I am not a fan of TV news, and in fact only watch a full broadcast once every two years, in order to prep for a particular unit in my intro to journalism class. In truth, I am going to have to redesign that unit, because most of my students aren’t in the habit of…
Today’s students have also lived most of their lives in the shadow of a systemic financial collapse. Some of us can still remember the extent to which the worldview of our parents or grandparents was shaped by having grown up during the Great Depression. While the Great Recession was objectively not as severe, it has…
I used to print a lot. I have enough tote bags. I found more stuff for my box of once-loved tools. It felt so good throwing away all the papers having to do with that one thing. If spiders had to crawl into one box and die, I can forgive them for choosing that other…
Similar:Lecturing is So Much Easier than Leading a DiscussionLecturing is So Much Easier than Leading…AcademiaYeah natural born creative genius is a cool myth, but have you tried grinding through hour…PersonalThough I have marking and prep and committee work and paperwork to do, I took an hour befo…PersonalAnother sold-out Midsummer Thursday night. PersonalLooking forward to this! @thepublicpghLooking…
Similar:Earth With RingsSure, Saturn’s rings are cool, but the E…AestheticsThe Penance of Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, by Edwin Austin Abbey.This painting was inspired by the scene …AestheticsWest Side Story (One-Minute Preview)From Mrs. Lovett two weeks ago to Maria …AestheticsWould YOU trade a Hank Aaron rookie card for a Roberto Clemente… for her? Full Bloom (Au……
Similar:The Importance of PunctuationFrom Yahoo! News: Update: T…GamesAn overnight traffic spike on an older online handout prompted me to touch it up. #techwri… Those are the stats for my entir…AcademiaAmbiguous language in journalism: Monkey Pox and Camel Privates Amazing lead: A veterinarian prescr…AmusingMake your case stronger – argue against yourselfAcademic argument depends on being…
Similar:We were a Neilsen ratings family during the pandemicIn March 2020, just as the lockdown clos…BusinessThe boy plays chess with his uncle before seeing The Fantasticks.PersonalMask up.PersonalLighting really makes a difference! A glimpse into the captain's ready room, off the offic… AestheticsThe Drowsy Chaperone @setonhilluniversityPersonalHollow Pursuits (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 21) Misfit Crewmember…
While cleaning out my desk at home I added to the big box of “tools I used to use all the time and now hang onto them for sentimental reasons.” The brass lantern is a memento I keep in my office, not a tool I used to use all the time; nevertheless, I thought it…
During a February press conference in London, where Murray was promoting “The Monuments Men,” he said: “I thought, ‘Well there’s a girl who doesn’t have a whole lot of prospects, but the sun’s coming up anyway and she’s got another chance at it.’ So I think that gave me some sort of feeling that I too am…
Similar:Creative People Say NoWhen I was a master’s student working as…AcademiaFDR in AnnieI’ve accepted the role of FDR in the upc…CultureUgh. Unmarked items waiting for me as I start to recover from an illness.PersonalHere for the daughter.AcademiaImagine a world…PersonalAs a student journo, naturally I covered the visit from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry…I recall just…
The paucity of reporters has triggered an invisible power shift toward elected officials. A Pew Research Center study of Baltimore showed an increase in local stories based on press releases from elected officials. The trends in journalism exacerbate the divide between the coasts and the rest of the country. In 2014, almost 1 out of 5 U.S. reporters…
Similar:Anonymous comment cards from student journalists at the end of the second week. These folks are amazing! It’s such a…AcademiaQ Who? (ST: TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 16)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaThe daughter is performing now Twin Lakes Park.The daughter is performing now Twin Lake…PersonalDance of "the awkward nerd trying to act really cool"…
“I bought a Kindle. I didn’t immediately go home and burn all my other books. I didn’t stop buying paper books. I read both and no one came knocking at my door. It’s a boring story, I know. I’m thinking of adding in a talking pig and a plot to destroy Lady Elaine from Mr.…
Similar:I played hooky from work to see Wild Robot with my familyI played hooky to go see Wild Robot this…AestheticsThe chief engineer of a fantasy #steampunk flagship needs a small booth for shift change r…AestheticsThere’s Something Off About LED BulbsWhen I’m stressed, or I feel life is spi…AestheticsOverheard: "This is the best show I've ever…
Jane Eyre is not a two-person show, and the smallish cast must take on double duty at least, filling a wide variety of roles in this production. Besides the previously mentioned [Paige] Borak, multipurpose players Jill Keating and Carolyn Jerz must be singled out- Keating takes on three different variations of the “matronly, unpleasant Victorian lady”…
Similar:After lights out, the girl is knitting.PersonalPreview of "The Fantasticks" (thanks, Tribune-Review, for covering the arts community)For Luisa, Jerz’s character, “the world …CultureI apologize for this one. R2-D2 stars in Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical CATS.PersonalThe Fantasticks (Oct 18-27)PersonalIn a literature class, the author's words matter more than the author's life and times, or… Updating the…
Similar:Out of the Zuckersphere, (back) into the BlogosphereThis is why I still blog. While commerci…AcademiaGender and Language — Revisiting Advice I Posted in 1998When I was in college and active in a Ca…CultureThe Best Way to Start an Academic PaperBoth of the following writing samples de…AcademiaHow to spot video and photo fakes as Russia invades…
Rereading “Writing to Learn,” William Zinsser’s 1988 book about helping students overcome the fear of writing. That’s how I remember the book, but it’s also about hacking the act of teaching so that we don’t inadvertently convey the notion that students who make mistakes during the writing are doing something wrong. I spend a lot…
Just in case someone out there could use it, here’s a powerful comic that emphasizes the power of sympathy (written by J. Michael Straczynski, creator of my second favorite TV show). No sunshine and rainbows, no victim-blaming, no finger-pointing — just humane compassion. (Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.) Superman on…
Students have already done a 400-word speech, a 400-word manuscript, and a 400-word typescript. I asked them to make multiple copies of their books. They wrote, cut, pasted, photocopied, folded, and bound. Our classroom today smelled cheerfully of glue. Up next: A “Futuretext” (whatever that means). Similar:High School Poems in a College Writing WorkshopPoems that…