Color Me A Dinosaur

The number of crayons in a Crayola box doubles every 28 years. What colors have been in said box over the years? See the full-size version at weathersealed.com Similar:My son showed me #PacificRim.My son showed me #PacificRim. Liked the …CybercultureTwitter was locked in a chaotic doom loop. Now it’s on the verge of collapse |…

Writing Good English

I’m getting ready to teach a one-credit journalism course on editorial writing, which will also be a test case for a potential “topics in advanced composition” course. This essay looks like a good way to start the class. The good nouns are the thousands of short, simple, infinitely old Anglo-Saxon nouns that express the fundamentals…

'Rude' texting students say they're only multitasking

Two Seton Hill sources are mentioned in this local story. Millennials appreciate professors who bring technology into the classroom, whether it’s YouTube, PowerPoint or posting grades online after assignments, said Theresa Conley, 27, a junior at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. “That way, you can see where you’re at and what you’re getting, so you’re…

Learn from this typesetter’s mistake

Wisdom to keep in mind as I plan for this semester’s “History and Future of the Book.”   FAIL Blog. Similar:Why the Weather Channel's Hype Has Lost Me for GoodAfter the break, we’ll tell you how impo…BusinessiTunes 11: It’s time for Apple’s horrible, bloated program to die.At the head of the team is a grizzled…

Constitutional Kombat: Psychological Evidence Used to Restrict Video-game Violence

Violent video games have triggered substantial controversy due to highly publicized incidents of youth violence that have been allegedly inspired by the content of such games. Several jurisdictions have passed legislation penalizing the distribution of violent video games to minors and used psychological research to support the justification for such laws. However, courts have consistently…

on lesson plans and pedagogic tactics

I am far less interested in turning my students into good bloggers, or good podcasters, or good YouTubers, and far more interested in helping them develop the big-picture synthesizing and evaluative skills that will enable them to learn whatever comes along next, and to keep learning whatever comes next.  Of course, I also ask students…

Raising a stink over printer ink

The price of printer cartridges has long irritated consumers and their advocates, and they say the lack of information from manufacturers only aggravates the situation. One recent study even estimated that consumers could save billions of dollars a year if they were armed with full information about how much it would cost to operate various…

First-Person Tetris

An interesting spin on Tetris. Similar:News Feed FYI: Click-baitingIt’s hard for me to think of Facebook as…BusinessNational Headline Contest 2011Great headlines from winner David Bowman…AestheticsNew York Times runs just 1000 names of the nearly 100,000 Americans who have already died …AcademiaIt Costs So Much to Run ChatGPT That OpenAI Is Losing Money on $200 ChatGPT…

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…

Colossal Cave Adventure Playthrough (with my 11-year-old son)

  Similar:Paramount Erases Archives of MTV Website, Wipes Music, Culture History After 30 Plus YearsI was never really a fan of MTV, I assum…BusinessThe overlooked masterpieces of 1922In literature the response to the challe…BooksThe Chicago Tribune Has Made the Best Internet Mistake of the DayEvery second is a deadline, every instan…AmusingWhy Photojournalism Matters World Series:…

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

Similar:"Look for the helpers" is good for distracting preschoolers from horrors they can't change…”Look for the helpers” is only one part …CultureChatBot Helps Crack the Case of the Missing 45GBThe other day I got a last-minute reques…BusinessHow Facebook and Twitter control what you see about FergusonOn Twitter, I see tear-gassed civilians,…CultureThe Amazon Mystery: What America's…