First-Person Tetris

An interesting spin on Tetris. Similar:Delightful interview with a former Setonian editor-in-chief who's now doing SEOAs a student journalist, Jessie totally …AcademiaLounge area of a steampunk villain’s lair. Still needs a light fixture or two. #blender3dAestheticsTwitterverse, are we grieving over coder droves now leaving? AmusingI have for some reason reached another #duolingo milestone.CultureThese Fake Local…

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:Students say "math class is stupid and boring," and they are right. –Mathematician Paul L…I am working on some conference papers t…CultureI touched up an intro to hypertext essays from 2000.When I initially wrote this introduction…CybercultureAdvice for alternate pathways in journalism: re-entering the workforce after taking a brea…A colleague put me in touch with…

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

Similar:My Tween Preps to Program a Lego Hobbit GameAs part of a course I’m teaching on “Dig…CybercultureIn October, 1999 I was blogging about college application essays, Willie Crowther, and Eli… Jessica found herself wishing that s…AcademiaOn Their Last Day, Student Newspaper Editors Cover a Shooting on Their CampusTHREE HOURS BEFORE A SHOOTING WAS FIRST …AcademiaThree…

A playable game of Tabletop Pong

If that’s not good enough for you, try Similar:My #Blender3D set design for a Zoom-based production of Rossum's Universal Robots, which I…I’ve loved this 1920s play for almost 30…AestheticsBranding Essentials for the English Major: 4 Examples of How to Re-package Your Skills for…It seems every week some “expert” publis…AcademiaPractice, practice, practice. Making many things in…

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:The Nightingale (WAOB Audio Theatre)I haven’t done any audio…

crazy…creative…it's a fine line

What would be more awesome than a colorful display of iconic images from 100 beloved games? How about a colorful display of iconic images from 100 beloved games on cupcakes? Similar:So glad to be attending another live theatrical production. @quantumtheatre never disappoi…Projections, live music, sounds, props, …BusinessThe science of fake news: Addressing fake news requires…

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:There is a thing in literature, theme X.I’m very happy that several students in …AcademiaWhen T.S. Eliot Invented the Hipster  Prufrock cannot bring himself to…CultureHow to spot video and photo fakes as Russia invades Ukraine – PoynterIn the first hours of the Russian invasi…Current_EventsSymbiosis…