On social media recently I saw people mocking Trump for “refusing” to unveil the traditional presidential portrait of Obama, and I saw people attacking “the fake news media” for pushing a narrative designed to make Trump look bad. The original NBC story that broke this item accurately states that neither Trump nor Obama is interested…
(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break) The meddlesome entity Q, stripped of his powers, throws himself at the mercy of Captain Picard: “in all the universe you’re the closest thing I have to a friend, Jean-Luc.” Lots of well-done banter and self-absorbed patter from actor John De Lancie. While Worf and Crusher have memorable reactions to…
I just found a post on economics in early computer games, tucked away as a “Draft” in my WordPress database, dated Jan 2011. I’m not sure why I never published it. The web page I was responding to has disappeared from the Internet, so I’ve linked to the Wayback Archive instead. Similar:My brother is visiting…
More progress as I continue to level up my #blender3d skills. Similar:Yeah natural born creative genius is a cool myth, but have you tried grinding through hour…PersonalI'd like to speak to the manager. Yes, I'll wait right here. The manager is of course somewhere e…AestheticsThe Neutral Zone (ST:TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 25)Rewatching Star Trek:…
Every time I have taught an online class, I have made it asynchronous. I’m blogging these synchronous teaching tips so I can find them again when I’m prepping my fall classes (which will likely be HyFlex). The tips offered here won’t miraculously eliminate the initial awkwardness of virtual class sessions, but they’ll help. And over…
About a dozen local TV news stations aired a video segment produced by Amazon. Some identified the source, but most just let TV viewers assume the video was a news story, rather than a PR piece hosted by an Amazon employee. Journalism matters. See Forbes for details on the story. Similar:What Does Children’s “Obsession” With…
Fascinating use of social media. To be clear, this story about “Carolyn Gombell” is a fabrication, intended to spark Twitter to take action against people (such as Donald Trump) who use Twitter to publicize unfounded accusations. Will that matter to people who share it? It’s parody accounts, not journalists, who are retweeting this story as…
Similar:What's a Snollygoster? Even lexicographers are wrong sometimesThis is an amusing little story about ho…CultureSound Design and the Wilhelm ScreamAhh-aaggh! https://www.youtube.com/wa…AestheticsPersonal Essays: 7 Tips for Expressing Ideas in Words Wondering how to write a personal essa…AcademiaHomeownership in America Has Collapsed—Dont Blame MillennialsYes, the article is interesting, but I’m…AmusingJeff Bezos Plan for News: The Washington Post Becomes…
Powerful writing, by Matthew Schneier. Most of the essay is on the power of poetry as an oral art form. (See also Poetry is for the Ear and Poetry Writing Hacks: Top 10 Tips.) But I blogged it because of the paragraphs about the author’s father. Right now, a machine is breathing for my father,…
Yet in a circle pallid as it flow by this bright sun, that with his light display, roll’d from the sands, and half the buds of snow, and calmly on him shall infold away Deep-speare’s creation is nonsensical when you read it closely, but it certainly “scans well,” as an English teacher would say—its…
Similar:Younger friends, can you write or read cursive? I’m curious.CultureJane Elliott’s “National Brotherhood Week” Lesson https://youtu.be/oGvoXeXCoUYCultureThe girl performed musical commercials for a fund-raiser in the Laurel Highlands (and she …The girl performed musical commercials f…CultureIn October 2001, I was blogging about nothing, apostrophes, the anthrax scare, and Boilerp…In October 2001, I was blogging about …AmusingFinally…
Yes, this was the decisive moment. I ended up cleaning my son out when he landed here later in the game. Similar:Heart of Glory (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 20)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaNerd-buddies”He likes Lord of the Rings, Star Wars *…BooksVideo-Game Violence Is Now a Partisan IssueScholar and essayist Ian Bogost traces t…CultureI…
Using invisible shapes to cut holes in the hull, and a shrinkwrap modifier to align the cockpit frame and the glass. Similar:Socrates envisaged a time when we would forget how to remember.From Daisy Dunn’s review of Puchner’s Th…BooksThe boy approved of the WWII historical fiction Dunkirk. CultureMy crazy Friday night involved tweaking the graphic for an…
Similar:Fatworld ReviewOn Jan 14, Ian Bogost of Persuasive Game…CybercultureSibling Affection and Paternal Abstraction as Drawn By a Six-Year-Old; or, Aren't My Daugh…My six-year-old daughter is a very visua…AmusingSome new locations for my #neovictorian #steampunk personal project. Created in #blender3d…AestheticsCarolyn choreographed a fight-dance adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.PersonalAfter a successful piano recital.CultureI had already created the…
A great production of a delightful play. Similar:Snazzy officer uniforms from the #steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell my now-adult ch…AestheticsCombating Shakespearean shrinkage – Shakespeare & BeyondThe worst reaction to Shakespeare’s comp…CultureSports Meant So Much to Me. Why Wouldn’t My Son Play?I heard the boy tell Raffi that all his …CultureBureaucrats Put the Squeeze…
(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break) Crusher finds herself sympathizing with the charming terrorist who kidnapped her. After last week’s “The Hunted” and the week before’s “The Defector,” it seems the writers are very interested in humanizing perceived enemies. An unusually exposition-heavy captain’s log establishes the Enterprise is visiting a non-aligned world shaken by terrorists.…
Similar:Adam Bard shaves off half his hair and beard on opposite sides for unique driving licence …Something I might want to do one day, be…AestheticsScience Fair VictoryIn this photo from the front page of tod…ArtEverything is beautiful at the ballet.DanceThe girl as the Spanish Soloist in @laurelballettheater & @westmorelandsymphony The Nutcra…AestheticsUnder my academic robes… photographer…
Similar:Technical and Literary Writing: What’s the difference? « DekonztruktschonIn an advanced new media class, I’m intr…AcademiaFacebook's Mike Hudack rants about the media: Why won't anybody do something about these s…When a Facebook executive whines about a…AmusingThe daughter experiences her birthday cookie AestheticsCrabby 9yo Constructs a Head-mounted Frump-amplification Isolation CubeMy 9yo was ordered not to leave…
Similar:Another delightful caricature by Rebecca ScassellatiAestheticsI am slightly ahead of the boy. Rare.PersonalIn June 2021 I roughed out the proportions and deck heights for the flagship of the #steam…AestheticsMe (glares in iambic pentameter)Me: I need to post the opening lecture f…AcademiaThey've got magic to do. Carolyn is the Leading Player. (Pippin, Oct 21-29) AwesomeMerry Christmas…
Researchers identified more than 100 false narratives about COVID-19 that are proliferating on Twitter by accounts controlled by bots. Among the misinformation disseminated by bot accounts were tweets that conspiracy theories about hospitals being filled with mannequins, or tweets connected the spread of the coronavirus to 5G wireless towers, a notion that is patently untrue.…