Reagan's 'tear down this wall' speech 20 years later

“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” —Reagan’s ‘tear down this wall’ speech 20 years later (USA Today | AP) Similar:America's ShakespeareShakespeare continues to be…

`Sopranos' extras thrown into TV history

But if Colandrea’s character was there to kill Tony Soprano, the actor who played him isn’t saying. “I do have an idea, but I cannot really talk,” Colandrea said Monday. “I have papers signed that I can’t make any comments on that.” Colandrea, who was born in Naples, auditioned for the role after a casting…

Courier-Journal reporter ejected from U of L game: Bennett removed for blogging super-regional

A Courier-Journal sports reporter had his media credential revoked and was ordered to leave the press box during the NCAA baseball super-regional yesterday because of what the NCAA alleged was a violation of its policies prohibiting live Internet updates from its championship events. —Rick Bozich —Courier-Journal reporter ejected from U of L game: Bennett removed…

Blogger removed from NCAA baseball game for blogging

According to the Courier-Journal, staff blogger Brian Bennett was approached by NCAA officials in the fifth inning of a game between the University of Lousville and Oklahoma State, told that blogging “from an NCAA championship event ‘is against NCAA policies (and) we’re revoking the (press) credential and need to ask you to leave the stadium.’”…

(BRACKETS) – hidden camera prank on unsuspecting public.

—(BRACKETS) – hidden camera prank on unsuspecting public. (YouTube) Amusing. Similar:I had a grand time recording this little story about a misunderstood genius who just wants… The Cask of Amotillado (read by Denn…CultureA Simple Plot for a Literature ReviewThere are two things you need any time y…AcademiaWriting School Papers: Does Your First Version Say It All?My…

Richard Rorty, 1931-2007

“In recognition of his influential and distinctively American contribution to philosophy and, more widely, to humanistic studies. His work redefined knowledge ‘as a matter of conversation and of social practice, rather than as an attempt to mirror nature’ and thus redefined philosophy itself as an unending, democratically disciplined, social and cultural activity of inquiry, reflection,…

IF Comic

—IF Comic (David Garcia’s Blog) So far there are three installments of a new interactive fiction comic. I’ll be watching this site. Similar:Netflix’s ‘The Piano Lesson’ adaptation breaks cycle by not filming in PittsburghVery glad to see another of August Wilso…BusinessVersu's Epilogue: How an Interactive Fiction Pioneer's 15 Year Project Ended Up in Limbo a…However there’s…

How to Draw SteamPunk Machines

I am an animator and concept artist by trade. However, I don’t think my art is really so great that it deserves a “how to”. My devotion to my live steam hobby however, lends my steampunk designs a level of authenticity that often lacks in steampunk art. Therefore, this is just a quick explanation of…

BioShock

BioShock will be Ken Levine’s magnum opus. It will be his career defining game. It’s ambitious, unusual and aggressive, mixing the high polish expected of a “next generation” shooter, with equal parts storytelling, politics, and philosophy, all wrapped up in a bloody, underwater, 1940’s bow. […] The most prominent character in BioShock — Andrew Ryan,…

Shakespare and Star Trek

With all the gratuitous use of Shakespeare language and imagery in the series (including its four spin-offs, a successful franchise of feature films and a short-lived animated series), is there an underlying reason to the use of the Bard’s works? Does the combination of classic literature and pop-culture sci-fi result in something greater than the…

The Surprising Truth Behind the Construction of the Great Pyramids

At the end of their most recent paper reporting these findings, the researchers reflect that it is “ironic, sublime and truly humbling” that this 4,500-year-old limestone is so true to the original that it has misled generations of Egyptologists and geologists and, “because the ancient Egyptians were the original-albeit unknowing-nanotechnologists.” As if the scientific evidence…