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:Hide and Q (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 9) Riker, buffed up by Q, grants desires of the…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…Amusing“We hate math,” says 4 in 10…
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:Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksHello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling…
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:Déjà Q (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 13) Amusing, insightful study of hum…(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break…AmusingHasbro removes embedded typeface from My Little Pony website…
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:National Dance DayIn the restaurant parking lot after dinn…Culture‘Belonging Is Stronger Than Facts’: The Age of Misinformation As much as we like to think of our…CultureAbout that Cough, Rough, Pony, Bologna MemeDo 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:Life would be so much better if all the interfaces we encountered looked like #Steampunk c…Aestheticsn+1: The Stupidity of ComputersComputers are pretty dumb, but they’re d…CybercultureUnity3D Maze Game TutorialWorkspace for an in-progress Unity3D tut…AcademiaA full minute standing ovation after that rousing final “Alleluia.” Thrilling!PersonalMy Polish…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:She feels pretty at the dress rehearsal (opens Thursday)On the ride home, in the middle of a spi…AmusingClever Modernization of Hamlet: Polonius with an iPhoneI teach Shakespeare in a literature clas…CultureDo the Best Professors Get the Worst Ratings?To summarize the findings: because they …AcademiaAlex and…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Email Tips: Top 10 Strategies for Writing Effective EmailAfter reading a clickbaity Bloomberg art…HomeNerd siblings are awesome siblingsMy 15yo wanted to show me Terminator 4, …HomeA New Talent EmergesI tried hard to frown disapprovingly whe…HomeTolkien v. Orwell: Who understood modern surveillance best?Interesting set of observations explorin…CultureHacking…
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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:Visiting the KLBE Air MuseumPersonalWhen backwards newbie poets write…PersonalQuoth the ramen, "Eat some more!"PersonalStudent journalists assemble! The Setonian club fair table is looking spiffy.PersonalProfessor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other Things”By drawing parallels…
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 vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesHello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesRT @DDeClaudio: Who do…