Fathers’ Day: Showing “The Princess Bride”
My kids have never seen The Princess Bride. (This is an odd pop culture gap for my 80s-obsessed girl.)
Happy memories of PC games I played with my son (now 19) sitting on my lap.
While doing some spring cleaning around my computer desk at home, I noticed that there are scores of old PC games that are still stacked up within arm’s reach, even though I no longer even use a computer with an optical drive at that workstation. But these are games that have sentimental value for my son, and though we haven’t played most of them for a decade, they are staying…
Trump and JFK: Masters of New Media
I didn’t use Newsweek’s clickbaity headline: “Trump and JFK Are More Alike Than We Like To Think.” They are different in many ways, but JFK was remembered for mastering the new medium of television (people who listened to the Nixon/Kennedy debates on radio were more likely to believe Nixon won, but those who watched the debates on TV were more likely to say Kennedy won), and while I pay more…
Why Doesn’t Ancient Fiction Talk About Feelings?
Not a day goes by without The Girl reminding us that everyone else her age has a phone — but she also compares her desire for a phone to Gollum’s desire for The Ring. Many adults have told her she’s lucky not to carry around the burden of social media updates, though part of her is convinced she could resist the temptation, and that she would only use her phone…
“seriously, the guy has a point” — on the Charging Bull and Fearless Girl Controversy
Art conveys significance; however, much of that significance is constructed by the receiver. That’s why I care less about what a work of art “means” and more about what it “does.” Understanding what a work of art does requires interpretation. The context of a work of art can contribute to the significance of the artwork in surprising ways. The reception of a work of art can change over time, which means the way…
Three challenges for the web, according to its inventor
A letter, published a few weeks ago, in which the inventor of the World Wide Web discusses personal security, fake news, and political transparency. Today marks 28 years since I submitted my original proposal for the world wide web. I imagined the web as an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information, access opportunities and collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries. In many ways, the web has…