The Silver Lining

A fan-produced Kings Quest sequel is shut down. What a way to treat your brand’s most loyal followers. Recently, however, ownership of the Sierra IP changed hands and became the property of Activision. After talks and negotiations in the last few months between ourselves and Activision, they have reached the decision that they are not…

The Internet Bible: The Fall of Eve

Via Similar:Text Messaging Declines in U.S. for First Time, Report SaysI don’t text message much. As my kids (a…CybercultureVintage TV News Coverage of Pac-ManVintage TV news coverage of Pac-Man. …CybercultureBusy NYC Restaurant Solves Major Mystery by Reviewing Old Surveillance Restaurant studies surveillance foot…BusinessThe Best Word Book Ever, 1963 and 1991.As a child, I obsessed over…

Doyle Redland Says Goodbye

I’m still mourning the loss of Herman T. Zwiebel.  And now this? Similar:The daughter is in “Very Berry Dead,” a new play which opens this Friday and runs for two …The daughter is in “Very Berry Dead,” a …AmusingCourage Wolf: Write "Could Of" or "Would Of." I Dare You.AmusingI can't believe I'm fact-checking a viral…

"By Their Sidewalks You Will Know Them"

There are no sidewalks where I live, but if there were, my sidewalk, and my conscience, would be clear. Here’s the first stanza of a five-stanza poem by TImons Esaias. Originally there were eleven CommandmentsMoses, perhaps confused by the unfamiliarsnow, ice, and sidewalk,botched one, and left it out. Similar:Thoreau's Cellphone ExperimentWhen I teach “Intro to…

The ABCs of Adventuring

Thanks for this find, Mark Sample (via Twitter). The ABCs of Adventuringby Admiral Jota, Dylan O’Donnell, G. Kevin Wilson, and Dan Shiovitz.A is for Adventure, the first of them all;B is for Brass lantern, so you don’t take a fall.C is for Compass, an unseen one you keepD is for Drinking, eating and sleep.E is…

What Makes a Great Teacher?

Gripping story of an effort to use data to predict teaching excellence. As Teach for America began to identify exceptional teachers using this data, Farr began to watch them. He observed their classes, read their lesson plans, and talked to them about their teaching methods and beliefs. He and his colleagues surveyed Teach for America…

Why Google Has Become Microsoft's Evil Twin

Google Buzz combined the openness of Twitter with the “whoo-hoo look at me!” aspects of Facebook. The result? A total face plant. —PC World Similar:After 10 Years of Blogs, the Future's Brighter Than EverIn Wired, Jenna Wortham focuses on what …HistoryThe State Of Media EmploymentThis is why I require my “new media jour…BusinessStar Wars: The…

Critical Code Studies Working Group — Colossal Cave Adventure Annotation

This week, I’ll be facilitating a week-long collaborative annotation project, as part of the Critical Code Studies Working Group online conference, on the source code to Crowther’s original Colossal Cave Adventure (a classic text-only computer game from the 1970s). According to Donald Knuth, designer of the “literate programming paradigm,” Colossal Cave Adventure is the “ur-game…

Happy V-Day: Valentines for Journalists

Valentines for Journalists. Similar:Meet the guys who tape Trump's papers back togetherI tell this old newsroom tale to my stud…CultureThe Google Classroom TeaseJoshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed: “Google Cl…AcademiaCreative writing majors getting rich as demand skyrocketsSee, it’s funny, because poets need to s…AmusingThe Surprisingly Savvy Weird Al Internet Machine When he talks about his business…