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:Transfigurations (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 25) Injured Humanoid Charm…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaSomeone I know very well is in the trailer for Midnight (2020)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5BczlGs…CultureShe was the…
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:Hello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids…
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:Business as Usual #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 18) Quark accepts a lucrative …Rewatching ST:DS9 Playing tongo at the …BusinessMLA Citations: Citation generators make mistakes.…
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:No, the AHCA Doesn't Make Rape a Preexisting ConditionA Republican Facebook friend posted a li…BusinessValentines for Journalists Mark S. Luckie, MediumAestheticsStudent Journalists Are Our Future—We Should Start Treating Them Like ItCatherine Palmer was…
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:In October, 2000, I was blogging about bobbed hair, Woolf, a CFP for interactive fiction s…In October 2000, I was blogging about …CultureWhat If the Newspaper Industry Made a Colossal Mistake?This sounds a lot like wishful thinking,…BusinessFoggy April morning on the hill.PersonalThey called it a…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:That Class Where Stanford Profs Projected Hundreds of Zoom Students on a Video WallOf course, not all institutions happen t…AcademiaMy basement dehumidifier was flashing an error code. YouTube had a tutorial with a possibl…My basement dehumidifier was flashing an…PersonalPhotos inspired by Wuthering HeightsA photographer blogged…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Take that, grass! Eat rotary analog steel.HomeSources tell Seton Hill University's Dennis Jerz that TV news websites emphasize self-prom…Sources tell Seton Hill University’s Den…BusinessNot Bad for an English MajorI didn’t have much choice when it came t…HomeIncoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks and iPads…
Similar:Star Trek: The MenagerieJust finished watching a two-part episod…PersonalNarnia board game — enjoyable family activity (but it's weird that the Pevensies compete …It’s weird that in the Narnia board game…BooksWilliam Shakespeare’s Star WarsBecause apparently I am not already nerd…AestheticsArchitecture in Video Games: Designing for Impact Deanna Van Buren writes: I wonder w…BusinessIncoming Seton Hill Students…
Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:Now I can relax a bit. (But just a bit.)PersonalQuick visit to see my mother and siblings.AestheticsCDC: Vaccinated people can resume activities without a mask or physical distance (with som…CDC: “Fully vaccinated…
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:Maybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few…