Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
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jmlwhittington.com
Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
@jmlwhittington.com
PhD student, Texts and Technology, University of Central Florida
Scholar (and lover) of games and theme parks, yapper of politics
https://jmlwhittington.com/ | #AppalachianGameStudies
Unwise views are my own; wiser ones are communal
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
I think it's beautiful that most Christmas movies have one moral at heart: "If you don't celebrate this holiday you are a piece of shit."
December 24, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
maxell floppy disk, print ad, excerpt (1982) archive.org/details/logi...
July 24, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
comic, the apple's apprentice, magazine (1984) archive.org/details/appl...
December 24, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
As always, the alt text is the best.
December 20, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
July 2, 2025 at 4:35 PM
After rewatching Eddington with my brother, I think it's the best movie I've seen that came out this year.
December 15, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
Wishing a Joyous, Healthy and Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate.
December 14, 2025 at 6:04 PM
There's already a dogpile, but Cuban demonstrates a recurrent misunderstanding (perhaps purposeful misrepresentation) of what we ask for and suggested implementations.

If anything, I reframe it as provocation for why we should go beyond UHC into fully socialized healthcare akin to the Nordic model.
For all Universal HC/Single Payer/M4A advocates.

What do the biggest, expensive hospital chains do. Do they opt out and only serve the rich ?

Who in the USA gov runs the program?

R U ok with having to see a primary care doc before you can see a specialist ?
December 12, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Received word I passed the scholarly review track on both my submissions to the 2026 Appalachian Studies Conference. So glad to be bringing game studies back for a second year!

Also thankful that it's in Huntington, WV at my alma mater, Marshall University. 😊
December 10, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Sheetz easily wins, *BUT THERE ARE NO SHEETZ SOUTH OF NORTH CAROLINA*. 😡 I didn't realize how much I'd miss 2-for-$1 hot dogs.
December 9, 2025 at 2:11 AM
And with that, the semester is over. I just turned my last paper in. This was my last full semester of coursework; I have just one final elective for my area of specialization next semester alongside candidacy exams. Feels good, but also weird?
December 6, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Look, I get folks rejecting this because it's giving off the CW vibes, but that's actually *exactly* why I'm gonna watch it. I'm intrigued at the concept of One Tree Hill but Star Trek.
🚨 BREAKING - New Star Trek: #StarfleetAcademy Poster!

The first season of the new #StarTrek live-action series premieres January 15th on Paramount+

🖖 Will YOU be watching?
December 5, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
December 4, 2025 at 2:33 PM
This game continues to deliver on the neo-frontier imagination. Sure, why not transform Appalachian Ohio into a desert just so we can throw in cowboy and New Vegas stuff? Appalachia is whatever the tourist/aspirational settler wants it to be!
December 4, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
In normal academic writing, we use brief discussions of games to help us make a point. Writing a whole book about ACNH instead gave me an opportunity to explore complex, ambivalent experiences with the game — some of which I recently got to talk about with Emily Cerf

news.ucsc.edu/2025/12/anim...
Ahead of new game release, Animal Crossing: New Horizons book reflects on comfort, community, and capitalism
Professor of Computational Media Noah Wardrip-Fruin speaks on themes explored in his new book
news.ucsc.edu
December 3, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
People throw around “neoliberalism” far too much, but the meaning of neoliberalism is to use markets to solve any and all problems. In a way it’s a “relief” to face the barest, most gunmetal version of the thing, if only to marvel at it before it eradicates us.
The co-founder of Kalshi says: " The long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a tradable asset out of any difference in opinion."
December 4, 2025 at 12:40 AM
The best part of traveling, particularly to colder areas, is getting sick when I get back.

Home was otherwise great. My brother and I went up into the mountains for a day, drove around and hiked, did some amateur photography (Cranberry Glades, Watoga, Highland Scenic Highway) and I saw snow (ew).
December 2, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I got a "new" phone, my brother's old Galaxy Z Fold5! But I'm not allowed to set it up until after finals (my rule). 😢 I'm stuck with my slowly failing Galaxy S9 for another week lol.
December 2, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
Swiss tank simulator from 1970s that includes a miniature model environment. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcQi...
This 1970s tank simulator drives through a tiny world
YouTube video by Tom Scott
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:24 AM
One of these days, hopefully in the next week, Mozilla will fix the bug that makes the title bar disappear until you minimize/remaximize upon first opening Firefox.
November 25, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
‼️ cool game alert 🚨
store.steampowered.com/app/3457940/...
this has an amazing looking aesthetic and it’s described as psychological horror AND it’s on sale 👀 just look at it!
Save 15% on FUNKYHEART on Steam
Bunn awakens in a surreal world with no memories of what happened. Bunny Hop through this colorful surreal landscape, explore hidden locations, and uncover the troubling truth about your identity in t...
store.steampowered.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:31 AM
It's that point in the semester, but I got through one final presentation today and have another tomorrow. Then just three papers next week and a few CFPs this weekend. Then grading and other GA work.

If you're in this same boat, we got this.
November 25, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
van helsing, concept art (2004) www.mobygames.com/game/16145/v...
November 18, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
So Jim Justice is one of the wealthiest people in the country.

And in 2021, we wrote a story about how almost never paid taxes

www.propublica.org/article/how-...
November 25, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Justin (J. M. L.) Whittington
April 4, 2025 at 1:39 AM