Watching a National Guard helicopter lift off after an EMS display

Just spending an August evening with the boy. Similar:We were a Neilsen ratings family during the pandemicIn March 2020, just as the lockdown clos…BusinessI just looked up the context for the bald guy dropping the chili. I guess I was expecting something like…DesignParty Like a Jerz My dad just made us root beer floats.PersonalAt the chess…

Marching in a parade and watching a patriotic musical

Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans. “Saltpeter, John!!!” Similar:Woah there, online tech site. Let's not set that bar too high, now.I just saw the following clickbait for a…Current_EventsIn February, 2001, I was blogging about computer nostalgia, Napster, a horror typing game,…In February, 2001, I was blogging about …CybercultureOn the spiral staircase that leads from the top…

The Declaration of Independence (Dramatic Reading)

I rather enjoyed recording this oral interpretation of the Declaration of Independence for WAOB Audio Theatre. Similar:Has Academia Ruined Literary Criticism? “Professing Criticism” proceeds on the…AcademiaThe Hidden Signs That Can Reveal a Fake Photo Farid emphasises that forensic techniq…CybercultureAn afternoon with Ben Franklin. CultureSaturday morning cartoons are no moreI certainly have fond memories of Saturd…BusinessSee…

Solitaire Chess

Spent a relaxing evening in playing solitaire chess puzzles with the boy. Similar:If you like bloody, singing, punning demons you will love this show.If you like bloody, singing, punning dem…AmusingCommunities of Play: The Social Construction of Identity in Persistent Online Game WorldsI played the open-source version of Uru …CultureThings That Will Freak out Every OCD…

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:In June, 2002, I was blogging about… a female autistic scholars lament, Dr. Seuss, Ortho…In June, 2002, I was blogging about …AcademiaLotteries: America's $70…

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:When T.S. Eliot Invented the Hipster  Prufrock cannot bring himself to…CultureThe Decline and Fall of the English MajorThis essay is yet another reminder of ho…AcademiaA Note of Recognition for: Filmation's ''Star Trek'' AnimatorsEven if the animation of Star…

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…