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:If You Think You Hate Puns, You're WrongI wrote my college application essay on …AmusingBaltimore Residents Urged To Stay Indoors Until Social Progress Naturally Takes Its Course…“As we continue…
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:RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsParallel Structure vs.…
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:Los Angeles sheriff appears to back down after signaling he was investigating reporterVillanueva has repeatedly singled out LA…Current_EventsKarate, Wonton, Chow Fun: The end of 'chop suey'…
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:Thespian robot doesn't let stiff acting stop it from applying for Screen Actors Guild cardA clever little stunt, getting a little …AmusingHomeward (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 13) Worf's foster brother interferes…
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…
So I’m not being selfish… this is a parenting strategy. Similar:Mars Is a Hellhole: Colonizing the red planet is a ridiculous way to help humanity.Some of Elon Musk’s stunts have caught m…BusinessIdeal Homeschool Summer Day: Studying Latin, Justifying Nilla Wafers, and Making a Duct Ta…Today, I managed to get in a couple of h…AestheticsBlender 3D…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:When F. Scott Fitzgerald Judged Gatsby By Its Cover With a big Hollywood movie now in th…Aesthetics50 Years Ago: The World in 1961 – Alan Taylor – In Focus – The AtlanticA fantastic series of photos exploring t…AestheticsFrog and Toad at the Mountain Playhouse with…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Sources tell Seton Hill University's Dennis Jerz that TV news websites emphasize self-prom…Sources tell Seton Hill University’s Den…BusinessHypertext as a Teaching Tool — Brown University Poetry Classroom 1974This short film documents an early attem…AcademiaLEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing parents[C]hildren play to get oxygen, to…
Similar:Bother (a minor Turnitin.com grademark bug)That whole thing should be a link — the…AcademiaLove Online”The exchange of love letters was centra…CultureRemnants of a Legendary Typeface Rescued From the River ThamesA little over a century ago, the printer…AestheticsThe Portable Writing desk — the Victorian laptopFocusing on the materiality of writing, …AestheticsMr. Spock, weren't you wearing blue…
Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:Another visit to downtown Pittsburgh with my history-loving son.CultureRoyalty: For the Irish, it’s like having a neighbour who’s really into clowns and, also, y…When I lived in Canada, I had friends wh…AmusingEnglish Teacher…
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:10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful, concise summary of web-en…BusinessHello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and…