Video games DID NOT make this kid who he was, and it’s unfortunate that the correlation is there. The thing that really gets me with this whole thing is that the kid knows full well that by equating what he’s done to a video game, that he will generate controversy and media coverage. It makes…
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides that “[no] provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider,” and that “[n]o cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local…
—Pictaps (Roxik.com) Thanks to the Flash power of Roxik’s Pictaps, I can draw an effigy of the great Captain Kirk, and make him dance! Dance, captain dance! Your puny phasers are no match for my superior intellect! Bwahahaha! Man, it’s been a long day. Similar:New rules governing drone journalism are on the way — and there’s…
[…] ‘So in the church-yard she was laid; And, when the grass was dry, Together round her grave we played, My brother John and I ‘And when the ground was white with snow, And I could run and slide, My brother John was forced to go, And he lies by her side.’ ‘How many are…
The British people have a different type of English language. In some ways it’s the same as yours, but in other ways it’s quite strange. Learn here how to communicate with British people. You may have heard some British people talking in movies. The men are the posh baddies who often drink to much; the…
Your retro, old-skool little song enshrinesThe unrelenting jackboot five-stress beat Of heel-toe thumping heel-toe bumping feetIn fourteen rigid rhyming goose-step lines.What talent’s there? I’ll never march; I swarm!I curse your foolish rules, your chains that bind,That dare to organize my off-beat mind;For truly I don’t need no steenkin’ form.Why pack and prune, revise, rework, rephraseMy…
For a good many decades, thick fumes of incense have been wafting from the English literary establishment in the general direction of TS Eliot. The latest offering by the acolytes to the high priest is this study by Craig Raine, which admits that some of Eliot’s drama isn’t up to much but otherwise won’t hear…
—The Steampunk Workshop Link via boingboing. Reminds me of Thomas Jefferson’s PAA (personal analog assistant). Similar:I'm not a big fan of Disney's corporate greed.I’m not a huge fan of Disney, largely be…AcademiaGoogle Books ruled legal in massive win for fair use (updated)Update in a legal battle that’s been goi…Books10 questions to help you write better…
Still, what could be better than a crocheted stuffed Dalek, the greatest nemesis of Doctor Who? —EXTERMINATE! (Shigella) Via boingboing — though it’s described there as a “cozy” (that is, a decorative insulator that keeps a teapot warm). Similar:Fascinating, and very sad, story behind an iconic National Geographic photo.Fascinating, and very sad, story behind …AestheticsI just…
My tenure story is the all-too-familiar tale of the assistant professor hired to start a new program. That program becomes wildly successful, beyond anyone’s predictions. Someone has to administer the needs of the program, so the new assistant professor (aka me) handles it. As the program grows, she handles more of its administration. She and…
While computer and (especially) console games are just discovering the delights and benefits of community, board games have always been a social experience. And unlike the enormous teams required today for game development, board games can still be created by one or two people at a cost of next to nothing. (Admittedly, board games have…
About one in seven of the Shakespearean atoms in your body originated from his excrement. —An Estimate of the Number of Shakespeare’s Atoms (Jupiter Scientific) Deep thought of the day. Similar:45m into a game against a player ranked 400pts higher than him. In a frilly shirt for the …CultureChillax, Wikipedia, and bridezilla are not puns: Against…
I had not expected students to care only about their high grades (A or A- are the only acceptable “good” grades) and about getting work done so they can get on with their partying or video games (“relaxing”) or even sleeping. I had not expected that students would dash off a first draft and think…
[W]e all know that many actual rappers and hip-hop identities are in fact middle class computer geeks from nice suburbs (or indeed public school educated sons of bishops). Is the converse true? —Rich —Armed and dangerous (ObservatioNZ) An interesting reflection on nerdcore hip-hop. (I prefer geeksta rap, but that’s just me.) Similar:Facebook Instant Articles Are on…
— Matthew White —[White]-o-Glyphics:Introduction (White-o-glyphics) These glyphs translate as “It was a dark and stormy night.” Fascinating stuff. It reminds me of a long bus ride that I spent sitting next to a hearing-impaired woman. I had learned the American Sign Language alphabet in third grade, but after spending several hours with this woman I figured…
My barely-used, barely-2-year old SCD103 is giving me the black screen in Camera mode but appears operational in Playback mode. I have called Samsung twice and was fed much the same story as I’ve read on this post. Please add us to the lawsuit too! —Another SCD103 victim (Camcorderinfo.com) My camcorder recently went out while I…
Step Afrika, the first professional company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping, performed at Seton Hill on Thursday, February 8. Step Afrika is critically acclaimed for its efforts to promote an appreciation for stepping, an art form born in African American fraternities and based in African traditions. Step Afrika serves as a…
Magazines – like television and other Old-Guard media – are seeing readers and advertising dollars follow consumers online. —Paul Tharp —Mags’ Circ Sags: Top Titles Down (NY Post) While “Mags’ Circ Sags” is a very efficient headline that lets the typesetter print it out in huge, eye-catching letters, a more informative title doesn’t take up any…
—Introducing the book (YouTube) New media anxieties are nothing new. Similar:35% of my site visitors right now are using mobile devicesThis year I have seen an uptick in the p…CybercultureJournalists call out White House claims on terror reportingThe easily-disproved surface-level claim…CultureMechanical innards for a Steampunk set piece. #Blender3D #greebleshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oChXOu8C…AestheticsWhat Is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for…
The space-age technology of mobile phones has allowed us to return to the more natural and humane communication patterns of pre-industrial society, when we lived in small, stable communities, and enjoyed frequent ‘grooming talk’ with a tightly integrated social network. In the fast-paced modern world, we had become severely restricted in both the quantity and…