Auto-Tune the News #7

People on the road can turn an LOL into a great big O-M-G. — Katie Couric, advocating a “designated texter.” 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…AestheticsPrime Stage presents ‘Twelfth Night’ as season-ending productionLooking forward to…

When Zombies Attack!: Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection

Zombie math. Yay! (PDF. Boo!) Zombies are a popular figure in pop culture/entertainment and they are usually portrayed as being brought about through an outbreak or epidemic. Consequently, we model a zombie attack, using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies. We introduce a basic model for zombie infection, determine equilibria and their stability, and…

B.C. university adds grade worse than F

Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., recently introduced a grade called FD to deal with cheaters. The letters stand for failure with academic dishonesty. —Calgary Herald FD for cheaters? Why not FU? (Thanks for the suggestion, Josh.) Similar:Winky Winky Drudge ReportThe Drudge Report today features an amus…AmusingProfessor Sees Parallels Between Things, Other Things”By drawing parallels…

Mood: How is Miami Feeling

TV news emphasizes the immediate and the emotional.  This screen shot shows how the NBC news affiliate in Miami allows readers to rate stories by emotions. Notice that this mechanism does not reward stories for being fair, informative, accurate, or even newsworthy.  I stumbled across this feature while reading a story about the 11-year-old reporter…

Get Lamp: The Text Adventure Documentary (update)

I just noticed that Jason Scott has redesigned the home page for his film website. Good things are worth the wait. I’m content to wait. Similar:I just caught myself thinking, “This doesn’t suck.” #medievalyork #mysteryplay #blender3d …I just caught myself thinking, “This doe…AestheticsLessons (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 19) Picard and a new officer…

Choose Your Own Buzz Lightyear

I was on the road (and away from a computer) for the past few days, on a little family outing.  My wife brought along a copy of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure #4 that she picked up cheap at a library sale. The cover of this book, originally published in 1979, features a big-jawed space hero in a suit…

The Answer Man [Roger Ebert Review]

Here’s how Ebert ended a review he wrote yesterday: It’s said that Richard Harding Davis was dispatched by William Randolph Hearst to cover the Johnstown flood. Here was his lead: “God stood on a mountaintop here and looked at what his waters had wrought.” Hearst cabled back: “Forget flood. Interview God.” A wonderful story. Checking out the quote online,…

Blender Walk Cycle demo — small girl wearing a red sailor suit

My latest Blender 3D experiment. Similar:Facebook Announces $300 Million Project, Allegedly to Support Local JournalismOnce upon a time, local newspapers could…BusinessAI crawlers destroying websites in hunger for contentTraffic on my website has plunged over t…BusinessAnother delightful caricature by Rebecca ScassellatiAestheticsEaster Blessings 2021 Current_EventsIdeology shapes our view of reality, which affects what persuades us. EthicsPop song lyrics…

College Newspapers – Confessions of a Community College Dean

I’m all for training students in fact-gathering, clear writing, and getting a sense of the outside world. But I’m wondering if the time-honored student newspaper is still the best way to do that. Has your campus found a more contemporary way to get students the benefits that newspapers used to offer? Maybe a way that…