Song: “Hazy Shade of Winter” The Bangles covered a Paul Simon song, and ended up besting the original.
Some Key Events of 2023 Some of the top stories of the year reveal a few key — and encouraging — themes.
Song: “Christmas All Over Again” With another Top 10 hit in hand, this Petty holiday song seems to be gaining in popularity as well, and may be destined to be a classic.
A Note of Thanks I don't do this alone, so here's some gratitude at the end of 2023 to everyone who helps make this possible and good.
Is FOIA Broken? Constraints, redactions, and response times have all increased, making this tool far less effective
Song: “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” With lyrics by Woodie Guthrie, this 2:20 gem does the city of Boston proud.
Look In the Mirror, Higher Ed Higher education has no standing to lecture others on waste, lack of accountability, or exploitation and greed
LLMs’ Surprising Ripple Effects Nobody is sitting on the sidelines as LLMs roll out, marking a major shift from a quarter-century ago.
Song: “Love Is a Long Road” A hidden gem provides the score to a long-awaited video game release trailer.
Is OA Making Us Dumb? The more involved with OA we become, the less sensitive to others, the more corrupt, and the dumber we seem.
When Scientists Run Journals A strange editorial reveals numerous strategic blunders as scientists prove status does not equate to pragmatism
Song: “You’ll Be In My Heart” Written as a lullaby, this song won an Oscar and supported a lovely, if forgotten, Disney hit.
Pondering Poynder’s Pronouncements A journalist sympathetic to the OA movement throws in the towel, and enumerates his reasons — but misses some big issues
Do LLMs Solve Any Problems? Do LLMs have any clear reason for existing? Is the danger in how they might keep us from developing our potential? And two updates.
Pay Us to Point Out Problems Should authors pointing out problems have to pay APCs? Who has a policy on this?
Is This Our First Reviewer Mill? Paying peer-reviewers would only add costs, invite corruption, and drive out the altruists
Friday Song: “The Chain” A Fleetwood Mac classic covered by Nuno Bettencourt's family at an annual musical gathering.
This Pencis Is Proving Annoying Another scammer pops up, and begins hammering academics with bogus prize offerings amid a set of related endeavors
How Vulnerable Is Wiley? An analyst tracking Wiley thinks their goose may be cooked, but their problems are just a symptom of a bigger mistake
Friday Song: “She Blinded Me With Science” A quirky 1980s hit was the work of a serious musician with a raft of interesting credits
More From the Insurrectionists Oligarchs continue to push for an overthrow of the scholarly governance system that restrains them
Herd Immunity & Herd Mentality Kids are vulnerable to MMR again due to vaccine misinformation, while a scientist challenges the herd mentality around "open"