Watching a National Guard helicopter lift off after an EMS display

Just spending an August evening with the boy. Similar:Respect the Text: Teaching Textual Primacy to Non-English MajorsIn the past, I have used the first day o…AcademiaAm I a Bad Father Because I Let My Daughter Eat M&Ms in Her Mashed Potatoes?[poll id=”2″] AestheticsMy mother-in-law invited me to try out the 60- year-old tape machine that…

Marching in a parade and watching a patriotic musical

Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans. “Saltpeter, John!!!” Similar:At the Johnstown Flood Museum. (May 31 1889 the neglected dam at the South Fork Fishing an…At the Johnstown Flood Museum. (May 31 1…CultureFacebook founder Mark Zuckerberg strides past fettered drones at Mobile World Conference. I’d like to think that all these peopl…BusinessNetworks cut away from Trump’s White…

The Declaration of Independence (Dramatic Reading)

I rather enjoyed recording this oral interpretation of the Declaration of Independence for WAOB Audio Theatre. Similar:COVID-19 Cases (Useful Breakdown by Country, State, Population) A few interesting bits I found interes…Current_EventsMy Journalism Students Covering Flight 93 Memorial CeremonyFour reporters from the Setonian (Seton …AcademiaTake a moment to appreciate these good COVID-19 statisticsMay 1, my state…

Solitaire Chess

Spent a relaxing evening in playing solitaire chess puzzles with the boy. Similar:Sad Doggy Says: People Who Confuse Correlation and Causation Are More Likely to Accept Sch…Somehow I don’t expect to find this stor…AcademiaThoughtful PopCult Analysis of 'Peanuts' Deserves Better than a Clickbaity Headline Hating…On a shelf in the slanty room under the …CulturePrime Stage…

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:Beautiful. No Data / Lore opposition required. AestheticsEnjoying some sibling nerdtime with Lego The Hobbit.GamesCanon Australia video: 1 man; 6 backstories; 6 photographers; 6…

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:The Sentence That Knocked Down the Berlin Wall (But Almost Didn’t)Words that defined Ronald Reagan’s presi…CultureShrek Image Mashup (Musical Theatre Promo)Hey, Tony. See this photo of Shrek? H…AestheticsThe Case for Slow Journalism: When to Unplug from the Endless…

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…