Forget the Cellphone Fight — We Should Be Allowed to Unlock Everything We Own

As long as Congress focuses on just unlocking cellphones, they’re missing the larger point. Senators could pass a hundred unlocking bills; five years from now large companies will find some other copyright claim to limit consumer choice. To really solve the problem, Congress must enact meaningful copyright reform. The potential economic benefits are significant, as…

Washington Post to begin charging regular website, mobile app. users for digital subscriptions

The Washington Post says it will begin selling digital subscriptions this summer, asking frequent visitors to its website and mobile apps to pay a fee supporting the company’s journalism. The Post announced plans Monday for a metered subscription model. It will require a paid subscription after the viewing of 20 articles or multimedia features per…

CNN Reports On The Promising Future of the Steubenville Rapists, Who Are Very Good Students

Excellent analysis of the emotional impact when TV journalism shows gripping footage of convicted rapists breaking down in tears while the victim, whose identity is protected by privacy laws, remains anonymous and invisible. It is unlikely that Candy Crowley and Poppy Harlow are committed rape apologists; more likely they simply wanted a showy, emotional angle…

Edward Gorey illustrates H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, 1960

Edward Gorey illustrates H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, 1960 | Brain Pickings. Similar:One Does Not Simply: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Internet MemesWhen we envisioned a journal of visual c…AcademiaHow Common Core Testing Damaged High School English ClassesHelping my students understand how my ro…AcademiaPlaywright #AugustWilson Takes Center Stage on U.S.…

Chillax, Wikipedia, and bridezilla are not puns: Against adjoinages

So if recessionista and fembot are not really puns, what are they? They’re neolexic portmanteaus, in which root words are brutally slammed together with cavalier lack of wit. “Neolexic portmanteau” is a mouthful, so instead we shall choose a simpler handle. Sherry-manteau, catastrounity, misceg-formation, piss-poortmanteau, and poor-man’s-toes all proffer themselves as alternatives, but they are…

Academy of Interactive Arts & Science — D.I.C.E. Summit Awards

Gaming ledends Dave Lebling and Mark Blank honored for their pioneering work in text-adventure games, at Infocom. (Clips from Jason Scott’s GET LAMP documentary follow Dave Lebling’s introduction, around 1:35 or so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3bXiR22AEU Welcome to the Official D.I.C.E. Summit Website. Similar:Brothers (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 3) Awkward Android Family ReunionRewatching ST:TNG after taking…

Video games ‘teach dyslexic children to read’

Playing games which require children to follow fast-moving events, track moving objects and pay attention to all areas of the screen teaches them to draw meaning from written words, researchers explained. Dr Andrea Facoetti of the University of Padua in Italy, who led the study, said: “Action video games enhance many aspects of visual attention,…

The Joy of Text – Page 4 of 4

I’d like this article better if it weren’t divided up into four ad-generating chunks, but here’s the payoff: It’s not all about colossal caves and twisty little passages any more. Here are a few IF highlights that show off how varied the genre can be, from card-based trips to the ‘Neath to hunts for lost…

Alas for You (Godspell, Stage Right)

Three weeks ago tonight, I got an email from the director saying he thought he could use me in the cast. A whirlwind of rehearsals, a week of run-throughs, three performances, and we’re done. Wow! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0tbJj5Jpjo The first act of Godspell is almost entirely fun and games, but the second act quickly moves through the…

McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: Banned Performance Enhancing Substances in Literary Competitions.

PROUSTZAC Enhances and enriches remembrance of things past. Can lead to increased carbohydrate consumption. McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: Banned Performance Enhancing Substances in Literary Competitions.. Similar:Yes, this is my 11yo daughter yodeling on stage.http://youtu.be/reyclH7zuHIAmusingUpdated my "Show, Don't (Just) Tell" HandoutTaking advantage of a summer day in the …AcademiaSperm whales in 19th century shared ship attack informationFrom…