From Buzzfeed: Sitting before the Stars and Stripes, another flag pinned to his lapel, former president Barack Obama appears to be delivering an important message about fake news — but something seems slightly…off. Similar:Symbiosis (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 22)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureThe Six Things That Make Stories Go Viral Will Amaze,…
The girl tried to weird me out with a video of the Latvian “blblblblbl ah ah” guy. I retaliated with Devo’s “Whip It” and Max Headroom, then finished her off with “Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance.” Similar:Jack Rollins-Frosty the Snowman I voiced Jack Rollins, writer …HistoryStunning writing in this WaPost reflection…
In “Datalore,” an encounter with Data’s more human-like “brother” showcases Brent Spiner’s acting talents and the optical FX crew’s mad split-screen skillz. While I enjoyed the plot twists and character bits as they happened, as a work of science fiction this episode offers little beyond popcorn “evil twin” fare.
The opening captain’s log lampshades an unprompted, random visit to Data’s home planet. The “Data practice sneezing” scene is silly, but the character development subtly allies Data’s desire to be human with Wesley’s desire to be respected by adults. The scene also accustoms us to the idea that Picard uses Wesley to deliver in-person messages, which kinda sorta helps explain why in this episode Wesley ends up where he needs to be to witness just enough to suspect Lore, but not enough to prove anything to the dumb-as-a-fencepost adults.
Similar:Ignorance Meets an Invisible DisabilityI’m sure my young, healthy-looking frien…CultureLego-Building Tween Refers to "The Hobbit" TextMy daughter, having just received a hand…AestheticsHappy Easter 2022PersonalI am very happy for these folks, who spent 20 or so years tweaking an insanely complex, co… AwesomeThe daughter is in “Very Berry Dead,” a new play which opens this Friday…
My 20yo son, who plays a lot of Star Wars battle simulations, was very taken with the music and story. I had read about this game when it came out, so some plot points were spoiled for me, but I still teared up at the end. You can find it for a very reasonable price…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The first of (far too) many “trapped on the holodeck” episodes. Exhausted while preparing for a high-stakes diplomatic ritual, Picard takes a break in a virtual-reality simulation of a 1940s detective novel. I remembered enjoying Brent Spiner’s portrayal of Data adapting to the noir setting,…
Sometimes people get the name of my school wrong. On a whim, I searched Google for “dennis jerz seton hall” and found a recent letter to the editor that referenced one of my handouts: Verify or Duck: Good Journalists Confirm Details They Didn’t Witness Dennis Jerz of Seton Hall University writes “Good journalists confirm details they…
Similar:Here I am sketching spaceships like I’m 12 again. I feel like re-reading the novelization …AestheticsHow Not To Make Professional ContactsTowards the end of my year-long radio ne…AmusingThe Cosmic Brownie fairy has visited my office. Is “brownie fairy” redundant? Thank you an…PersonalThe truth hits Thorvald. Loved PPT PlayTime’s online presentation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s Hous…PersonalAP…
Similar:Faculty assembling in launch tube beneath Salvitti Gym. #classof2017 @setonhilluniversityPersonalAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsWho left these on my office door? *fake cough sounds like “Betsy”*PersonalMany things in the world are awful right now but my latest section of a #neovictorian them…AestheticsAmazing show. Young lovers, a witty (but often stupid) servant,…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. This low-stakes, character-driven rom-com pulled off everything it set out to do — fill out the romantic backstory between Riker and Troi, showcase Patrick Stewart’s comic timing, and set up an apparently unrelated B plot as the surprise resolution to the A plot. In her…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The powerful, unpredictable Q conjures a Napoleonic scenario from Picard’s mind and takes the rest of the bridge crew there, leaving Picard on the Enterprise. Memorable not for the fuzzy-faced toy soldiers that get way too much screen time, but for a Shakespeare quote battle…
Similar:In September, 2000, I was blogging about PICK UP AX, Bellamy's Looking Backward, WB Yeats,…In September 2000, I was blogging about …BusinessA pie slice from the ring surrounding the ballroom, from the #steampunk bedtime stories I …AestheticsA LiDAR map reveals #medievalyork fortifications that Speed captured in his stylized but s…PersonalBag a Bot DayAt midnight tonight,…
Similar:Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom do the dishes.CultureAdam Bard shaves off half his hair and beard on opposite sides for unique driving licence …Something I might want to do one day, be…AestheticsOn the upside, no fake news is currently being shared on Facebook. Can't think of a…
Similar:Random eye candy for props in my #Blender3D #retrotech project. Turned two circle logos in…PersonalYes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…Personal“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Very glad I got my son interested in 2001: …PersonalSteampunk officer uniforms — test #Blender3D #Unity3Dhttps://youtu.be/SDh4TW8ujNg The vide…AestheticsMy brother, in…
A Ferengi set on revenge tricks Picard into lowering the Enterprise’s shields and unceremoniously beams him into space.
Uh, no, actually the Ferengi plan involves finding a derelict starship Picard abandoned nine years ago and slipping a beach-ball sized “thought maker” into his personal effects, so that when he stops by his old cabin and gets a headache he can’t finish packing, so his uninspected trunk is brought to his quarters on the Enterprise, where opening the lid tips over a bucket, causing a marble to flip a little man into a tub, in which Picard re-enacts the Battle of Maxia and triggers the jittery vengeful descent of a little plastic cage.
She ended up waiting out the light cycle directly in front of me. When I looked straight ahead I was looking at her profile. With an innocent expression she continued to pretend not to notice she had cut me off, but I guess guilt or curiosity got the better of her, and she glanced to her left. I was ready.
In which Wesley commits a crime on the Legalistic Planet of Blond Joggers. (Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break.) We get right into the story by having an away team return to the bridge and briefly report on their first contact with the Edo, a peaceful people who seem to spend…
Similar:Sunny but cool. Great day for a long walk with my son.PersonalDon't call it "social distancing" or you just might get a polite correction from the admin…AcademiaWall display by the talented Jess Lohr, interpreting an infographic by Norton (textbook pu…PersonalBetween static hand-coded HTML pages and modern content-management systems, there used to …When I started my…
I had a complex model that I created in Blender 2.79, and imported (with some tweaking) successfully to Unity 2018 a few months ago. When I switched to Blender 2.8 and Unity 2018.2, I found big problems with my model. Blender 2.8b tells me that all the normals are exactly what I expect — the…
Do you have a regular news-consumption routine? Facebook doesn’t want you to leave Facebook, so it’s algorithm favors posts that will keep you on Facebook, rather than links that will send you elsewhere. I listen to a 5-minute podcast from NPR News Now about once a day, usually while I am doing my morning exercises.…