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:Enjoying some sibling nerdtime with Lego The Hobbit.GamesSeton Hill's #CIO @PhilKomarny is moving on to @robotsNpencilsSeton Hill’s #CIO @PhilKomarny (who insp…AcademiaMake America Meme Again! Create your own Trump executive order.Now all the powerful visual rhetoric of …AmusingWhat My Classroom Looks Like During Today's Video Journalism Workshop Within one minute of being placed in…AcademiaHow Facebook…

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

Similar:Making Interactive Fiction Mainstream: ReadersJon Ingold describes the gamelike storyt…AestheticsMeme alleging Trump said “Africans Are Lazy, Good at Sex, Theft” is a hoax I’ve seen this meme shared by severa…EthicsA serious summer activity.Once classes start again, we will all ha…CultureBeam me up, Chewie!AwesomePhoto of William Crowther, 2012I just noticed that a few days ago, a…

A playable game of Tabletop Pong

If that’s not good enough for you, try Similar:Spit & Polish ''Pac Gentleman"Spit & Polish: When this game was f…AestheticsHow Social Media Silences DebateThe Internet, it seems, is contributing …CultureUPDATE: BREAKING: 'Star Wars' Returns — 'Episode 7' Slated For 2015 And More Movies Plann…The moment in Attack of the Clones when …BusinessEncyclopedia Smithsonian: Star-Spangled Banner…

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:See How Vaccines Can Make the Difference in Delta…

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:Shakespeare’s Genius Is NonsenseJust as comedians generally don’t laugh …CultureFather copes with toddler son's cancer by creating 'empathy' gameGreen and Larson both admit that even th…AestheticsMoving from Debate to EmpathyIn my freshman writing class, my job is …AcademiaMake a date with #HeartOurArt at The…

At 13,000 years, tree is world's oldest organism

The Jurupa Oak tree first sprouted into life when much of the world was still covered in glaciers. It has stood on its windswept hillside in southern California for at least 13,000 years, making it the oldest known living organism, according to a study published today. —Independent Reading this story reminded me of a story…

A sound you do not want to hear from your furnace

I canna give the furnace any more power! I hope the lithium crystals are still under warranty. Furnace.mp3 Similar:Summer photos of the daughter.PersonalSmalltalk through masks is hard; I really was glad to see so many familiar upper halves of…If you said hello to me recently and I d…CultureI'm down to a king and two pawns…

Every Day the Same Dream

I just played this Every Day the Same Dream. Simple, stark, and in places charming. I smiled and thought a little. Similar:Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.First runner-up for the girl’s Halloween…AestheticsConundrum (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 14) You Get Amnesia! And YOU Get Amne…Rewatching…

Game Studies – Novices, Gamers, and Scholars: Exploring the Challenges of Teaching About Games

I’m gearing up to teach Video Game Culture and Theory for the third time. It’s a 200-level elective, with no prerequisites. Students will have taken a basic comp course, but some won’t have done any academic research yet. I’m conscious that some students may have difficulty switching from playing the games they want to play,…

The best walkthrough of Myst I've seen so far

The first part of a walkthrough of the classic (1993), a moody, contemplative point-and-click adventure that defies the stereotype of games as violent and chaotic.  Popular with women and causual gamers, but also appreciated by expert gamers for its puzzles and graphics (photo-realistic CGI, with pre-rendered animations), it was the top-selling game for nearly a…

Clicks vs. Bricks

Is this for real? On Christmas Day, for the first time ever, customers purchased more Kindle books than physical books. —Amazon.com Hold on, though… who goes online to shop for more books on Dec 25, before the spines have been cracked on the new books that were under the tree?  Amazon was heavily promoting its…