Introducing Kids to Role-playing

At the beginning of last semester, when I called roll in a class that included a student with the last name “Gearhart,” I have been telling steampunk bedtime stories to my kids (Peter, 10; and Carolyn, 6). Each night, after my daughter has finished the tooth-brushing and prayer-saying, in total darkness I try to advance…

Let It Go.

I should admit to myself.. that SD card reader is gone. It’s gone. I didn’t lose any important data, but it was a 2G card. Sigh. Similar:Equus. Powerful theatre.PersonalMore #blender3d #steampunk goodness. #design #aesthetics #blender3dart AestheticsEye of Sauron, Hobbit Door, Palantir and One Ring Easter Eggs.AestheticsSpring 2022 Midterm Grades: SubmittedPersonalMy parents doing their daily crossword.…

Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines

Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines (a government website that identifies research backing up good web design practices). Similar:Fake News Remains Top Industry Concern in 2017“In the past, people fabricated content….CultureThe press lobby is going feral—ignore it Given that they need to write multiple…CultureFake News Taints Facebook's Trending TopicsIn an experiment conducted over several …CybercultureMonument…

Not The User's Fault

A wonderfully expressive, almost wordless essay on language, problem-solving, and code.The Synonym Problem  (See also Jono DiCarlo’s “These Things I Believe” — a humanist manifesto about computer code.) Similar:Close Reading: Introduction to a College English SkillI’ve been meaning to create a screencast…AcademiaTraces of ScribesBook historian Irene O’Daly notes that t…AcademiaThe girl performed musical commercials for…

Google raising newspaper morgues from the dead

Great news for those interested in the first draft of history. (Not-so-great news for those worried about Google’s increasing control over so many kinds of information.) C|Net Google is making searchable, digital copies of old newspapers available online through partnerships with their publishers, the company said Monday. Under the ad-supported effort, Google will digitize millions…

Andrea Mitchell vs. the Balloons

Great little vignette highlighting the perils of live TV reporting. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell demonstrates the perils of live television as she gamely tries to report from the Republican National Convention during the midst of a major balloon drop in this clip that’s amusing the chattering class the day after the two-week convention marathon has come…

BarackBook

A former student sent me a link to a Republican spoof of FaceBook, BarackBook. It’s an interesting piece of new media campaigning, where the RNC has created an entire Facebook parody displaying the social network of Barack’s friends. I know you go to great lengths to remain unbiased in the classroom (which is awesome!) but…

See the Show!

Great use of 3D technology to enable the study of an historic art form. Virtual Vaudeville: Watch legendary comedian Frank Bush in a vaudeville performance from a variety of perspectives in the theater, from the most expensive boxes to the cheapest balcony seats. Compare the reactions of different spectators and even experience the act through…

Just because?

Whenever ice cream sales rise, so do shark attacks (eating ice cream makes you tastier?)  (Part of a great series by the BBC. Bookmarked for a future journalism class.) Similar:Lies about history in Texas can be traced to the Lone Star State's own Big Lie: The AlamoYet many Texans feel they need&nbsp…CultureKids Whose Parents Limit Screen…

Important work can be done while daydreaming

Because the children were rarely bored – at least, when a television was nearby – they never learned how to use their own imagination as a form of entertainment. “The capacity to daydream enables a person to fill empty time with an enjoyable activity that can be carried on anywhere,” Belton says. “But that’s a…

Storyboard – Wired Blogs

Sounds like a promising peek behind the curtain at Wired.  I’ll watch this for a while and see whether I can use it in my journalism classes. What Is This? An almost-real-time, behind-the-scenes look at the assigning, writing, editing, and designing of a Wired feature. You can see more about the design process on Wired…

High Chance of Blowhards

I’m always amused when the TV reports from storm landfalls are peppered with statements such as, “There’s nobody here but reporters.” Who needs fairness, objectivity, and nuance when there’s a storm a-brewin?  Who needs balance, when you’ve got a pole to lean against? Oh, the drama of the live storm stand-up! TV correspondents bellowing while…

Is Wikipedia Becoming a Respectable Academic Source?

Last year a colleague in the English department described a conversation in which a friend revealed a dirty little secret: “I use Wikipedia all the time for my research–but I certainly wouldn’t cite it.”  This got me wondering: How many humanities and social sciences researchers are discussing, using, and citing Wikipedia? — Lisa Spiro When…