My students seem increasingly confused by the difference between journal title vs. article title

Sometimes students will submit bibliography entries that repeat a title — either the journal or the article.  I assume they are using an online citation generator and I assume they’re not bothering to check its output. What I had previously thought of as a random careless error now seems evidence of a paradigm shift. I’ve…

Pen Pals (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 15) Data Hears a Who

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation A new-to-me “Data Hears a Who” character story, featuring a multi-layered philosophical jam session in Picard’s quarters, a substantial B-plot for Wesley, and some tacked-on science-fictiony frippery for the groundlings. I started watching the show late at night, and lost interest when Wesley was steeling himself in the hallway…

MoonBot (from the family #steampunk bedtime RPG 2007-2013) vs. a crate and lamps.

MoonBot (from the family steampunk bedtime RPG 2007-2013) vs. a crate and lamps.

Similar:Google's Super Bowl Ad: A Romance in SearchI didn’t watch the game, but I did catch…Aesthetics‘Snow White’ gets a new musical There’s a buzz of excitement this week…CultureDistant Voices #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 3, Episode 18) Dr. Julian's very Jungian 30t… Rewatching ST:DS9 Bashir is less than…MediaMinneapolis Police Injure, Arrest Journalists Covering ProtestsThroughout the protests…

On the Hatred of Literature

Going back to Plato—perhaps the first hater of literature on record—philosophers and religious authorities have attacked art for the same reasons our professors taught us to deconstruct and distrust it: because it is unpredictable, unreasonable and often inconsistent with their preferred politics or morality. It was also a lesson that was destined, in the years…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

In January 2000, I was blogging about dancing paperclips, the transience of literary judgement, “bafflegab,” and a planned B&N/Microsoft online bookstore

In January 2000, I was blogging about Dancing paperclips and telemarketers A “100 best novels” list published in 1899 Updike’s prequel to Hamlet The “bafflegab” jargon generator “Bookseller Barnes & Noble is teaming with Microsoft to build a new online e-book store.” (but the link is dead) Similar:West Side Story (One-Minute Preview)From Mrs. Lovett two…

I do not know why this antique service button from my campus cafeteria delights me so.

Similar:Versu's Epilogue: How an Interactive Fiction Pioneer's 15 Year Project Ended Up in Limbo a…However there’s a particularly sad tale …BusinessDon’t Text While Parenting — It Will Make You CrankyThe study summarized in Time Magazine lo…CultureI don't expect any but the largest text will be legible in my #steampunk project, but it w…AestheticsStack of wooden…

Over time, Google has made paid ads harder to spot

  In 2007, Google changed the long-standing shaded background indicating the ads section of the page from blue to yellow. In 2008, it then briefly tried a green background before reverting back to yellow. Google continued to test variations of background colors including bright blue and a light violet. In 2010, violet officially replaced the…

Tuxedo Pooh Reads Oscar Wilde

I spent an hour on this. Below is the original version, as generated by imageflip.com, before my edits. Similar:Socrates envisaged a time when we would forget how to remember.From Daisy Dunn’s review of Puchner’s Th…BooksFinished Reading "Fibble," Book 4 in "Heck: Where Bad Kids Go."I finished reading to my daughter the fo…BooksLate night set construction…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

During a modest snowfall, I’m passing the time in a public place where someone else has turned on the local TV news. #StormSurge #FearCast #manipulation

Stay tuned for more live footage of StormSurge FearCast Weather Crusaders, standing in the cold, snow blowing in their faces! Media personalities, warning everyone to stay inside, except of course for the media personalities paying back student loans by churning out anxiety-producing live reports like this one! Our own Slick Goodhair, telling you just how…

Me loving my birthday truck, c. 1971.

  I adored this truck, and spelling words with the letters. When I got older, it was the shuttlecraft for my Star Trek figures. Similar:The Days of Microsoft Internet Explorer Are Numbered—But Its Sorry Legacy Will Live OnStarting today, Microsoft will no longer…BusinessThe Drowsy Chaperone @setonhilluniversityPersonalCursor*10Great free Flash game, emulated at the I…AestheticsA Pedestal, A…

Physics simulation demo: crate made up of mostly loose boards. #Blender3d #design #practice

Physics simulation demo: crate made up of mostly loose boards. #Blender3d #design #practice Similar:Eye of Sauron, Hobbit Door, Palantir and One Ring Easter Eggs.AestheticsMy brother, in town to see The Nutcracker, starts a chess game with my sonPersonalThe girl is rehearsing for Hello DollyPersonalLittle People, Big Fun: A Brief History of Fisher-Price Little PeopleI remember…

A brief respite from grading.

A brief respite from grading. Similar:The Cosmic Brownie fairy has visited my office. Is “brownie fairy” redundant? Thank you an…PersonalIf I don't design the control panels for my fantasy #steampunk project, who will? #blender…AestheticsSome editing and cropping makes this cartoon a perennial. EthicsThe boy tied for second place in Saturday's Monroeville Chess Club tournament.Peter was…

As Twinkle Twinkle is to Suzuki musicians, so is a wooden shipping crate to CGI modelers. #Blender3D #design #practice

I have certainly made more complex scenes, but this time, I modeled each board, getting the grain of the wood at least plausibly right on each face, and placing each nail realistically. Following the workflow for creating game assets, I converted the completely realistic 3D simulation with 3D boards and nails into flat images. The…

As Twinkle Twinkle is to Suzuki musicians, so is a wooden shipping crate to CGI modelers. #Blender3D #design #practice

I have certainly made more complex scenes, but this time, I modeled each board, getting the grain of the wood at least plausibly right on each face, and placing each nail realistically. Following the workflow for creating game assets, I converted the completely realistic 3D simulation with 3D boards and nails into flat images. The…