Writing with the iPad

Seton Hill English major Theresa Conley describes capturing poetry inspiration with her iPad, and my colleague Laura Patterson describes how she uses the iPad to help students plan their writing. From a collection of clips on the website iPad on the HIll.   Similar:The Rise of Curiosity JournalismKatz and his kindred might just as well…

Writing in the Age of Distraction

There is never perfect silence, or happiness. Until my kids have gone to college and are out of the house, I will never get a full weekend of unbroken time to concentrate on writing (or reading, or coding, or whatever). I used to be able to bang out a blog entry or mark a few…

Livetweeting Buck Rogers: Planet of the Slave Girls

Soon I’ll start livetweeting the first episode of the 1970s #BuckRogers series. I livetweeted the series-opening movie a few weeks ago.http://jerz.setonhill.edu/weblog/2010/10/livetweeting_the_1970s_buck_ro_1/ Remote battery died. Crisis! #BuckRogers Planet of the Slave Girls. Clearly they are going for high concept SF. Still, Buster Crabbe and was that Jack Palance? #BuckRogers Nameless, sweaty extra under attack by pirates……

Interactive Fiction Projects

Recently I noticed a cluster of student blogs on interactive fiction. Interactive Fiction: Literature or Not? My Experiences with Interactive Fiction IF Can Be Quite the Process Similar:I Know How You're Feeling, I Read ChekhovReading Chekhov for a few minutes makes …AcademiaThe Neutral Zone (ST:TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 25)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureMy…

blender.org – Blender 2.55 beta

Must… mark papers… must resist downloading Blender 2.55. The Blender Foundation and online developer community is proud to present Blender 2.55 Beta. This release is the third official beta release of the Blender 2.5 series, representing the culmination of many years of redesign and development work. This version is called a “Beta” because it’s now…

Preparing my Pre-teen Readers

I vividly remember the day I got bored with the juvenile section of the library. I had read all the Encyclopedia Brown books, all the Lester Del Rey books (about moon rocket pilots and such), and the entire shelf of astronomy books. Walking around the corner to the adult stacks was a powerful epiphany. (For…

Group Work that Works (Even in Large Classes!) – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education

Bottom line: effective group assignments do not require students to collectively author a paper or make a presentation. Writing and presenting are often individual tasks, and charging a group with these tasks, without special guidance on how to perform them, is to set up yourself (and your students) up for frustration and mediocrity. On the…

10 Emerging Book Genres You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Literature, as with other creative pursuits, exists as one of the most diverse outlets for human expression available. Movements ebb and flow over time, allowing themselves to both influence and be influenced by the prevailing philosophical and cultural constructs swirling around them. Some obtain prominent – if not permanent – mainstream status and find their…

Get Lamp. Show Documentary.

I’ve been waiting quite a while to be able to blog this campus newspaper story about Jason Scott’s visit to Seton Hill. Unlike today’s traditional videogames, which are jam-packed with high-resolution graphics, text adventure games force players to utilize their imaginations. Also known as interactive fiction, these were the precursors for some of the most…

Zarf Kickstarts an Interactive Fiction Project

Posted to Kickstarter at midnight. Not quite 8 hours later, Andrew Plotkin was already halfway there. His pitch has great production values, which I’m sure is part of what has inspired so much confidence. Similar:The Days of Microsoft Internet Explorer Are Numbered—But Its Sorry Legacy Will Live OnStarting today, Microsoft will no longer…BusinessThe Incredible Shrinking…

Explain the Internet to a 19th Century Street Urchin With the Funniest Flowchart Ever (The One) – Urlesque

Urlesque Similar:Why Fears of Fake News Are OverhypedFacebook seems to have made changes that…CultureOn Her One Free Day Between Two Shows…[View the story “On Her One Free Day Bet…DesignTerms of ServiceFascinating example of new media journal…AestheticsBusy NYC Restaurant Solves Major Mystery by Reviewing Old Surveillance Restaurant studies surveillance foot…BusinessFacebook's director of media tries to appease…

Muslims speak out against NPR's political correctness

While a Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), was instrumental in getting National Public Radio (NPR) to fire Juan Williams, some Muslims are speaking out against succumbing to the censorship of political correctness. —Caroline May, The Daily Caller “But it’s just Facebook gossip,” my students sometimes say — even my journalism students —…

Views: The 20-Something Dilemma

For most of the 20-somethings I know, which is an admittedly small group of graduates from some of the country’s best four-year colleges and universities, life’s third decade offers a disquieting mix of uncertainty and promise. Faced with friends scattering across the globe after graduation, the high stakes and complexity of modern life, a tough…

Abstract Pixel Art! (Part 1 of 2)

Pixel art entry from Something Awful. The site includes loads of others (most of which I don’t get). Similar:Report: Many U.S. Schools Can’t Afford Mannequins, Human Urine For Art Classes“It’s sad, but my students don’t even ha…AestheticsThe Shape of the World, According to Old Mapshttps://www.visualcapitalist.com/shape-o…AestheticsAfter you finish your brass-polishing shift, join me at the Gear…