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:I gave my class a Poem to read. The author's Name — I hid.I gave my class a Poem to read. The aut…AcademiaThe grandmaster diet: How to lose weight…
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:I asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsWhat kids do when Dad won't hand…
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:Crowther's Adventure: Tough Memes to Squash Will Crowther, an RPG-er, created th…CultureClickbait Tactics Drive the Writing of Headlines on ABC NewsI probably should not be surprised,…
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:Name-calling and ad hominem attacks don't provide anyone with reasons to change their mind…AcademiaCEO’s brutalist office, for a Zoom-based production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)….Aesthetics The Expensive Education of Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley…
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:How Facebook and Twitter control what you see about FergusonOn Twitter, I see tear-gassed civilians,…CultureAngry 10yo Edits the Paper Heart She Gave Her MotherAestheticsLook at how many times this false claim of media conspiracy is being shared. Compare that …PersonalCameras and Masks: Sustaining Emotional Connections…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Choice of the Journo: A Branching-path Phone-friendly Role-playing Simulation for Journali…How can a nostalgic, branching-path stor…AcademiaAP Style: try to determine, and then respect, a source's preferences when it comes to…PersonalResponding to Literature at the College LevelA new handout, based on the opening lect…AcademiaOk, never mind…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Maybe Star Wars 7 won't suck, but I'm not holding my breath.I was burned in 1999 when I saw The Phan…HomeSHU Commemoration of September 11 Terrorism Attacks — Looking Back After 10 YearsCome to listen. Come to share. Come toge…CultureWordPress duplicate images driving me crazy I’m…
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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:Revisiting a Website I Created in 1996: Engineering Writing Centre (University of Toronto)During the Christmas break of 1996, when…AestheticsYour first attempt at a medieval gate and city walls will be your worst.…
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:Parallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from…
I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:Le règne des robotsÉcrite en 1920 et jouée pour la première…CybercultureWriting a news story calls on different skills than writing a traditional essay.Updated an older instructional handout w…EssaysThe Hidden World of the TypewriterWhen I was interning at a radio station …AestheticsMy 20-year-old Java…