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

My latest Blender 3D experiment. Similar:The Miracle Worker opens tomorrow.PersonalTwittering The MachineI’ve never been a phone guy.  My vo…AcademiaDear organization from my past that just sent me a scolding email…Dear organization from my past that just…CultureBoston marathon bombing: All the mistakes journalists make during a crisis like the Boston… First, do not pass on speculatio…Current_EventsThe…

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…

Hovbergs blogg | Blip

Political message? You decide. Blip from Sean Mullen on Vimeo. Similar:Thank you, anonymous donor of Mardi Gras candy.Okay, on closer inspection I see the red…AestheticsDistant Voices #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 3, Episode 18) Dr. Julian's very Jungian 30t… Rewatching ST:DS9 Bashir is less than…Media14 questions for new journalists to consider when filing a story -…

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale on Vimeo

Imagine if all teaching happened like this… if all persuasion came from demonstrations like this. World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival. I’ve watched it three more times since blogging it, and it still makes me smile. Similar:A Dance Mom Gets Schooled by a Ballet…

Ten Predictions About Digital Literature

Within five years: (1) Many online journals and magazines now only publishing traditional text-based fiction and poetry will, as part of their online offerings, publish digital literature on a regular basis; (2) Most major universities and many colleges (if they don’t already) will offer courses in New Media, and those courses will cover/include digital literature;…

Nailed 'Em – Library Crime

Colbert’s tag line brought tears to my eyes. (Thanks for the suggestion, Kerry!) The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Nailed ‘Em – Library Crime www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Tasers Similar:She’s wearing a shirt with a frog. We are in town to see the Frog and Toad musical. This s…She’s…

MLA Update 2009

I’m teaching “Writing about Literature” this fall, so I should be up on the new changes in MLA format.  (Via the Reeves Library blog.) I like some of the changes in MLA 2009, including labeling the source of a publication (“Web” or “Print” or “DVD” or the like) and standardizing italics instead of underlining (which…

Happy Anniversary, Leigh

I’ve kept a running tally… I’ve been bored for a total of 4 and 1/2 hours during our 15 years of marriage. You’re the organizer and the schedule-keeper and the worrier, which frees me to camp with the kids in the backyard, marshal a pony army against the dollhouse fortress, and read to them until…

Change or Die: Scholarly E-Mail Lists, Once Vibrant, Fight for Relevance

Listservs, a trademarked software for running e-mail lists whose name is often used to refer to the lists themselves, were once a “killer app” that tempted many professors to try the Internet in the first place, back when many established scholars were skeptical of computers. A Chronicle article nearly 15 years ago proclaimed the exciting…

One Small Step for the Media…

  Similar:The Zombie Argument that Refuses to DieThe idea that generations of Shakespeare…AcademiaThis Is How Tyranny Begins (Robert Reich)As the faculty advisor to a college jour…CultureRequiem for the NewsroomWhen I worked at a radio news station in…CultureGrumpy Gamer – Happy Birthday Monkey IslandI guess Monkey Island turns 25 this mont…CybercultureAll About Those Facebook 'Like' Scam…

Restore the noble purpose of libraries

David Stanley pointed me to this thoughtful essay. Modern librarians who prioritize information over knowledge perpetuate a distraction from the real purpose of a library. A library facilitates the patient gathering of knowledge – whose acquisition is superior to almost every other endeavor. Religions have adapted to technology for the most part without being destroyed…

Blender Tutorial: Rigging

This tutorial shows how to rig the fingers in a very clever way. I’d seen this technique described in a text tutorial somewhere, but after seeing it here, I understand it. I also appreciated seeing how to adjust b-bones so that they only rotate, without bending (which results in noodly-looking joints). I really love Blender,…