“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Very glad I got my son interested in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now he wants to read the book.

Similar:Colossal Cave: The Board Game by Arthur O'DwyerThe kids and I enjoy nerdy board games. …Culture“Waiting for Life” (Once on This Island)https://youtu.be/NeoVD3prQWYPersonal"No, no, the drink, the drink,–O my dear Hamlet,– The drink, the drink! I am poison…PersonalDate a girl who reads.I earned a +8 or +9 spousal bonus when I…AmusingJaw-dropping moments of insight and humanity.…

Starting my “Writing about Literature” class by having students react to a John Donne sonnet.

Similar:Stage Right Nation goes Into the Woods at Saint Vincent Summer Theater. Great job Renata, …Stage Right Nation goes Into the Woods a…PersonalIt's Science! Carolyn Uses Anastasia's Lip Balm KitMy friend Anastasia gave me a home-made …AestheticsSiblings gotta sib.PersonalFrozen opens tonight. (All shows have been sold out for over a month.)DramaThe girl's modern dance choreography…

Picture of an actor posing as Shakespeare.

The case for puns as the most elevated display of wit

Geary admits that he often makes pun in his head—but he mostly keeps them to himself. He can’t explain why the wordplay’s not appreciated. “In poetry, words rhyme; in puns, ideas rhyme,” he writes. “This is the ultimate test of wittiness, keeping your balance even when you’re of two minds. To Geary, puns represent wisdom. …

West Side Story Maria Montage

Similar:Under my academic robes… photographer vest with 3 frozen ice packs. #heatwave #HonorsCon…PersonalIt's Friday night in July, and I'm jamming with my fall course preps.The dean sends me an email at 9:07pm. In…AcademiaI voice the role of Electron Jones in this audio detective series. The first episode was r…Making this illustration in Blender3D wa…PersonalAnother delightful…

Carolyn as Maria in West Side Story

Similar:Pushing and pulling vertices. Components that fit together perfectly when I model them in …AestheticsKitchen utensils for my steampunk villain's hideout. #Blender3D. There’s nothing particularly steampu…AestheticsLast weekend I roughed out shapes to represent buildings, in order to provide some sense o…Last weekend I roughed out shapes to rep…PersonalIf I don't design the control panels for…

FULL BLOOM (Aug 31-Sep 2)

Similar:Hamlet!PersonalTook the whole day off and spent part of it making #greebles with #Blender3D because reaso…AestheticsMore #Blender3D practice. Making many objects to liven up a #steampunk environment.PersonalMore modular low-poly background buildings. I’ll do some more facades then move to the nex…More modular low-poly background buildin…AestheticsThe girl sank her brother's last ship with the homophonous cry…

Student journalist experiences the ‘trickle down’ of hostility toward the press

My own students haven’t described encounters like this, but I have encountered students who enter the classroom with the idea that there is a fairly consistent, uniform, organized entity called “the media” that it’s fashionable to distrust. It’s fair to point to specific news stories that got specific facts wrong or that showed bias, but…

College Seniors Confident about Their Work Ethic, Written & Oral Skills; Employers Disagree

According to the NACE 2018 Job Outlook, college seniors are very confident about their professionalism, work ethic, and writing skills. Employers are not so happy with those skills among the applicants they see. The biggest divide was around students’ professionalism and work ethic. Almost 90 percent of seniors thought they were competent in that area, but only…

C.S. Lewis: “On the Reading of Old Books”

Gearing up for teaching a new “American Lit 1776-Present” course. I’ll be at the office, sitting at my desk all day, wearing long pants instead of shorts. Not a screw gun or a stage platform or a digital camera within reach. This essay offers some well-phrased arguments for reading classic literature. Nothing strikes me more…

Overheard: “This is the best show I’ve ever seen at the Geyer” and “Who IS that girl playing Maria?”

Gasps from the audience, shouts of “No!” during a climactic scene. The woman two seats from me sobbing into her hands. Overheard: “This is the best show I’ve ever seen at the Geyer” and “Who IS that girl playing Maria?” Similar:Ex-Pope Benedict says the Selfish Gene is science fiction. He's half rightThe Selfish Gene is…

West Side Story (One-Minute Preview)

From Mrs. Lovett two weeks ago to Maria this weekend, I am so proud of this girl. Support the arts in your community! West Side Story #tonight #GeyerPAC A post shared by Dennis G. Jerz (@dennis.jerz) on Aug 9, 2018 at 8:21am PDT Similar:Children of the Holocaust return to Auschwitz and pay tribute to those…

Iconic ‘West Side Story’ still resonates today

Carolyn Jerz of Greensburg will be playing Maria opposite Logan Williams of Pittsburgh as Tony in the production. She describes her character as a playful, naive teenage girl who just wants to take part in life. “She has just moved to New York City from Puerto Rico and is attending her first school dance with…

Here's how Maria amuses herself on the ride home from dress rehearsal. #WestSideStory

Similar:Opening night. Support local artists in your community!PersonalImaginary vs Real Office SpaceHere’s a fantasy workspace, that I built…AcademiaFamily outing to the Pittsburgh National AviaryPersonalRepresenting the Humanities at Accepted Students Day.Representing the Humanities at Accepted …PersonalThe Icarus Factor (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 14)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…PersonalPut up the Hoop Sooner: 10 lessons of…

Christopher Robin made for a pleasant family outing.

Similar:Another section of a #steampunk control panel. Useful for a cutaway shot after a character…AestheticsStar Wars, Star Trek And V Author Ann Crispin Passes AwayAs a high school student, I wrote a fan …BooksCarnegie Science Center: Roboworld (and a bit of SportsWorks)Here’s a brief video, made up of clips I…CultureA snifter of brandy helps a…

This weekend! GeyerPAC.com

Similar:Misaligned interior and exterior portholes. Bulkheads from the deck below visible above th… AestheticsCarolyn's performance as Ariel #bardinbloom @ThePublicPGHSo good to see her preforming live on st…CultureThe daughter missed her graduation ceremony because she was performing in Kinetic Theatre'…The daughter missed her graduation cerem…AcademiaFanciful Fun in Theatre Factory’s “The Fantasticks”A great review from Pittsburgh in…

A day may come when the strength of the girl fails and she must make more than one trip to bring in the groceries, BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY!!!

Similar:Out for a walk during some downtime. Paused to appreciate this beautiful city of #Pittsbur…Out for a walk during some downtime. Pau…PersonalI just finished recalibrating the port scanner station and lookout post. If you need help … AestheticsLecturing is So Much Easier than Leading a DiscussionLecturing is So Much Easier than Leading…AcademiaI baked about 12…

Picture of the Pevensie children arriving in Narnia, from the 2005 movie.

Why the British Tell Better Children’s Stories

If Harry Potter and Huckleberry Finn were each to represent British versus American children’s literature, a curious dynamic would emerge: In a literary duel for the hearts and minds of children, one is a wizard-in-training at a boarding school in the Scottish Highlands, while the other is a barefoot boy drifting down the Mississippi, beset…

She feels pretty at the dress rehearsal (opens Thursday)

On the ride home, in the middle of a spirited story about something that happened backstage during the run, the girl stops, stares into space, and says, “Line.” Similar:Quantum's King Lear at Carrie Blast FurnaceThe girl and I were thrilled to catch Qu…CultureYou can be a Trek fan without loving TOS. But if we think…

Is this stripe appearing or disappearing? FULL BLOOM (Aug 30 to Sep 2)

Similar:Cat-sitting. Hello, Blue.PersonalThe Xplor Store: The Forgotten Carnegie Science Center Exhibit? (Guest Post by Leigh Jerz…The other day, my wife suggested a Carne…BooksIt appears there may be some audience participation in this outdoor production of Richard …PersonalHappy Father’s Day One of my favorite pictures of my fa…Current_EventsMy precious is fifteen. PersonalOverflow seating for the 50th anniversary…

I am slightly ahead of the boy. Rare.

Similar:Making progress.PersonalIt's Science! Carolyn Uses Anastasia's Lip Balm KitMy friend Anastasia gave me a home-made …AestheticsAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk #neovictorian control panel. Not the end product. Just prac…AestheticsThe Miller of the Dee; by James Baldwin; read by Dennis JerzI showed up at the recording studio for …AestheticsMy English major skills crushed the girl…