Arsenal of Freedom (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 21)

With an A-plot that comments on the Cold War arms race, a B-plot that tests LaForge’s command skills, and a C-plot that explores the Picard/Crusher dynamic, I wanted to like this episode more than I did. Yar wisely observes that it’s kind of pointless for the landing party to strategize against a system that has already wiped out all the intelligent life on a planet, yet the characters still peek through the bushes at the wobbly floating plastic menace, and leap out of the way of its space-zapper ray gun blasts, because TV.

Industriousness. Self-improvement. Thrift. And orange slime.

The girl amusing herself on our 70m commute to rehearsal, as we listen to the LibriVox “Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.” Similar:Stop Using 'Poet Voice'This article analyzes (and skewers) that…AestheticsAP Style: try to determine, and then respect, a source's preferences when it comes to…PersonalWhat's in this old box from the student newspaper office? Why, it's a…

Prime Stage Theatre to end 2018-2019 season with Shakespeare comedy Twelfth Night, May 3–12 at the New Hazlett Theater

2019 Pittsburgh Public Theater Shakespeare Monologue winner Carolyn Jerz of Greensburg cast as Viola (PITTSBURGH, PA – March 20, 2019) Prime Stage Theatre, a Pittsburgh theater organization that presents professionally produced plays based on works of classic and contemporary works of literature, will commence its 23rd consecutive season on a humorous note with one of…

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

Similar:How children lost the right to roam in four generations –How children lost the right to roa…CultureThe quest to save today’s gaming history from being lost forever “If you want to know how the game was pl…CybercultureStop trying to figure out if screentime is good for studentsPro-technology response to the NYT “No C…AcademiaThe Case Against High-School…

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

I’ll just mark a few more papers before heading out for a bucket of ice. Similar:Death to high school English”There’s such an emphasis on keeping stu…AcademiaSledding in Spring Break SnowMy wife suddenly decided I should be a G…Current_EventsBecause Internet: the new linguistics of informal EnglishI’m planning to begin my online Shakespe…CultureThe Ensigns of Command (ST:TNG…

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.