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:Poetry Out Loud : Learning RecitationI’m one of the judges in a “Poetry Out L…AcademiaRemember Me (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 5) Dr. Crusher vs The UniverseRewatching ST:TNG…
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 @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels…
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:In September, 2003, I was blogging about the emerging fad of internet plagiarism, ethnical…In September, 2003, I was blogging about…CultureVoiceover artist Gayanne Potter urging ScotRail to…
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:An Unexpecting MinorityTruthfully, I expected my new department…AcademiaWhy the King’s Quest demo reignited my love for adventure gamesI would give this King’s Quest reboot a …CultureThe American Scholar: Celebrity ProfilesPhllip Lopate writes a…
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:Part of Wright brothers' 1st airplane on NASA's Mars chopper “Wilbur and Orville Wright would be pl…AwesomeThe Emma Watson nude pictures hoax shames our ‘news’ cultureDid you hear that a shady group of antis…CultureOn this date in 1999 I first added a date to the…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Space Shuttle Challenger (Destroyed 28 Years Ago Today)I was in my final semester of high schoo…EducationBREAKING: All ITT Campuses Will CloseAll ITT Tech campuses will be shut down,…AcademiaReading Game/Text: EverQuest, Alienation, and Digital Communitiesthough Limbaugh is wrong to decide that …CybercultureMy brother, in town to…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Such deep roots you have: How Little Red Riding Hood's tale evolvedDid all these stories spring from a comm…HomeLEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing parents[C]hildren play to get oxygen, to unders…CultureKirby Delauter SagaLet’s hope many, many more journalism st…HomeEmail Tips: Top 10 Strategies for Writing…
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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:One hundred years ago, Czech writer Karel Čapek introduced the world to the word “Robot”PersonalThe Assignment #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 5) Keiko is not herself after a t…Rewatching ST:DS9 On…
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:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsRT @DDeClaudio:…