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:Privacy and reporting on personal livesInteresting guidelines, phrased as sugge…CybercultureMentoring skills, communication/listening, empathy, critical thinking define successful em…A Google self-study found that its own m…BusinessEmily Short's advice on writing…
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:Habits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy…
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:The Internet Archive Is Digitizing & Preserving Over 100,000 Vinyl Records: Hear 750 Full …These people do important, amazing work….CultureSetonianThe first issue of the student paper…
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:Stage Right Arts4Homeschoolers present Hello Dolly Apr 28 & 29.My daughter will be playing Dolly Levi F…CultureAfter a successful piano recital.CultureNo, Running Online Classes Isn't CheaperA good response to the myth that 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:Why Textbooks And Education Are To Blame For Fake NewsThe way we teach it at Seton Hill, as a …AcademiaHow it feels to watch a user test your product for the first time Jonathon Shariat.AmusingI’ll be seeing the final performance tomorrow. @bigstormpcI’ll be seeing the…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:The boy approved of the WWII historical fiction Dunkirk. Culture"What Teachers Make" Sequence of AssignmentsEvery year I rewatch Taylor Mali’s passi…AcademiaMy semester with the snowflakesInsightful essay from a US Military vet …Academia15 Times "Filler Text" Became a Journalist's Worst EnemyIt doesn’t happen often but when filler…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:SHU Commemoration of September 11 Terrorism Attacks — Looking Back After 10 YearsCome to listen. Come to share. Come toge…CultureEmail Tips: Top 10 Strategies for Writing Effective EmailAfter reading a clickbaity Bloomberg art…HomeSuch deep roots you have: How Little Red Riding Hood's tale evolvedDid all these…
Similar:Internet Archive puts classic 70s and 80s games onlineClassic video games from the 1970s and 1…CultureI Quit Liking Things On Facebook for Two Weeks.She stopped liking, and started commenti…CybercultureStudy finds AI tools made open source software developers 19 percent slowerCoders who used AI self-reported that th…BusinessMy 10yo Launches a Soda Bottle Rocket http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbNu8…AestheticsViral App FaceApp…
Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:Umberto Eco and his legacy in open-world gamesI read “The Name of the Rose” during the…Books‘It’s destroyed me completely’: Kenyan moderators decry toll of training of AI modelsOpenAI has already taken a…
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:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical…