Happy V-Day: Valentines for Journalists

Valentines for Journalists. Similar:Who is the more dramatic — my extroverted tween or my philosophical teen?Stoked from a morning show-choir perform…AmusingPop Culture Showdown with My Retro DaughterThe girl tried to weird me out with a vi…AestheticsSorry, Wrong NumberNumerical errors usually occur for one o…EducationDan Rather, who knows a thing or two about fake news, shares…

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…

The Superbowl, Technology, and the Police State (1984-2010)

There’s a dissertation in here. All I have the energy to do today is imply a connection. Using a police state to market technology in 1984: Using a police state to market technology in 2010: Similar:Nicholas Winton, “Britain’s Schindler,” Dies at 106Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker w…CultureIt Costs So Much to Run ChatGPT That OpenAI…

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:Grappling with Genocide: Fostering Empathy and Engagement through Text and Image (NEH fund…Some of my amazing colleagues have colla…CultureJournalists call out White House claims on terror reportingThe easily-disproved surface-level claim…CultureBurgh to Burg, episode…

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:Blender 3D Flyover of Fantasy Steampunk Spacecraft When my kids were small, at bedtime …AestheticsIn March, 2001, I was blogging about "All Your Base…", digital history, 3D printers, and…In March 2001, I was blogging about …AestheticsIt appears there may be some audience participation in this outdoor production…

Doom Iphone code review.

Fascinating software study of the Doom iPhone port.http://fabiensanglard.net/doomIphone/index.php Similar:Text Adventure Geeks Rejoice: Major Inform7 UpdateI have final grades, an annual report, a…Current_EventsA #neovictorian #steampunk ship-of-the-line needs a dramatic flag and a conveniently locat…AestheticsLine breaks are really, really importantI’m sure that whoever wrote this headlin…Current_EventsCrabby 9yo Constructs a Head-mounted Frump-amplification Isolation CubeMy 9yo was ordered not…

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:LA Photographer Fired for Digitally Altering News Photo”On Monday, March 31, the Los Angeles Ti…EthicsAugust Wilson House officially opens in Pittsburgh's Hill DistrictThe August Wilson House officially opene…CultureWhy are we so…

Pee-wee Gets an iPad

Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman Similar:My Review of the Charlottesville Tryout of "A Few Good Men" 30 Years AgoA librarian at the University of Virgini…CultureItalian journalist to be beatified for helping Jews escape persecutionJournalist who helped saved Jews from Ho…Current_EventsHere's some good writing from The New Yorker: "Seattle’s Leaders Let Scientists Take 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…