Tears, Joy, and Expressions: A New Book on Emojis—Illustrated Yet Imperfect

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Standardizing the look of the irrepressible emoji must have been a challenge

Caner Elci/Alamy

Face with Tears of Joy
Keith Houston (WW Norton)

If a picture can convey a thousand words, what role does an emoji play in our evolving vocabulary? In Face with Tears of Joy: The Natural History of Emojis, Keith Houston delves into the intriguing tales behind these peculiar symbols and explores how they have become a staple in our everyday conversations.

An understanding of their origins and dominance in our communication is essential. Houston navigates through the early days, uncovering insights that trace their lineage back a decade earlier than the commonly accepted timeline.

It’s an astute investigation. By extending the emoji lineage to specifics of niche Japanese tech from the 1980s, Houston offers new perspectives, suggesting a timeline closer to the millennium than previously recognized.

Clearly, the work is well-researched, evident from Houston’s review of the intricacies during various subcommittees of the Unicode Consortium.

What makes emojis such a significant cultural phenomenon? While Houston lays out a timeline of these images, he grapples with larger philosophical questions about how countless interpretations of commonly used images converge into a shared societal and cultural understanding.

One notable section shares how Facebook users reacted to a video of the 2017 terrorist attacks on London’s Westminster Bridge. When users sought to respond, the platform defaulted to just one of six emojis, none of which seemed particularly appropriate. Houston’s observations here are profoundly insightful.

Typewriter artists crafted images using keystrokes—the forerunners of the emojis we know today.

Unfortunately, throughout the book, Houston veers away from delving into such enriching insights and experiments. He also fails to delve deeply into a Unicode meeting discussion over the merits of adding emojis like tacos and other popular items to countless smartphones globally. Instead, we get a list-style overview of events as they occurred.

This chronological format holds significance, but it’s also replicated in a roughly twelve-page timeline at the book’s conclusion. I found myself reading the bullet points and questioning if I could’ve learned just as much about the emojis and their history without perusing the preceding 180 pages.

That’s unfortunate. Houston contends that emojis warrant thorough and thoughtful exploration, and their cultural ramifications should be taken seriously. It’s unclear why specific details are highlighted while others are overlooked. For instance, he mentions presenting users with images of reality TV stars displaying various emotions related to Kim Kardashian’s 2015 Kimoji app in media reports but cites a staggering figure of 9,000 downloads per millisecond at its peak, countering reality with 9,000 downloads per second. What relevance does this bear beyond mere anecdote?

Nevertheless, there are engaging pieces and illuminating insights about this relatively new mode of communication. Houston reveals stories about early typewriter artists who ingeniously transformed keystrokes into beautiful representations, setting the stage for contemporary emojis.

Overall, Face with Tears of Joy is an in-depth and often enlightening read. However, I frequently felt it was padded with content that could’ve been far more meaningfully enriched with analyses exploring the “why” and “what” behind emoji usage over the last two decades.

Ultimately, Houston’s work serves as a valuable starting point for dissecting the cultural significance of emojis. I look forward to future explorations on this topic.

Chris Stokell Walker is a technology writer based in Newcastle, UK

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New Podcast Highlight: Davina McCall’s Latest Show Explores Tears and Turnarounds for Fresh Beginnings

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

This week’s picks

start again
Wide range of weekly episodes available
There’s nothing more inducing an existential crisis than a ’90s icon being a midlife expert, but Davina McCall is the genre’s OG. Introducing a new podcast about new starts, turning points, and the “curving lines” of life. McCall, as always, is a bundle of empathy and isn’t afraid to cry with his guests. The first person is Fearne Cotton, who talks about her challenges. This isn’t your average celebrity chat podcast, as McCall listens intently and digs into his guests’ answers. Hannah Verdier

hyperfix
Wide range of weekly episodes available
This peppy podcast bills itself as a help desk for life’s most intractable problems. An “overconfident moron” (his words), Alex Goldman spends as much time on the gram as he does America’s Cup trying to create the perfect cake as he does investigating why driving in New York is so bad. It’s just as interesting as helping women who are trying to convert. HV

X marks the place… New podcast questions Elon Musk’s use of surveillance. Photo: David Swanson/Reuters

not too extreme
Wide range of weekly episodes available
Dr. Bernie Fisher played a pivotal role in improving the way breast cancer patients are treated. Without his work, women might still undergo disfiguring surgeries. Here, Dr. Stacey Wentworth takes us from the operating room to the White House and explains how Fisher, the women’s movement, and science have fundamentally changed breast cancer treatment. Holly Richardson

elon’s spy
Widely available, all episodes now available
Is Elon Musk using secret agents to gather information on the people he has his ax to grind with? That’s the allegation this series explores, featuring an extensive interview with a British diver whom he called a “pedo bastard” after making a remarkable rescue of a team of trapped young Thai soccer players in an underwater cave. I am doing it. Alexi Duggins

Lost Notes: Groupies – From Pills to Punks, the Women of the Sunset Strip
Wide range of weekly episodes available
The podcast begins with a group of teenage girls being chased by the likes of Led Zeppelin and David Bowie in the ’70s. That’s amazing, but shallow. There’s no shortage of wild party stories – and they’re worth hearing – but judging by the first episode, it’s supposed to do much more to interrogate the ethics of power and age dynamics. advertisement

There’s a podcast for that

Fail upwards…Elizabeth Day, host of the hugely successful How to Fail. Photo: David Levenson/Getty Images

this week, Rachel Aroesti choose the best five listen comfortablyfrom a viral wedding mystery to Elizabeth Day’s seminal show about failure.

A perfect day with Jessica Knappett
There are many “perfect” podcasts out there covering everything from dreamy meals (off-menu) to ideal vacations (life is on the beach) to fantasy funerals (where there’s a will and where there’s a wake). A relatively recent addition to the genre, it’s definitely one of the most comforting. That’s partly because of the subject matter – it’s quite a meditative experience to hear all the lovely, relaxing things our guests incorporate into their perfect day schedules – and partly because of the energy of our friends. Thanks to our hilarious host for venting (it helps that she’s actually friends with guests like Tim Key and Emerald Fennell), she lets us veer off into weird stories. Fearlessly leading meandering conversations.

Who squatted on the floor at my wedding?
The rise of podcasting and the rise in actual involvement in crime go hand in hand, and it’s no wonder. Immersive, detailed, and cliffhanger-heavy investigations are the perfect fuel for the audio format. But what if you want the satisfaction of crime-solving but don’t want any of the depressing violence or global corruption? This podcast is your answer. In this podcast, amateur detective Lauren Kilby tries to figure out who was responsible for the defecation incident at her friends Karen and Helen’s wedding on a boat. The resulting pod is a highly entertaining and pleasantly low-stakes addition to the true crime genre. Even better, the team recently returned with another delightfully fun mystery titled The Case of The Tiny suit/Case.

how fail
Elizabeth Day’s hit podcast isn’t exactly an exercise in schadenfreude, but by inviting celebrities (including Kate Winslet, Bonnie Tyler, and Richard Osman) to reveal their top three mistakes, Elizabeth Day’s hit podcast to Fail” certainly helps listeners feel a little better about their failures. We did something wrong in our lives. The show often serves as a reminder that no one has a perfectly great life, a necessary corrective in the Instagram era, but the show also features guests with stories of shocking adversity. Bringing in also provides evidence that success is possible even through periods of turmoil.

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Green Wing: Resurrection
Comfort is often closely tied to nostalgia. That’s why shows like Friends have made a comeback during the pandemic. In fact, there’s something about 2000s television that looms especially large in our collective comfort zones. For comedy fans of a certain age, the hospital comedy Green Wing definitely fits this concise description. And for those who have completed a simple trip down memory lane, the return of this podcast will be gratefully received. Green Wings: Resurrection is faithful to the original story, starring Stephen Mangan (as the pathetic surgeon Guy Secretan), Julian Lind-Tutt (as the swoon-worthy Mac), and Michelle Gomez (as the Cracker Stuff liaison). The majority of cast members will return, including Sue (Sue). . Note the familiar strangeness and uncompromising stupidity.

See What Crappens
For anyone in need of peace of mind, reality shows should be very high on their agenda. In particular, the Real Housewives series is a non-stop festival of bickering and petty drama. This podcast is brought to you and released by enthusiasts Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Karam Five Once a week – We recap all 11 US Housewives programs (and others from reality network Bravo). It’s your in-depth guide to every character, storyline, and feud, plus your chance to gossip, joke, and vent your grievances about your most infuriating cast members. All delivered with the kind of growing hysteria that such a relentless schedule inevitably produces.

Why not try it…

How to saveis a hopeful series about conservation campaigns that are getting results, from protecting manatees to restoring Papua New Guinea’s coral reefs.
Holiday with Woody and PierceIn this article, two indie musicians tell fans about the trials and rewards of following a team across the country (or the world, really).
dylan douglas young americaa bold effort to understand the political desires of America’s Gen Z.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

The Scottish warrior in me: Exploring the hack-and-slash game Tears of Metal

Posted on July 22, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

‘T“There’s a giant rock that fell from the sky on an island in Scotland. They call it Dragonstone,” Tears of Metal director Raphael Toulouse explains, “and the British send their general out to [a look]”
“But then the general finds the rock and goes a little rogue, a little bit like Apocalypse Now. He breaks ties with the English, takes control of the island, and the English start mining this giant rock to make weapons and armor, but it also affects their minds. So the Scots organize to take the island back. And that’s where you come in.”

In Tears of Metal, you play as the leader of a Scottish battalion, and your job is to get closer and closer to Dragonstone while cutting down breakaway English troops. But as you get closer to the supernatural meteorite, the beautiful green backdrop of the Scottish Highlands gradually transforms into a hellish world. “It gets weirder and weirder, and by the end it looks almost post-apocalyptic,” Toulouse says.

You start with around 10 soldiers, but you can recruit more, and they’ll get stronger over time. Tears of Metal is a roguelike, so if you’re defeated you’ll be sent back to the start of the game, but you’ll keep any troops you’ve gathered for your next playthrough. However, just like in the alien-fighting XCOM series, if one of your soldiers dies in battle, he’s lost forever. The stakes are high, and you may have to rush to rescue your favorite characters before they’re wiped out for good.

Sensitivity warning: imitation blood.

The game is reminiscent of Dynasty Warriors, a series in which powerful warriors mow down hundreds of enemies in fantastical re-enactments of historical battles. Toulouse acknowledges that the series was a “huge influence,” but says the game relies less on button mashing. Up to four players can play together, each with their own army.

Toulouse is CEO of Paper Cult, an indie studio he co-founded in Montreal, Canada, nearly a decade ago. Which begs the question: why a French-Canadian indie studio is making a game set in Scotland? “That’s a good question,” Toulouse says, adding that the game originally had a completely different setting. Settling on medieval Scotland was a marketing decision; they wanted something instantly recognizable. But there’s also the fact that Toulouse is partial to the movies of Mel Gibson.

“I was a huge Braveheart fan,” he says. “I would always watch the movie with my friends after school. I would watch it over and over again. I loved the action scenes, and the Braveheart soundtrack is amazing.”

Toulouse has no personal connection to Scotland, but says Paper Cult has “a lot of connections with Scottish people” and works with writers who visit friends in Scotland every year. “We’re really trying to involve Scottish people in the project,” he adds, noting that the dialogue, in particular, will be of interest to Scots who still remember the terrible tragedy. Narration of William Wallace’s election campaign Age of Empires II users will be relieved to hear this.

Paper Cult has been working on Tears of Metal for around four years, but the release date is still a long way off, slated for next year. But since the game was revealed at Summer Game Fest in early June, Toulouse has been amazed by the audience’s response. He says it has been added to wishlists on Steam more than 100,000 times. “Within the first few days, we had over 100,000 people added to wishlists,” he says. [after the announcement]we surpassed [our previous game] “This is my lifetime wish list for Bloodroots,” Toulouse says with a hint of excitement. “I’m super excited.”