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…
I have always taken a neutral stance in my journalism classes, modeling the objective nature of reporting the news “without fear or favor.” I shall continue to uphold reporting designed to publish objective truth, and criticize and expose exaggeration, rumor, wishful thinking, and outright lies presented in the guise of truth. Â This fall, I…
When a Facebook friend asked for tips on teaching a large class, I inventoried what I’ve learned about the flipped classroom. For the classes I teach on a regular basis, sometimes online and sometimes in-person, I’ve had many opportunities to develop stand-alone resources that I reuse. For example, I’ve recorded some stand-alone audio lectures on…
Journalist Sam Husseini, who had been holding a sign that said “Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty,” was forcibly removed from the Trump/Putin press briefing in Helsinki today.
10 points to CNN’s Oliver Darcy for working both “when asked about” and “this reporter” into a news story that was not written by a supporting character in a 1940s gangster flick. When asked by this reporter how the company could claim it was serious about tackling the problem of misinformation online while simultaneously allowing…
Similar:Crabby 9yo Constructs a Head-mounted Frump-amplification Isolation CubeMy 9yo was ordered not to leave the kitc…DesignHello, Dolly! (Apr 27, 28 & 29, Palace Theater, Greensburg)”65 kids from 15 different schools- comi…CultureGo not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.PersonalIn June, 2002, I was blogging about… a female autistic scholars…
Similar:Journalists report what sources say and do. They can't report what sources think, believe …Empathy"A Story Before Bed" Publisher Seems to be Scraping and Republishing My Blog Content on "L…According to preterite, Looks like your…BooksJournalists: The "Enemy of the American People"; Also, an "Accountability" PollI seem to be educating future enemies of…Current_EventsMore #Blender3D practice. Making…
In my lit and writing classes, I regularly encounter STEM students who are frustrated because I won’t deliver a lecture that tells them “what the poem means” and then give them points for spitting back the “correct answer.” Likewise, when I teach a math unit in my journalism class, I regularly encounter word-oriented students who…
I don’t click on headlines that use words like “might be” or “possibly.” Journalists are not in the business of reporting what might happen. Neither do they repeat rumors. A thing is not necessarily true just because a source — such as the neighborhood busybody, a crook caught red-handed, a prankster, or the President of the…
At the Carnegie Museum of Art. Similar:My Dad Is a Right-Wing Asshole (Village Voice)A closed-minded liberal writing a letter…CultureEquus. Powerful theatre.PersonalIf you like to play with words, good newsI wish there were a secret day between F…CultureDarwin Was Wrong: Your Facial Expressions Do Not Reveal Your EmotionsIn real life, people express a given emo…CultureTSA Agent…
This painting was inspired by the scene from Henry VI Part 2 that Carolyn used for her Shakespeare monologue last year. Similar:The daughter is home from London.PersonalOne of my students is demonstrating the perceived value of brand-name vs no-name products…. PersonalThere are many Star Wars references in Dani Girl, so I made this tribute to Tom…
Journalism matters. Educated citizens who understand and appreciate the role of the free press in a democracy are a threat to authoritarian figures who benefit by sowing mistrust. It’s perfectly reasonable to point out errors and bias in specific news stories. (News organizations love reporting about when their competitors get a story wrong, and journalists…
This is how the President of the United States spends a day when flags are flying at half mast to honor journalists murdered by a white male citizen with a legally purchased shotgun. Similar:Ideal Homeschool Summer Day: Studying Latin, Justifying Nilla Wafers, and Making a Duct Ta…Today, I managed to get in a couple of…
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Nick Anderson reflects on the recent firing of former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff cartoonist Rob Rogers. Getting a string of cartoons killed is generally not a good harbinger of things to come, and going public with it is a risky gambit. But, there is absolutely no reason to be an editorial cartoonist if…
At the Geyer Peforming Arts Center in Scottdale, Aug 9-12. Similar:1949 NBC Radio Adaptation of Orwell's 1984Long before the Apple ad, and Michael Ra…CultureMeet the guys who tape Trump's papers back togetherI tell this old newsroom tale to my stud…CultureFind yourself someone who makes you plomeek soup like Nurse Chapel makes for Spock.PersonalDo you get…
For my summer project, teaching myself the Unity Game Engine, I’m updating the texture atlas I created for control consoles for the flagship of the steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell my kids. My designs are now a lot less blocky and more visually interesting. When I showed the girl, she was impressed. Then…
Similar:Today's second 10sq cm of #steampunk control panel. Love those letter flip tiles. Maybe I'…AestheticsPop Culture Showdown with My Retro DaughterThe girl tried to weird me out with a vi…AestheticsMy colleague @crissycp once again left an amazing Irish soda bread in the break room. (Yes…AwesomeTime Squared (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 13)Rewatching Star Trek: The…