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:What if I design a #steampunk fantasy cruiser and there aren’t enough chairs? How do I kno… AestheticsHumans are being hired to make AI slop look less sloppy The illustrations clients…

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:The Better Angels of Our WritingCopy editors are to the world of publish…AcademiaThe Problems of Real-Time Feedback in Teaching WritingSometimes my students get nervous becaus…AcademiaJust submitted final…

A brief respite from grading.

A brief respite from grading. Similar:When we play Star Trek Monopoly, I am the Captain’s chair. GamesSomeone I know very well is in the trailer for Midnight (2020)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5BczlGs…CultureAnother section of a #steampunk control panel, made in #blender3d for a personal project. …AestheticsA familiar performer choreographed and dances the "Canaan Days" tango in Stage Right's Jos…AestheticsI think…

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:Why Do So Many People on YouTube Sound the Same?So it turns out the “YouTube voice” is j…CultureCOVID-19…

Feeling classy while I lose.

Feeling classy while I lose. Similar:Overflow seating for the 50th anniversary of the canonization of #elizabethannseton @seton…PersonalOpening night! So great to see live local theatre.PersonalStar Trek: Voyager Premiered 20 Years AgoI remember wanting to like Voyager a lot…CultureHappy Easter 2020 CultureHappy Easter 2019 Current_EventsThe boy wins once again. #chessGames

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:Chapbooks — the latest assignment in my “History and Future of the Book” class.Students have already done a 400-word sp…AcademiaMake a date with #HeartOurArt at The Westmoreland Museum of American ArtWhile our daughter is performing in Stag…ArtEncounter at Farpoint (Season 1, Episode 1: ST:TNG Rewatch) Picard gathers his crew, hates…Rewatching ST:TNG after almost 20 years….CultureTwo…

Volunteering at our local food bank

Similar:The daughter introduced me to this wonderful Martin Freeman comedy. Kind of like School of…PersonalMore #steampunk control panels. Recessed workstations with fold-down keyboards. #blender3d…PersonalThe girl is intrigued by the plot twists in _The Mayor of Casterbridge_.PersonalEaster 2022PersonalMostly German, sometimes refreshing my high school Latin.PersonalWe Are Hopelessly Hooked [on our Gadgets]We check our phones 221 times…

Emily Dickinson Fun Page #literature #amusing #dashes

Emily Dickinson Fun Page #literature #amusing #dashes Similar:Why Teachers, Parents, and Society at Large Have Destroyed Kids’ Love of LearningI have experimented with rewarding stude…CultureMy "Writing About Literature" Students Are Sampling Text Adventure GamesI’m having my students play Adam Cadre’s…CultureThe Trouble with Tribbles: A Television Adaptation by Richard GoreyShaenon K. Garrity – New Smithson!.AestheticsMy undergraduate…

Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof

Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof Similar:Create Joy with Content Management System Hexcodes for Canvas LMSI spent about 30 seconds eyeballing the …AcademiaIs this Wonka's factory, or the presidential picnic @setonhilluniversity ? PersonalBoy that feels good. AcademiaSpring 2023 Midterm Grades: Submitted!PersonalThese chairs were cheap, but it really annoys me how the design collects…

#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:Help! I may be running out of excuses for not wearing…Help! I may be running out of excuses fo…CultureMaking a villain's lair in #Blender3D (this weekend's relaxation)AestheticsThe girl will be dancing as the Gold Fairy in Laurel Ballet's Sleeping Beauty tonight… PersonalMy daughter was five or six when she created the character “Moonbot” for the #steampunk…

Siblings gotta sib.

Similar:The Girl Has Started Rehearsals for PICT Classic Theatre’s Jane EyreI’ve chauffeured the girl into Pittsburg…BooksFind yourself someone who makes you plomeek soup like Nurse Chapel makes for Spock.PersonalThe black chair is down to 18¢ per ounce? Shut up and take my money, Amazon!PersonalEnjoying the “Science of Pixar” 3d computer modeling and storytelling exhibit with…

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

Similar:Mom’s Fears About Daughter Leaving For College Channeled Into Fight About Storage BinsImpatiently scanning store shelves while…AmusingYou're not going to read thisI ask my students to contextualize links…BusinessKeeping it classy. My 20yo son encounters the fruit-eating scene from the 1996 point-and-c…Personal45m into a game against a player ranked 400pts higher than him. In a frilly…

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:At the airport, sending the daughter off to Ireland.At the airport, sending the daughter off…PersonalLook at how many times this false claim of media conspiracy is being shared. Compare that …PersonalI had a singular time voicing Sherlock Holmes in The Mystery of Dr. Watson (WAOB Audio The… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azja…CultureProfessor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other Things”By drawing…