Still Not the News: Stations Overwhelmingly Fail to Disclose VNRs

Video news releases are pre-packaged broadcast segments designed to look like television news stories, that are funded by and scripted for corporate or government clients. (See “Fake TV News: Introduction.”) On April 6, 2006, the Center for Media and Democracy released a comprehensive report detailing TV newsrooms’ use of VNRs. The report, “Fake TV News:…

Best Invention: YouTube

Having started with a single video of a trip to the zoo in April of last year, YouTube now airs 100 million videos–and its users add 70,000 more–every day. What happened? YouTube’s creators had stumbled onto the intersection of three revolutions. First, the revolution in video production made possible by cheap camcorders and easy-to-use video…

Whack-A-Moliere

Whack-A-Moliere (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) I made this with cleverpig.com’s Whack-A-Pig tutorial. Similar:Saint Crispin's Day Speech from "Henry V"Dennis Jerz performs the famous speech p…CultureVanessa Otero's Complex vs. Clickbait, Liberal vs. Conservative Media ChartUpdate, June 2020: See Vanessa Otero Ad …CultureState officials: Bushy Run staff must consult with Native groups before staging reenactmen…When my kids were younger,…

Physics for Future Presidents

[C]hocolate chip cookies (CCCs) have eight times the energy as the same weight of TNT. How can that be true? Why can’t we blow up a building with CCCs instead of TNT? —Physics for Future Presidents Via Metafilter. My eight-year-old son is a physics junkie. I can’t wait to show him the videotaped lectures and…

Once upon a time

“I’ve been making up bedtime stories for my children and suddenly I’ve had a brainwave. These stories are good! These stories are brilliant! I would be failing in my moral duty to my adoring public if I did not put them down on paper.” If my theory holds true, it is scary, because it suggests…

The Wikipedia and the Death of Archaeology

Given a sufficient amount of server space and the commitment to maintain it, a resource already exists that may not only sound the death knell of archaeology, but also the opportunity to enable a greater depth and sophistication of anthropology than has ever existed before. So radical an innovation would this new anthropological methodology represent…

Seton Hill University Information Technology's Special Comments about Internet Usage and Web Postings

Seton Hill University encourages self-expression and open communication as part of the student experience, in balance with the mission of Seton Hill University and the ideals of sensitivity, dignity and respect for self and for others. —Seton Hill University Information Technology’s Special Comments about Internet Usage and Web Postings (Seton Hill University) More and more students…

Best. Costume. Ever.

—Best. Costume. Ever. If your geek quotient isn’t high enough to recognize it, this is a mock-up of the power loader from Aliens. Similar:Refreshing my memory of working with reel-to-reel tape as a radio news intern (c. 1989).HistoryDeath of the narrator? Apple unveils suite of AI-voiced audiobooksApple has quietly launched a catalo…CybercultureForce of Nature (#StarTrek #TNG…

Percentage of Chart Which Resembles Pac-Man

—Percentage of Chart Which Resembles Pac-Man (themot.org) Similar:Portraits of my 11yo: Pretty, Goofy, and Pretty GoofyAmusingFor Two Months, I Got My News From Print Newspapers. Here’s What I Learned.Farhad Manjoo says he’s a better, more-i…CultureThe History of Typography Told in Five Animated MinutesOpen Culture. AestheticsIn "World Drama" I'm adding the absurd, optimistic "The Skin of Our…

Stephen Colbert on Blogs

—Stephen Colbert on Blogs (Youtube) My student Gabby Blanchard posted this on her blog. Hilarious. Similar:Sorry, but I am done hearing about the "Cruise from Hell" story. Done.Okay, so yeah. One of these describes a …CultureComputers and Writing 2020 Funding Request: SubmittedMy contributions this year are a worksho…AcademiaThe Key To Better Work? E-mail Less, Flow MoreWhat…