Happy V-Day: Valentines for Journalists

Valentines for Journalists. Similar:Google Pledges $300 Million to Clean Up False NewsThis is a welcome step, but we cannot tr…CultureThe Dauphin (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 10)A pretty 16yo destined to bring peace to…AmusingIt's Friday night in July, and I'm jamming with my fall course preps.The dean sends me an email at 9:07pm. In…AcademiaMy dad…

Frisbee inventor dies at 90

Walter Frederick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died at the age of 90. —Guardian Similar:Log Off, You Losers! Electronic Flatulence Must Cease!”Put your hands in your laps. Close your…AcademiaTonight's Supermoon.AestheticsCNN Holds Morning Meeting To Decide What Viewers Should Panic About For Rest Of DayKicking around ideas ranging from an upt…Amusing"What Teachers…

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:Rules of Engagement #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 18) Worf is accused of destr…Rewatching ST:DS9 After a nightmare f…JusticePerspective…

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:Faculty/staff orientation begins @setonhilluniversity PersonalSpring 2023 Grades: Submitted! (I only had 3 last-minute submissions to mark today.)AcademiaGoogle responds to streaming report with shruggie GIFThe Daily Dot proceeded to shrug the GIF…AmusingGoogle Books ruled legal in massive win for fair use (updated)Update in a legal battle that’s been goi…BooksChess…

Doom Iphone code review.

Fascinating software study of the Doom iPhone port.http://fabiensanglard.net/doomIphone/index.php Similar:Versu's Epilogue: How an Interactive Fiction Pioneer's 15 Year Project Ended Up in Limbo a…However there’s a particularly sad tale …BusinessYork Corpus Christi Play Simulator Screencast (PSim 2.1; D.G. Jerz)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwNv1lx3…AcademiaDon’t worry: It’s not just art!Before a school play, a principal worrie…AestheticsJoyful white guys finish ahead of struggling…

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…

Pee-wee Gets an iPad

Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman Similar:The Internet Archive Is Digitizing & Preserving Over 100,000 Vinyl Records: Hear 750 Full …These people do important, amazing work….CultureDown with Fake Politics! Down with Fake Government! Long Live the Free Press!You can’t get much more American than Th…CultureDeSantis-backed bill would make it easier to sue news mediaAmerican…

"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…