Partisan Pa. websites masquerading as local news threaten trust in journalism, new report finds
People with financial interests to protect and political axes to grind are funding websites that resemble local news outlets, with the express purpose of manipulating the attitudes of the general public. Journalists are far from perfect, and no human being is truly unbiased; however, there’s a big difference between responsible journalism that leans left or…
Texas lawyer trapped by cat filter on Zoom call, informs judge he is not a cat
A Texas lawyer accidentally left a kitten filter on during a video conference call with a judge and was unable to change it, eventually responding to a judge’s query about why he was being addressed by a digital feline by saying: “I’m here live. I am not a cat.” Later, the judge wrote: “These fun…
Figured out how to configure my iPad as an external monitor for my laptop. Much more efficient when working between errands at the mall. Ready for Spring 2021. (Finally!)
A masked, socially distant museum visit. So nice to get away from syllabuses and email for a day.
Ford built about a half dozen of these custom cars designed by Allegheny Steel. I’m not a car guy so I can’t place it beyond that.
My son just handed me my serving of noodles in the butter substitute container. Recycling.
Most Television From Before 2000 Is Trapped in the Uncanny Valley
Just as the technological innovation of the mass-produced book paved the way for the new storytelling medium called the “novel,” technological innovations that allow audiences to rewatch TV shows and binge-watch whole seasons have changed the whole medium of episodic video storytelling. (Babylon 5 did it early and did it well — but the article…
Sound Design and the Wilhelm Scream
Ahh-aaggh!
Motivation Amid Crisis (Autotrophic Bat)
As part of an independent study project, a graduating Seton Hill student wrote a blog about self-publishing her original collection of fairy-tale adaptations. She’s a double-major in creative writing and graphic design, and she freely adapted each story and illustrated each one in a different style. (She’ll be self-publishing her anthology soon, and I’ll certainly…
You’re Doing It for the Exposure!!
The Oatmeal on working for “exposure.”
In November 2000, I was blogging about the US Presidential election, mirrors, Arts & Letters Daily, and more
In November 2000, I was blogging about Ursula K. Le Guin Why we perceive mirrors reversing things left/right but not up/down Pioneering blog Arts & Letters Daily (just a year older than my own blog) Nick Montfort’s constrained poem “Upper Typewriter Row“ The 2000 US Presidential Election controversy (ballot design, hanging chads, recounts, political cartoons)…
Dr Jerz I think your microphone glitched
Essential Journalists: How Coronavirus Changed TV News
Cameras and Masks: Sustaining Emotional Connections with Your Students in an Age of COVID19
There are some sound pedagogical reasons for turning cameras on. Thus, I suggest sharing those reasons with the students before giving them the choice of what to do about their cameras. Explain why you are making your request. For example, being able to see students’ faces gives instructors a quick and easy way to discern whether students are finding the material engaging, at least in smaller classes. One instructor told me that “I asked students to turn their cameras on to say hi to their classmates at the beginning and end of class, and those were the best moments of the class.”
Trump administration gave Courage Award to a woman who criticized Trump, then rescinded the honor, then lied about it, a watchdog agency finds
The State Department revoked a prestigious award from a Finnish journalist because of social media posts critical of President Donald Trump, according to a report from the State Department Office of Inspector General. Although the watchdog found that the State Department had acted within its “broad discretion” to rescind the award from Jessikka Aro, it also…
Something to Ponder — Let Me Fix That Meme For You
I just installed the “Old Layout for Facebook” plugin for Chrome.
I just installed the “Old Layout for Facebook” plugin for Chrome. Now I can continue to be annoyed by the Facebook I’m used to.
No, Running Online Classes Isn’t Cheaper
A good response to the myth that the labor of an online instructor is less valuable than the labor of an in-person instructor. Most of a college’s budget is labor. When a physical campus moves to online teaching, it doesn’t save much labor at all. Grading an online student’s paper takes the same amount of…