(Abstracts due Feb 7) "We’re looking for essays that shed light on the history of interactive fiction, especially if they discuss how IF has evolved technologically and in its conventions; essays that teach and illuminate the craft of IF, including but not limited to puzzle design, world building, characters, prose style, and atmosphere; and essays…
A student project on why Microsoft is evil includes this parody of the Alcoholics Anonymous "12 step" program. Sammy Carranza —12 Steps to Stop Using Microsoft Similar:Apple threatens to remove Parler social networking service from App Store Apple Inc has threatened to remove the…BusinessTimes photo staffer's invention: the streaming backpack “From a photographer’s perspective it…AestheticsA…
A clueless fellow looking for a job in information technology sends out his resume in a mass mailing. Bernard Shifman, an unrepentant spammer, then threatens to sue practically anyone who even mentions the incident. Pete Moss documents what is most likely the end of Mr. Shifman’s career. —Bernard Shifman is a Moron Spammer Similar:On UVa…
From a blurb on the National Coalition against Censorship webpage: Jan Carroll’s weblog offers a substantial amount of collected poems written in response to September 11; articles on poetry and politics; interviews with poets about September 11; and musings on the role of art and aesthetics in times of tragedy.” [Jan created her poetry weblog…
An experiment in which group members could pay for the privilege of fining free-loaders suggests that the threat of being punished by angry peers helps to check selfish behavior. (Consider this in light of the "Bernie Shifman" article.) —Anger Plays Key Role in Human Cooperationb> (New Scientist) Similar:More Evidence that Choosing a Typeface Is ImportantAestheticsShakespeare…
“It began as a fireside story spun by a Catholic dad. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings became a great epic that has inspired conversions, steeled young people in virtue, and changed lives — including mine.” John Zmirak —The Lord and the Ring (catholic.net) Similar:Rob Rogers' firing is a frightening omenPulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Nick A…CultureLawyers…
“There’s only so much time. And there are so many great books. And every year more books are published, some of which will be great. Reluctantly, the reader begins to acknowledge the appalling necessity of choosing to read certain good things and not other good things.” —Reading Anxiety (Nat’l Post) Similar:Bottled Authors: the predigital dream…
Hundreds of websites that used to give their content away for free are now charging for their services. This weblog chronicles the changes. —The End of Free Similar:In the Era of Fake News, Teaching Media Literacy is a Must My 13-year-old recently approached m…CybercultureWearing A Mask Is A Sign Of Mutual Respect During The Coronavirus…
Yelling out of cars, turning your speakers out the window to blast your music onto the street, setting off M-80 firecrackers, firing automatic weapons into the air—these are all well and good. But none of them create a merry atmosphere of insouciance and bonhomie quite like a revving motorcycle. —Wow, Check out that Motorcycle Revving! (The…
You have not truly lived, until you have seen Star Wars rendered as ASCII animation. The FAQ page includes the answer to “Why (oh, God why)?” Similar:Body Parts #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 25) Quark announces he's dying; Kira …Rewatching ST:DS9 In Ops, O’Brien frets…Amusing"This Is Probably Going to Kill Us:" How First 'Star…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:How the printing press changed “you”: when reading changed, so did writingThis was before the printing press, so b…BooksIn February, 2001, I was blogging about computer nostalgia, Napster, a horror typing game,…In February, 2001, I was blogging…
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… [More or Livingston? Authorship uncertain.] —“A Visit from St. Nicholas” Similar:Photos inspired by Wuthering HeightsA photographer blogged about taking phot…Aesthetics'We're back': Bushy Run's 2023 battle reenactment will be heldI’m glad to know that this recent…
Very sad: “Sixteen mothers, all of whom were pregnant on Sept. 11 and lost their husbands in the terrorist attacks, and their babies are photographed with news anchor Diane Sawyer.” —Sept. 11 Widows with NewbornsAP via Yahoo!) Similar:A trend story about millennials, by The New York Times“When it comes down to it, life is reall…AmusingKate…
Programming bugs have bedeviled many a scientific researcher. Now, some researchers in Japan have programmed a bug. Thanks to a surgically-implanted device, scientists can control the motion of “Robo-roach.” —Weird Science (Guardian) Similar:Alice in Quantumland: A Charming Illustrated Allegory of Quantum Mechanics by a CERN Physi…Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory of Qua…AestheticsJournalist Nellie Bly Began…
“An experiment to uncover the world’s funniest jokes has found that some computer-generated gags can be more amusing than those thought up by humans.” —What Kind of Murderer has Moral Fibre? (New Scientist) Similar:The Most Lamentable and Excellent Text Adventure of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkUpdate, July 2015 — the link to the ori…AmusingI regularly teach…
Children born to high-tech nerds appear more likely to show signs of a behavioral disorder similar to autism. Silicon Valley cases are booming. —The Geek Syndrome (Wired) Similar:In Defense of DistractionIf you’re a fan of lifehacking, you’ll a…Culture14 questions for new journalists to consider when filing a story – PoynterIf you’re new to reporting, here…
“We are confident that you will have many years of trouble-free enjoyment if you carefully read these instructions and follow them.” (Note: Anybody who bothers to read instructions at all is probably already grouchy and impatient.) —IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! Similar:4 writing lessons from the comedy of Joan RiversAll writers can learn from studying the…
“Does Jackson’s effort remain reasonably true to Tolkien’s richly imagined universe? And will filmgoers not inculcated with the lore of Middle Earth enjoy it anyway? The answers, happily, are ‘probably’ and ‘definitely.’” —Ring: One for the BookWired) Similar:Whispers (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 14) O'Brien Must Suffer: shunned and o… Rewatching ST:DS9 In a…
Search an index of 6000 frequently-updated weblogs, news summaries, and opinion pages; or, see a list of the top 40 pages cited by the ‘bloggers who create Internet buzz. My new second-favorite website (after google). —DayPop.com Similar:Computer scientist Leslie Lamport to [Brandeis] grads: If you can’t write, it won’t comput…I like introducing my English majors…
Over a century before Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds” hoax, the New York Sun‘s moon hoax claimed that an astronomer discovered life on the moon. The website also describes many other hoaxes —Museum of Hoaxes Similar:The ‘Liar’s Dividend’ is dangerous for journalists. Here’s how to fight it. The Liar’s Dividend suggests tha…CultureWest Side Story…