An interesting spin on Tetris. Similar:My Freshman Comp Student Didn’t Recognize the Term ‘Word Processor’Most of my students use MS-Word, but may…AcademiaThoughtful analysis of how the tension, shot choices, and music contribute to a memorable …https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbq9xy8a…AestheticsWhat is Technical Writing?I noticed an uptick in traffic to an old…AestheticsScript: Prospero Makes a Circle on the Beach. Scene…
Google just got slightly less evil in my eyes. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at…
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…
Hero. No question about it. Miep Gies, who ensured the diary of Anne Frank did not fall into the hands of Nazis after the teen’s arrest, has died. She was 100. […] “More than 20,000 Dutch people helped to hide Jews and others in need of hiding during those years. I willingly did what I…
More online discussion of the digital humanities. This post helped me as I start prying some piece of my brain away from the 3-week online course on gaming I’m currently teaching, and thinking about the “History and Future of the Book” course I’ll be teaching in 2 short weeks. One of the essays I most…
Very catchy tune. I love the way the meter of the refrain sputters, not unlike the sporadic posts of a blog that won’t die. Similar:Stephen Coles’ The Anatomy of Type, reviewed.Talk nerdy to me. You’re my type. What …AestheticsI know stuff must be important to people who don't spend their evenings generating 1400-wo…In my defense,…
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…
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…
Similar:What Twitter Can BeHardcore Twitterers have the savvy and p…BusinessRIP Metaverse, we hardly knew yeI am curious enough about cockatoos that…AcademiaThe difficulty is the point (teaching critical thinking skills differs from teaching facts…In the past few years I have seen more s…AcademiaAmLit Rescue — Scratch GameA student in my “American Literature: 19…AcademiaInterior Detail of…
Similar:The 22 rules of storytelling, according to PixarMy favorite: “Once upon a time there was…ArtIn January 2000, I was blogging about dancing paperclips, the transience of literary judge… In January 2000, I was blogging abou…BooksQpid (#ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 4, Episode 20) Q and Vash and Robin Hood, SomehowRewatching ST:TNG Who doesn’t like se…MediaChecking sources back…
If that’s not good enough for you, try Similar:As part of an ongoing feud over the rights to use a particular shade of ultra-black paint,…As part of an ongoing bid to get his han…Aesthetics'We're back': Bushy Run's 2023 battle reenactment will be heldI’m glad to know that this recent contro…CultureInto the depths of code. Algorithmic…
While reviewing proposals for a new games journalism assignment in my video game culture and theory course, I found myself thinking about Floyd the Robot, from Planetfall. Some students were commenting excitedly about the emotional impact of the airport scene in Modern Warfare 2 (you are infiltrating a terrorist cell, and the game requires you…
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:Grading the MOOC UniversityThe MOOC classrooms are growing at…
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:I worked in a video store for 25 years. Here’s what I learned as my industry died.If you’re actually in a video store, the…CultureBlood &…
Looks like the rumors of an Apple tablet are creating ripples… the HP tablet apparently has two hinged screens, which seems to put it into the smartbook category. On Wednesday, Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft‘s chief executive, will unveil a novel take on a slate-type computer during his evening keynote at the Consumer Electronics trade show in…
Americans’ print consumption has declined since 1960, but words delivered by computer have more than made up the difference. (Image courtesy of the University of California at San Diego’s Global Information Industry Center) Conventional wisdom holds that YouTube, videogames, cable TV and iPods have turned us away from the written word. Glowing streams of visual…
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…
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…
Thanks, John, for sending me this link. Smart phones are great. But I’m not going to blog on my Blackberry. Reading texts from my mom is easy, but I’d rather not read a New Yorker story she emails to me on a 1.5”-by-1.5” screen. The ability of smart phones to do pretty much everything doesn’t…
It’s a spoof, but it’s well-researched and contains plenty of insight. Similar:Simulated iceberg, preserved artifacts and re-creations at the Titanic installation. …CultureHow to Reduce Racial Bias in Grading (Use Objective Rubrics)To gauge the potential impact of a stand…AcademiaFacebook Fallen Angel « AwkwardFamilyPhotos.c…AmusingThe Emma Watson nude pictures hoax shames our ‘news’ cultureDid you hear that a…