In 2006, John and I began working on what would become the Second Edition of Dungeons & Dreamers. For a variety of reasons, it’s taken us almost 8 years to get this story finished, but it now appears as if that journey is almost complete. We’ve edited, rewritten, haggled, reported, thrown out, and rebuilt the book, […]
After years of writing, we’re down to the last few edits. We have a (mostly) completed and re-written manuscript, we have a draft out to some amazingly kind readers, we have the printing process nailed down, we have the press materials ready, and now we have the front cover (tentatively) designed. Since you’ve been popping […]
“Hello cousin Brad. Just letting you know that Dad died this morning. The last of that group of Bakers. Glad you got to visit. Love Connie.” I received the text at 9:33 pm last night as my wife and I sat on the couch watching television. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to think […]
The difference between Bob and I was just a matter of degree. Our lives had taken on eerily similar trajectories. Yet an objective observer would have likely said my life was empirically better. The difference between my cousin and I was this: I carried a deep-seated shame that he didn’t know.
While I am happy at Ball State University, I have to give some love to my (graduate) alma mater, the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. All graduate programs are not created equal. Berkeley is an elite institution training (future) award-winning journalists who can tell stories across every medium. This is not […]
I believe in science, but I spend almost no time reading the academic literature where the science of my craft (journalism) has traditionally been published. I spend even less time trying to craft research that would get published in those outlets. For most normal human beings, this is not a controversial stance. As a tenure-track […]
In 2009, the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive coordinators decided to carve out a corner of the conference where those people interested in start-ups, emerging technology, and entrepreneurship could gather. At the time, this wasn’t necessarily a popular move. For years the conference focused on emerging technologies, media, and creative endeavors. The thought of turning […]
When I first read Black Like Me in high school, I was sick to my stomach for two reason: This was the first time I experienced a hopeless despair about humanity. I wasn’t reading history (although it was set twenty years before); I was reading the now; and It felt oddly strange that it took […]
While returning from a trip this past weekend, I asked my wife if we could swing by Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Without hesitation, she said yes (and then I launched into an entirely unnecessary history of computer games.) I wanted to visit the place that helped inspire one of the first computer games: Colossal Cave Adventure, […]
There’s too much goodness here to explain. Please just watch the video and you can follow the Twitter stream as well. Other Links: ’80s favorite returns as app with old interactive magic, via the Chicago Tribune Dungeons & Dragons at the movies, via The Cine Family (if you happen to be in Los Angeles August […]
What Vin Diesel Can Teach You About Transmedia, via Transmedia Coalition Psych – The Hashtag Killer and The S#cial Sector, via Robots and Fountain Pens Without divulging too many of our trade secrets, John and I have been kicking around the idea of including transmedia games near the end of our book. We’re not quite […]
This blog is primarily about the Appalachian experience as it relates to my work on So Far Appalachia: An American mythology as told by the Bakers of Beckinghamshire. If I do my job well, though, that story will touch on larger American themes. While I haven’t had the chance to watch this Frontline piece yet, it’s […]