Independence of the press: the “essential ingredient of liberty” (Alexis de Tocqueville)

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Heart of Glory (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 20)

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. In “Heart of Glory,” we get our first real exploration of Worf’s backstory, as the Enterprise-D rescues some Klingons who can’t convincingly explain what they were doing on a battle-scarred freighter. It’s a good Worf story, and the guest stars are sufficiently elegiac, sympathetic, and…

Me Checking into My #4C19 Conference Hotel Room

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Reading a Classic American Play to My Daughter

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Coming of Age (TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 18)

Rewatching ST:TNG A character-heavy episode, full of familiar tropes that add up to little. Starfleet seems much darker than we’ve ever seen it before, in two parallel storylines that intersect only thematically. Wesley, who we know full well isn’t leaving the show, applies to Starfleet Academy, and a grumpy admiral friend of Picard brings aboard…

Controversial Content in YA Literature: A College Professor and Homeschooling Parent Answers an Aspiring Teen Writer’s Questions

I received this comment on my blog: [F]or my Senior Project I am writing a young adult short novel. I found the article on your blog, “Short Story Tips: 10 Ways to Improve Your Creative Writing,” very helpful. However, I was wondering if you had any opinions on the boundaries of what is appropriate content…

Home Soil (TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 17)

The concept was good, and the production values were decent (I really liked the main lab on the planet); however, it starts out as a murder mystery and spends some time developing the human suspects, only to drop them abruptly when the “microbrain” starts growing, so this episode ends up lopsided and disappointing. I did like Troi’s speech: “We see and hear you now. We didn’t know you were there. You are beautiful to us. All life is beautiful.” Yes, it’s corny enough that I couldn’t help but think of the reformed Sour Kangaroo at the end of Seussical. But it captures one of the enduring appeals of Star Trek — it lets us envision what it would be like to be part of a society where idealism and selflessness and intellectual curiosity is mainstream culture.

Greensburg student wins Shakespeare contest

A Greensburg student did the Bard proud, winning her category in a Shakespearean competition with more than 1,000 Pittsburgh-area competitors. Carolyn Jerz, a homeschooled student, won best monologue in the 8-12 grade division for her performance as the Duke of York from Shakespeare’s play “King Henry VI, Part 3” —Tribune-Review Similar:TSA Agent ConfessionIt was May…

The Girl Wins the Upper Division Monologue in the 25th Annual Pittsburgh Public Theatre’s Shakespeare Contest

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The U.S. government and Facebook are negotiating a record, multibillion-dollar fine for the company’s privacy lapses

Are you still relying on Facebook to filter your news for you? Zuckerberg will probably apologize — yet again — and then keep on Zucking. The Federal Trade Commission and Facebook are negotiating over a multi-billion dollar fine that would settle the agency’s investigation into the social media giant’s privacy practices, according to two people familiar…