It can be difficult to talk about politics these days. It’s especially hard to talk about politics on social media. And having a meaningful conversation via text message is not much easier. Too often, misunderstandings and conflict arise – not from radical differences of opinion or belief – but from the limitations imposed by technology….
Navigating PSLF Hell
Public Service Loan Forgiveness was created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. Then for the next 10 years, Congress apparently forgot it existed. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF) was designed to provide student debt relief for workers in the public sector, promising total forgiveness of loans after 10 years…
Public History and/as Web Publishing
On April 18th, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the National Council of Public History, entitled WordPress as a Public History Platform. The panel is described in the meeting program [PDF] and on the conference blog if you care to read about it. If you’re attending the conference,…
The Apple exposé
Not everyone loves Apple. In fact a lot of people loathe the company for reasons both compelling and idiotic. But mention of Apple almost invariably elicits an unusually strong reaction one way or the other. This in itself explains why so much is written about Apple in the media. People who love the company will…
Albert Porter’s Revenge: a videogame concept
The following is from “Cleveland Stories: True Until Proven Otherwise,” a project of the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. The concept is by me and the illustrations by Gauri Torgalkar (CUDC). The complete illustrated videogame concept for Albert Porter’s Revenge is currently on display at Cleveland Institute of Art Reinberger Galleries now available…
The Complete Metropolis: Thinking About a More Sensible Copyright
Let’s get one thing out of the way now: I believe that copyright serves a legitimate purpose in our society. If an artist or creator puts their labor into a work, they deserve some degree of control over that product, including over distribution, sales, and so on. This article (and all original works on this…
A Sililoquy on the Cassette Tape and other Analog Wonders
Yes, I know it’s 2010 (pronounced “twenty-ten”), and I know that nostalgia for the analog age is a 30-something cliche, and I know the cassette has become a sickening node of ironic culture. But for just a few minutes, I ask you to set aside your pernicious Family Guy-inspired liking for hackneyed 80s references to…
The Spectacle, the Social Web and You
“The only historically justified tactic is extremist innovation” – Debord & Wolman, A User’s Guide to Détournement (1956) I’ve been thinking about the Situationists for about a decade now, after learning of Guy Debord’s Society Of The Spectacle in some Propagandhi liner notes (I think) about a decade ago. Since presently, I do what one…