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:Copspeak, "the past exonerative" tense, and punching NazisIn the Constitution, any suspect is inno…CultureLetter to the editor: Why our English department deserves more respectI came very close to accepting…
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:Maybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsTweet: Came around…
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:Cameras and Masks: Sustaining Emotional Connections with Your Students in an Age of COVID1…There are some sound pedagogical reasons…AcademiaExcessive Copyright Strikes Again in 2016Current US law…
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:Post-publication review as an efficient alternative to pre-publication peer reviewAndrew Gelman of “Statistical Modeling, …AcademiaNarnia board game — enjoyable family activity (but it's weird that the Pevensies compete …It’s weird that in the…
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:Showing vs. Telling (Example: "I like to win.")I just wrote these examples on a student…AestheticsThe Terrible Things I Have Said and Done My Entire Life, and Right Up Until a Few Days Ago…The media constantly takes things I say …CultureSinéad O'Connor's open letter to Miley…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Standardized testing: I opted my kids out. The schools freaked out. Now I know why.And so, on the first day of testing, I a…AmusingWhat, exactly, am I looking at here? I’m so confused.What, exactly, am I looking at here? I’m…PersonalA colleague bakes Irish soda bread…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:WordPress duplicate images driving me crazy I’m using the Atahualpa Theme with WPT…HomeHacking the WordPress Social Plugin to Include Pages in Addition to PostsI love the WordPress Social plugin, whic…HomeMaybe Star Wars 7 won't suck, but I'm not holding my breath.I was burned in 1999 when…
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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:About that Cough, Rough, Pony, Bologna MemeDo the spellings of cough & rough, p…BooksOuttakes from “Once on This Island” promohttps://youtu.be/QlMJuogD9to AmusingOne of the benefits of teaching at a small college, with small…
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:I'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is really noteworthy. Today the Pre…Current_EventsMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsLoved seeing A Comedy…