R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots): A Futurist Folk Opera

This world premiere will blend Rock, Tango, Jazz and Punk music with contemporary dance to re-imagine Karel Čapek’s original 1921 classic, R.U.R (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Čapek’s play that started it all, introducing the word ROBOT into the world’s lexicon and into our fantasies, is reexamined for the 21st Century. —R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Futurist…

Groundhog Day on the Market

Dear Candidate: Thank you again for meeting with us at the American Historical Association’s annual conference. We have narrowed down the applicant pool to three very strong candidates, yourself included, but we just can’t decide among them! We hope you would be willing to come to the campus, along with the other candidates, and fight…

PA Megan's Law Website Info

When people drink they become totally different people and I do not feel that I should put myself in that situation because if something were to happen, I would mostly likely have no chance to protect myself from a 200 pound kid, who isn’t even thinking rationally. Next thing, I’ll wind up dead in a…

Guerilla Improv: No Joking Zone

Agent Marks and I were uncertain how to end it, but thankfully, our undercover agents came to our rescue. They mounted a joke insurgence and effectively re-took the NJZ. It started off with each undercover agent coming into the zone, one after another, telling jokes in a town-crier fashion. —Guerilla Improv: No Joking Zone (Improv-Abilities) A…

Something about Interactive Fiction

In my review of Once and Future, I made the erroneous statement -“Just like video killed the radio star, graphics killed the parser,” and embarrassingly called interactive fiction a “dead genre.” I was wrong. Five years after I typed those lines, interactive fiction games continue to be produced, even commercially. —Terrence Bosky —Something about Interactive…

The Real and the Semi-Real

A member of a WOW guild suffered a stroke in real life and died. Her guildmates, knowing her only through the game, but nevertheless wanting to offer some remembrance for one of their own, decided to hold a memorial service in the game. A rival guild decided that would be a great time to show…

Dad shoots at computer, saying son spends too much time playing games

—Dad shoots at computer, saying son spends too much time playing games (Tampa Bays 10 News) Guns don’t kill video games. Angry parents with guns kill video games. Similar:York Plays 2025: Five cameras, adding up to ~100 hours of footage.Five cameras, adding up to ~100 hours of…AcademiaIn praise of the sci-fi corridorCorridors in science-fiction movies. I…

Student's Novel Faces Plagiarism Controversy

A recently-published novel by Harvard undergraduate Kaavya Viswanathan ’08, “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life,” contains several passages that are strikingly similar to two books by Megan F. McCafferty — the 2001 novel “Sloppy Firsts” and the 2003 novel “Second Helpings.” […] Little, Brown signed Viswanathan to a two-book, $500,000…

The Geek Mind Behind Dorkbot

As founder of the tech meet-and-greet dorkbot events, and the annual robot talent show ArtBots, Repetto has organized exhibits and meetings that have made it easier for geeks everywhere to learn about new, cool tech projects in their communities. —The Geek Mind Behind Dorkbot (Wired) Similar:My current Zoom backdrop. #blender3d #partylikeaprofAestheticsResearch Poetry (communicating research results and…

Trekkies have a new leader: 'Star' treatment for J.J.

Project, to be penned by Abrams and “MI3” scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto OrciRoberto Orci, will center on the early days of seminal “Trek” characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer space mission. —Trekkies have a new leader: ‘Star’ treatment for J.J. (Variety) The fans, captain!…

Blogging Portfolio

One item to discuss today is the final project for the class, your blogging portfolio. And among the items we need to consider are these: * What should it include? (Will it highlight your best blogging, be an overview of what you tend to blog about and/or how you tend to blog, or a combination,…