Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.

Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocket of freshly-washed pants & found old earbuds. (They work!) Looked down & spotted new earbuds. #win Similar:Stunned by Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman and the rest of the cast in Ma Rainey's Black Bot…Stunned by Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman…DramaAgain with the @shu.pippinPersonal“Waiting for Life” (Once on This Island)https://youtu.be/NeoVD3prQWYPersonalDelightful interview with…

Fun With Charts: Scale Matters

At first glance, this chart makes it look like food stamp usage has gone from almost nothing at some unspecified time in the past, to some huge amount over a span of who-knows-how-long. Only a fraction of the visitors to the site will click on the chart to see the scale, which reveals that the…

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:Why I Resist Web Redesigns (And Maybe You Do, Too)Words many of us never want to hear: “It…AestheticsBryan A. Louiselle, 1966-2022 (musician, composer, orchestrator, musical director)I was Mayor Shinn to Bryan’s Harold Hill…CultureMaking Interactive Fiction Mainstream: ReadersJon Ingold describes the gamelike storyt…AestheticsTraditional Reporters and Data-driven Analysts Both Underestimated Trump's ChancesA data-driven news outlet that gave…

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…

It’s Finally Ironic (You’re Welcome, Alanis)

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:National Headline Contest 2011Great headlines from winner David Bowman…AestheticsValentines for Journalists Mark S. Luckie, MediumAestheticsScientists Trace Society's Myths to Primordial OriginsAncient cultures from Africa to Asia to …CultureUnification, Part…

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:I asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To…

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:Texture WriterI’ve only glanced at TextureWriter, but …CybercultureAcademics work to detect ChatGPT and other AI writingToday I met a class of English majors wh…AcademiaMy Son Plays…