My son teaching chess to a young pupil

Similar:100 Word ChallengeIt is a weekly creative writing challeng…CultureUnderstanding Poetry INCIDENTAL COMICS: Understanding Poetr…CultureI worked in a video store for 25 years. Here’s what I learned as my industry died.If you’re actually in a video store, the…CultureBrother Stuck in the BathroomThe girl posted this story on Instagram …AmusingGoogle engineers mined the text adventure game "Zork"…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

Overwhelmed? Start a new to-do list with “1) Breathe; 2) Make ‘to-do’ list”

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…

Evita in Zelionople

Similar:Think Before You Tweet In the Wake of an AttackSobering analysis. Would I be able to fo…CultureSledding in Spring Break SnowMy wife suddenly decided I should be a G…Current_EventsJohn Speed’s 1611 map of #medievalyork features a “scale of paces.” My #unity3d placeholde…John Speed’s 1611 map of #medievalyork f…PersonalTwo Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chatbots Talk and Argue…

APNews.com Photo Still Says Sam Smith “declared his pronouns ‘they/them'” a Week Later

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…

Scarecrow, Tin Man, Dorothy, and the Cowardly Lion approach Emerald City in this still from The Wizard of Oz

The Hidden Subversive Messages of [MGM’s Screen Adaptation of] The Wizard of Oz

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,…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

In September 1999 I was blogging about Tom Stoppard, techno-utopianism, voice-recognition software, and Edgar Rice Burroughs

In September 1999, I was blogging about What makes a play worth seeing twice, according to Tom Stoppard The then-unrealistic expectations of voice-recognition software A critique of the “information wants to be free” mantra A Microsoft exec who predicted that digital publication would eclipse print publication within a decade How marketers are pushing your buttons…

Students say they prefer lectures, but “active learning” is more effective

A recent study measured differences in student learning, comparing the results of traditional lectures (where the students sit passively while the instructor connects all the dots for them) and active learning (where the students get guidance, but have to connect the dots themselves). Students gave lower ratings to instructors who made them think harder and…

Elementary, Dear Data (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 3) When a holodeck bet spawns a fictional threat, that’s a-cosplay

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. LaForge works on his model ship in main engineering (?) and invites Data to enjoy a Sherlock Holmes holodeck adventure. Sounds fun, but a slow start, with low stakes. We can forgive the director for spending a lot of time showing the characters reacting to…

The history of Tetris randomizers

A pleasantly detailed analysis of how the various editions of Tetris chose what piece was next. In 1985, Alexey Pajitnov and Vadim Gerasimov released Tetris to the public. This fun and highly addictive game challenged players to fit pieces together that were dealt in a random order. Since then, over 150 licensed versions of Tetris games have…

Yellow Journalism Did Not Cause the Spanish-American War (Role of Sensationalized Headlines Often Exaggerated)

When a correspondent sent to Cuba to cover a possible war telegraphed that there would be no war and he wanted to come home, Newspaper mogul Willam Randolph Hearst is said to have replied, “Please remain. You furnish the pictures, I’ll furnish the war.”   It’s a story I remember learning in middle school.  …

Your Brain on Shakespeare

Similar:Facebook’s push of “related articles” to users without checking credibility draws fireThe links under your friend’s post got y…CybercultureCarolyn portrays Maria in West Side Story, Aug 9-12. #ifeelpretty #tonight #somewhereAt the Geyer Peforming Arts Center in Sc…Aesthetics2001: A Space Odyssey – Discerning Themes through Score and ImageryIncredibly detailed close reading of the…AestheticsFlipped Classes: Omit Housekeeping…