Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART

Jaw-droppingly cool– though it probably helps if you’ve ever worked with Flash. Animator vs. Animation Similar:Is Babylon 5 secretly the most influential TV show of the past 25 years?When my wife and I were grad students in…CultureWriting Computer Games with InklewriterIf brass lanterns or slathering-fanged g…CybercultureTo all these tools I've loved before…While cleaning out my…

Alright, already! Sheesh.

  Similar:My mom’s Lionel train set (a gift from her father in 1948) had been in storage for 35 year… My mother wants me to thank John at …AestheticsCarolyn's performance as Ariel #bardinbloom @ThePublicPGHSo good to see her preforming live on st…CultureYeah natural born creative genius is a cool myth, but have you tried grinding…

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:Amazon’s Tactics Confirm Its Critics’ Worst SuspicionsThis week, as part…

Walkthrough (Zork Funk)

Walkthrough pifieErrol Download this MP3 Directly Similar:Microphowned .AmusingVintage Freebies for DesignersI wish I had time for cool stuff like th…AestheticsIf You're Getting Walled in a Cellar I Feel Bad for You SonAmusing'Facebook is simply not cool anymore' to teens, study findsTeens also don’t seem to care that Faceb…BusinessApple's iPad turns 5: Has it lived up…

The Fiction Generator

All kinds of awesome metatronics going on here. Similar:An alternate universeMy plans to use a Chromebook over the we…CultureHappily masked in center row C. (The daughter is dance captain.)DramaDuring a modest snowfall, I’m passing the time in a public place where someone else has tu…Stay tuned for more live footage of Stor…CultureThe Lost Art of…

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:Independence of the press: the "essential ingredient of liberty" (Alexis de Tocqueville)CultureThat Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian Troll Sent ItProfessional disinformation isn’t spread…CultureIn April, 2001 I was blogging about interactive fiction, Roget's Thesaurus, John Lennon, H… A student newspaper article…