The ABCs of Adventuring

Thanks for this find, Mark Sample (via Twitter). The ABCs of Adventuringby Admiral Jota, Dylan O’Donnell, G. Kevin Wilson, and Dan Shiovitz.A is for Adventure, the first of them all;B is for Brass lantern, so you don’t take a fall.C is for Compass, an unseen one you keepD is for Drinking, eating and sleep.E is…

What Makes a Great Teacher?

Gripping story of an effort to use data to predict teaching excellence. As Teach for America began to identify exceptional teachers using this data, Farr began to watch them. He observed their classes, read their lesson plans, and talked to them about their teaching methods and beliefs. He and his colleagues surveyed Teach for America…

Critical Code Studies Working Group — Colossal Cave Adventure Annotation

This week, I’ll be facilitating a week-long collaborative annotation project, as part of the Critical Code Studies Working Group online conference, on the source code to Crowther’s original Colossal Cave Adventure (a classic text-only computer game from the 1970s). According to Donald Knuth, designer of the “literate programming paradigm,” Colossal Cave Adventure is the “ur-game…

Happy V-Day: Valentines for Journalists

Valentines for Journalists. Similar:Bureaucrats Put the Squeeze on College NewspapersFew school newspapers are financially in…AcademiaTelekinetic Coffee Shop SurpriseBlogworthy promo for a movie I have no d…AmusingManti Te'o's Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The Colleg…Great example of investigative journalis…Current_EventsInteractive Adventure SongIt seems YouTube will soon discontinue t…AmusingJournalism In The Service of Democracy:…

Frisbee inventor dies at 90

Walter Frederick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died at the age of 90. —Guardian Similar:Donald Trump tests positive for Covid-19. CNN: "A nightmare scenario for the White House." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdXL…Current_EventsWhat Does Children’s “Obsession” With Technology Tell Us About What They Really Need?Wise thoughts. When we look at children…CybercultureCover your Backside with B-roll…

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:Students Don't Read Syllabi, Exhibit 58623https://twitter.com/ConnorMEwing/status/…AcademiaThe Case for Breaking Up With Your ParentsI already felt fairly independent from m…AcademiaIf You’re…

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:Death of the narrator? Apple unveils suite of AI-voiced audiobooksApple has quietly launched a catalo…CybercultureMy students seem increasingly confused by the difference between journal title vs. article… Sometimes students will submit bibli…AcademiaPrepare to lower…

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:West Side Story to play out on Geyer Performing Arts Center stageCarolyn Jerz is playing the lead role of…CultureToday's 10sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsAmong today’s major professional accomplishments: installing this hook. #springbreakMy office door feels more complete now. …AcademiaMore #blender3d #steampunk #design. #blender3dart #aesthetics…