“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks he’s going to procure an entire library in the middle of the ocean.” –student who didn’t listen closely to my speech (where I mentioned both a shipboard library and my iPad) in the “Vote to Drown Professors Representing Disciplines That Threaten Your Worldview Lifeboat Debate.” (Not the…
Words do some things much better than pixels and polys. You can shoot a dozen identical aliens in a first-person shooter and not feel annoyed; but if you read the same identical description of shooting aliens, you would probably feel bored and cheated. In a game of words, there is therefore a pressure either to…
RT @betajames: “I know of no English department in any institution that requires its majors to take a course on the ethics of literary stud… Similar:Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureRT…
The New York Times reported “Many Flee Homes to Escape `Gas Raid From Mars’–Phone Calls Swamp Police at Broadcast of Wells Fantasy” and the story of the hoax is firmly embedded in the history books. But the reports of streets full of panicked citizens don’t hold up to scrutiny. There’s only one problem: The supposed…
@ZCharisma On my blog I said my wife usually gives me nerdy DVDs (e.g. Mazes & Monsters), so I expect she’ll give me Zero Charisma one day. Similar:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor:…
My student journos were given one class period to film, edit, and publish a 2-min TV news story. Speed journalism! blogs.setonhill.edu/el200-2013-fa/… Similar:I asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingYes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors…
@ZCharisma Oh, now I feel bad. Similar:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesJudge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig…
What can parents do to minimize their children’s risk of being hurt or killed by poison or sharp objects in Halloween candy? How many children would you say die each year from eating poisoned candy (or candy with razor blades and such) each Halloween? Just two or three? Maybe only one every few years? In…
My wife usually gives me nerd-themed DVDs as gifts, so I probably won’t make any effort to see this movie on my own. Still, I’m glad to know someone has made a movie that touches on the hipsterization of nerd culture, and I enjoyed reading the well-written review. Like lots of apologists and upholders of…
It: nailed. xkcd: Headlines. Similar:I never have time to create materials like this during the academic year. Brand new handou… AP Style follows the standard Englis…AcademiaIt's Not "Fake News" Just Because You Disagree With ItI use the term “fake news” to refer to d…CultureThe joy of text – the fall and rise of interactive fictionAlthough…
…she’s pretending to be “Spock in a Tree on Omicron Ceti III.” Similar:I don't expect any but the largest text will be legible in my #steampunk project, but it w…AestheticsThe Darkness and the Light #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 11) A serial killer t…Rewatching ST:DS9 In a cave (again wi…DramaIn Which I Bow Before…
The observation car Pearl sings of her love for Rusty, in the “Like ‘Cats’ but with Trains” show “Starlight Express.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma4FusuIgSM By the way, that’s a Star Wars Stormtrooper outfit, with pink accents added by my wife. Post by Stage Right. Similar:Former student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments,…
Back in my grad school days, I was called a “run-of-the-mill programmer” by a brilliant IT genius. For a guy whose only computer coursework consists of a Pascal class in high school (“taught” by a math teacher who didn’t know the language, and checked my answers against those in the teacher’s manual), I still consider…
King Henry rallies his troops just before the decisive Battle of Agincourt. From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,…
RT @textfiles: Hi internet. In another few minutes I go onstage to point everyone to archive.org/details/histor… and hopefully computer history … Similar:Maybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my…
Not my item, but the pathos caught my eye. Similar:The Storyteller (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 14) A Bajoran village mystic na…Rewatching ST:DS9 O’Brien tries to we…BusinessThe Most Disastrous Typos In Western History The Most Disastrous Typos In Western H…BooksThe Mom From The Cat in the Hat Finally SpeaksAs a toddler, my son once…
Seriously: What is Amazon? A retail company? A media company? A logistics machine? The mystery of its strategy is deepened by two factors. First is the company’s communications department, which famously excels at not communicating. Three requests to speak with Amazon officials for this article were delayed and, inevitably, declined. This moves discussions of the…
Tween: “My friends say Bieber’s a jerk now.” Me: “It’s hard when your idols fall.” Tween: “That’s why I don’t have any. Except for you.” Similar:Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingIt's been…
A new Emily Dickinson archive is online. Here is the opening of one of her most famous poems. Reading View for Fascicle 23. Similar:Cause and Effect (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 18) time loop. Ka-boom. The En…Rewatching ST:TNG A smart, charac…AestheticsLiberal arts college professor assaults alt-right group memberCarefully choosing language that fits yo…AcademiaDaughter Carolyn…
My wonderfully geeky tween made these Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde pendants with her Rainbow Loom. Next on her list: making Pac-Man. Similar:Yesterday we took advantage of a rare free day.At the Carnegie Museum of Art. AestheticsThe third Google hit for " #steampunk control panel" is a #blender3d image I cre…PersonalI just finished recalibrating the…