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:Tweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureParallel…

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:MisSpelled: Premiering Oct 1In this podcast series, I voice a mage w…AmusingNew York Times Ready to Charge Online ReadersI will miss it, but honestly, I do not s…BusinessWoman Yelling at Cat About Academic…

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:Loved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsJudge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureFormer student:…

Jerz Nerdcation 2013

On a visit to the Washington DC area for my father’s 80th birthday, we did nerdy things. Similar:Once on This Island (Stage Right! Greensburg; May 11 & 12 Promo Video)The girl plays Ti Moune in “Once on This…CultureIconic 'West Side Story' still resonates todayCarolyn Jerz of Greensburg will be playi…ArtMore modular low-poly background buildings. I’ll…

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:Facebook Ad Refreshes Interrupt the Composition ProcessSo I’m trying to edit a…

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:Father copes with toddler son's cancer by creating 'empathy' gameGreen and Larson both admit that even th…AestheticsThe Homecoming (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 1) War…

@Laroquod Fingers crossed re #Blakes7

@Laroquod Fingers crossed re #Blakes7 Similar:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a purse?To stash…

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:Overheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesIt's been nice knowing you, iPad3 It’s been nice knowing you, iPad3, but…TweetsShe doesn't have keys or…

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:The Protagonist’s Best Friend Would Like to Stop Having to Shoehorn So Much Exposition int…Look, it’s just—now that you’re the prot…AmusingIn March 2000, I was blogging about…

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…