Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu

Text, Speech, Machine: Metaphors for Computer Code in the Law : Computational Culture

On my to-read list once I post midterm grades. As computer software has become increasingly central to commerce and creativity, lawmakers have retrofitted it into preexisting legal regimes to regulate its production and distribution. Currently in the United States, software is eligible for protection under patent law, copyright law, trade secret law and the First…

While searching my bag for a cable, I found an unexpected wealth of food-substitute items.

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Banned Books Week | Celebrating the Freedom to Read: Sept. 30 – Oct. 6, 2012

What, you haven’t honored your freedom by reading a banned book this week? Banned Books Week | Celebrating the Freedom to Read Similar:Do you get your news mostly from social media? I check NPR, Drudge, and news.google.com.Do you have a regular news-consumption r…CultureFacebook Updates its Fight Against Fake NewsThe only reason Facebook is paying atten…BusinessEveryone…

I think that should be "typefaces," but then I'm a pedantic bore.

Showcase of 60 Free Horror Fonts For Graphic Designers

I think that should be “typefaces,” but I’m a pedantic bore. Showcase of 60 Free Horror Fonts For Graphic Designers. Similar:The iPad Falls Short of Expectations—But What Does That Mean? The iPad market is saturated. Table…BusinessStage Right spreads the gospel of music with 'Godspell'The Tribune-Review is very dependable in…Current_EventsDon't Give Apple Too Much Credit for…

Angry 10yo Edits the Paper Heart She Gave Her Mother

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Yes, it’s happening here at Seton Hill. Quidditch.

  Similar:My crazy Friday night involved tweaking the graphic for an #MLAstyle instructional web pag…AcademiaVandal scratches Poe phrase into car at dealershipLanguage nerds will appreciate this news…Amusing“The Cowherd Who Became a Poet,” by James Baldwin. (Read by Dennis Jerz)Inspiration can come to those with the h…BooksBattlestar Galactica 'Launch When Ready' Bridge Girl Fan Page (updated…

Journalism Warning Labels

Stick these on a copy of your future birdcage liner if you spot any of the many sins of journalism. Be on the lookout for bias, plagiarism, poor sourcing, and hype. Journalism Warning Labels « Tom Scott. Similar:Avoiding Spoilers Gives You a Superficial Appreciation of ArtI very much appreciate that nobody spoil…ArtSurvivorship Bias – You…

Kids Play the Way Scientists Work

Toddlers, multiple experiments have shown, can test hypotheses about how machines work—for example, they can figure out which blocks made a machine play when some but not all blocks trigger the toy. We have to be careful, though. This exploratory, quasi-scientific approach to the world doesn’t last if adults teach kids to do something else: Kids will let adult…

The Writing Revolution

When a failing high school tries to reinvent itself, it turns to writing — with amazing results. At my own high school, our science teacher was a retired nuclear submarine admiral who used to say, “Give me students who can read and write, and I can teach them to pilot a nuclear submarine.” So I’m…

KLINGON STYLE (Star Trek Parody of PSY – GANGNAM STYLE)

Silly fun, just in time for the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. via KLINGON STYLE (Star Trek Parody of PSY – GANGNAM STYLE) – YouTube. Similar:Cursor*10Great free Flash game, emulated at the I…AestheticsGreebles make me happy.Before CGI, filming a science-fiction st…AestheticsPassage: a Gamma256 video game by Jason RohrerGrand Text Auto introduced me…

Winky Winky Drudge Report

The Drudge Report today features an amusing array of images — Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Hilary Clinton, and Russian President Vladimir Putin — all of them winking. Clearly the nonverbal message is that all these people — who are unpopular with the conservative populist base to which Matt Drudge caters — are working together. The…

Passing On a Torch

I recently introduced my kids to “The City on the Edge of Forever.” Here’s another dad, writing about introducing his kids to classic Star Trek. But they aren’t just younger versions of me; they pick up on stuff I didn’t at their age.  After a few episodes, The Girl asked “why don’t the girls get…