As I gear up to teach about memes and fake news in a “Media Aesthetics” class, I am keeping track of good background articles so I can bring my students up to speed. Satire, like fake news, creates a sense of community through rejection. It delights in tearing down institutions but is useless at constructing…
You may have seen a version of this meme floating around. I don’t know the source of the original, but just now I came across an adaptation by Haplo Schaffer: I like it, but I had some thoughts of my own. Hah! And showing that Haplo is an open-minded good sport about this whole…
As the faculty advisor to a college journalism program, I am very interested in the relationship between professional journalists and the president-elect. A free press is a cornerstone of democracy. The GOP played the electoral college game better than the DNC, such that Clinton’s popular vote did not match the electoral college outcome. Media pundits who…
Similar:Weaponizing Empathy: You reacted to the outrageous claim that I crafted specifically to ou…NRATV host Collins Idehen Jr (who goes b…CultureA Matter of Time (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 9) Smarmy Time Traveler Observ…Rewatching ST:TNG An eccentric ti…AmusingAn Hour of Monastic Silence in Media Studies Class (plus an awesome drum solo)I announced that my…
Conservative talk radio predates the Internet as a populist alternative to the mainstream media. This article challenges the idea that “fake news” is a new, or even a significant problem, and instead explores how some celebrity conservatives (including radio host Rush Limbaugh) encourage their followers to mistrust traditional news outlets. Fake news has been around as…
Similar:Captain Gearheart inspects progress on his #neovictorian #steampunk æther cruiser. Now fea…https://youtu.be/VXz7kspFimM AestheticsOutsiders. Four sold out matinees this coming week. — Prime StageFour sold out matinees this coming week….BooksTapestry (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 15) The dying Picard has a chance to a…Rewatching ST:TNG Picard is in sickba…EmpathyWhat would holidays be without Dickens' beloved…
In the classic stop-action TV special “The Year Without a Santa Claus” (1974), newspaper headlines provide exposition and offer a low-budget way to depict widespread reaction to the events of the plot. Newspapers also introduce a plot hole that’s bothered me ever since I was a kid. When I watched the show again this year,…
In the poem “Imma Let You Integrate Quotations!” by Melvin Middleschool-Writer, it talks about a writing style that wastes words. “Those long quotations, dropping awkward into the essay / Hijack your thoughts / Like a Kanye who graciously accepts a microphone from Taylor Swift  / So he can confidently mansplain it all.” This quote means that students who interrupt their…
Similar:Justice (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 7) When Wes trips on a fence, joggers' god gets in…In which Wesley commits a crime on the L…CultureHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalThe Mom From The Cat in the Hat Finally SpeaksAs a toddler, my son…
Similar:Beam me up, Chewie!AwesomeA Few Good Men at the Pittsburgh Public TheatreFantastic performances, powerful writing…CulturePater Noster Passenger ElevatorsSome 50 years ago, my father took me to …AmusingIs this stripe appearing or disappearing? FULL BLOOM (Aug 30 to Sep 2)PersonalWhat gives you comfort? I collect lights. Some of these have magnets!!Amusingi trained an ai chatbot on…
The Washington Post, which was one of about a dozen news outlets that Trump banned from his campaign events for a few months this summer, has released a Chrome browser plugin that adds Post-sponsored commentary into Trump’s Twitter feed. Sometimes the Post says the commentary will simply add context, but they are announcing it as…
Similar:Contagion (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 11)Picard faces aggressive Romulans and an …Design‘Broken Age’ ReviewThis will be my self-reward when I finis…CybercultureThe daughter is home from London.Personal"Cool" Rosetta Mission Scientist Matt Taylor Objectifies Women via T-Shirt, LanguageHow very sad that someone with this leve…AestheticsCharles Schulz's Letter About Democracy, Discovered 50 Years Later | KQEDJoel Lipton, 10…
Similar:The Tribune-Review published a nice preview of Dani Girl.My daughter Carolyn, Matthew Hommel, Vin…DramaSettling in for a jukebox show (not my favorite genre but the Go-Gos are fun).PersonalWorld Press Freedom Day. (Don't take the free press for granted. Journalists are not the e…PersonalI'm happy with today's #steampunk control panel. To fill out the master plan I'm…
My family and I are in the voice cast of the short audio play, “Christmas Letters.” Similar:Epic Game of Thrones pun battle. Carolyn Jerz Vs. Greg KerestanHere is the transcript the girl provided…AmusingAfter some long-delayed recabling, these are the bits I culled from my work setup.PersonalThree different sized buildings. Still working on variations for the…
Update, June 2020: See Vanessa Otero Ad Fontes Media Updated Media Bias Chart –6.0 Vanessa Otero created an impressive chart that visualizes the problem with a simplistic “real news / fake news” dichotomy. News that skews left or right can still be valuable, and news that scrupulously avoids bias can still be vacuous clickbait. While…
So Khan Academy now has a grammar unit. Similar:Backstage opening night.PersonalProgress.PersonalSee The Nutcracker!@laurelballetperformingco dancers and full @westmorelandsymphony orches…DanceWho's ready for some free outdoor Hamlet?PersonalI just realized I've been misspelling and mispronouncing "detritus" all my life. I’ve been a college English faculty …AcademiaThe Other 21st Century Skills User Generated Education.Academia
Grades submitted. I’ll reward myself with some fun. Then it’s time to set up for my JTerm course. Similar:Facebook, Now You Remind Me of a Half-Drunk Cocktail Party SchmoozerLast week, Facebook asked me what sports…BusinessEnjoyed watching "Queen of Katwe" (Ugandan girl chess prodigy movie)I enjoyed watching this chess-themed com…CultureReliving memories and saying goodbye to my late…
Similar:The girl's modern dance choreography workshopAestheticsTake a look at the moon tonight!I wish I had the time or energy to get o…AestheticsI Find Myself in Another Showhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=517BhV1j0…DramaRespect the Text: Teaching Textual Primacy to Non-English MajorsIn the past, I have used the first day o…AcademiaWhen you need to record footsteps on a sidewalk, and the carpeted…
Similar:Star Trek: "Wink Of An Eye"/"The Empath"Amusing, if cynical, reaction to some of…AmusingA 20 sq cm section of #steampunk #blender3d goodness. #blender3dartAestheticsAccession #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 17) Sisko rethinks his role as Emissar…Rewatching ST:DS9 Bashir reluctantly …AestheticsI haven't seen this show since freshman year at Bishop Denis J O'Connell High Sc…PersonalCharismatic People Don't…
The proliferation of fake and hyperpartisan news that has flooded into Americans’ laptops and living rooms has prompted a national soul-searching, with liberals across the country asking how a nation of millions could be marching to such a suspect drumbeat. But while some Americans may take the stories literally — like the North Carolina man…