Some days are slogs. Some weeks are slogs. Some weeks are slogs that end with a wonderfully heartening comment from a student. I will not deny that I was a little worried about reading Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet as I know that they are two of Shakespeare’s most famous plays and I feared that…
Yesterday, an artist on Twitter named Nana ran an experiment to test a theory. Their suspicion was that bots were actively looking on Twitter for phrases like “I want this on a shirt” or “This needs to be a t-shirt,” automatically scraping the quoted images, and instantly selling them without permission as print-on-demand t-shirts. Dozens of…
Most of my students use MS-Word, but maybe a third use Google Docs (that’s a big increase lately) and a handful (but a bigger handful) use Pages. Today during a writing conference, a freshman comp student blinked in confusion when I asked her to “take me to your word processor.” I tried again. “Open up…
On LinkedIn each year author Dan Schawbel writes a list of workplace trends to watch for in the coming year. This time around Schawbel makes this prediction about degrees in subjects like literature, philosophy and history: “AI will automate technical skills and drive the demand for soft skills like creativity, communication and empathy. While there’s been such a…
Similar:What a great time everyone had at the "Cabbies."CultureHappy memories of PC games I played with my son (now 19) sitting on my lap.While doing some spring cleaning around …CultureI Find Myself in Another Showhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=517BhV1j0…DramaI had already created the little utility craft on the lower left, but this weekend I expan…PersonalBless thee, Carolyn, bless thee!…
A pretty 16yo destined to bring peace to a war-torn planet falls for Wesley, but 1) her governess disapproves and 2) well… Wesley. The puppy-love story is cringe-worthily wholesome (influenced by the long dark adorable shadow of “The Wonder Years”), but still enjoyable.
Similar:Carolyn will portray Cosette Saturday at 2pm with 70 talented Stage Right castmates.The teen summer camp production of Les M…CultureIs this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play?PersonalProcession #classof2017PersonalCarnegie Science Center: Roboworld (and a bit of SportsWorks)Here’s a brief video, made up of clips I…CultureWe are all of us works…
Professional disinformation isn’t spread by the account you disagree with — quite the opposite. Effective disinformation is embedded in an account you agree with.
My math education predated the widespread use of graphing calculators. I remember writing my own BASIC programs to graph simple functions, but that was in a summer school programming class during middle school, not part of my high school curriculum. I’m amazed these old calculators cost this much. Bulky and black, with large, colorful push…
Similar:Here I am sketching spaceships like I’m 12 again. I feel like re-reading the novelization …AestheticsI create five color variations of each #blender3d building I #design, and each of those ha…I create five color variations of each #…AestheticsProfessoring. With an(other) apple pie cupcake.I touched up and board-ified a presentat…AcademiaFantasticks (Theatre Factory, Oct 18-27) AestheticsEnjoying some…
Similar:A student just booked an appointment to discuss picking up journalism as a second major. E…AcademiaI had to act like I knew something about golf. There I am on the right at about :15.PersonalOn the upside, no fake news is currently being shared on Facebook. Can't think of a do…PersonalHanging with the rude mechanicals @setonhilluniversityA…
Similar:Between static hand-coded HTML pages and modern content-management systems, there used to …When I started my blog in 1999 (by addin…CyberculturePict Classic Theatre Romeo and Juliet. PersonalShe’s on her way to the @thepublicpgh for two shows today as Margot in Dial M for Murder.She’s on her way to the @thepublicpgh fo…AestheticsFrozen opens tonight. (All shows have…
Citing student objections to offensive content, Point Park University canceled its production of The Adding Machine: The Musical, which was scheduled to run Dec 6-15. The PPU Globe reports that during an emotional “town hall” meeting that included the cast and crew and more than enough members of the public to fill the Highmark Theater,…
Similar:Books Come Alive! Catalina Magdalena Cast (Stage Right Greensburg) The cast for “Catalina Mag…BooksIn-person classes heighten age-related hearing problems (opinion)My family tells me I’m starting to speak…AcademiaHanging with the rude mechanicals @setonhilluniversityA Midsummer Night’s Dream.CultureMy 13yo homeschooler had no idea how to open a little milk carton. I had to show her.CultureAnother chess tournament with…
Similar:No I didn’t exactly *plan* to spend my Sunday evening tweaking the pedestrian access to th…AestheticsIt not only went VROOM, it carried chunky plastic letters that could *spell* VROOM.Tonight, when I got home after all the e…AestheticsSummer Theater Camp Photos: "Patrice" in "13" My 11yo performed the part of “Patrice…Current_EventsPrepare to lower the personnel deployment…
Similar:And now that June’s almost over, it’s time to start prepping for the fall term. (Sigh.)PersonalStar Wars: The MusicalThe Walls are Closing In It’s all …DramaStage Right's 'Seussical' offers songs, messagesThe Tribune-Review does a great job cove…Current_EventsThe Psychology of Getting More Done In Less TimeSummary of not-so-new scholarship, but p…CultureCode? Not So MuchI teach…
Similar:Today's lunarbaboon… there might be something in my eye. Hey! Want me to take her f…AwesomeThe Duolingo owl is proud of me.PersonalShrek: The Musical (Nov 22-24; Stage Right! Greensburg)Come see me as the Captain of the Guard,…Current_EventsA #neovictorian #steampunk ship-of-the-line needs a dramatic flag and a conveniently locat…AestheticsThe Last Jedi: Oh, the Feels.No spoilers here.…
Sitting in a downtown sub shop. A half dozen 40yo dudes — boots & jeans & beards & tattoos — pile in, trash-talking each other. “I don’t wanna sit next to *that* retard!” says a guy in a knit cap. “You gotta pick your ‘tards!” I take a deep breath. Almost immediately, the dude with…
In November 1999, I was blogging about John’s Book Pages (by a CS grad student who had recently read Gene Wolfe and Anthony Bourdain, among many others) What camomile tea has in common with the attack squadron over Skylon 4 (rec.humor newsgroup reference to a disastrous “tandem story” assignment) “Nimoy is, to say the least,…
Corridors in science-fiction movies. I love them. I wasted too much of my childhood and youth imitating and developing the superb production sketches of Ron Cobb, Syd Mead, Ralph McQuarrie and many others. I walked round Elstree studios collecting precious vacuum-formed sections of cloud-city corridor from The Empire Strikes Back, some months after principal photography stopped.…