During Fall Break, I filmed my scenes for the horror indie The First Night of Summer. My character is a cheesy dad who’s trying too hard to engage with his sullen teenager — played by my daughter. While coaching us on the set, director Mark Sciubba described the dynamic he was looking for, and asked…
I ſhall always treaſure the pleaſant ſurpriſe of ſeeing the “long s” while reading Epicoene, by Ben Jonſon. Similar:Plans for the Little Known Confederate HelicopterThe possibilities of combining Civil War…DesignVanessa Otero's Complex vs. Clickbait, Liberal vs. Conservative Media ChartUpdate, June 2020: See Vanessa Otero Ad …CultureA new study shows that students learn way more effectively…
Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. Riker accepts a temporary assignment as first officer of a Klingon vessel. “A Matter of Honor” offers a thoughtful, enjoyable dramatization of differences between Federation and Klingon culture, and a good B-plot in which Wesley helps a visiting officer adapt to routine operations on the Enterprise. It’s a nice touch…
Similar:The Feynman TechniqueTo master a topic, pretend you are teach…DesignAP Style: try to determine, and then respect, a source's preferences when it comes to…PersonalThe Shape of the World, According to Old Mapshttps://www.visualcapitalist.com/shape-o…AestheticsRemembering the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster (1986)Space Shuttle Challenger Destroyed (my …CultureAre Grading Trends Hurting Socially Awkward Kids? One might argue that the new…
Chants of “no justice, no peace” drifted from the hallway into the the 204th District Court, and then Botham Jean’s 18-year-old brother stepped up to the witness stand Wednesday. This was Brandt Jean’s chance to tell Guyger exactly what he thought of the former Dallas officer after she was sentenced to 10 years in prison…
Similar:My Review of the Charlottesville Tryout of "A Few Good Men" 30 Years AgoA librarian at the University of Virgini…CultureJournalists call out White House claims on terror reportingThe easily-disproved surface-level claim…CultureMy understanding of biased polls is… (choose one) AmusingDigital Storytelling: an Efficient and Engaging Learning ActivityA digital story is essentially any combi…CybercultureA familiar performer choreographed and…
Turns out, getting a STEM education may help you get a good job early but if you want a good career, you’re better off in liberal arts lane. In other words, even if you’re only measuring money, a liberal arts education is probably worth a ton more than most people may think. […] [B]y the time…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. Tension mounts between Captain Picard and Dr. Pulaski as the Enterprise encounters a rapid-aging disease. I rather liked how Picard, who just last week quoted part of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, is in his ready room reading a book when Troi reminds him he wanted to…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. In his final hours, an arrogant, crotchety cybernetics genius takes a liking to Data. After the genius dies, Data starts acting arrogant and crotchety. Hmm. This early in the run of TNG, we’ve already seen the trope of a brilliant, older professional man supported and…
Saving for the next time I teach “Intro to English Study.” It’s all well and good to sing “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” to the tune of “Hallelujah,” but why can’t you do it the other way around? For that matter, why does it work only when you limit yourself to the first two lines…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. A mediator who communicates via a telepathic chorus is a warring planet’s only hope for peace. While the episode isn’t perfect, nothing made me want to facepalm. I cared about Riva (the mediator) and his romantic (but at the same time respectful and professionally empathetic) interest…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. A pony-tailed pirate-shirt-wearing pile of charisma steps out of a Renaissance Festival sideshow onto the Enterprise for a silly low-stakes caper. Meanwhile, Data tries stand-up comedy. I cringed when the guest star put the moves on the pretty transporter technician (played by a before-she-was-famous Teri…
A librarian at the University of Virginia kindly scanned and emailed the review I wrote, as an undergraduate student journalist, of the pre-Broadway tryout of A Few Good Men, in September 1989. I was prepared to cringe, but I was actually kind of proud of the lead, which applies equally to the professional production now…
Similar:Frozen opens tonight. (All shows have been sold out for over a month.)DramaPeter vs. the PenguinsFor the past hour, Peter (who is not yet…Amusing"Why are you throwing out all the books?!"The short answer is because we’re about …AestheticsStudents who grew up with search engines might change STEM education foreverThe headline is oddly STEM-specific, but…CybercultureThe Offspring…
Felt momentarily overwhelmed by the day’s tasks. Made the following list: 1) Breathe. 2) Make “to do” list. 3) Post blog entry about “to do” list. 4) Go to lunch. 5) Prioritize to-do list. (Break up the intimidating tasks into smaller steps.) 6) Do first important item on list. (Repeat as necessary.) I’m…
Similar:I’ve roughed out earthen embankments for the city walls. I know there was at some point a …I’ve roughed out earthen embankments for…CultureAttending the Texture Contemporary Ballet.Personal#MyNYPD Hashtag Promptly HijackedSomeone is regretting this PR move. …Current_EventsSocial Media Companies Aren’t Liberal or Conservative. They’re capitalist.Facebook cares more about scalability—th…BusinessA Grave Tale (a short story I narrated…
Image description: A teen girl in a spring dress, with her hair up. Text: “You’re so beautiful,” I told my daughter. She rolled her eyes. I asked her what I should say instead. She thought a bit. “You should say, ‘You shall prevail.’” “You shall prevail,” I said. She smiled. Similar:This winter I changed my…
The Associated Press was widely criticized by readers for publishing a story last week under the headline “Sam Smith announces his pronouns are ‘they’ and ‘them’”. The body of the story also used male pronouns, in passages like “He added that he was ‘very nervous’ about the announcement because he cares to much about what…
When I tried teaching The Wizard of Oz in a literature class, I was a little frustrated with myself that I couldn’t bring the class discussion much farther than “how this book is different from the movie” and lists of one-to-one symbolism (“the yellow brick road represents the gold standard,” or ‘the scarecrow represents agriculture,…
Fantastic performances, powerful writing. 30 years ago when this play had its pre-Broadway tryout at the University of Virginia, I wrote a review for the University Journal. (I just sent an email to the U.Va. library in the hopes of tracking down that review.) Director Marya Sea Kaminski, who consistently introduces herself as someone who…