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:33:10 +0000

What happens when Socrates tries to land a job at a university? It doesn’t go so well. Below, we have the comments returned by the interview committee, as imagined by THE (Times Higher Education). In this piece, you’ll also find Tolstoy, Kafka, Jane Austen and other geniuses coming up short with the search committees. Now to Socrates…

“At first the candidate’s own list of questions felt refreshing, but soon became counter-productive to the interview process. His spirit of inquiry masked an indifference to time constraints and a passive-aggressive need to dominate the conversation. As another candidate cooled his heels, the request for him to conclude his thoughts on the ideal society scarcely registered as we wondered if, then began to wish that, someone would spike his drink.”

Socrates Flubs His Academic Interview is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Special Discount at The Teaching Company

Dan Colman — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:35:39 +0000

A little something special for our readers courtesy of The Teaching Company…

If you’re not familiar with them, The Teaching Company provides a very nice service. The company travels across the US, and they record great professors lecturing on great topics. Their academic courses will appeal to almost any lifelong learner (see their rich catalogue of 200+ courses here), and you can purchase each course in multiple formats — Video DVD, Audio CD, Audio Tape, and Audio MP3. Personally, I have bought about 10 courses in mp3 format and profited from them all. The courses are very polished and well-produced (something that helps me concentrate and learn better). And they can be quite reasonably priced if you buy the courses on sale (see the lengthy sale list) and in mp3 format.

Thanks to The Teaching Company, the courses just got a little more affordable for our readers. For the next week or so, The Teaching Company is offering you $10 off any purchase. Simply use the code “Culture” when you check out and you’ll get the discount. If you choose your course carefully, you can pay about $40 for 36 lectures (or a total of 18 hours). Not a bad deal when you consider the quality you’re getting. Finally, if you want to sample their product, you can listen to a lecture called Stride Toward Freedom from Dennis Dalton’s course, Freedom: Philosophy of Liberation. It’s a nice introduction to Martin Luther King and his approach to civil rights. Enjoy.

Special Discount at The Teaching Company is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Bike Tricks Courtesy of Thomas Edison

Dan Colman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:59:45 +0000

Voila, the 1899 precursor to this amazing 2009 bike stunt video originally found on the @courosa Twitter stream. And who can doubt that we’re making progress?

via Andrew Sullivan

Bike Tricks Courtesy of Thomas Edison is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Hard Words in The New York Times

Dan Colman — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:00:33 +0000

When you’re reading The New York Times and stumble upon a word you don’t know, you can highlight it and the Times will give you the definition. Naturally, the Times keeps track of the definitions it provides. So what are the most commonly looked up words? You can find the top ten below. (Get a longer list here.) So, smart readers, did you know all of them?

sui generis
solipsistic
louche
laconic
saturnine
antediluvian
epistemological
shibboleths
penury
sumptuary

via @aknopf

Hard Words in The New York Times is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

The Frank Lloyd Wright Lego Set

Dan Colman — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:54:38 +0000

A nice creative use of Legos. For $55, you can build The Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater, two Frank Lloyd Wright creations, with Legos. That’s right up there with Classic Photographs Remade Lego Style.

via BoingBoing

The Frank Lloyd Wright Lego Set is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com