Disruptions: Texting Your Feelings, Symbol by Symbol

Being a word-oriented thinker, I don’t have much interest in emoji icons. I dislike it when an autocorrect turns a traditional sideways smiley into an icon. My daughter, who at age 11 is too young for a Facebook account, sometimes uses my Facebook account to chat with her slightly-older teen friends, which means that when…

RT @pewresearch: Teens Haven’t Abandoned Facebook…

RT @pewresearch: Teens Haven’t Abandoned Facebook (Yet) — @mary_madden says reports of Facebook’s demise among teens are premature http://… Similar:I'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is really noteworthy. Today the Pre…Current_EventsTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsHow hate and misinformation…

Despicable Me 2 “Bottom” gag will do for A Midsummer Night’s Dream what Disney’s Little Mermaid’s Ariel did for The Tempest

The name “Bottom” in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is already funny, but I expect my students will likely snigger at it, thinking of the “Silas Ramsbottom” gag from Despicable Me 2. I read The Tempest before I saw Disney’s Little Mermaid, so when I think of Prospero’s spirit Ariel, I do not think of a…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu

Maybe I’ll start a cover band, cleaning up hip-hop songs…

Maybe I’ll start a cover band, cleaning up hip-hop songs, remixing them as instant breakfast food jingles. I’ll call it “Minced Oats.” Similar:Couples in successful relationships always use these 6 phrases: 'You'll grow stronger both…”If you and your partner regularly use t…CultureDo Black Holes Create New Universes? Physicist Lee Smolin InterviewCan’t wait until we get…

If this professor thing doesn’t work out, I’ll sta…

If this professor thing doesn’t work out, I’ll start a nerd-rock band called “Force-choked by Jesus.” Similar:Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesJudge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksMaybe I'll just…

Jerz Nerdcation 2013

On a visit to the Washington DC area for my father’s 80th birthday, we did nerdy things. Similar:Tonight's Supermoon.AestheticsThose Were the Days: On 'Nostalgia' When missing home was a diseaseAlthough we now associate nostalgia with…CultureTake my feedback if you want to pass.As my students in a compressed online co…AcademiaUnpopular grammar rulesLanguage is a fluid, living…

Pieces of Earliest Games Recovered

These small sculpted stones unearthed from an early Bronze Age burial in Turkey could be the earliest gaming tokens ever found, confirming that board games likely originated and spread from the Fertile Crescent regions and Egypt more than 5,000 years ago. –via Discovery News. Similar:FULL BLOOM at Latrobe’s Olde Main, Aug 30-Sep 2.CultureReflections on Flannery O'Connor's…

10 journalism resources for PR pros

From PR Daily.com: In no particular order, below are some top journalism resources that can help PR pros understand today’s journalist and move toward a more cohesive, beneficial relationship for both sides: • Jim Romenesko (@romenesko and jimromenesko.com): Daily news, commentary, and links about journalism and media. • Sree Sreenivasan (@sree and sree.net): Columbia University’s first chief digital officer and a…

Irony in Blakes7 Reboot?

RT @Laroquod: @DennisJerz If #Blakes7 turns out to be a show you need Xbox/Win8 to watch legally (as per rumour), that’s a sad irony for a show abt rebels. Similar:Another 10sq cm section of a #neovictorian control panel for a personal #blender3D #steamp…AestheticsUmberto Eco and his legacy in open-world gamesI read “The Name of the…

@Laroquod Fingers crossed re #Blakes7

@Laroquod Fingers crossed re #Blakes7 Similar:RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and…

Creating Games for Journalism

We as journalists can learn a lot from video games. They can help players explore unfamiliar worlds and experience stories, almost literally, through the eyes of another person. Designed well, video games guide players to feel emotion and conflict, as well as learn the intricacies of complex subjects and systems. They engage users in a…

RT @KatySny: A big week for online news http://t.c…

RT @KatySny: A big week for online news wp.me/p1VKki-eZ Similar:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureAnd the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl…

Apparently Facebook Doesn’t Know Me Very Well

I’m actually rather happy at the thought that somewhere in Facebook’s database exists a picture of my personal preferences that is so wildly inaccurate as to suggest this. Similar:Facebook Puts a Downer on UpworthyFacebook Inc. changed its newsfeed algor…BusinessThe Protagonist’s Best Friend Would Like to Stop Having to Shoehorn So Much Exposition int…Look, it’s just—now…

Making the switch: A student news director looks toward a digital future

As “one big news team,” all 54 student reporters work for TCU360 regardless of their story’s medium. Content is published on the website and social media throughout the day, seven days a week. The Daily Skiff, still published Tuesday through Friday, acts as an aggregator of the week’s best content. The “leadership team” consists of…