Zork: The Great Underground Empire

A blogger has started chronicling a journey through the classic 1980s computer game, Zork. Before King’s Quest and its successors took the realm of adventure gaming into colorful graphics, adventure titles were solely text. Infocom specialized in these during the 80s, including the Zork series, Planetfall, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But Zork,…

Stop Clubbing, Baby Seals

Similar:Blood Oath (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 19) Glory to Dax and her three aging… Rewatching ST:DS9 A rowdy Klingon…AmusingClose Reading: Introduction to a College English SkillI’ve been meaning to create a screencast…AcademiaWhy our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreamingNeil Gaiman tells us why books matter:Wh…BooksEvery conversation between a parent and a child,…

Tolkien v. Orwell: Who understood modern surveillance best?

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…

The Pixar Theory

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 trium…

The contrast between KTVU’s treatment of its triumphs vs errors reminds us of the difference between journalism vs public relations. Similar:Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she…

Woman’s work : Columbia Journalism Review

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:Checking out of @frontporchtheatricals Grand Hotel. What an experience!My brother had already planned to visit …AestheticsFacebook’s News Feed: Often Changed, Never GreatI’ve never liked Instant Articles…

A quick primer on semicolons

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:When is Donald Trump kidding? When is he being sarcastic? When is he being serious? Who ge…Earlier today a reporter, following her …Current_EventsA trend story about millennials, by The New York Times“When it…

My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp.

Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Florida Woman Bites CamelIdentifying her as a “Florida woman,” as…AestheticsI just discovered what will grind up a significant portion of my free time over the break.So Khan Academy now has a grammar unit. …PersonalSiblings gotta sib.PersonalExplore – Laconic history of the world in a typographic…