As a reminder: We will be having a quiz over the first four chapters of About a Boy at the beginning of class tomorrow. The reading journals will be checked at this time, as well.

for tomorrow, here are a few to get you started:

Good idea? Ads on your car?

Global warming computer error?

Space gas may have us redefining “life.”

“When people gazed at an illusory image of themselves through the goggles and were prodded in just the right way with the stick, they felt as if they had left their bodies” (NYTimes).

Oh, this is good. “How Ads Affect Our Memory,” from TechnologyReview.com via NYTimes
If you want, we can talk about this tomorrow. Chan Yun Yoo calls the two types of memory implemented in passing visual recall “implicit” and “explicit,” but Eco has discussed a similar theory before.

From the same NYTimes article as above, American Environics has completed a demographically relevant survey of Americans and their stance on the environment. This pdf shows the results. Environmental issues are huge recently; do you think this is a fad, or has America found a lasting concern for Earth?

Hey, in case anyone missed the announcement, here is the standing assignment for Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Find an article that covers a topic that is connected to your book. Support, refute, or qualify the position an article takes on an issue. Keep a copy of your response and article for the in-class essay on Friday.

San Francisco is planning to zone the skies above for residential use. This article describes a city commissioner’s plan to build helium (not hydrogen) filled dirigibles for folk to call home.
My favorite line:

Leaving at any other time will require the use of a small gondola that descends on a cable. However, that ride could get a little hairy, especially during the brisk Santa Ana winds that blow through here during autumn and early winter.”

We did it! Our first full week. The books we will be discussing next week are Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and White Noise by Don DeLillo. If you would like to read both (because of their excellentness), do so, but let us know when you have a copy here so I can keep track.

I’ll be updating the link widget throughout the weekend, so look at your leisure.

Also, thoughts from the great Mr. E in the comments section of the ACT post. Check it out.

Enjoy the weekend!