The filter won’t replace real hand-drawn art, but the imperfections give some life to a CGI scene. Similar:Daily 10sq cm of control panel eye candy. #blender3d #blender3dart #steampunkAestheticsMan enough to sew my own computer bag. Insecure enough to seek validation on social media …AmusingFall 2023 Grades: Submitted! AcademiaThou shalt not commit logical fallacies Thou shalt…
In February, 2002, I was blogging about Robert E. McElwaine was a conspiracy theorist who had a habit of spamming multiple newsgroups with his political, religious, and social ideas. He used an account at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, and was very active until around the time I started teaching at that school. Animator…
Rewatching ST:TNG Picard, Data, Troi and LaForge are lounging in the back section of a runabout (seen only in this episode), reflecting on a conference they just attended, when they start running into pockets of space where time moves at different rates. They find the Enterprise-D and a Romulan Warbird frozen in time, apparently in…
A 20-something former CEO takes a fast food job The death of Astrid Lindgren (creator of Pippi Longstocking) at 94 Isadore, patron saint of web surfing (who remembers when “surfing the web” was the dominant metaphor?) Teenager created a glove to translate ASL finger positions to speech On the implausibility of the Death Star’s trash…
Clearly influenced by Kubrick’s 1969 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1975-1977 British TV show Space:1999 features our protagonist riding a gleaming off-white almost empty shuttle to a gleaming off-white space station and then on to a gleaming off-white moonbase. A delightfully consistent design ethic created a seamless connection between the sets where the actors…
Similar:Take a look at the moon tonight!I wish I had the time or energy to get o…AestheticsI love my students enough to teach them the difference between passive voice and past tens…If a goggles-for-brains Lego character c…EducationMy meme about the distracted boyfriend memeAmusingWhy scientists should care about artMy artsy daughter loves stories about sc…ArtAnniePersonalI haven't…
Rewatching ST:TNG Worf is uncharacteristically late for a shift because he was distracted by a ritual to invoke the fabled warrior Kahless. He tells Picard that since meeting the young Klingons who grew up with no knowledge of their heritage (s6e16&17 “Birthright“), he has felt “empty,” and feels the need to test his faith. Picard…
Great writing and great photography in this story about a small Minnesota town where conservative Lutheran pastor Jason Wolter denies that COVID-19 vaccines work. “You’re lying to people,” he says, “You flat-out lie about things.” Wolter is speaking of Reed Anfinson, his next-door neighbor, who is the editor of the Swift County Monitor-News, “[a] contemplative man…
Part of my enjoyment of genre franchises is looking for and appreciating continuity. The other side of that coin is, of course, pointing out continuity gaps. But a plot hole is just a plot hole, and means nothing without context. A logical inconsistency in a tense psychological courtroom drama would be more serious than a…
A history of the beginning of the pandemic, oragnized around emotions. More recently, the Museum of Contemporary Emotions—a project of the Finnish government’s Finland Forward pandemic communications initiative—picked up Ekman’s work as its scaffolding. The Museum, really an interactive website, is a kind of digital archive of experience during the Covid-19 pandemic, styled with the sans-serif…
Rewatching ST:TNG A defeated-looking Crusher tells Guinan her career is over, and, film-noir style, narrates how “it all started when…” After meeting a Ferengi scientist at a conference, Crusher invites him to the Enterprise-D to demonstrate his unorthodox technobabble technology. Only four scientists accepted Crusher’s invitation to witness the demonstration — a Klingon (not much…
Rewatching ST:TNG A well-done mystery that could have, *should* have, redefined our understanding of intelligent life in the Star Trek storytelling universe, but did not. Picard’s beloved archeology professor shows up after 30 years with an invitation to join a mysterious expedition. I respect that the writers don’t ask us to believe that Picard is…
Similar:Bye Facebook, hello Instagram: Users make beeline for Facebook-owned social networkInstagram dialed in early to the power o…BusinessJulius Ceasar: The Politics of Powerhttps://youtu.be/yhAqqHQ-KNYCultureWhat Twitter Changes Might Mean for AcademicsThis is one of the reasons I still consi…AcademiaFirst Evidence That Social Bots Play a Major Role in Spreading Fake News Shad and co say bots play…
Similar:Reuben Klamer, designer of Trek's "phaser rifle" and Milton-Bradley's "The Game Of Life" d…Although more modern-looking rifles appe…AestheticsSiblings gotta sib.PersonalThe Problems of Real-Time Feedback in Teaching WritingSometimes my students get nervous becaus…AcademiaFurnished a random nook in the #neovictorian #steampunk cruiser I'm building. Not ha…PersonalIntroduction to Twine (Tutorials by Vegetarian Zombie) I will always love Inform…
Similar:LLM error rates I worked on LLMs, and now I go…AcademiaDear organization from my past that just sent me a scolding email…Dear organization from my past that just…CultureMathematics and What It Means to Be HumanA humanities faculty member and a math f…AcademiaCharlie Brown has his kite-eating tree. I have my keys-eating chair. #foundthem PersonalAmazing McDonald's "Maestro…
Dear Tevye, This letter is to inform you that you are in gross violation of the rules of this Homeowners’ Association (HOA). Please note the following infractions: Your contract allows for a modest structure in the prevailing style of the neighborhood. It does not allow for a big tall house with rooms by the dozen.…
Is this satire? It doesn’t matter. It gave me feels. For me, though, it was Word Perfect and Broderbund Print Shop that were there for me as a teenager finding my voice. Bold and italics are the oils that grace my palette. Cut and paste the strings upon my lyre. Fonts, bullets, columns, indentations—these stubborn…
Rewatching ST:TNG Riker overprepares for a role in “Beverly’s play,” which distracts him during his briefing for an undercover mission, so that Worf accidentally cuts him while demonstrating a ceremonial knife. The night of the performance, the crowd applauds enthusiastically, but Riker is disturbed when he notices in the crowd a humanoid alien he had…
My former student, Bobby Kuechenmeister, uses Ferris Bueller’s lesson on faking out his parents as an example to teach ethos, logos, and paths. https://youtu.be/RdTtZjHIGHc The last time I checked, most of my undergrads said they would probably recognize a Ferris Beuller reference, but in a class today of 9 only 3 raised their hands when…
Thoughtful analysis structured around one man’s personal journey away from QAnon. No single online platform is responsible for QAnon’s rapid rise. YouTube hosted the videos that many members credit with their “red pilling,” the favored term for a supposed enlightenment or exposure to conspiracy theories. Facebook allowed for easy conversation, meme sharing and organizing. Twitter, Justin’s…