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:NYT: G.W. Bush is "super-overexposed" and "so far to our right" — so they omitted his pre…The quotes in my headline are accurate, …AmusingIn October, 1999 I was blogging about college application essays, Willie Crowther, and Eli… Jessica found herself wishing that s…AcademiaFacebook does not care about truth. Facebook wants to sell your attention…

Doyle Redland Says Goodbye

I’m still mourning the loss of Herman T. Zwiebel.  And now this? Similar:Should a Journalist Covering Rocky Horror Live Attend the Show in Drag?Is it a violation of journalistic integr…AcademiaNational Science Foundation announces plan for comprehensive public access to research res…This is good news. It’s unfair that gove…AcademiaGoogle 1407Philipp Lenssen and I had a bit…

"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:It's Not "Fake News" Just Because You…

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…

American History: "Growth of a Nation"

This animated map of the expansion of American territory since the original 13 colonies is a bit cheesy in terms of production values, and not nearly as high-quality as the wonderful animated map of The Civil War in Four Minutes, but still a good resource. Similar:Emily Dickinson’s Singular Scrap PoetryThere’s never enough time to cover…

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:Why I Like Papers, PleaseAt a certain point, the transit papers w…AestheticsThe LA Times deletes tweets that used passive voice, as details emerged about police killi… Several journalist-involved tweet dele…Current_EventsA Man,…

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:I should be writing my "Fake News" paper for this weekend's "Computers and Writing." Inste…Could the absurd examples of bizarre pub…AcademiaPulitzer Alert: Local TV Reporter Throws Cookies to Dramatize Destructive Walmart Flash Ro…The serious-faced TV anchor introduces a…DesignWhat Deathbed Visions Teach Us About LivingThis is not only powerful material for t…AwesomeThe Media…

Frisbee inventor dies at 90

Walter Frederick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died at the age of 90. —Guardian Similar:Irony in Blakes7 Reboot?RT @Laroquod: @DennisJerz If #Blakes7 tu…BusinessWriting Effective E-MailTop 10 Tips:  Write a meaningful subject…BusinessScratch StatsScratch is a kid-friendly programming sa…CybercultureForce of Nature (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 9) A Space Thing leads to…