Interesting set of observations exploring the limits of omniscience and the sheer scale involved in watching an entire population. Failures in empathy lead to misinterpretation of anonymous rebellion in plain sight. Tolkien’s most potent and intimidating image of centralized surveillance, the Eye of Sauron atop a tower, taking in the whole world, has resonated with…
This project looks promising. I’ve donated the money I was going to spend on a haircut. We’re keeping our UI super simple. The experience is entirely sound and story: Writing + Voiceover + SFX + Music. With either a spoken word or a simple tap on the screen you can listen to the drama unfold…
A recent Pew study (Smartphone Ownership 2013) found that blacks were about 10% more likely than whites to own smartphones, and that young urban people regardless of income are very likely to own smartphones. (With older people, a smartphone is more of a luxury.) It’s little wonder, then, that phone-friendly Twitter has been such a…
These are shoe-holding racks at a local indoor play area, where I took my daughter and a friend for a few hours. Why buy six different rainbow-colored shoe-holding racks, if you’re not going to arrange them in the proper order? I really wanted to pick up the purple one and at least put it in…
Sample, improved lyrics: “An old man turned 98 /He won the lottery, and died the next day (from a severe paper cut from his lottery ticket).” Similar:The Case Against High-School Sports”I’ve been in hundreds of classrooms,” s…CultureCoding Bootcamps and the New For-Profit Higher EdThere are actually a number of narrative…AcademiaRelics (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6,…
Rewatching the classic Trek episode “The Conscience of the King,” which features a Shakespearean acting troupe. In one scene, McCoy writes a report on a wedge proto-iPad… …but in the very next scene Kirk scrawls on a piece of paper. This episode also features characters doing computer searches, using an exposition-friendly voice interface to call…
At least three journalists left NBC, after the network aired a tape of George Zimmerman, edited in a manner that substantially altered its content. Filed in Seminole County, the suit adds that “NBC News saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about…
Jon Negroni creates a meta-narrative to connect every Pixar movie, using Boo as the still point in the turning universe. Every Pixar movie is connected. I explain how, and possibly why. Several months ago, I watched a fun-filled video on Cracked.com that introduced the idea (at least to me) that all of the Pixar movies…
The contrast between KTVU’s treatment of its triumphs vs errors reminds us of the difference between journalism vs public relations. Similar:Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksYes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentFormer student: "I remember…
Last week, the Fox-afiliated KTVU fell for a prank, repeating offensive fake names for the pilots involved in the crash of Asiana Flight 214 last week. [S]even-year veteran KTVU producer Brad Belstock closed his @producerBB Twitter account after his last Friday tweet just moments after the names were read aloud on the air by Tori Campbell.…
Francesca Borri writes of being a freelancer and a woman covering the war in Syria. (When my life gets hectic, a story like this helps me keep some perspective.) Similar:''The Balloon Hoax'' by Edgar Allan PoeWhen steampunk was speculative fiction, …AmusingAugust Wilson House officially opens in Pittsburgh's Hill DistrictThe August Wilson House officially opene…CultureHow The…
Is your Sunday feeling incomplete because you haven’t read anything about punctuation today? This explanation of the semicolon should help. You’re welcome. Similar:The Left has a post-truth problem too. It's called comedy.As I gear up to teach about memes and fa…CultureA familiar performer choreographed and dances the "Canaan Days" tango in Stage Right's Jos…AestheticsThe Penance…
My wife is something of a hoarder. Now, as it happens, I have saved my half of the slip of paper that I tore so that we could write down each other’s phone numbers back when we were about 22, but she saves old catalogs and phone books (phone books!) from years ago. Sometimes, when…
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Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Smalltalk through masks is hard; I really was glad to see so many familiar upper halves of…If you said hello to me recently and I d…CultureIs this stripe appearing or disappearing? FULL BLOOM (Aug 30 to Sep 2)PersonalThe girl will be dancing as the Gold…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:When a Blogger Shares a Too-good-to-be-true Meme Featuring Hilarious Handwritten Notes fro…Or something like that.HomeSHU Commemoration of September 11 Terrorism Attacks — Looking Back After 10 YearsCome to listen. Come to share. Come toge…CultureMaybe Star Wars 7 won't suck, but I'm not holding my breath.I was…
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Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:12 Mistakes Nearly Everyone Who Writes About Grammar Mistakes MakesDescriptive grammarians rejoice. Formal…CultureCarolyn and her friend Travis on Twin Day at summer camp.PersonalCoronavirus Tribute to Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" (1942) I found this…
Blogging this so I can find it when I teach my “News Writing” class this fall. People do like to prank journalists with fake names. In this case, the reporter did what you’re supposed to do — get confirmation — but sheesh. KTVU reports fake racist names of Asiana Airlines 214 pilots from NTSB intern…
I recently bought a new phone. since then, I have answered an incoming call in my car. It felt awesome. Similar:Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsRT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsHello, there,…