The End of the Email Era

When people can more easily fire off all sorts of messages–from updates about their breakfast to questions about the evening’s plans–being able to figure out which messages are truly important, or even which warrant a response, can be difficult. Information overload can lead some people to tune out messages altogether. Such noise makes us even…

The first action heroine

In the figure of the coltish, resolute Sigourney Weaver, Alien may just be the film that overhauled the old, unreconstructed horror genre and dared to put a woman centre-stage. Because make no mistake: a horror movie is what Alien is. “It’s basically a haunted house film,” explains the critic David Thomson. “The only difference is…

Tips on Writing a Literary Book Review

I’ve asked students in my “Writing about Literature” class to write a book review, in order to establish a connection to the literary world outside the classroom. The Purdue Online Writing Lab has a brief handout, Writing a Book Review, which begins by explaining the difference between a “book report” (written for the teacher who…

Alice and Kev

Robin Burkinshaw has finished Alice and Kev, an interesting exercise in computer-assisted storytelling, using screen shots from The Sims 3 to tell the story of a homeless father and daughter. Originally the story was told serially, with a few posts a week; then there were a few very long gaps, but the story is finished…

Insidious pedagogy: How course managment systems impact teaching

Course management systems (CMSs), used throughout colleges and universities for presenting online or technology-enhanced classes, are not pedagogically neutral shells for course content. They influence pedagogy by presenting default formats designed to guide the instructor toward creating a course in a certain way. This is particularly true of integrated systems (such as Blackboard/WebCT), but is…

The Simpsons on Classroom Technology

Full episode. “Text ‘uncle’! Text ‘uncle’!!” “But why talk… when I could text?” “That text was totally worth the 15 cents it cost to receive it!” “Then Zach Skyped us, liveblogged our spelling bee, and friended us on Facebook!”“Faculty lounge talk out in the halls?” Similar:I ditched Google for Bing with ChatGPT for a month…

Walkthrough (Zork Funk)

Walkthrough pifieErrol Download this MP3 Directly Similar:The super-rich ‘preppers’ planning to save themselves from the apocalypse This was probably the wealthiest, most…BusinessBlue Feed, Red FeedFacebook is designed to keep your attent…CultureDelightful interview with a former Setonian editor-in-chief who's now doing SEOAs a student journalist, Jessie totally …AcademiaAxios journalism style delivers traditional news content in scannable…

The Fiction Generator

All kinds of awesome metatronics going on here. Similar:Google Autocomplete Still Makes Hateful Autocorrect SuggestionsThe top suggestion for a Holocaust searc…BusinessDéjà Q (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 13) Amusing, insightful study of hum…(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break…AmusingBeautiful, meditative video shows how books are madePretty sure you can’t do this to a Kindl…AestheticsEssay on the…

Federal Judge Rules Video Games are Protected "Expressive Works"

On Wednesday, a federal district court in Los Angeles dismissed Brown’s claim against Electronic Arts for the use of his image in its Madden NFL series. Judge Florence Marie-Cooper essentially found that video games are “expressive works, akin to an expressive painting that depicts celebrity athletes of past and present in a realistic sporting environment.”…

Online Books, Poems, Short Stories – Read Print Library

A good collection, on a well-designed page. www.readprint.com Thanks for the suggestion, Josh. Similar:National Headline Contest 2011Great headlines from winner David Bowman…AestheticsEssay on meaning of a life grounded in the liberal arts @insidehigheredFor David N. DeVries, the critical think…AcademiaThe Evolution of 'Star Trek'(Infographic) | Space.comThe first 45 years of Star Trek (in an a…DesignMy understanding…

The 15th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition

>get text games Similar:Very Berry Dead Makes a Big Impression at Big Storm Performance CompanyCarolyn Jerz lights up the stage from he…AwesomeStunning, bleak unemployment chart from the front page of the New York TimesCurrent_EventsFont vs Typeface: bold and italics are fonts, but Arial and Times New Roman are typefacesAestheticsFinland is Winning the War on Fake…

Everyone Appreciates a Little Boost

I just got a phone call from the parent of a prospective student I spoke with on a campus visit over the summer.  The student has decided to come to Seton Hill, and the parent told me that the time I spent talking with the family over the summer was a major factor. (I’m sure…

Clockwords – Unique Word Game

A fun, free steampunk word game. Too bad I have to work today… Similar:Taking Harassment Seriously Requires Serious DistinctionsEditor and columnist Jonah Goldberg ques…CultureDaughter doing a thing. Interviewing the Pittsburgh Dance Council’s Randall Miller for Bur… AcademiaArsenal of Freedom (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 21)With an A-plot that comments on the Cold…CultureSoldiers and Sailors Memorial…