My dad, John Barron, circa 1964-65

I admit it: I’m not a fan of Facebook. This week, with the emergence of Google+, I’ve been starry-eyed at the possibility of a new social media delivery system that allows me to do all the stuff I wanted to but couldn’t on Facebook. And while I’d like to talk about Google+, that’s just not what this post is about.

Nope. This is about my dad, Facebook and healing in the age of social media.

In brief: My dad was born in 1952. He first heard the opening riff of the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine” over a little battery-operated radio sometime in 1964, and soon after picked ...

Playing Journey at E3 was an experience that’s hard to describe. There was no introduction to the game, and it was the first time I had seen it with my own eyes.

The character on the screen is an androgynous traveler, searching the desert for … something. The game’s story is revealed slowly, and it looks like the lands you’re moving across were home to people who have now passed on. You have limited means of interacting with the e...