Parking Wars
Earlier this month, I was out for drinks with colleagues. Most of us are friends on FaceBook as well as in real life. A new colleague, Marylena, mentioned that one…
Digital Rights Management
Back in the late 1980's, I worked as a volunteer on a running race. Because I had a background in computer science, one of my tasks was to set up…
Fringe
I am watching a new show on Fox tonight. It is called Fringe and it's from JJ Abrams, the guy who developed Lost which is one of my favorite shows of all time. …
We ARE Telling Stories
As I suggested in a previous post I don't understand why FaceBook calls each status update a story. I said that if we were to consider each update a plot…
AcademHack
My last post about my frustration with our faculty day speaker prompted some interesting discussion, with several people sharing their own, similar frustrations. So I thought I'd see if I…
How Not to Do Educational Technology
At the start of each academic year, my university hires a speaker to address the full faculty, presumably to inspire us to take on new challenges. Like most universities, mine…
Hamlet (The FaceBook News Feed Edition)
FaceBook is changing how we view and think about many aspects of our lives, including literature. As an example (from McSweeney's), here is Sarah Schmelling's version of Hamlet, written in…
Honorarium
More proof of Ian Bogost's brilliance comes in the form of an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. It describes his new game Honorarium.
Technology, Sports and Cheating
A lot of the Olympics news coverage has focused on the fact that so many swimmers set world records in their events, partly because of advances in swimsuit technology. Speedo's…
You Can’t Always Believe Your Eyes
In yet another step toward hyperreality, it has been revealed that the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics were (partially) faked. If you watched the spectacle on television, you were…
FaceBook Revisited
In honor of the recent release of the remake of Brideshead Revisited, I thought it might be interesting to revisit FaceBook. I've been using FaceBook for nearly a month now…
We’re Not Telling Stories
One of the aspects of game analysis that my students struggle with has to do with the dramatic elements of a game. According to the text that I use in…
A Lipshitz by Any Other Name
Here is one of the most amazing stories about an unthinking reliance on technology that I've heard in a long time. Verizon does not allow the setting up of accounts that…
Kinds of Fun
Sit10 commented on my last entry that a friend had once told her that there is a difference between what men and women find funny. Men laugh because they think,…
Philosophy of Jokes
On Word of Mouth today on NHPR, I heard an interview with Jim Holt, the author of Stop Me if You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes. His…
Non-FaceBook Friends, Beware
Pat sent me this article from the New York Times. So if you're a non-FaceBook friend of mine and I don't return your phone call, I hope you'll understand why.…
Identity Management
We joined millions of other Americans yesterday and went to see The Dark Knight. An interesting side note regarding my previous comments about immediacy--the movie opened Friday and the current…
Adventures in Time or Why I’m Freaked Out by FaceBook
Because so many of my friends are completely addicted to FaceBook (and threatening not to be friends with me anymore), I decided to join two days ago (less than 36…
Game or Sport?
While we were in Barcelona, I picked up the European (Summer Journey Double Issue) edition of Time magazine because it's about the games that people play around the world. A…
Reading 2.0
On our trip to Barcelona, I brought several novels as well as a couple of non-fiction books related to my work life with me. I can't stand being on a…
