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YouTube links break, without leaving behind even a title archive (bastards), so "just for the record":

1. 1) Island of Dr Moreau movie trailer, keyed to the line "on the eighth day" shortly followed by "something impossible ... unmistakably human ... undeniably animal ..."
2. 2) Ludovico Einaudi Greats Hits 2018 (first impression: Keith Jarrett jams with Enya; almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Beethoven by just the right amount to give Alex an additional fit)
3. 3) The Simpsons — A Clockwork Orange Parody (Santa's Little Helper)

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#2 is a nested joke on "conflating".

#3—in which many doggies come to dodgy ends, Simpsons' style—plays on All Your Usenet are Belong to Wesley Crusher (alt.ensign.wesley.die.die.die), which loops back to my opening TV Tropes Star Trek moment.

But all you geek bloodhounds out there got those obvious propeller-head cultural references, buried like a stinky bone in minor misdirection—despite the minor down draft—right?

(Well, I guess there's the reason why working geek bloodhounds don't actually wear powered propeller beanies. As ever, one tends not to think these things all the way through, off the disgruntled bat.)

You are standing at the end of a road before a small brick building. Around you is a forest. A small stream flows out of the building and down a gully.

If you've played these games, you understand that they can occupy a unique place in the human psyche. I think Infocom got the point across clearly in their ads. The games are free, play on any platform, challenge you to visualize an environnment, improve your vocabulary, encourage reading and demand comprehension, engage problem-solving skills, give children open-ended control over a world, and are just plain fun.

They've formed a foundation for the way I approach problem-solving and exploration in ways I probably can't grasp. Newer games are introducing some interesting concepts, and others show how powerfully prose can evoke strong emotion. All in a few hours.

That's Seton Hill, not Seton Hall.

How come nobody has yet mentioned IF Archive? The most innovative, thought provoking and literary games are not on your regular console.

Text adventures come in several flavours, many are typically puzzle-based, while others are just a sequential narrative. These have all the advantages of a novel in terms of profound concepts, possibilities and adult themes. But the active involvement that they require to keep the action going makes them a different experience compared to passive uncovering of the plot: they make you think about the storyline, step by step, and get involved in it in first person.

Also there are an annual competition that regularly provides new material, free to play. Some of these beasts provide the most original and interesting gameplays I've seen in a long while; see Galatea as an example (you can play it online).

Once upon a time there was Adventure http://jerz.setonhill.edu/if/canon/Adventure.htm/ which was really an analogy of the development of systems and the code required for that activity. So coding has been a game since at least 1975....about time you guys caught up.

You must be too young to remember this is really what started it all...

It's rather educational. Definitely don't read it to your kids without preparing yourself and checking the whole story beforehand.

For example, one of Cinderella's stepsisters was doing fine with Prince Charming, until the fields whispered to him "Dude, check out her foot! Check out her foot!" and he looked and saw that she had severed her heel in order to fit into the glass slipper and she was bleeding everywhere.

Also for example, there is a story that's only one page long about Rose Red: This little boy disobeys his mother and goes out into the forest and meets Rose Red. Then, exactly one year later, the boy dies in his bed and his mother finds a red rose on the doorstep. No, it's not too upsetting, but that's the whole story.

Most of the stories are gory and weird. Yes, German people are twisted, but IMHO there is something to be said for telling your children about twisted shit. This is expounded upon in Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age, and he cites The Raven (By Coleridge, not Poe) as an excellent example.

The word robot comes from the Czech robota meaning "labor." The word was first used in Karel Capek's play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) (written in 1920; first performed 1921; performed in New York 1922; English edition published 1923). 1. While Karel is frequently acknowledged as the originator of the word, he wrote a short letter in reference to the Oxford English Dictionary etymology in which he named his brother, painter and writer Josef Capek as its true inventor. 2. . . .

The 1920 story/play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) Czech Author: Karel Capek, however his brother Josef is credited with coining the word.

I am unable to cite this correctly, not having the original publication, but am sending it off in any event.

It would seem even the simplest SciFi words should be considered for submission. So rack your brains then do a search.

(from the play, English translation, page 1):

On the right-hand wall are fastened printed placards:

"CHEAP LABOR. ROSSUM'S ROBOTS."
"ROBOTS FOR THE TROPICS. 150 DOLLARS EACH."
"EVERYONE SHOULD BUY HIS OWN ROBOT."
"DO YOU WANT TO CHEAPEN YOUR OUTPUT? ORDER ROSSUM'S ROBOTS":

Rossum's Universal Robots

No kidding. Karel Capek invented the word "Robot" to refer to a class of genetically engineered worker slaves.

More about R.U.R.

Immunology is the study of the complex and sophisticated immune system. The immune system is a network of cells and organs that work together to defend the body against attacks by "foreign" invaders or germs. The body provides an excellent environment for germs. When they do break into a system, it is the immune system's job to keep them out or to seek and destroy them.

Immunology is the study of the complex and sophisticated immune system. The immune system is a network of cells and organs that work together to defend the body against attacks by "foreign" invaders or germs. Our body is susceptible to invasion from germs. When the germs do break into the body, it is the immune system's job to keep them out or to seek and destroy them.

Dennis G. Jerz

Jerz's Literacy Weblog

"BTW, the polish play in wich the name "robot" was coined..."

I believe you are referring to the Czech play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Capek.

A brief summary (Note the use of a slashdot post in the biblio links!)