First-Person Tetris

An interesting spin on Tetris. Similar:Bother (a minor Turnitin.com grademark bug)That whole thing should be a link — the…AcademiaU Michigan's North Quad Complex: A Media CathedralThe North Quad Residential Complex at th…AcademiaMixed ReceptionThis activity is set in a research group…AcademiaFacebook founder Mark Zuckerberg strides past fettered drones at Mobile World Conference. I’d like to think…

What Type are You?

Why did Brian Wilson use Cooper Black on the cover of Pet Sounds? Why did Obama use Gotham for his election propaganda? It has long been apparent that typefaces reflect the character of the person using them, and that type choice, as well as the words that are typed, is a powerful conveyor of meaning. At…

Nil by mouth

Afer extensive treatments for cancer, including the removal of part of his jaw, film critic Roger Ebert is still critiquing movies and writing, but he is unable to speak; he also can’t eat or drink. His recent column reflects on life without a mouth. One day in the hospital my brother-in-law Johnny Hammel and his…

The Turtlenecked Hairshirt

Ian Bogost has stirred up some discussion with his post on how digital humanities has challenged the humanities at large.  I’ve been very happy with the level of support I’ve received from my English colleagues, my humanities colleagues, and the dean, but all interdisciplinary, hybrid, and emerging fields rub against the sharp edges of the…

My 11yo Son and I Play Adam Cadre's 9:05 (Interactive Fiction Playthrough)

Similar:Unnatural Selection (ST:TNG Rewatch Season 2, Episode 7)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaCanada's Globe and Mail Uses Expandable Inline Meta-articles to Explain Its CoverageJournalism matters. Educated citizens wh…CybercultureA friend asks: "Would it be bad form to point out the typos in my class materials?" My ans…After I posted my grades for this term, …AcademiaSMS Generator…

A playable game of Tabletop Pong

If that’s not good enough for you, try Similar:Journalism, Fake News, and "Clickbait Defamation"Sometimes when my social media contacts …CultureHappy Father’s Day One of my favorite pictures of my fa…Current_EventsIn November 2001 I was blogging aboutIn November 2001, I was blogging about …AmusingPac-Man”The kids who grew up steering Pac-Man a…DesignOne Author Breaks Down the Reality…

What art thou, Pez?

What are thou, Pez, that must needs be dispensed? T’ be merely wrapped would leave thee so incensed? T’were better still to leave the fingers sticky, Than be vomited up by the likes of Mickey. — Mark Janello Curtis Allina, 87, Put Heads on Pez Dispensers Similar:Star Wars' Original, Scum-Caked BrillianceThe B-movie shoddiness of actors…

Deus Ex Memories

I’ve just finished my final training run as a nanotech-augmented super-agent. Nasty terrorists holed up in the ruins of the State of Liberty have captured one of my fellow agents, and it’s my job to get him out. In real life, it’s 2002, and I’m just a guy in Wisconsin. My four-year-old son is asleep…

Video Game Culture and Theory

My online three-week course will start tomorrow morning. It will lean heavily on blogging, so chances are I’ll be a bit more productive than usual in that area. Video Game Culture and TheoryThis course isn’t about learning how to “win” a game, nor is it about programming or design. In fact, according to a recent…

Ms. Pac-Man: Feminist Hero

It’s a spoof, but it’s well-researched and contains plenty of insight. Similar:Orson Welles Radio Play "War of the Worlds" at 75 The New York Times reported “Many Fl…CultureCoding Bootcamps and the New For-Profit Higher EdThere are actually a number of narrative…AcademiaWhy Doesn’t Ancient Fiction Talk About Feelings?Not a day goes by without The Girl remin…BooksHow…