How to Teach Physics to Your Dog

A reading from a chapter of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog Similar:Edible Chess Chess pastry cutters handmade in bra…AestheticsBad Doggy — practicing "Tomorrow" with a human Sandyhttp://www.youtube.com/v/718e4XsNvGY …AmusingFake Kitsch! Not Really the 80s! There is a part of me that misses …AestheticsHappy memories of PC games I played with my son (now 19)…

The Buzz on Electronic Writing: Fiction Goes Digital

In the late-eighties and early nineties, electronic writers wrote hypertext fiction and poetry, the classic example being afternoon, a story by Michael Joyce. In hypertext literature the narrative unfolds through a long series of links that produce different outcomes — but now the shrapnel of the technological explosion includes hundreds of sub-categories, each completely unique.…

Emulators — Good and Otherwise

I’m gearing up to teach a Video Game Culture and Theory course this January.  The first time I taught it, in 2006, it didn’t occur to me that students who were looking for information on, say, Space Invaders, would just play any old flash clone, without being discerning about whether it was a faithful port,…

Handheld Learning 2008 – Steven Johnson, Author

Good overview of the concepts Johnson explores in his book Everything Bad is Good for You.   Similar:Another section of a #neovictorian control panel for a #steampunk #blender3d project. I h…AestheticsAnother corner building. Designed and textured. Needs an interior. #blender3d #design #ae…Another corner building. Designed and te…AestheticsFacebook is gaslighting the web. We can fix it.…

Is it time for 'The Simpsons' to 'g'oh'?

The CNN story about The Simpsons limping on after jumping the shark is pretty much what I expected, but I’m blogging it for the infographic. Not quite as epic or information-dense as Minard’s famous map of Napoleon’s march to and from Russia, but still breathtaking. Similar:Tweaking yesterday's #steampunk workstations. Now with darker wood (better contrast…

Interview: Michael Arnzen

Research is probably where most new writers fail, because it takes a lot of time. You have to research not only the background of your stories — but the whole literary landscape. It takes a full immersion in the culture you hope to address as a writer to join the wider literary conversation of our…

Bizarre Spiral Lights in Norway's Skies

My wife’s theory about the Norway spiral lights is that, during a practice run, Rudolph had a bit too much eggnog, sending Santa’s sleigh into a death spiral. Similar:My Kids Loved Narnia but Were Unimpressed by Turkish DelightAmerican kids today would have little id…AmusingSeton Hill Virtual Commencement Fall 2020  AcademiaCrime coverage on Fox News halved…

Ada Lovelace Origin Story

In honor of my spilling spiced wine on myself at a faculty social, while excitedly responding to a question about Charles Babbage, Matt Hoy sent me a link to this awesome Ada Lovelace webcomic. Similar:New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand TextFar from being “stochastic parrots,” the…CybercultureYep, it's time to read student papers on Flannery O'Connor.AcademiaClosing…

The Tetris God

I would have trimmed about 20 seconds, or given the two lackeys more to do. Still, “The Tetris God” is worth a chuckle. Similar:Legacy (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 6) Visiting Yar's Lawless ColonyRewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaJanuary 6th … the board game? About 20 of us are here in Brooklyn to …ArtMy…

Fugard's 'Have You Seen Us?': Looking Within Again

In literature classes, students sometimes privilege author intent to an extent that hampers their ability to interpret literary works. Yes, it is possible to over-analyze anything. And just because there are many possible interpretations of a literary work, that doesn’t mean that every possible interpretation is well-supported by the text. (Occam’s Razor still applies, for…

Google – from friend to foe?

It’s an open debate whether the plan to scan millions of books and make them searchable online will prove the benefit to humanity that Google promises – or hand it a monopoly over certain digital works, as opponents allege. But the consensus is the company fomented an avoidable backlash by forging ahead with its controversial…

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (30 Years Ago)

Yes, it was pretentious, sterile, and overblown, but it did rejuvenate the franchise, re-introduced us to the Klingons (love their theme music), and the warp effect was awesome.  Star Trek: The Motion Picture came out thirty years ago, Dec 7 1979. I was 11. I had tape-recorded nearly every episode of the series (and I…