Watching a National Guard helicopter lift off after an EMS display

Just spending an August evening with the boy. Similar:Evita in Zelionople CultureMore #blender3d #steampunk #design. #blender3dart #aesthetics The officers’ conference roo…AestheticsSherlock Holmes and The Woman (WAOB Live Virtual Performance)I was happy to play Watson. The daughter…BooksOne of the benefits of teaching at a small college, with small classes…In a final reflection video for a freshm…AcademiaAscending…

Marching in a parade and watching a patriotic musical

Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans. “Saltpeter, John!!!” Similar:Galaxy’s Child (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 16) LaForge meets the enginee… Rewatching ST:TNG LaForge is surprise…EthicsHomeschool prom 2017PersonalI know stuff must be important to people who don't spend their evenings generating 1400-wo…In my defense, I broke that long email d…AcademiaWhy are we so bored?On average we…

The Declaration of Independence (Dramatic Reading)

I rather enjoyed recording this oral interpretation of the Declaration of Independence for WAOB Audio Theatre. Similar:My meme about the distracted boyfriend memeAmusingIn December 2001 I was blogging aboutIn December 2001, I was blogging about …AmusingUVA administrator awarded $3M in Rolling Stone caseJurors awarded a University of Virginia …AcademiaI'm not a big fan of Disney's…

Solitaire Chess

Spent a relaxing evening in playing solitaire chess puzzles with the boy. Similar:5 Fun Ways to Help Your Kids Learn Math OnlineMy son has finally found a math textbook…CybercultureFormer NFL receiver Antwaan Randle El regrets ever playing football“There’s no correcting it. There’s no he…BusinessI think they mean typeface conference, but "Font Conference" is still amusing.I…

Unity3D Maze Game Tutorial

Workspace for an in-progress Unity3D tutorial. Installing the Unity Hub. (Unity.com documentation) Tutorial Assets <- Download, unzip Place in [YourUnityProject]/Assets Video Tutorials: Unity3D Game Spaces for Beginners (#CWCON 2019 #e11)   Similar:Edward Gorey illustrates H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, 1960 Edward Gorey illustrates H. G. Wells’s…AestheticsI’m still teaching journalism and my usual…

Back in the MLA

As the humanities decline in the United States, the country is losing the craft of understanding, losing its capacity for citizenship. Even educated people are increasingly unable and unwilling to distinguish between fake and real information, becoming a community that cannot understand itself as anything more than a circulation of figures. Self-righteousness takes the place…

The Righteous Mind

I just finished “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion,” a very accessible mainstream (non-academic) book by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Takeaways: Our rational minds are to our emotional/instinctual selves like riders on an elephant. When the elephant leans even slightly to one side, the riders look in that direction…

Skin of Evil (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 23)

My rewatch reflection on the Star Trek:TNG episode “Skin of Evil,” in which the crew encounters a malignant oil slick. Some good character moments with Worf and Yar, and some good solo acting from Marina Sirtis as Troi psychoanalyzes a disembodied voice. While I appreciate the Roddenberrian argument against playing along with a power-mad enemy’s sick games, dramatizing a that philosophical concept is not enough to carry a full episode. If you’re a fan the final holodeck send-off scene is worth watching but overall it’s a weak episode.

The Crucible, Geyer PAC (Scottdale, May 16-19)

My wife is directing Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Opening night is tonight. Geyer Performing Arts Center.   Similar:Teacher suspended after pro-Trump yearbook photos alteredFree speech is valuable. It’s dangerous …CultureThe Forsaken (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 17) Lwaxana Troi and the station c…Rewatching ST:DS9 Bashir is hosting t…CultureMariah Carey meets William Carlos Williams AmusingBook…

Laughter and Light Abound in Prime Stage’s “Twelfth Night”

Kudos to Prime Stage for a Twelfth Night that truly sings. Stage director Andy Kirtland has created a lovely adaptation of Shakespeare’s 1601 comedy. A vibrant intimacy connects the players and audience, supporting a wonderful production that’s superbly enjoyable for both those who know this play and for anyone experiencing Shakespeare for the first time. Kirtland transports an ensemble…