Commonly Misused Words: ITS and IT’S

Similar:In MLA Style, use the ellipsis only to mark an omission from the middle of a quotation. If you are writing an academic paper…AcademiaOuttakes from “Once on This Island” promohttps://youtu.be/QlMJuogD9to  AmusingCopspeak, "the past exonerative" tense, and punching NazisIn the Constitution, any suspect is inno…CultureShare a Coke with "Pepsi"AestheticsMusician uses computer algorithm to compose every melody…

Correlation is not Causation

According to a somewhat dry AFP article (posted on a URL that will probably expire soon), “The researchers estimated that in 2008 Australian adults aged 25 and older spent 9.8 billion hours in front of the small screen, and that this time was associated with 286,000 years of life that ended prematurely. | Every single hour…

In 10 Years Our iPads Will Be Here

Our iPads will one day be stacked on a pallet, like these old PCs. They’ll be retro curiosities, having done their jobs — empowering us to build even better tools. Similar:It's Friday night in July, and I'm jamming with my fall course preps.The dean sends me an email at 9:07pm. In…AcademiaThe End of Print JournalismThe…

Ian Bogost – Gamification is Bullshit

This rhetorical power derives from the “-ification” rather than from the “game”. -ification involves simple, repeatable, proven techniques or devices: you can purify, beautify, falsify, terrify, and so forth. -ification is always easy and repeatable, and it’s usually bullshit. Just add points. Game developers and players have critiqued gamification on the grounds that it gets…

Apple, publishers conspired against $9.99 Amazon e-books, says lawsuit

I was doing a lot of impulse buying during the $9.99 days, but since then, on occasions when I’ve seen the ebook offered at a higher price than a paperback, I have just turned to interlibrary load instead. “Terrified” by Amazon’s Kindle e-reader and discounted e-book pricing, five major publishers allegedly acted together to increase…

Students aim for Broadway in musical with true-life focus

David Mahokey of Dunbar, a senior at Point Park University, and Greg Kerestan of Greensburg, a senior at Seton Hill University, wrote the 20-song score and script, respectively, for ″In Control,″ a musical that focuses in part on Mahokey’s real-life battle with bone cancer. Two free performances of ″In Control,″ directed by Anthony Marino, artistic…

‪MC Frontalot – It Is Pitch Dark‬‏ – YouTube

Which is cooler? That my 13yo son was just sitting at the kitchen table singing lyrics to MC Frontalot’s “It Is Pitch Dark,” or that my 9yo daughter was chiming in with corrections? It Is Pitch Dark Similar:Practicing my Unity3D design skills. Forgot to turn on gravity.https://youtu.be/PkxxiPAmTFg I’m brus…AmusingLive theater. August Wilson's Jitney, in the…

Books Without Borders

The heartbreaking thing is that this fall, over 10,000 bookstore employees across America will be out of work. The way the publishing industry is going, many of those people won’t be able to find jobs that are even tangentially related to books anymore; they’ll go on to work in movie theaters and grocery stores and…

Karel Capek Slighted

The layout of this display at the Carnegie Science Center almost makes it look like the Maria duplicate in Metropolis came before Karel Capek’s play RUR (which was written in 1920, first performed in 1921). Similar:On the spiral staircase that leads from the top deck down to the officers' pub and wa…AestheticsAdvising incoming majors.Academia‘One of…

Carnegie Science Center Model Train

The control panel. Similar:US regulators demand clamp down on Apple e-book contractsI made a lot of impulse Kindle purchases…BooksHow Finland Keeps Kids Focused Through Free PlayNormally, students and teachers in Finla…CultureChildren struggle to hold pencils due to too much tech, doctors sayWhen I was in middle school, I developed…CultureMS Paint AdventuresWonderfully silly take on old-school…

USS Requin

Images from an extended tour of a cold war submarine. (We liked the tour we took last year so much, my son and I came back.) [portfolio_slideshow size=medium trans=scrollHorz ] Similar:How the printing press changed “you”: when reading changed, so did writingThis was before the printing press, so b…BooksHow the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive The…

Stage Right Greensburg Wizard of Oz

My daughter, as the wizard, with her talented castmates, in our local theater school’s preteen summer camp musical. Similar:Replica of George Washington’s field camp. @fortligonierReplica of George Washington’s field cam…PersonalPerchance to Dream: LARPing Hamlet at Castle ElsinoreThis is the concept of Inside Hamlet, an…CultureI Regret to Inform You That My Wedding to Captain Von Trapp…

Bluejay Catching a Bug

My friend and colleague, Balázs Tarnai, shared these pictures of a bluejay catching a bug on his garage roof. Similar:Sound Design and the Wilhelm ScreamAhh-aaggh! https://www.youtube.com/wa…AestheticsDo Black Holes Create New Universes? Physicist Lee Smolin InterviewCan’t wait until we get this end-of-year…CultureBill Murray Admits A Painting Saved His LifeDuring a February press conference in Lo…AestheticsMisplaced Auto-playing…