“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:Overheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do…
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:Desert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters…
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:And the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl has succeeded in getting me…TweetsRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsDesert Bus:…
@ZCharisma Oh, now I feel bad. Similar:My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last…
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:Birthright, Part 1 (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 16) Worf learns his father m…Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-D vi…EthicsComing up for the girl is another classic show: The Fantasticks.So looking forward to seeing her in this…CultureI felt a great disturbance in the Fandom”…as if millions of voices suddenly cr…AestheticsThis Is What Summer…
…she’s pretending to be “Spock in a Tree on Omicron Ceti III.” Similar:I'm down to a king and two pawns but my son likes playing until he crushes me.PersonalSeeing A Wrinkle in Time. @prime_stagePersonalDespicable Me 2 "Bottom" gag will do for A Midsummer Night's Dream what Disney's Little Me…The name “Bottom” in A Midsummer Night’s…CultureMy…
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:Look what I found on my shelf in a closet. #history #archaeology #media…
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:Habits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureDesert Bus: The Worst…
Not my item, but the pathos caught my eye. Similar:Journalism is doing just fine, thanks — it’s mass-media business models that are ailingHmm… I warn my freshmen not to use the…BusinessRoss deserves better "Friends": a defense of nerdsI was not a fan of this show, but I am a…CultureTeaching Composition with Interactive FictionI’m on a…
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:Habits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter…
A new Emily Dickinson archive is online. Here is the opening of one of her most famous poems. Reading View for Fascicle 23. Similar:The Interactive Fiction CompetitionDownload and Play The Games of the 2014 …Current_EventsThe Drinks are On Us! and Us! and Us Too!I got a text message a couple days ago…..CultureABC News executive placed…
My wonderfully geeky tween made these Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde pendants with her Rainbow Loom. Next on her list: making Pac-Man. Similar:I touched up an intro to hypertext essays from 2000.When I initially wrote this introduction…CybercultureEmpathy in a Downtown Sub ShopSitting in a downtown sub shop. A half d…CultureA pallet of cabinet fronts and…