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:Student: “Just wanted to let you know that your class has benefited me outside of just lit…In my online class on literary dystopia,…AcademiaComfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.…
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:Juror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_Events10 Rules of Internet – Anil DashA very useful,…
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:Friday 21st March 2025, the sun set on the British Empire for the first time in 200 yearsThis the sunlight at that time is shown …CultureWhy…
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:How Facebook and Twitter control what you see about FergusonOn Twitter, I see tear-gassed civilians,…CultureYep, it's time to read student papers on Flannery O'Connor.AcademiaSeton Hill graduates its last "New Media Journalism" major this…
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:More modular low-poly background buildings. I’ll do some more facades then move to the nex…More modular low-poly background buildin…AestheticsMerry Christmas 2017 Personalxkcd: Types of Editorsxkcd: Types of Editors.AmusingWhy We Fall for Fake News and How to Bust ItMeasuring the impact of fake news spread…AcademiaIn March, 2001,…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Eye of Sauron, Hobbit Door, Palantir and One Ring Easter Eggs.AestheticsThe Problems of Real-Time Feedback in Teaching WritingSometimes my students get nervous becaus…AcademiaOne deck below the bridge, the chief engineer coordinates with his technical heads here at…AestheticsThe Best of Both Worlds, Part 1 ( #StarTrek…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:You'll Cry When You See This One-footed Penguin Rescue the Blind Vegetarian Orphans Who Ru… Watch A Trailblazer Become An Inspir…HomeTake that, grass! Eat rotary analog steel.HomeInfinite Scrolling: XKCD's Creative Insight on a Common Interface IndignityAmusingA New Talent EmergesI tried hard to frown disapprovingly whe…HomeWhen a…
Similar:Lighten Up (an illustrator explores the racial politics of skin color in comics)Lighten Up — The Nib — Medium.AestheticsThe Google Classroom TeaseJoshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed: “Google Cl…AcademiaI should be writing my "Fake News" paper for this weekend's "Computers and Writing." Inste…Could the absurd examples of bizarre pub…AcademiaData's Day (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode…
Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:This happened the last time an eclipse was visible in the area. My students left the room,…Pinhole projection. Personal"Know that I glory in this nose of mine."Was browsing YouTube for a few…
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:Juror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureYes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last…