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:Destroying trust in the media, science, and government has left America vulnerable to disa…From The Brookings Institution (non-prof…CultureI'm amused by the quirky way the "Thin Bread Crust" meme remixes…
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:In Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureJudge: Apple conspired to fix…
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:Quebec teen discovers ancient Mayan ruins by studying the starsThis sounds like the plot of a Young Ind…CultureNew Voices For The Voiceless: Synthetic Speech Gets An…
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:LEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing parents[C]hildren play to get oxygen, to unders…CultureJournalists write to inform, not to impress.Sometimes when I find myself putting mor…JournalismYou Are Not a Digital Native: Privacy in…
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:My Freshman Comp Student Didn’t Recognize the Term ‘Word Processor’Most of my students use MS-Word, but may…AcademiaFie upon your multi-page, ad-stuffed crapfest of shame. (Don't click!)What I wrote is not actually a list, jus…DesignMale Supporting Characters in Recent Disney Princess Films Dominate the DialogueThe silly…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Facebook, Now You Remind Me of a Half-Drunk Cocktail Party SchmoozerLast week, Facebook asked me what sports…BusinessWhy Our Children Don't Think There Are Moral FactsIndeed, in the world beyond grade school…CultureEnjoying an ice cream cake, apple pie, and the classic Star Trek episode “The Doomsday Mac…PersonalCreate…
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…BusinessIncoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks and iPads TodayI find it impossible not to be cheerful …AcademiaSHU Commemoration of September 11 Terrorism Attacks — Looking Back After…
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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:Umberto Eco and his legacy in open-world gamesI read “The Name of the Rose” during the…Booksxkcd: Headlines It: nailed. xkcd: Headlines.AmusingTimeline of Donald J. Trump's Statements on Coronavirus OutbreakCulturePfully Pfizered and pfeeling…
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…
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