These Fake Local News Sites Have Confused People For Years. (Buzzfeed) Found Out Who Created Them.

People who caught the sites plagiarizing began speculating about the motivations of whoever was running them. One person noticed that their Google Alerts for Julian Assange were flooded with results from the sites, leading them to warn that “cyber marketing tools are being used in the propaganda war against #WikiLeaks.” One researcher labeled the network of sites…

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:Sold out opening night of Mamet’s Oleanna. Chilling. Gasps from the audience. Office furni…Sold out opening night of Mamet’s Oleann…PersonalSet design for Acts II and III of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) #blender3dDesignWhere the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe. —Thomas JeffersonEducationNo interior yet. Getting there. Gotta start somewhere. Low-poly…

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:Professor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other Things”By drawing…

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

Similar:In May, 2002, I was blogging about… typefaces in period movies; poets Paul Dirac and Ste…In May, 2002, I was blogging about …ArtVinyl Chairs, Lace Tablecloth, and Stainless Steel Canisters for a Villain's Lair #blender…I’m working with more complex materials,…AestheticsThe Strangest, Most Spectacular Bridge Collapse (And How We Got It Wrong)At a glance of the…

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:"Gen Zers know the difference between rock-solid news and AI-generated memes. They just do…Over the past couple of years, researche…CultureSeven reasons why blogging can make you a better academic writerI’ve been doing this since 1999. Why do…AcademiaThe…

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:Carolyn as Luciana in the PPT Shakespeare Summer Intensive DramaTheir faces when another dad joke drops. See The Fantasticks today at 2 or next week Thu-S…PersonalThat one ungraded assignment is an early…

Tapdance / jazz music outing with the girl.

Tapdance / jazz music outing with the girl. Here’s a sample of what a Sarah Riech show is like. (Each one is different — lots of improv.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEiQQmMi2nQ Similar:Sledding in Spring Break SnowMy wife suddenly decided I should be a G…Current_EventsMost Christians don’t actually care about Starbucks cups. Here’s what we do know.No Christians in…

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:Trump communications director Murtaugh rallies supporters by tweeting fake Washington Time…Here’s more evidence of just how crucial…CultureA gangway, flanked by still more #steampunk control panels, leads forward from the chief e…AestheticsEven in the U.S., Chinese Students May Have Tiananmen ‘Amnesia’But now that…

A brief respite from grading.

A brief respite from grading. Similar:Fall 2025 Grades Submitted!PersonalIn-home schooling popularity slipping across stateWe were on our way out the door to see A…CultureI just caught myself thinking, “This doesn’t suck.” #medievalyork #mysteryplay #blender3d …I just caught myself thinking, “This doe…AestheticsThe girl as the Spanish Soloist in @laurelballettheater & @westmorelandsymphony The Nutcra…AestheticsWhat About “The Breakfast…