Zach Whalen is turning his dissertation into a blog-web-thing, in the hopes of developing a book-thing. In whatever form it takes, it’s an interesting approach to a textual study of video games. This study asks how the design and configuration of text in videogames contributes to their textuality. I argue that videogames are texts in…
There’s a dissertation in here. All I have the energy to do today is imply a connection. Using a police state to market technology in 1984: Using a police state to market technology in 2010: Similar:Chain of Command, Parts 1 & 2 (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episodes 10 & 11) When Pi…Rewatching ST:TNG Picard…
None of this is a surprise to me, but I’m glad to have statistics to back up my impressions. A very small handful of students whose first introduction to online social networking was the SHU blogosphere, before blogs went really mainstream around 2005, are still blogging here, after they have graduated. In 2003-2005 it was…
I didn’t watch the game, but I did catch the buzz about this ad. Yes, I did tear up. (Wired has details.) Similar:Text Messaging Declines in U.S. for First Time, Report SaysI don’t text message much. As my kids (a…CybercultureAbove the ready-room desk is the captain's power-napping loft, because self-care is i…AestheticsShatner's live, extemporaneous post-touchdown…
It is dangerous to use local weather events (such as a heavy or light winter) to make judgments about global climate. With that caveat, I’m blogging the following because I’ve noted a shift in the online discussion about “global warming,” or the more general “climate change”. This essay does a good job exploring the events…
Coming up… we’ll tell you whether you’ll be impaled by sharp, radioactive icicles hurled by mobs of rampaging robots in your neighborhood. But first, people panicking, filling up three shopping carts of toilet paper and canned food. Hear the techno-pop pulse of our theme music, and know that you’re being conditioned to think of us…
Here’s hoping I left gas in the snow-thrower. Similar:Why Doesn’t Ancient Fiction Talk About Feelings?Not a day goes by without The Girl remin…BooksBeautiful. No Data / Lore opposition required. AestheticsMy theory: Trump was composing therapeutic poetry, and got stuck on the last line. PersonalUsing a Typewriter Simulator to Teach Media HistoryWorking on the syllabus for my…
Fascinating software study of the Doom iPhone port.http://fabiensanglard.net/doomIphone/index.php Similar:Choice of the Journo: A Branching-path Phone-friendly Role-playing Simulation for Journali…How can a nostalgic, branching-path stor…AcademiaSome fairy tales may be 6000 years oldFairy tales are transmitted through lang…Culture''Uh…''And yes, Liz’s face registers the shift …AestheticsThe barbican at Mickelgate was pulled down in the 1800s but I made…
Our first few readings in my freshman writing course were personal essays, with a clear narrative. We read an academic paper today, and there’s another assigned for Friday. A few students are already reporting feeling a little lost in the detail. I gather this is because they are used to reading textbooks, where all the…
I wish I’d seen this a few weeks ago, before my Video Game Culture and Theory class ended, but it’s still a welcome find. Similar:Microsoft has no shame: Bing spit on my ‘Chrome’ search with a fake AI answer It was time to download Google Chrom…BusinessPushing and pulling vertices. Components that fit together perfectly when…
Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman Similar:Pac-Man”The kids who grew up steering Pac-Man a…DesignStandardized-test robo-graders flunk“According to professor of theory of kno…AcademiaEye of Sauron, Hobbit Door, Palantir and One Ring Easter Eggs.AestheticsStar Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch I was in college and grad school dur…CultureI'm not a big fan of Disney's corporate greed.I’m not…
“One of the deepest questions in this field,” Nass says, “is whether media multitasking is driven by a desire for new information or by an avoidance of existing information. Are people in these settings multitasking because the other media are alluring–that is, they’re really dying to play Freecell or read Facebook or shop on eBay–or…
I know, I know: Amazon relied on those $9.99 prices to give it a head start in the digital books market. And raising prices to the $12.99 to $14.99 being talked about could certainly slow sales if consumers don’t bite. But here’s the thing: it’s not as if Macmillan is only raising prices for Kindle.…
I usually carry a digital voice recorder with me. In most states it’s legal to record a conversation if all parties consent, although Pennsylvania law requires that all parties to a conversation be notified that a conversation is being recorded. “It is always legal to tape or film a face-to-face interview when your recorder or…