Dr. Mike Sell
@profmikesell.bsky.social
English Prof, Indiana University of Pennsylvania • Writing 'Playful Literature: Stories, Games, Theories' • Founder, The Digital Storytelling Project • Co-author, 'Systemic Dramaturgy' (Southern Illinois UP) • Unionized Faculty (IUP-APSCUF) • he/him
Pinned
Dr. Mike Sell
@profmikesell.bsky.social
· Nov 13
In an era when gaming literacy is fundamental to understanding popular culture and technological power, 'Ready Reader One' examines the role of videogame literature in explaining not only how we play videogames, but the stories we tell with, about, and around them.
lsupress.org/978080718089...
lsupress.org/978080718089...
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.
"It would be better to live it up, gather ye rosebuds, with dollars and days at hand, then—well, join the Marine Corps maybe, like my dad."
"It would be better to live it up, gather ye rosebuds, with dollars and days at hand, then—well, join the Marine Corps maybe, like my dad."
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.
"The surgeon say, ‘I’ll give you a choice: You can either have the heart of a 25-year-old marathon runner or a 60-year-old agent, which do you want?’”
"The surgeon say, ‘I’ll give you a choice: You can either have the heart of a 25-year-old marathon runner or a 60-year-old agent, which do you want?’”
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.
"It pulls at my clothing and sometimes I feel I've got to pick it up, cuddle and kiss it."
"It pulls at my clothing and sometimes I feel I've got to pick it up, cuddle and kiss it."
January 21, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.
"It would be better to live it up, gather ye rosebuds, with dollars and days at hand, then—well, join the Marine Corps maybe, like my dad."
"It would be better to live it up, gather ye rosebuds, with dollars and days at hand, then—well, join the Marine Corps maybe, like my dad."
Just saw 'The Bone Temple.' Oh my, what a movie! Not for the squeamish, but if you're looking for a film that crucifies (uh, literally) the entertainment-religion complex, affirms faith in ritual, and recommends studying Weimar Germany to understand *all this*, it is the film for you! Also this guy👇
January 21, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Just saw 'The Bone Temple.' Oh my, what a movie! Not for the squeamish, but if you're looking for a film that crucifies (uh, literally) the entertainment-religion complex, affirms faith in ritual, and recommends studying Weimar Germany to understand *all this*, it is the film for you! Also this guy👇
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
Trump spent the weekend threatening our treaty allies with a military invasion to seize Greenland because he didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize.
This talk of invading Greenland is absurd and embarrassing. Congress needs to put a stop to this now.
This talk of invading Greenland is absurd and embarrassing. Congress needs to put a stop to this now.
Trump ties Greenland takeover bid to Nobel Prize in text to Norway leader
Trump’s push to take over Greenland and unleash a trade war with European nations has sparked the greatest transatlantic crisis in generations.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 20, 2026 at 11:42 PM
Trump spent the weekend threatening our treaty allies with a military invasion to seize Greenland because he didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize.
This talk of invading Greenland is absurd and embarrassing. Congress needs to put a stop to this now.
This talk of invading Greenland is absurd and embarrassing. Congress needs to put a stop to this now.
Wow! A new, open-source anthology on the challenges and opportunities involved in the preservation of Fluxus performances and objects! I'm particularly excited by the editors' argument that preservation is a generative process!
spaces.hightail.com/receive/iCLH...
spaces.hightail.com/receive/iCLH...
January 21, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Wow! A new, open-source anthology on the challenges and opportunities involved in the preservation of Fluxus performances and objects! I'm particularly excited by the editors' argument that preservation is a generative process!
spaces.hightail.com/receive/iCLH...
spaces.hightail.com/receive/iCLH...
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.
"The surgeon say, ‘I’ll give you a choice: You can either have the heart of a 25-year-old marathon runner or a 60-year-old agent, which do you want?’”
"The surgeon say, ‘I’ll give you a choice: You can either have the heart of a 25-year-old marathon runner or a 60-year-old agent, which do you want?’”
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.
"It pulls at my clothing and sometimes I feel I've got to pick it up, cuddle and kiss it."
"It pulls at my clothing and sometimes I feel I've got to pick it up, cuddle and kiss it."
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.
'In the evening we had a dance'.
'In the evening we had a dance'.
January 21, 2026 at 11:27 AM
Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.
"The surgeon say, ‘I’ll give you a choice: You can either have the heart of a 25-year-old marathon runner or a 60-year-old agent, which do you want?’”
"The surgeon say, ‘I’ll give you a choice: You can either have the heart of a 25-year-old marathon runner or a 60-year-old agent, which do you want?’”
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
Now watching 'The Lure' (2015) (@criterionchannl.bsky.social: "This genre-defying horror-musical mash-up . . . follows a pair of carnivorous mermaid sisters drawn ashore to explore life on land in an alternate 1980s Poland"). Will be on my next horror syllabus. Breathtaking, weird fun!
January 20, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Now watching 'The Lure' (2015) (@criterionchannl.bsky.social: "This genre-defying horror-musical mash-up . . . follows a pair of carnivorous mermaid sisters drawn ashore to explore life on land in an alternate 1980s Poland"). Will be on my next horror syllabus. Breathtaking, weird fun!
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
"Kavanaugh Stops." Make it stick.
Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley: "We're hearing people being stopped with no cause & being demanded to show paperwork to determine if they're here legally. We started hearing from our police officers the same complaints. Every one of these individuals is a person of color... it has to stop"
January 20, 2026 at 6:55 PM
"Kavanaugh Stops." Make it stick.
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
After a long, long absence, one of my favorite people not only got in touch but wants to play TTRPGs again! And they can join my regular Thursday-night game!
a scarecrow is dancing with a woman and a dog
ALT: a scarecrow is dancing with a woman and a dog
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:57 PM
After a long, long absence, one of my favorite people not only got in touch but wants to play TTRPGs again! And they can join my regular Thursday-night game!
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
I would just like to wish the kids all the best trying to convince the people of the future that World War III was caused by resumé padding.
January 20, 2026 at 6:59 PM
I would just like to wish the kids all the best trying to convince the people of the future that World War III was caused by resumé padding.
In other news, for the last year, I’ve brushed my teeth while sustaining balance on one foot. My balance has significantly improved. Am now putting on socks and shoes the same way. Dress shoes requiring a horn are an achievement.
January 21, 2026 at 12:59 AM
In other news, for the last year, I’ve brushed my teeth while sustaining balance on one foot. My balance has significantly improved. Am now putting on socks and shoes the same way. Dress shoes requiring a horn are an achievement.
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
President Trump is asking a federal judge in Florida to "permanently prohibit the release" of the portion of the special counsel report about his retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 21, 2026 at 12:29 AM
President Trump is asking a federal judge in Florida to "permanently prohibit the release" of the portion of the special counsel report about his retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
✨Announcing our FEBRUARY 2026 Criterion Channel lineup! ✨ Sign up now and get 20% off a year of great movies during our Winter Sale at criterionchannel.com.
January 20, 2026 at 8:28 PM
✨Announcing our FEBRUARY 2026 Criterion Channel lineup! ✨ Sign up now and get 20% off a year of great movies during our Winter Sale at criterionchannel.com.
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
Weird to recall what a bombshell Biden’s fumbling debate performance was and now it’s like, ah yes, the president is demented in public every week, what can you do?
January 20, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Weird to recall what a bombshell Biden’s fumbling debate performance was and now it’s like, ah yes, the president is demented in public every week, what can you do?
I would just like to wish the kids all the best trying to convince the people of the future that World War III was caused by resumé padding.
January 20, 2026 at 6:59 PM
I would just like to wish the kids all the best trying to convince the people of the future that World War III was caused by resumé padding.
After a long, long absence, one of my favorite people not only got in touch but wants to play TTRPGs again! And they can join my regular Thursday-night game!
a scarecrow is dancing with a woman and a dog
ALT: a scarecrow is dancing with a woman and a dog
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:57 PM
After a long, long absence, one of my favorite people not only got in touch but wants to play TTRPGs again! And they can join my regular Thursday-night game!
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
NEWS: The Social Security Administration has referred two DOGE employees for Hatch Act violations after discovering contacts with a political group seeking SSA data to overturn election results. www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
January 20, 2026 at 6:53 PM
NEWS: The Social Security Administration has referred two DOGE employees for Hatch Act violations after discovering contacts with a political group seeking SSA data to overturn election results. www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
"Kavanaugh Stops." Make it stick.
Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley: "We're hearing people being stopped with no cause & being demanded to show paperwork to determine if they're here legally. We started hearing from our police officers the same complaints. Every one of these individuals is a person of color... it has to stop"
January 20, 2026 at 6:55 PM
"Kavanaugh Stops." Make it stick.
This is a significant development. (Snarky me: Why didn't he say that same thing about National Guard deployments . . .)
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
‘Morally acceptable’ for U.S. troops to disobey orders, archbishop says
Timothy P. Broglio, who heads the Catholic archdiocese for the U.S. military, expressed concern at President Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland by force.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:54 PM
This is a significant development. (Snarky me: Why didn't he say that same thing about National Guard deployments . . .)
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
Mamdani: "I am in support of abolishing ICE. What we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist. We're seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it's doing is terrorizing people."
January 20, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Mamdani: "I am in support of abolishing ICE. What we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist. We're seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it's doing is terrorizing people."
Now watching 'The Lure' (2015) (@criterionchannl.bsky.social: "This genre-defying horror-musical mash-up . . . follows a pair of carnivorous mermaid sisters drawn ashore to explore life on land in an alternate 1980s Poland"). Will be on my next horror syllabus. Breathtaking, weird fun!
January 20, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Now watching 'The Lure' (2015) (@criterionchannl.bsky.social: "This genre-defying horror-musical mash-up . . . follows a pair of carnivorous mermaid sisters drawn ashore to explore life on land in an alternate 1980s Poland"). Will be on my next horror syllabus. Breathtaking, weird fun!
Tillis going full H.I. McDunnough.
Tillis: "To be clear -- I'm not critical of the president. I'm critical of the bad advice he's getting on Greenland."
January 20, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Tillis going full H.I. McDunnough.
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
“The slop will continue until sales improve!”
Gamers love AI in game dev — they just don’t know it yet, says Razer’s CEO
Gamers will learn to love AI, says Razer CEO
Razer’s Min-Liang Tan on AI backlash, partnering with Grok, and the future of gaming.
buff.ly
January 19, 2026 at 10:45 PM
“The slop will continue until sales improve!”
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
Which is basically good pedagogy.
Matt Damon Says Netflix Demands Characters “Reiterate the Plot 3 or 4 Times” Because “People Are on Their Phones”
Matt Damon Says Netflix Demands Characters “Reiterate the Plot 3 or 4 Times” Because “People Are on Their Phones” — World of Reel
Netflix’s demands went even further, insisting there be enough “action” or “drama” within a movie’s first five minutes to keep viewers from turning it off.
www.worldofreel.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Which is basically good pedagogy.
Reposted by Dr. Mike Sell
The other fascinating thing about Freeplay was its ability to adapt. It was constantly changing with the times and its economic situation, constantly ahead of the conversations. I often think about how Dan Golding's idea for Parallels predated the 'Directs' and trailer shows that are now everywhere.
January 20, 2026 at 10:15 AM
The other fascinating thing about Freeplay was its ability to adapt. It was constantly changing with the times and its economic situation, constantly ahead of the conversations. I often think about how Dan Golding's idea for Parallels predated the 'Directs' and trailer shows that are now everywhere.