Jennifer A. of Concord, CA writes:

Recently, Apple launched some new products, including the new iPod Touch. According to the slide shown at the keynote presentation, this is the "funnest iPod ever." Ugh. I grew up with my parents correcting the use of funnest and funner so this is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. Not only was the word used in the presentation, but it's right there on the Apple.com homepage too.

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We've been talking to David Crystal about his new book, Txtng: The Gr8 Db8. In the first and second parts of our interview, Crystal debunked the myths surrounding text messaging and considered how this new form of communication has brought with it new social expectations. Now in the third and final installment, he explains how text messaging can actually improve student literacy and also muses on the future of the electronic medium.  Continue reading...

Who's more villainous: Iago or Cruella de Vil? Check out The Telegraph's list of the 50 greatest literary villains.

Anyone who has had the temerity to write about Jane Austen is aware of facts: first, that of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness.
—Virginia Woolf

We are avid novel-readers in the Lounge and usually have a stack awaiting our attention, but occasionally we enjoy the luxury of browsing the library shelves with the question "What next?" in mind. In such cases we usually make a beeline for the 19th century, and once a year or so we find ourselves picking up one of the novels of Jane Austen.  Continue reading...

The art of comics isn't just kid's stuff. Graphic novels bring together storytelling and visual artistry in exciting new ways.

Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative

Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know

Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel

The latest headlines are dominated by news of the failure of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a $700 billion "bailout" of the financial industry. As I explained on the Voice of America program "Wordmaster" last week, bailout in the financial sense, meaning the rescue of a bankrupt or near-bankrupt entity, is a figurative extension from the world of aviation. A pilot who needs to make an emergency landing bails out to safety. That part of the term's etymology is relatively clear, but figuring out its ultimate origin is a bit trickier.  Continue reading...

The best online critiques of journalism often come from journalists themselves.

Columbia Journalism Review

Editor & Publisher

Journalism.org

Poynter: Romenesko