I still blog, because I want control over my own archives, so that I can link back to my own posts to provide context (such as this 2004 post on the emerging SHU blogging community, or this 2011 post on the switch from MovableType to WordPress). Your past pretty much doesn’t exist if you post it…
Electronic Book Review just published an article I wrote with Dave Thomas, on cave space in video game ecology. Parts of this article are a companion to my 2007 Digital Humanities Quarterly article on the 1970s text computer game Colossal Cave Adventure. Crowther’s translation of real world caving experience into the digital medium provides a…
My daughter Carolyn, Matthew Hommel, Vinny Tresco, and my wife are in this show. (My wife is also the director.) The show runs Oct 1-3 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 at the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottsdale, Pa.) Geyer production ‘Dani Girl’ offers inspiration to those touched by cancer. –Tribune Review Similar:AnniePersonalGeometry and color maps…
Mars is the only [other] place where we have solid evidence for liquid [water]. —The Washington Post –– Similar:How Facebook and Twitter control what you see about FergusonOn Twitter, I see tear-gassed civilians,…CultureThe Religious Origins of Fake News and "Alternative Facts"A good exploration, in the light of curr…CultureSeriously, Fuck You, "Kindle Unlimited"I’m just quoting the f-bomb…
In a stunning reversal of decades of copyright claims, the judge ruled that Warner/Chappell never had the right to charge for the use of the “Happy Birthday To You” song. Warner had been enforcing a copyright since 1988, when it bought Birch Tree Group, the successor to Clayton F. Summy Co., which claimed the original…
Similar:"The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does …PersonalMy older brother falls to my son's chess skills.PersonalRenata, Carolyn and Alex in a scene from this weekend's Pippin.CultureLooking forward to what looks like an exciting evening of dance.PersonalShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why…
Similar:So many dials to polish. More workstations. #steampunk #neovictorian #design #aesthetics #… AestheticsA 20 sq cm section of #steampunk #blender3d goodness. #blender3dartAestheticsComputers and Writing 2020 Funding Request: SubmittedMy contributions this year are a worksho…AcademiaPlaying a well-dressed bad guy. PersonalAfter my conference talk, a post-audition, pre-Jane-Eyre-performance dinner with the girl.PersonalUshering The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.…
I hated Clippy, not because it looked like it was leering at me, but because it was so intrusive. [T]he engineers in the room were willing to throw out the focus-group-provided data—data which they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for—because it didn’t cohere to their expectations. The software shipped with 10 male assistants and…
Source: Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm.net) Similar:Pen Pals (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 15) Data Hears a WhoRewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…EmpathyU Michigan's North Quad Complex: A Media CathedralThe North Quad Residential Complex at th…AcademiaBoth Sides in JournalismCultureAs a student journo, naturally I covered the visit from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry…I recall just sort…
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. An opportune time, then, to revisit R. Sikoryak’s “Good ol’ Gregor Brown,” which first appeared in Russ Kick’s The Graphic Canon, from Seven Stories Press. —Literary Hub Similar:Teaching “The Odyssey” at San QuentinThe opening of “The Odyssey” describes O…BooksDress rehearsal for The Nutcracker.AestheticsDon’t worry:…
A clever little stunt, getting a little publicity for the robot and the dance troupe. A robot has taken the first step towards becoming a working actor by applying for a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card.The robot, whose acting style could be considered stiff, is named IRB 2400. It made its screen debut recently by costarring…
Similar:Feeling Like an Impostor at 49I reminded my Shakespeare students that …AcademiaDani Girl (Oct 1-3, 2015) at the Geyer Performing Arts CenterVinnie Tresco, Carolyn Jerz, Matthew Hom…CultureShakespeare's WillPersonalProud of My JournosI saw several heads that I recognized, b…AcademiaReady to teach another set of students what research is (and what it isn’t).AcademiaHamlet. #tobePersonal
That moment when you see a dozen or more of your own journalism students guiltily ignoring the “no electronic devices” note in the program so that they can livetweet Honors Convocation. Similar:WFAA legend on pioneering live coverage of JFK assassination The vast majority of Americans r…CultureVenus Flytraps Are Even Creepier Than We ThoughtI clicked for…
Similar:My son just handed me my serving of noodles in the butter substitute container. Recycling.AmusingWhen students don't show up during office hours: I adjusted the cabinet and added a new (s…AestheticsThe girl sank her brother's last ship with the homophonous cry "I-1."AmusingIt's such a privilege to introduce these young people to Shakespeare's body of work.After…
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Pretty sure you can’t do this to a Kindle. Posted by Tenth + Fourth on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 Similar:August Wilson House officially opens in Pittsburgh's Hill DistrictThe August Wilson House officially opene…CultureChoiceScript tutorial for making casual, phone-friendly, stats-driven storygames. Choice o… https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis…AcademiaDefunct Web Pages are Not Dead Ends to JournalistsIn my “News Writing” class,…
Get the brand of the beer, the make, model and year of the car and the name and breed of the dog. Here’s a great story that suggests journalists also “get the brand of the bra.” Similar:The 7 things new college students don’t know that drive professors crazy While secondary schools pour the…AcademiaThis Is How…
What other accessory ensures the safety of your essentials, with easy access, while also liberating your hands? The fanny pack, when used properly, enables a whole host of activities that other bags render awkward: a deep embrace, a dance party, the ability to quickly find and swipe and secure your MetroCard. Through its rare combination…
In order to provide some context for a blog post on a blinking lights prop we’ve all seen in dozens of different TV shows and movies, I opened different tabs for compilations of the Wilhelm scream, the castle thunder sound cue, and the Amen break drum solo. All three of those sound effects are now playing at once, and I am…
The new logo retains the rainbow of colors but sheds the grownup curlicues: it now evokes children’s refrigerator magnets, McDonald’s French fries, Comic Sans. Google took something we trusted and filed off its dignity. Now, in its place, we have an insipid “G,” an owl-eyed “oo,” a schoolroom “g,” a ho-hum “l,” and a demented,…