Cave Gave Game: Subterranean Space as Videogame Place | Electronic Book Review

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…

The Tribune-Review published a nice preview of Dani Girl.

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:I just looked up…

NASA confirms the best-ever evidence for water on Mars

Mars is the only [other] place where we have solid evidence for liquid [water]. —The Washington Post –– Similar:Line breaks are really, really importantI’m sure that whoever wrote this headlin…Current_EventsThe Girl Wins the Upper Division Monologue in the 25th Annual Pittsburgh Public Theatre's …CultureBy the way, humans sent a robot to another planet, and the robot…

All the ‘Happy Birthday’ song copyright claims are invalid, federal judge rules

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…

Joust @setonhilluniversity discussion of summer book #readyplayerone

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Allergic to Grammar Errors

Source: Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm.net) Similar:I feel juvenile enough today that this headline made me snicker.AmusingFathers' Day: Showing "The Princess Bride"My kids have never seen The Princess Bri…Current_EventsOnce again, The Onion gets it right: Clinton Not Expecting To Collect White House Security…Once again, The Onion gets it right. …AmusingShow, Don't (Just) Tell (another update)AcademiaDo Cultural…

Kafka Meets Charlie Brown

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:Without ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle at the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships. “It doesn’t have to be…

Academic robe, Is this the year I finally send you out to be cleaned? Nah, Febreeze is good enough for you. #SHUConvocation @setonhilluniversity

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Journalism students guiltily ignoring the “no electronic devices” note in the program during Fall Convocation

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:My Student Calls Out a Mental Health Stigma in a Biased Headline — But Here's Why We Shou…This morning a journalism student told m…CultureWhy…

#SHUConvocation is about to begin @setonhilluniversity

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Thank you, anonymous person who left a container of Oreo minis outside my door.

Similar:More #steampunk control panels. Recessed workstations with fold-down keyboards. #blender3d…PersonalThe girl’s first day on set filming for “The First Day of Summer” Carolyn plays a teenager who’s outsi…CultureMore #blender3d #steampunk #design. #blender3dart #aesthetics The officers’ conference roo…AestheticsWhy scientists should care about artMy artsy daughter loves stories about sc…ArtOh , potatoes and molasses. If you want…

Details matter in journalism.

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:Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe. —Thomas JeffersonEducationDisruptions: Texting Your Feelings,…

Letter of Recommendation: Fanny Packs

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…

Nerd Break! Listening To: Wilhelm Scream / Castle Thunder / Amen Break (While Watching Lights Blink in an Oft-recycled Sci-Fi Prop)

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…