A beautiful map by xkcd. click & drag to see more. For the cheaters/completionists, here is a zoomable version: http://xkcd-map.rent-a-geek.de/

The Guardian posts about Renaissance nudes altered to fit contemporary ideals.

If you've not enjoyed an episode or several of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (or MST3K), this article provides and excellent overview. Hodgson teaches a master class on riffing, focusing on the art of storytelling and relating it both to the story being told (film) and the audience experience. Interesting points are also lightly touched on regarding the implications of something like movie riffing in the age of social media.  Also, if you've not done so previously, I recommend RiffTrax, the downloadable mp3 tracks meant to be played along with popular, contemporary movies, as opposed to the B-list flicks riffed on in MST3K. (These tracks are not paired with the movies themselves due to, of course, copyright issues.)

Jonathan brought this up in class. Information on suits, claims, etc. around copyright infringement and the "chilling effect" on creativity.

A discussion on the expectation of a standing ovation at the end of [Broadway] shows, and an argument for the "seated ovation." Who set these cultural expectations to begin with? Who/what sustains them? 

Another piece from The Oatmeal. This time, the comic honors Nikola Tesla, trumpeting his triumphs, his willingness to share knowledge, and his ability to remain quiet on the subject of how much of a jerk Einstein was. A humorous but relevant piece when read alongside Lessig.

The article John mentioned in class today

Youth and social networking as mentioned in class: http://dmlcentral.net/newsletter/05/2012/analytical-take-youth-social-networking-and-web-20-few-moments-amanda-lenhart

Slate's Eric Klinenberg responds to the Atlantic Monthly's story, "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?" His response focuses on more of the research evidence refuting some of the assertions made in Marche's original article--including some of the quotations Marche pulled from Klinenberg's book on the rise in number of people living alone. Also, participants on the most recent Slate Culture Gabfest (a weekly podcast series, which I highly recommend) discussed both the original article and response. Available for download on iTunes or streaming:  http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/culturegabfest/2012/04/rupaul_s_drag_race_facebook_and_loneliness_and_the_legacy_of_dick_clark_on_slate_s_culture_gabfest.html?tid=sm_tw_button_toolbar via

Stephen Marche wrote this piece for the Atlantic Monthly, arguing that Facebook (used here as an umbrella term for most, if not all, social media platforms) is responsible for an increase in loneliness and a contributor to "social disintegration."

Vulture has mapped many of the connections between contemporary comedians, comic television, and movies--complete with marriages! Interesting notes on how boundaries are drawn in this map and in our culture. Anything the map is missing?

New technology: take a photo with a web-enabled camera, and receive a short description of said photo, provided by a real, live human! Will this really change the way we take photographs? The reasons we photograph? What about questions of editing, curating, filtering?

A comic state of, well, The State of the Web. This is part of a quarterly series done by The Oatmeal and addresses many of the topics we've been touching on regarding ownership, social media, etc.

Sunday Review opinion piece from the NY Times that questions how much our use of media may or may not lead to "connecting" with others. Is technology keeping us from learning how to carry on a conversation? How to interact with human beings in-person? How much is one's self-curated (and self-edited) identity representative of the total package that is the self?

The creators of Central Toilet and other animations, distributed online.

Panel discussion on Social Media Boundaries from the 2012 SXSW festival this March.