PicoBlog

2024 may end up being the year of the venture studio for the edtech industry. Just as accelerators became all the rage back in 2010, education venture studios seem to be the latest trend in 2024. Half accelerator and half incubator, venture studios (sometimes called startup studios, innovation studios, or innovation labs) are organizations designed to help early stage ideas, companies, or products take flight, surrounded by a rotating cast of subject matter experts.

The have been plenty of movies, books or other storytelling about the banality of human oppression, but few have been as bracing as “The Zone of Interest.” It tells the tale of a seemingly normal German family living on a beautiful small estate right next to the Auschwitz concentration camp. And when we say they are close, it means you can actually hear the screams of the dying and the staccato rifle fusillade of the firing line.

Dr. Jacobs is an artist turned scholar (of philosophy and religion), turned filmmaker. "Theological Letters" hosts his letters on philosophy, religion, and (occasionally) art and pop culture, written in reply to inquirers over the years. By Dr. Nathan Jacobs · Launched 3 years agoNo thanksncG1vNJzZmimkam1orrAo5icp5Koe7TBwayrmpubY7CwuY4%3D

Sometimes I wonder about how people used to understand the natural world, and whether they noticed the flaws in their understanding. In ancient Greece, the orthodox theory of “chemistry” was that the physical world is composed of four elements. Earth was the heaviest element, followed by Water, followed by Air, followed by Fire. This explains why dirt sinks in water, why air bubbles rise in water, and why when you light a flame the flame points up in the air.

My daughter is named Teresa. I didn’t always get Catholicism, but I always got Mother Teresa. A fearless warrior for Christ, serving the poorest of the poor. All of the anecdotes about double Holy Hours and wiping the sweat off the faces of the dying. All of her quotes about faith, and belief, and trust. Her radical “yes”, her solemn vow to be obedient to Christ forever. Her years and years (and years) of spiritual darkness.

Now that my title has savagely baited your click, let's talk about the weirdness of the game industry and the big mess we're all in. If you don't want to read my words, just look at the chart above. A good long look. Let the absurdity sink in. Make your own conclusions from there. I've been working continuously making indie video games longer than, let's say, anyone. I was one of the first to correctly describe the indie bubble, writing blog posts that got many views and got me sweet gigs working for free giving talks at conferences.

Before we get to our regularly scheduled programming, I wanted to give y’all a heads up that Worriers has a THING coming next week that I’m really excited about and that I think anyone who listened to ska/punk in the late 90s will get a kick out of. Stay tuned!🕴 If you want to be notified about new music from Worriers, you can follow us on Bandcamp or Spotify. Remember to hit follow.

Grant Brisbee of The Athletic stops by to talk about the Giants trade deadline, a disappointing 2022 and the path forward on the latest edition of There R Giants podcast. You can (and should!) follow the wit and wisdom of Grant on twitter @GrantBrisbee and read his work at The Athletic. And, of course, you can follow all of my work on twitter @rog61 and read all of my Giants’ prospect-related writing by becoming a subscriber to There R Giants for daily updates of all the action around the farm.

Hi, welcome back to Mixed Messages! This week I’m speaking to artist Jack Fowler, who is of mixed-St Helenian and white heritage. You may recognise Jack from Love Island, where he earned the affectionate nickname ‘OluwaJack’ in reference to his closeness to the Black community. Yet it came as a shock to many when Jack shared that he was actually mixed-race in an emotional post about the discrimination faced by his dad.