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:In Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic…

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:Former Setonian editor-in-chief Amanda Cochran visits my journalism class to discuss her c…AcademiaAnd Now for This Breaking News Report “Police have cornered the suspect wh…AmusingBoth Sides in JournalismCultureLen Deighton’s Bomber, the first book…

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:Desert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for…

Jerz Nerdcation 2013

On a visit to the Washington DC area for my father’s 80th birthday, we did nerdy things. Similar:First Contact (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 15)Rewatching ST:TNG This flipside episo…EmpathyScrape, Scrape, Spam Blog, Have You Scraped My Site?http://youtu.be/GFk8hEQ-jNI Below is …BooksIf Wishes Were Horses (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 16) Hallucinations become…Rewatching ST:DS9 Quark…

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:What are 'Judeo-Christian values'? Analyzing a divisive termblock of American society. ­But…

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:Coding Sucks: Why a Job in Programming Is Absolute HellI enjoyed the essay, but the truths it i…CultureI Felt a Great Disturbance in the Font. And…

@Laroquod Fingers crossed re #Blakes7

@Laroquod Fingers crossed re #Blakes7 Similar:I asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureI'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is really noteworthy. Today the Pre…Current_EventsHabits for happiness: tips for looking on…

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:Tweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a purse?To stash her Lemonheads and Smarties. ht…AmusingWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over the…

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:Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speechhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlcPRla…CultureThe Surprisingly Savvy Weird Al Internet Machine When he talks about his business being…AestheticsHemingway: The First Draft of Anything… Facebook.AmusingTevye from Fiddler…

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…