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:xkcd: Types of Editorsxkcd: Types of Editors.AmusingAve atque valeWhat is a liberal education and what it …AcademiaThe Surprisingly Savvy Weird Al Internet Machine When he talks about his business…
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:Hello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller…
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:Happy Flag Day! All flags matter, but nobody needs to say that out loud.Happy Flag Day! All flags matter, but…AestheticsSwiss cheese metaphor for fighting the pandemic:…
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:College bookstores adapting to changing times with additional servicesIn the corner of the Seton Hill Universi…AcademiaNew Handout on Surviving Group Projects in CollegeI posted a new handout with tips on surv…AcademiaBuzz Aldrin: It’s…
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:Classroom Vignette: MLA StyleStudent (shouldering backpack and headin…AcademiaTime article with clickbaity headline: Web users annoyed by marketing tricksThis Time magazine article is a good one…CybercultureInterface changes make it a little harder to work with Google's image searchWhen I’m looking for a picture I’m going…BusinessBook geyser.…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:The girl performed musical commercials for a fund-raiser in the Laurel Highlands (and she …The girl performed musical commercials f…CultureI just finished "Beyond Eyes" and I think there's something in my eye.My 20yo son, who plays a lot of Star War…AestheticsTrees (an "Interpretive Travesty")A tree…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Kirby Delauter SagaLet’s hope many, many more journalism st…HomeThe Rule of Capek's Robots: A public lecture, in which the word “robot” is traced, precurs… HomeTake that, grass! Eat rotary analog steel.HomeMemories of Toronto Yonge Street EncountersI arrived in Toronto in 1992 as a 22yo g…CultureI…
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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:CEO’s brutalist office, for a Zoom-based production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)….AestheticsMy big brother and my son facing off at chess. I am outclassed! GamesMy kids are in a tree. How's your…
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:RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksHow hate and misinformation go viral: A case…