Happy V-Day: Valentines for Journalists

Valentines for Journalists. Similar:Time article with clickbaity headline: Web users annoyed by marketing tricksThis Time magazine article is a good one…CybercultureUnmarked assignments in my queue: 0This app, which sports a little red noti…AcademiaLong Live the LARPers — My daughter plays the antagonist in this award-winning 48 Hour Fi…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku7wzUtO…AestheticsPhoenix journalist admits 'bad reporting' in claiming White…

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:Elderly ballerina hears familiar music from 50 years agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owb1uWDg…AestheticsHow The Ballpoint Pen Killed CursiveIn Death of a Salesman, Biff impulsively…BusinessRookie News Anchor — Fired Instantly for Dropping 'F***ing S***' On the AirYes, it…

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:Results of the 18th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition The 18th Annual Interactive Fiction Com…Current_EventsNASA Calls It A Mission As Curiosity Rover Fills Up Whole 2-Gigabyte Memory CardMore great satire from The Onion. PASAD…AmusingFinished the girl's 10th grade homeschool evaluation with PA Homeschoolers Susan Rich…PersonalChilling on Forbes Avenue with…

Doom Iphone code review.

Fascinating software study of the Doom iPhone port.http://fabiensanglard.net/doomIphone/index.php Similar:A Note of Recognition for: Filmation's ''Star Trek'' AnimatorsEven if the animation of Star Trek was l…AestheticsThe Dauphin (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 10)A pretty 16yo destined to bring peace to…Amusing80 Days review80 Days was my go-to game over the summe…CultureToday's 10 sq cm of a #steampunk…

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:How Zuckerberg’s Facebook is like Gutenberg’s printing pressHistorian Niall Ferguson notes that Sili…BooksUtility Tactical Waist Pack Pouch Military Camping Hiking Outdoor Hand Waist Bag: Sports &…Really. These things aren’t at all…

Pee-wee Gets an iPad

Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman Similar:Shutting the Door on the Hard-Knock LifeIn sync with the resurgence of labor act…BusinessI can probably remove that link to LycosOn a web page that I posted in Nov 2000 …BusinessWilliam Shakespeare’s Star WarsBecause apparently I am not already nerd…AestheticsMultiple Choice = GoogleNo big surprises here, but this…

"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…