They weren’t the most newsworthy part of Trump’s Florida rally yesterday, but I’m just taking a moment to acknowledge a journalist who is using muted language, in keeping with the charge of journalists to report objectively. It’s perfectly neutral to place, deep in the body of the article, a note about the president’s claim that…
Similar:The Course of True Fun Never Did Run Smooth: A Midsummer Night's Dwarf Fortress ReflectionI am in rehearsals to play Oberon in a c…CultureI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingGetting there.Getting there.PersonalReally enjoyed watching Your Name with the family. Visuals hooked me, but the story…
16yo Carolyn Jerz performs “A Little Priest” with 14yo Ben Federico. A video clip can capture only part of the magic created by a huge, committed cast, live musicians, and an attentive audience. (Support the arts in your community!) Similar:The Cosmic Brownie fairy has visited my office. Is “brownie fairy” redundant? Thank you an…PersonalNerd-buddies”He likes…
Similar:Very interesting adaptation of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. #pptlaytime @thepublicpghCultureAmazing birthday cake, created by Jane Eyre herself, Karen Baum. (Thank you @kaboom1250!)PersonalThe daughter opens another show. This weekend only.The daughter opens another show. This we…PersonalMy 10yo Launches a Soda Bottle Rocket http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbNu8…Aesthetics"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania."PersonalA Few Good Men at the Pittsburgh Public TheatreFantastic…
Here’s a thought… nothing you can write can possibly encourage me to click through 40 separate chunks of text. Bye. Similar:“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks he’s going to procure an entire library in the midd…“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks h…AcademiaSmith College Protesters Bar Journalists From Covering Sit-In Unless They…
Sometimes my students get nervous because I ask them to learn writing by, you know, writing. For some other subjects, it makes sense to ease students into the work, having them memorize facts to recall for points on multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank quizzes. But writers gotta write. That means taking risks, and occasionally stumbling. In a…
After I read Mark Sample’s blog post “What about Blogging Keeps Me from Blogging,” I tried to post a comment lamenting that I miss blog comments. I ran into these fun problems. Similar:Voiceover artist Gayanne Potter urging ScotRail to remove her voice from new AI announceme…When I was working in radio news in the…
Words apparently spoken by the President of the United States. If you trust the news organization that reported what he said. But the President has no reason to mislead the public. He loves the public probably more than anybody. Believe me. Similar:Unscheduled Disasters in Journalism: Learn to DealIn school, we expect our professors to…
Verrit, like Snopes, Politifact, and a host of other fact-checking sites, reflect fundamental misunderstandings about how information circulates online, what function political information plays in social contexts, and how and why people change their political opinions. Fact-checking is in many ways a response to the rapidly changing norms and practices of journalism, news gathering, and…
Helping my students understand how my role as a college literature teacher differs from the role of a high school English teacher is a sometimes daunting task. Preparing students for a standardized reading test is completely unlike teaching them about a work of classic literature. In an English class addressing The Great Gatsby, depending on student ability…
In my freshman writing class, my job is to teach students how to write a researched essay. I encourage students to pick topics that interest them, but I warn them that if they go into their project already convinced that one answer is correct (that euthanasia should/should not be legal, that abortion is murder/healthcare, that…
Similar:Completed uniforms for the officers and crew from the #neovictorian #steampunk bedtime sto… Right now I can move the player aroun…AestheticsLittle Women (Thurs-Sun)PersonalLast day filming for “The First Night of Summer”PersonalJerz and Daughter Teach Scratch (Digital Storytelling Tutorial)In the past I have posted tutorials for …CybercultureIs this stripe appearing or disappearing? FULL BLOOM (Aug 30…
Similar:Enjoying a visit to the Carnegie Science Center with my son. Mars exhibit is immersive an…PersonalThe Rivals #PPTPlaytimeA great production of a delightful play.CultureIf Wishes Were Horses (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 16) Hallucinations become…Rewatching ST:DS9 Quark tries to inte…CultureWe'll Always Have Paris (TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 24)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaIf…
On this date in 1999, I first dated an entry in the collection of web links I had been curating since at least that January. Similar:Brand new chairs for PICT draw applause.PersonalThe Life and Times of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯But, in addition to symbolizing despair,…CybercultureYesterday we took advantage of a rare free day.At the Carnegie Museum of Art.…
Above is my response to a meme that makes some shaky assumptions about the purpose of an English classroom. Exploring the intent of the author is a huge part of the English discipline, but it’s far from the only way to study (or teach) literature. Author intent, new historicism, reader-response, structuralism… the list goes on.…
I can sympathize with the sentiment, but the top part of this meme (the white text on black background) is not how I’d frame the situation. My take (which I’ve added underneath the original) is that when two sources disagree, assuming that one must be right and the other must be wrong is a form…
This fascinating essay, by the grandchild of a Nigerian slave trader, explores a complex cultural legacy. At least as provocative as “Did Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson Love Each Other?” and the stunning, bitter “Molasses to Rum (to Slaves)” from the otherwise cheery musical 1776. African intellectuals tend to blame the West for the slave…
My wife Leigh received a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant towards producing the small-cast drama Full Bloom. She’s found a good space and found the right cast, and so we’re doing the whole crazy “Hey, let’s put on a show” thing again! If you’re within shouting distance, and you think the arts should matter…
This is why journalism matters: The Atlantic offers a good overview of the confusing fact that the official transcripts published by the White House and the Russian government don’t match the video. Compare this transcript, of what actually happened, to the White House’s version. Here is the record of what took place, starting with the…
We’re all still reeling from Trump’s statement yesterday that he “didn’t see any reason why it would be” true that Russia had meddled with the US election. Standing there next to Putin, he publicly rejected the positions of multiple US intelligence authorities. Today, in the face of blistering criticism from foes and friends alike, including…