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:One Does Not Simply: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Internet MemesWhen we envisioned a journal of visual c…AcademiaNext up for the girl: Amy, the youngest sister, in Little Women: The Broadway Musical. Nov…PersonalHenry Bemis waited his whole life to finally read a book. Listen to Lynn Venable’s story,…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc3DHCiz…BooksCraiyon: The signing of the Declaration…
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:Elevator shaft on a #steampunk #blender3d cruiser, just because. #design #aesthetics #blen… Aesthetics14 Machines That Were…
Similar:From Shakespeare to Sondheim to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, everything you "dew�…PersonalSafety is a good thing.PersonalWestmoreland County Air Show 2012 (Photos)Traffic leaving the Arnold Palmer Region…AestheticsMoonBot (from the family steampunk bedtime RPG 2007-2013) vs. a crate and lamps.https://youtu.be/h2P2Ve-oZ1U AestheticsContagion (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 11)Picard faces aggressive Romulans and an …DesignAm I a Bad Father Because I…
Here’s a thought… nothing you can write can possibly encourage me to click through 40 separate chunks of text. Bye. Similar:The crying Honduran girl on the cover of Time was not separated from her mother, father sa…The original was a stunning image, which…Current_EventsBecause Internet: the new linguistics of informal EnglishI’m planning to begin my online…
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:How We Can Help Students Survive in an Age of Anxiety Today’s students have also lived…AcademiaPlay-Doh was Originally Wallpaper CleanerThe story of…
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:Meridian (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 3, Episode 8) Dax falls for a man…
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:My 11yo, of the opening chapters of a YA novel with an orphan heroineMy 11yo, of the opening chapters of a YA…BooksMy Anti-Linkbait Pledge: Cynical Overhyping vs. Simply Being OnlineWhen I find something interesting that a…CultureIs this Wonka's factory, or the presidential picnic @setonhilluniversity ? PersonalWrite instructions for busy grouches.Updating the graphic for a writing hando…AcademiaAnother…
Similar:Me, contemplating the implications of maybe doing a socialize this weekend.PersonalFanciful Fun in Theatre Factory’s “The Fantasticks”A great review from Pittsburgh in the Ro…CultureMy crazy Friday night involved tweaking the graphic for an #MLAstyle instructional web pag…AcademiaThoughtful Gestures Sometimes Speak Louder than WordsShe ended up waiting out the light cycle…AmusingThe Tribune-Review published a nice preview…
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:While at Sadecky's Puppets to record the role of Heidi, Carolyn met a new friend.We spent Sunday afternoon at the Sadecky…AestheticsThe Minecraft GenerationIt’s a world of trial and error and…
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…