Happy V-Day: Valentines for Journalists

Valentines for Journalists. Similar:The Mom From The Cat in the Hat Finally SpeaksAs a toddler, my son once methodically s…AmusingApparently Facebook Doesn't Know Me Very WellI’m actually rather happy at the thought…AmusingStar Trek Personality Test –Star Trek Personality Test Apparentl…AmusingWhat is a COVID-19 compliance supervisor? What to know about Hollywood's newest jobIn the wake of…

Frisbee inventor dies at 90

Walter Frederick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died at the age of 90. —Guardian Similar:Scientists Trace Society's Myths to Primordial OriginsAncient cultures from Africa to Asia to …Culture"A Story Before Bed" Publisher Seems to be Scraping and Republishing My Blog Content on "L…According to preterite, Looks like your…BooksVictorian Literature for Accounting…

Peter West, Trying the Dark: Mammoth Cave and the Racial Imagination, 1839-1869

Interesting examination of role-playing, illusion, identity, and power in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave, one small branch of which was the inspiration for the 1976/7 computer game Colossal Cave Adventure. In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave was a popular tourist destination for travelers from around the United States and beyond. The cave…

Typography and Textuality

Zach Whalen is turning his dissertation into a blog-web-thing, in the hopes of developing a book-thing. In whatever form it takes, it’s an interesting approach to a textual study of video games. This study asks how the design and configuration of text in videogames contributes to their textuality. I argue that videogames are texts in…

Google’s Super Bowl Ad: A Romance in Search

I didn’t watch the game, but I did catch the buzz about this ad. Yes, I did tear up. (Wired has details.) Similar:Pompeii artifacts at the Carnegie Science Center The lighting was very low, so the phot…AestheticsTimes photo staffer's invention: the streaming backpack “From a photographer’s perspective it…AestheticsI've spent 8 hours with 24 different Verizon…

The great global warming collapse

It is dangerous to use local weather events (such as a heavy or light winter) to make judgments about global climate. With that caveat, I’m blogging the following because I’ve noted a shift in the online discussion about “global warming,” or the more general “climate change”. This essay does a good job exploring the events…

Obligatory Snowpocalypse Photo

Here’s hoping I left gas in the snow-thrower. Similar:Another 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. Trying to add a subtle pattern to the light-…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…AestheticsIowa Reporter Found Not Guilty By Jury After Arrest At Black Lives Matter ProtestJustice for a brave reporter arrested fo…AwesomeI have two scenes in a…

Doom Iphone code review.

Fascinating software study of the Doom iPhone port.http://fabiensanglard.net/doomIphone/index.php Similar:"Look for the helpers" is good for distracting preschoolers from horrors they can't change…”Look for the helpers” is only one part …CultureStudy finds AI tools made open source software developers 19 percent slowerCoders who used AI self-reported that th…BusinessAdded a splash of color to this section of…

ENG 111: Pop Up Scholarship

Our first few readings in my freshman writing course were personal essays, with a clear narrative.  We read an academic paper today, and there’s another assigned for Friday.  A few students are already reporting feeling a little lost in the detail. I gather this is because they are used to reading textbooks, where all the…

The Videogame History Timeline (beta)

I wish I’d seen this a few weeks ago, before my Video Game Culture and Theory class ended, but it’s still a welcome find. Similar:Exploring Myst's Brave New World”We wanted a true persistent world. If y…CybercultureSet design for a virtual production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Post-apocalypti… AestheticsAnother 10sq cm of a beautiful #steampunk control…

Pee-wee Gets an iPad

Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman Similar:Past Prologue (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 3) A renegade seeking asylum test…Rewatching ST:DS9 The pilot of a Bajo…CybercultureSupport the arts in your community! @geyer_pac Hello Dolly!AmusingAnother delightful section of a #steampunk #neovictorian control panel. #design #aesthetic…AestheticsOne in a Billion: email tips – Google Search In the…

"Can We Tape?"

I usually carry a digital voice recorder with me.  In most states it’s legal to record a conversation if all parties consent, although Pennsylvania law requires that all parties to a conversation be notified that a conversation is being recorded. “It is always legal to tape or film a face-to-face interview when your recorder or…