Happy V-Day: Valentines for Journalists

Valentines for Journalists. Similar:A tiny bit of rogue news leaked through the ads.Hey, Newsweek, alert your webmaster. I c…BusinessDelightful interview with a former Setonian editor-in-chief who's now doing SEOAs a student journalist, Jessie totally …AcademiaMisplaced Auto-playing ABC Video Clip (with No Pause Button) Diminishes the Value of the S…The video clip on this page does…

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 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:Has life in the age of casual magic made moviegoers numb to the amazing?This is one of the reasons I’ve become m…AestheticsFascinating details in reports about Trump's Russian retractionWe’re all still reeling from Trump’s sta…Current_EventsPesky journalists, always showing up to document atrocities.No Democratic president should send in…

Doom Iphone code review.

Fascinating software study of the Doom iPhone port.http://fabiensanglard.net/doomIphone/index.php Similar:The Current War (Quantum Theatre Musical)Waiting for The Current War to start. I …AwesomeTwitter suspends Trump's accountTwitter suspended Donald Trump’s account…Current_EventsCode of Honor (ST:TNG Rewatch — Season 1, Episode 3) Rehashed Amok Time plot that gets ra…Rewatching TNG after almost 20 years. (Y…CultureThe Benefits of No-Tech Note…

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 Are Websites Made?This one chart is actually the punch lin…AmusingTeenage Usability (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)Teens often work on laptops with track p…CybercultureMoonBot (from the family steampunk bedtime RPG 2007-2013) vs. a…

Pee-wee Gets an iPad

Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman Similar:'Dream' casting a family affairAmong actors in Cabaret Theatre’s upcomi…CultureUnemployment rates for recent college grads: Overall, 5.8%; Computer science, 6.1%; Comput…The market is rough for college grads, a…BusinessDetails on the disappearance of the Utah monolith Mr. Bernards, 34, of Edwards, Colo., w…ArtMr. Spock, weren't you wearing blue and…

"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…