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:A salute lost to historyHistory is complex and baffling and fasc…CulturePlay-Doh was Originally Wallpaper CleanerThe story of Play-Doh began when Kutol, …BusinessI just dusted off a #textadventure project I…
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:My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesFormer student: "I remember sometimes being…
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:Can we hope to understand how the Greeks saw their world?Fascinating contemplation of color perce…AestheticsResearch Poetry (communicating research results and expressing their significance through …For an…
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:Everyone Nov 1AmusingWhy I Left Academe to Become a Science Communicator: The pursuit of academic research was …From explaining the effectiveness of soc…AcademiaA Message from Hester Prynne (Student Video)Have I mentioned lately that…
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:The Distracted Classroom: Transparency, Autonomy, and PedagogyI don’t ban technology in my classroom, …AcademiaOpening night. They've got magic to do! CultureThe Pepe the Frog Meme Is Probably Not Worth Understanding”Life is short, much of Internet communi…Current_EventsWordPress 3.8 “Parker”No time to play with this, but looking…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks he’s going to procure an entire library in the midd…“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks h…AcademiaGo not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.Personal'Peter Pan Live' Was Never Intended…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Kirby Delauter SagaLet’s hope many, many more journalism st…HomeTolkien v. Orwell: Who understood modern surveillance best?Interesting set of observations explorin…CultureNerd siblings are awesome siblingsMy 15yo wanted to show me Terminator 4, …HomeA Revolutionary Approach to Treating PTSDInhabiting an improvised play designed t…HomeI can probably remove that…
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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:Support the arts in your community! @geyer_pac Hello Dolly!AmusingFour Academic Plagiarists You've Never Heard Of: How Many More Are Out There?Stealing someone’s words isn’t the same …AcademiaNew Graphic for MLA Style Paper…
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 asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaCarolyn…