Like all successful demagogues, Trump has a talent for identifying scapegoats. It is not hyperbole to say that he speaks of Latino immigrants in much the same way that European monsters once spoke of Jews. It is equally foolish, however, to look past a sign that all is not well in Trumpland and that the…
Similar:The Case for Breaking Up With Your ParentsI already felt fairly independent from m…AcademiaThoroughly enjoying Company.PersonalSo this is Pi DayMy wife says she bought the pies intendi…AmusingThe only snow alert you'll ever need.AmusingThe Last Jedi: Oh, the Feels.No spoilers here. (I managed to avoid al…MediaLiving Room PhysicsI’ve blogged before about my eight-year-…Education
Similar:My outward-bound editor's graduation cap.PersonalShe’s wearing a shirt with a frog. We are in town to see the Frog and Toad musical. This s…She’s wearing a shirt with a frog. We ar…AmusingThe daughter missed her graduation ceremony because she was performing in Kinetic Theatre'…The daughter missed her graduation cerem…AcademiaMy adorable daughter (Easter 2021) AestheticsHome Soil…
Similar:Folger Shakespeare Library on "The Fate of Ophelia"On my ride into work yesterday, my mothe…AcademiaThe coronavirus is today just as contagious and just as serious as it was when we were all…CultureThe choreographer daughter is doing a thing.The choreographer daughter is doing a th…PersonalTook the whole day off and spent part of it making #greebles…
Similar:The stair railings on my #blender3d #neovictorian #steampunk cruiser need some realigning….AestheticsVery interesting adaptation of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. #pptlaytime @thepublicpghCultureElmo? Yes, I do mind. I learned far more from Bert.Like plenty of people my age, I grew up …AestheticsThough I have marking and prep and committee work and paperwork to do, I took an…
The more you identify with a particular point of view, the harder it is to recognize the difference between facts and opinions, and the easier it becomes to accept as “fact” an opinion that aligns with and affirms your world view. This is not something that only the “Liberal Elite Media” or the “Deplorable Right”…
We learned that though a degree made a big difference in the success of an entrepreneur, the field it was in and the school that it was from were not significant factors. YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki, for instance, majored in history and literature; Slack founder Stewart Butterfield in English; Airbnb founder Brian Chesky in the…
The original was a stunning image, which has been used to criticize ICE’s policy of separating children from parents attempting to immigrate at the border — a policy which Trump says he dislikes. The animated version of the Time cover makes it clear that this is a composite picture, though of course the emotional power…
No fake news here. This is why journalism matters. It wasn’t the moral consequences of his own immigration crackdown that caused Trump to act — it was “the sight of” those consequences. What happens to those families after they have been detained for over 20 days remains to be seen. Very glad to hear that…
One bedtime about 11 years ago, my 5yo daughter did not want to go to bed, so she asked me to tell her a story. Not to read one from a book — but to make one up for her. She and her brother would often spend time on long car rides telling stories together.…
One of the benefits of working at Seton Hill is they provide me with a MacBook Air and an iPad. I turn them in every few years for an upgrade. The computer the kids use for gaming is a Mac Mini that I bought in 2011, with a virtual machine that runs Windows. It has served…
After 25 years as the editorial cartoonist for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I was fired on Thursday. I blame Donald Trump. Well, sort of. I should’ve seen it coming. When I had lunch with my new boss a few months ago, he informed me that the paper’s publisher believed that the editorial cartoonist was akin to…
John Stubbs reviews Stephen Grenblatt’s Tyrant: Shakespeare on Power The psychology and spectacle of villainy and the intoxicating nature of power clearly preoccupied Shakespeare. The grandeur, amoral freedom of action and sheer theatrical potential of tyrants must have moved and excited him. The case of a confirmed murderous dictator, after all, especially one with the…
“Parents normally set these rules to promote their children’s scholastic development and to make sure that they invest enough time in schoolwork. But that evidently can also backfire,” commented Hargittai. But why exactly? The study can’t say definitively, but I emailed Hargattai to see what hypotheses she might have. “One possibility would be that such…
A few years ago, I told myself I would start making a bigger deal about such things. It’s too easy to obsess over the students who don’t care, don’t like how I teach X, stopped submitting the assignments, didn’t apply my feedback, etc. I do wish I could get more students to feel grateful before…
My son and I saw “Won’t You Be Ny Neighbor” at a special showing in Greensburg (not far from Fred Rodgers’ hometown of Latrobe). My daughter performed PICT’s Jane Eyre in the Fred Rogers Studio at WQED (where part of the floor is still painted like the path in the Neighborhood of Make Believe. …
I tell this old newsroom tale to my students: An angry editor sees a cub reporter coming into work. “I sent you to cover a concert,” says the editor. “Why didn’t you file the story?” The cub reporter says, “The concert hall burned down.” Sometimes the story you set out to cover is not the…
Similar:In-home schooling popularity slipping across stateWe were on our way out the door to see A…CultureAnother #neovictorian control panel for a personal #steampunk project. #design #aesthetics…AestheticsConnecting with the BoyToday my son asked me to take him shoppi…CultureWhat’s My Cue? Let’s Talk Shakesepare with Andy Kirtland Virtural #BritsburghCultureThank you, anonymous person who left a container of…
Similar:Students in “A.I. and the Future of Literacy” are presenting now in Cecilian Hall. @setonh…PersonalFigured out how to configure my iPad as an external monitor for my laptop. Much more effic…CybercultureGeorge Joseph Jerz (1933-2023)George Joseph Jerz, born on September 3r…EmpathyOnly a Dad (Edgar Guest poem, read by Carolyn and Peter Jerz for WAOB Audio Theatre)Carolyn…
Similar:How exactly do bridges bridge? How do rivers rive? How much detail does my model of #medie…How exactly do bridges bridge? How do ri…AestheticsThe boy tied for second place in Saturday's Monroeville Chess Club tournament.Peter was the lowest-ranked player to en…GamesAt the Johnstown Flood Museum. (May 31 1889 the neglected dam at the South Fork…