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:RIP Flash: Why HTML5 Will Finally Take Over Video and Web in 2014I am not a fan of Adobe Flash, which is …BusinessAugust Wilson Trifecta (Two Trains, Ma Rainey and Fences…

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:English Is the Language of Science. That Isn't Always a Good ThingEnglish speakers tend to assume that all…AcademiaEmpty InboxMy to-do do list and my “Follow Up” fold…CybercultureThe Pope's Prayer for Countering "Fake News"Today is the feast of St. Francis de Sal…CulturePrime Stage…

A brief respite from grading.

A brief respite from grading. Similar:Picking up books for another termAcademiaReception after faculty workshop. #partylikeaprofessorPersonali trained an ai chatbot on my childhood journal entries – so that i could engage in real-t…I kept a journal from Feb 3 1983 (the da…CultureThe Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow: Icelandic bromance, with weapons, secret panels, and…I…

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…

Snowfall at the White House (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour, Jan 7) Tweeted by WH on Jan 12

My social media feed was full of people mocking the White House yesterday for publishing a photo titled “First snow of the year!” on a day when Washington had clear skies and freakishly warm weather. What was the Trump administration trying to pull? Why would they publish such a blatant lie? It wasn’t a lie.…

Facebook paid Teen Vogue to run a fake article praising Facebook for “helping ensure the integrity of the 2020 election”

After FB crowed about this super-upbeat story, a notice appeared saying it was a paid editorial, and then the story disappeared. This looks very bad for Teen Vogue, and very bad for democracy. Read story on Boingboing. Similar:Siblings gotta sib.PersonalWrite instructions for busy grouches.Updating the graphic for a writing hando…AcademiaPlaying a well-dressed bad guy. PersonalInteresting use…

Feeling classy while I lose.

Feeling classy while I lose. Similar:Captain Gearheart inspects progress on his #neovictorian #steampunk æther cruiser. Now fea…https://youtu.be/VXz7kspFimM AestheticsMy Kids Are Shatner Than MostI passed along to my geeklings an apprec…DramaSeeing a different cast. Break all the legs!CultureCheckmate. Crushed again.GamesThoroughly enjoying Company.PersonalIt's been a Dwarf Fortress afternoon. Awesome

Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.

Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy. Some basic concepts: What is Newsworthy? Recent events that are unusual, nearby, have widespread/significant impact, or involve celebrities are more newsworthy than events that are stale, distant, have limited/trivial impact, or happen to average people. (9 min audio.) Objectivity: Traditional journalism reports fairly…

Picking up books for another term

Similar:Old English Has a Serious Image ProblemThis fall I will be teaching Shakespeare…AcademiaJust a handful more of these elegant #steampunk control panels and I can move on to the ne…AestheticsGoogle Docs "Writing to Learn" ActivityI created a fresh Google Docs page with …AcademiaThe Challenger disaster, Jan. 28, 1986On this day in 1986, the Challenger spac…EducationA…

Volunteering at our local food bank

Similar:Frozen opens tonight. (All shows have been sold out for over a month.)DramaThe girl sank her brother's last ship with the homophonous cry "I-1."AmusingStudents must learn how to get things wrong. Only one subject does that. [English.]I invest a lot of energy asking my colle…AcademiaObamacare's broken website cost more than LinkedIn, Spotify combinedMuch of the…

Emily Dickinson Fun Page #literature #amusing #dashes

Emily Dickinson Fun Page #literature #amusing #dashes Similar:Lawyers who won Happy Birthday copyright case sue over “We Shall Overcome” “We Shall Overcome,” a song that was the…BusinessLooking for Par'Mach in All the Wrong Places #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 3) …Rewatching ST:DS9 Outside the O’Brien…AmusingUnderstanding Poetry INCIDENTAL COMICS: Understanding Poetr…CultureNew handout: "The Shape of an Academic…

Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof

Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof Similar:Backstage with the White Swan and her prince.PersonalStar Wars, Star Trek And V Author Ann Crispin Passes AwayAs a high school student, I wrote a fan …Books"Jewish priests do this. It's where Leonard Nimoy got the Vulcan sign," says the geekling,…CultureZagg Rugged iPad Air2 keyboard case…

#Blender3D rendition of the bridge of the æthership that featured in the musical #steampunk bedtime role-playing campaign I ran for my kids 2007-2012.

Similar:No filter October mist as I walked up from the parking lot. Not a bad view. AestheticsBetween static hand-coded HTML pages and modern content-management systems, there used to …When I started my blog in 1999 (by addin…CybercultureIt’s so heartbreaking seeing the amount of disinformation being spread by elected official…It’s so heartbreaking seeing the amount …Current_EventsOn…

Siblings gotta sib.

Similar:I’m still teaching journalism and my usual courses, but after 21 years I’ve stepped aside …I’m still teaching journalism and my usu…AcademiaWhy do academics dress so badly? (Answer: they are too happy)I used to wear a suit and tie when I tau…AcademiaYou aren’t doing it wrong… if no one knows what you are doing.PersonalI asked…

Parent: “Why don’t you use one of your stress balls?” The girl: “They don’t like me.”

Similar:Finally — the pace at work subsides a bit.PersonalCivil Defense (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 3, Episode 7) O’Brien accidentally triggers …Rewatching ST:DS9 Although some time ag…EmpathyToday's 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel went pretty fast. At this stage I'm mostly re…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…AestheticsLysistrata live.Current_EventsI came of age playing too many…

Facebook exec erroneously cites The Lord of the Rings when comparing the social network to the One Ring

A Facebook executive, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, recently defended Facebook’s policies about political advertising, which critics say rewards politicians who spend a lot of money pushing lies to the slogan-chanting, meme-sharing masses (including the ones in red hats and the ones with the blue hats). Bosworth seems to suggest that for Facebook to tamper with its…

To my daughter for 2020: “You shall prevail.”

Similar:The girl told me to post this with the caption, “The Addams Family Goes to the Big League….PersonalNarrating "A Christmas Carol" for WAOB Audio Theatre. (The four episodes will be released …DramaYes Virginia the Musical coming to ConnellsvilleCarolyn Jerz may be only 11 but is alrea…Current_EventsHere I am sketching spaceships like I’m 12 again. I…