context matters

Posted on

GUEST POST: Cheesecake, love, and other mysteries by Laura Pauling

Laura Pauling writes about spies, murder and mystery. She’s the author of the young adult Circle of Spies Series, the Prom Impossible Series, the time travel mysteries, Heist and A Royal Heist, and the Holly Hart Cozy Mystery Series: Footprints in the Frosting and Deadly Independence with more coming. She lives the cover of a …

Continue reading "GUEST POST: Cheesecake, love, and other mysteries by Laura Pauling"

Posted on

GUEST POST and GIVEAWAY: The Right Kind of Skin (Rhino) by Joanne Guidoccio

In high school, Joanne Guidoccio dabbled in poetry, but it would be over three decades before she entertained the idea of writing as a career. In 2008, she took an early retirement from teaching and decided to launch a second career that would tap into her creative side and utilize her well-honed organizational skills. Before long, Joanne …

Continue reading "GUEST POST and GIVEAWAY: The Right Kind of Skin (Rhino) by Joanne Guidoccio"

Posted on

GUEST POST: The Worst Possible Cocktail Party by Mindy Quigley

Say I’ve written a bit of dialogue that’s outrageously clever, full of nimble-minded wordplay and athletic leaps of language. I’ve peppered each sentence with ten-dollar words and Oscar Wilde-esque wit. But when I examine this brilliant bit of dialogue using the cocktail party nutcase test, I may realize that, it is a clear example of the high-strung woman cornering the unsuspecting partygoer.

Continue readingGUEST POST: The Worst Possible Cocktail Party by Mindy Quigley

Posted on

“Stop bragging. It annoys people.” –Science

You Call It “Self-Exuberance”; I Call It “Bragging” [P]eople overestimate the extent to which recipients of their self-promotion will feel proud of and happy for them, and underestimate the extent to which recipients will feel annoyed...Because people tend to promote themselves excessively when trying to make a favorable impression on others, such efforts often backfire, …

Continue reading "“Stop bragging. It annoys people.” –Science"

Posted on

How Lobster Got Fancy – one of the most remarkable rebrandings in product history

“Lobster shells about a house are looked upon as signs of poverty and degradation,” wrote John J. Rowan in 1876. Lobster was an unfamiliar, vaguely disgusting bottom feeding ocean dweller that sort of did (and does) resemble an insect, its distant relative. The very word comes from the Old English loppe, which means spider. People …

Continue reading "How Lobster Got Fancy – one of the most remarkable rebrandings in product history"

Posted on

Study: Fat Cat Professors Not Responsible for Rising Tuition, May Not Actually Exist

Between 78 and 79 percent of the tuition hikes at public universities -- which averaged $3,628 per student at research universities and $2,463 per student at nonresearch colleges -- was due to declining state appropriations, between 5 and 6 percent was due to increased administrative spending, and another 6 percent was due to construction costs. …

Continue reading "Study: Fat Cat Professors Not Responsible for Rising Tuition, May Not Actually Exist"

Posted on

I’m over on Higher Education’s Premier Online Publication ™ today, blogging about online education.

designed by Freepik.com
Disclaimer: I realize that in a sparsely-populated area, online education can be the only option a student has. I also realize that some of my fellow Miserians teach online, and are putting a great deal of effort into making the online experience as valuable as possible for their students. Any ire and snark are properly directed …

Continue reading "I’m over on Higher Education’s Premier Online Publication ™ today, blogging about online education."

Posted on

Confirming (again) that online classes are not a magical solution: Study finds student success lags online

Study finds student success lags online in California community college students | InsideHigherEd. Frankie Bow’s first novel, THE MUSUBI MURDER , is available at Audible.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes. BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES: 

Continue readingConfirming (again) that online classes are not a magical solution: Study finds student success lags online