Watching a National Guard helicopter lift off after an EMS display

Just spending an August evening with the boy. Similar:Do you get your news mostly from social media? I check NPR, Drudge, and news.google.com.Do you have a regular news-consumption r…CultureBad Doggy — practicing "Tomorrow" with a human Sandyhttp://www.youtube.com/v/718e4XsNvGY …AmusingAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsWhy I Rarely Blog about My Home Building ProjectsWe’re…

Marching in a parade and watching a patriotic musical

Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans. “Saltpeter, John!!!” Similar:The Ship #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 2) Sisko defends his claim to salvage a…Rewatching ST:DS9 The Ship On a mine…DramaStar Wars' Original, Scum-Caked BrillianceThe B-movie shoddiness of actors and aes…AestheticsSportsWorks Adventure at the Carnegie Science CenterI confess that I have never been all tha…CultureStunning picture of…

The Declaration of Independence (Dramatic Reading)

I rather enjoyed recording this oral interpretation of the Declaration of Independence for WAOB Audio Theatre. Similar:Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers: Four MovesThe confirmation bias describes the very…AcademiaLatest on Napster(See also: Digital Hollywood- No Resolut…Current_EventsKorean News Station Pokes Fun at KTVU with Fake American Pilot Names After Southwest Airli…This is certainly a joke, but it’s…

Solitaire Chess

Spent a relaxing evening in playing solitaire chess puzzles with the boy. Similar:National Headline Contest 2011Great headlines from winner David Bowman…AestheticsEducated, uplifted, boosted, and fed. Block party celebrating August Wilson continues thro…CultureMixed ReceptionThis activity is set in a research group…AcademiaTips to Improve HappinessKing says many simple and effective tech…CultureWhat happened when I showed vintage Mister…

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:My View: What will you do with an English degree? PlentyI just found my first reading assignment…AcademiaQ Who? (ST: TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode…

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:Educators approve national campaign to halt high stakes, “toxic tests”Not a news item, but an announcement fro…CultureWhen Perception Trumps Reality: Republicans aren't nearly as rich as Democrats estimate. D…Democrats wildly over-estimate the perce…AcademiaMoving from Debate to EmpathyIn my…

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…