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:Peter vs. the PenguinsFor the past hour, Peter (who is not yet…AmusingSyllabusing Like a BossAcademiaWhen is Donald Trump kidding? When is he being sarcastic? When is he being serious?…
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:In Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaRT @JordanFor: One of…
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:Some fairy tales may be 6000 years oldFairy tales are transmitted through lang…CultureChatGPT Can't Kill Anything Worth PreservingMany are wailing that this technology sp…AcademiaFather copes with…
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:Realm of Fear (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 2) When transporters reveal Barcl…Rewatching ST:TNG When the Enterprise…CultureTSA Agent ConfessionIt was May 2007. I was living with a boh…CultureBully: She told her son,…
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:I'm Gradually Losing My Hearing. (It’s Part of Aging.)During a department meeting today, I not…AcademiaJournalists prefer in-person interviews. Emailing questions to strangers and expecting the…An interview means a real-time give-and …EducationMarketers package female empowerment to sell productsThis article makes an excellent point. T…BusinessTimes photo staffer's…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:More 18th Century fun @fortligonierMore 18th Century fun @fortligonierPersonalThe girl rehearsing as Babette in Stage Right's Beauty and the BeastCarolyn rehearses with Nick Lenz. Her sh…Current_EventsLoved part 1 of Alec Silverblatt's Mon Valley Medium. Part 2 tomorrow at 7. #pptplayt…CultureHow are you holding up? What…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:Hypertext as a Teaching Tool — Brown University Poetry Classroom 1974This short film documents an early attem…AcademiaYou'll Cry When You See This One-footed Penguin Rescue the Blind Vegetarian Orphans Who Ru… Watch A Trailblazer Become An Inspir…HomeAnnie Sullivan on teaching: Helen Keller, rendered blind and dea…CultureWriting…
Similar:Confronting the Myth of the 'Digital Native'It’s one thing to be able use a service …AcademiaWhy teens are leaving Facebook: It’s ‘meaningless’However, there’s a silver lining for Mar…Business"Dammit Mom, I'm a daughter, not a theoretician!"”Dammit Mom, I’m a daughter, not a theor…AmusingIn the Hands of the Prophets (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 19) Keiko's…
Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:Hermann Zapf, the font designer behind Palatino and Zapf Dingbats, has died at 96Hermann Zapf, the designer of fonts such…AestheticsI spent Thanksgiving break building a #trimsheet for steampunk control panels, because why…AestheticsToday I…
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…AmusingJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not…