Crowther’s Adventure: Tough Memes to Squash

Will Crowther, an RPG-er, created the first text-based adventure game for computers Colossal Cave Adventure in 1975.6 When Don Woods developed it into Adventure in 1976-1977 he added the Tolkienian elements of trolls and elves. —Helen Young, Journal of Tolkien Research Well, yes, but Crowther had already started with the Tolkenian elements of underground dwarves,…

Seeing Floyd Collins, a musical about caving and journalism. Front Porch Theatricals.

Similar:Chapbooks — the latest assignment in my “History and Future of the Book” class.Students have already done a 400-word sp…AcademiaMy third time seeing @shu.pippin. I'll be back tomorrow for closing night.PersonalHappy Easter 2020 CultureSorry, not sorry. I don't want such friends. Back in 2003, shortly after I moved …CultureAnother #steampunk #neovictorian control panel module. #blender3d…

Facebook does not care about truth. Facebook wants to sell your attention to the highest bidder. 

  Don’t trust your Facebook feed. All Facebook wants is for you to spend time on Facebook, so that they can sell your attention to the highest bidder. Facebook recently fired 18 employees whose job was to write headlines for and monitor the “Trending Topics” list. When that list fell under scrutiny for an alleged…

How to Think Like Shakespeare

Saving this for the next time I teach Shakespeare. All well and good, you say, but my parents are worried about what I’m going to do after I graduate. There, too, Shakespeare can be a model. When he was born, there wasn’t yet a professional theater in London. In other words, his education had prepared him…

Rip Van Winkle

Certain it is, that he was a great favorite among all the good wives of the village, who, as usual with the amiable sex, took his part in all family squabbles, and never failed, whenever they talked those matters over in their evening gossipings, to lay all the blame on Dame Van Winkle. The children…

Facebook Removes Human Curators From Trending Module

Today, Facebook announced that human curators will no longer write short descriptions that accompany trending topics on the site. Instead, the company will rely on an algorithmic process to “pull excerpts directly from stories.” The company also said it will stop using human curators to sort through the news…. It’s important to note that Facebook originally…

Hypertext as a Teaching Tool — Brown University Poetry Classroom 1974

Similar:Captive Pursuit (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 6) O'Brien Befriends a Nervous,…Rewatching ST:DS9 Sisko is listening …DesignMy virtual army of grey capsules is just barely smart enough to follow my avatar around. #…My virtual army of grey capsules is just…AestheticsPippin! Last show today at 2pm.CultureGoogle responds to streaming report with shruggie GIFThe Daily Dot…

Hypertext as a Teaching Tool — Brown University Poetry Classroom 1974

This short film documents an early attempt to use hypertext to help students study poetry. A fascinating early collaboration between computer science and the humanities. Similar:Multitasking while studying: Divided attention and technological gadgets impair learning a…Fairly early in the semester, I can spot…AcademiaFacebook, really? More people liked the picture in my post than saw the…

The girl sank her brother’s last ship with the homophonous cry “I-1.”

Similar:Nature walks 2012 and 2018.AestheticsThe reluctant wisdom of a science major in my freshman writing class.”There’s nothing left to say,” said a sc…AcademiaApology of Socrates, By PlatoAristotle classified Plato’s work, repre…AestheticsIn September, 2003, I was blogging about the emerging fad of internet plagiarism, ethnical…In September, 2003, I was blogging about…CultureThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -…

NASA Just Found a Lost Spacecraft

If movies about space have taught us anything, it’s that no one can hear you scream. If you get lost in space, nobody’s going to find you. Unless you’re a spacecraft with a direct link to NASA. Then, there is hope for you yet. STEREO-B, from the Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory mission, went missing on…

Connecting with the Boy

Today my son asked me to take him shopping for his favorite foods. He’s tired of fast-food take-out. I told him I was busy today running the spotlight for and videotaping yet another one of Carolyn’s performances (this time her voice teacher’s summer revue).
The poor boy has been left at home a lot while the rest of us did so much theater over the summer. He competed in a chess tournament last week. I fell asleep in the next room. He came in second place. (I have no pictures. I’m a bad father.)

Annie Sullivan on teaching: 

Helen Keller, rendered blind and deaf after an infection as a toddler, learned the gift of language from her patient and determined teacher, Annie Sullivan. Their story is told in the play The Miracle Worker (and my daughter plays Helen in three more shows this weekend at Latrobe’s Cabaret Theatre). As a young woman Helen Keller…

Star Trek Beyond was an enjoyable nerdy family outing.

Similar:Daughter made a Rainbow Loom Marty McFly. Note vest jacket and hover board.PersonalYou may move your tassels from right to left. #classof2017 PersonalHandshakes Really Do MatterMonday night handshake/eye contact pract…CultureSecurity is Sleeping in the Back Seat of the CarFor decades, my mother collected paperba…EmpathyMy laptop hard drive is full & my comfort-food shelf is emptyMy laptop…