Heads-up for 23 August 2010

Baxter Wood recommended on his blog (The re-education of Baxter Wood) to follow Columbia University's history of Iran. I have immediately taken a subscription to this course on iTunes U (feed). The lecturer is Professor Richard W. Bulliet whom we have met twice before speaking about Iran on the UChannel Podcast. (Iran Today, Iran in 2009) I have only just begun listening, so reviews will have to wait, but if Baxter recommends, it is worth for you all to try.

The History of Rome
106- Barbarian at the Gate: After bungling a campaign in the east, Alexander headed to the Rhine where he was assassinated by Maximinius Thrax in 235 AD.
(review, feed)

Social Innovation Conversations
Paul Pastorek and Andres Alonso - Education: Tackling the Turnaround Challenge: Can schools be turned around, and can the system change? Yes, say an experienced district and state school leader in this panel discussion during the Driving Dramatic School Improvement conference at Stanford. Navigating questions by moderator Jordan Meranus, they talk about what they are doing in Louisiana and Baltimore to radically reform schools so that more children can meet state standards and receive an excellent education.
(review, feed)

SFF Audio has an issue with Julie Davies of Forgotten Classics.

Media Matters with Bob McChesney had Nicholas Carr on the show yesterday. Nicholas Carr writes on the social, economic, and business implications of technology. He is the author of the 2008 Wall Street Journal bestseller The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google, which is "widely considered to be the most influential book so far on the cloud computing movement," according the Christian Science Monitor. His earlier book, Does IT Matter?, published in 2004, "lays out the simple truths of the economics of information technology in a lucid way, with cogent examples and clear analysis," said the New York Times. His new book, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, was published in June 2010.