For the last decade, most game companies have been governed by one obsessive idea: that making games more lifelike?more three-dimensional and hyperreal?will make them more fun. But this hasn’t worked. Even the crappiest game today has an elaborate 3-D world you can wander around and marvel at the superb rendering of shadows, the elaborate tattoos…
The uncanny valley itself is where dwell monsters, in the classic sense of the word. Frankenstein’s creation, the undead, the ingeniously twisted demons of animé and their inspirations from legend and myth, and indeed all the walking terrors and horrors of man’s imagining belong here. In essence, they tend to be warped funhouse-mirror images of…
This is Denny Hastert and welcome to my blog. This is new to me. I can’t say I‘m much of a techie. I guess you could say my office is teaching the old guy new tricks. But I‘m excited. This is the future. And it is a new way for us to get our message…
But I, for one, do not believe that journalism’s future is gloomy. In fact, I think that when we look back on the early years of the 21st century, we will recognize it as a period of exploding opportunity for journalists and the start of an exciting new era for journalism. I also think it’s…
At first glance, it seems like a regular blog. But look closer and you’ll see there’s something very odd about the blog’s content: It’s very familiar. Too familiar. That’s because you wrote it, six months ago, on your own blog. The rest of the content doesn’t make sense: The same word repeated over and over…
SHU’s blogs are down for the moment. If the blogs don’t get fixed soon, my news writing students can leave comments on this entry in order to prepare for their oral presentations scheduled for Friday. Update: Blogs are back up. Nevermind.EL 227 Student Blogging Similar:Blog RSS Feed Generator for WP RSS AggregatorI paid a little…
Officials at Proctor Jr.-Sr. High School have banned access from school computers to an Internet site that students have been using to post to weblogs, or blogs. Principal Chris Sousa said the decision to block the site from school was made because blogging is not an educational use of school computers. —Brendan McKenna —High school…
I wonder how an English professor would feel spending a week in a physics lab. Not about the scientific work, but about the frequent, ongoing interaction between students and peers, post-docs and faculty. Scientists see each other in the lab, if not daily, then at least weekly. They have frequent lab meetings, colloquia and interaction…
At what point did the carving of pumpkins turn into a “cute” event? When did boys stop carving pumpkins and moms start? Where did we lose touch with one of the years coolest events? —ExtremePumpkins.com Don’t miss the story of carving “Carrie”. Via Machina Memorialis. Similar:Journalists call out White House claims on terror reportingThe easily-disproved…
I couldn’t help but make a joke with the title, because it’s seemingly right on the money. You see, Google is getting ready to take the wraps off of a new service called Google Base. If it can be posted online, it would appear that they would, in fact, prefer it belong to them. At…
Rather than looking into my blog to see if I have any new comments and then staying on my own page to read and reply, I go to my blogroll and move out into other people’s blogs, to see what they are up to. —Torill Mortenson —Noted difference (thinking with my fingers) Torill comments on her…
We show the news consumer how the magic trick, as it were, was done: how the lighting was placed, wehere were the mirrors, wires, and sturts, what sleight-of-hand was employed. Yet our purpose in demystifying the news is not cynical dismissal. Rather, we appreciate news as a manufactured, even theatrical, artifact, as much as it…
I finished a three-hour binge of racing, clicked off my Playstation 2, and … it was over. My compulsion had vanished. I still enjoyed the game, and had plenty more challenges to complete. But I didn’t need to play it any more. For some mysterious reason, Burnout had suddenly released me from its talons. This…
It’s about time she wrote about something other than cannibalism and blood drinking. Oh. — Metafilter commenter ColdChef —Meet Anne Rice, Christian Novelist. Similar:Why It’s So Hard For Foley Artists To Make Footstep SoundsAccording to Foley artist Stefan Fratice…AestheticsUnderstanding the difference between credible information and propagandaIn the context of my role as a teacher i…CultureThe…
These fabulous finger puppets are the perfect medium for children of all ages to relive the story of the “melacholy Dane.” Includes Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, and Claudius. —Hamlet Finger Puppets (Shakespeare’s Den) OPHELIA You are as good as a chorus, my lord. HAMLET I could interpret between you and your love, if I could see the…
Games and game technology are poised to transform the way we educate and train students at all levels. Education and information, skill training, even political and religious beliefs can be communicated via video games. But these games and repurposed game technology, collectively called “serious games,” have yet to be fully embraced by educators. It’s not…
—All Time 100 Novels (Time) I’ve read thirty of these, which is embarrassing for an English professor, but when I remind myself that my literary specialty is plays, I feel less guilty. Plenty of contemporary ones I’ve heard of but never got to. Especially because of the confusing “all time” in the title, I wonder why…
Currently I work a very WIDE room for my freshman composition class. I’d estimate it’s about four seats deep and ten seats wide. When I lead a standard class discussion, I have to march the length of the room — from the door to the window at the far end — and project my voice…
As of October 2005, Technorati is now tracking 19.6 Million weblogs The total number of weblogs tracked continues to double about every 5 months The blogosphere is now over 30 times as big as it was 3 years ago, with no signs of letup in growth About 70,000 new weblogs are created every day About…
A. A suburban teenager’s online diary, bursting with angst-y Goth poetry and “creative” grammar. B. An alternative news source that can break stories the mainstream media won’t touch. C. A scholarly notebook, where a professor reviews books, brags about student accomplishments, and posts occasional cat pictures. D. A list of web addresses, often focusing on…