Reader, I ushered him. @pictclassictheatre

Similar:Charlie Brown has his kite-eating tree. I have my keys-eating chair. #foundthem PersonalFriday night. What am I doing? #partylikeaprofAcademiaOkay, freshly downloaded app…Okay, freshly downloaded app, If you are…CybercultureI dunno what to call this but it really hit the spot.PersonalLining up for Honors Convocation 2016. #setonhillAcademiaMy 13yo homeschooler had no idea how to open a little milk carton.…

The crisis in local journalism has become a crisis of democracy

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…

The boy is visiting the Prohibition exhibit @HistoryCenter while I continue at NeMLA.

Similar:Random #steampunk workstation with a porthole, because why not. Most of the surfaces are f…AestheticsGetting in the Christmas spirit.PersonalAt the Stage Right Gala.PersonalLighting really makes a difference! A glimpse into the captain's ready room, off the offic… AestheticsThe Physics Behind Traffic JamsIn between today’s various events, I das…CultureTin Man (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode…

Presenting at #NEMLA session 8.1 Friday. “Hacking English: Examining a multimedia sandbox ‘creative critical project’ as an approach to literature.”

Similar:We are cruel. We always have been. The Internet did not make us soWe didn’t start the flame war. Scandalou…CultureJournalism is doing just fine, thanks — it’s mass-media business models that are ailingHmm… I warn my freshmen not to use the…BusinessVulcan mind-melds from Star Trek: The Original Series, in the order that I can think…

Rereading “Writing to Learn”

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…

Superman Comic about Sympathy and Hope

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…

Chapbooks — the latest assignment in my “History and Future of the Book” class.

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:Two More Chances to See Prime Stage's Twelfth NightThe…

Amazing birthday cake, created by Jane Eyre herself, Karen Baum. (Thank you @kaboom1250!)

Similar:Nerd-buddies”He likes Lord of the Rings, Star Wars *…BooksMore modeling in #blender3d. Very happy with reflections and lighting. (The teacup is a po…DesignEpic Game of Thrones pun battle. Carolyn Jerz Vs. Greg KerestanHere is the transcript the girl provided…AmusingSibling Affection and Paternal Abstraction as Drawn By a Six-Year-Old; or, Aren't My Daugh…My six-year-old daughter is…

What About “The Breakfast Club”?

I made three movies with John Hughes; when they were released, they made enough of a cultural impact to land me on the cover of Time magazine and to get Hughes hailed as a genius. His critical reputation has only grown since he died, in 2009, at the age of fifty-nine. Hughes’s films play constantly on television and are even taught in schools. There is still so much that I love in them, but lately I have felt the need to examine the role that these movies have played in our cultural life: where they came from, and what they might mean now. When my daughter proposed watching “The Breakfast Club” together, I had hesitated, not knowing how she would react: if she would understand the film or if she would even like it. I worried that she would find aspects of it troubling, but I hadn’t anticipated that it would ultimately be most troubling to me. -Molly Ringwald, New Yorker

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Carolyn!

The girl spent her birthday weekend opening a show and auditioning. Similar:More rehearsing. More dancing. PersonalMy daughter found where all the missing pens and pencils end upAmusingThey've got magic to do. Carolyn is the Leading Player. (Pippin, Oct 21-29) AwesomeLaying out our anti-socialization defenses & cleaning out the penitence shack for anot…Visiting Fort Ligonier. When the…

Pictures from opening night of @pictclassictheatre Jane Eyre. (Show runs through the rest of the month.)

Similar:Elsa at noon. College “Intro to Chemistry” in the afternoon. Amy March at night.PersonalOn the upside, no fake news is currently being shared on Facebook. Can't think of a do…PersonalStage Right spreads the gospel of music with 'Godspell'The Tribune-Review is very dependable in…Current_EventsCompleted uniforms for the officers and crew from the #neovictorian #steampunk bedtime sto……

Brand new chairs for PICT draw applause.

Similar:Thoughtful Gestures Sometimes Speak Louder than WordsShe ended up waiting out the light cycle…AmusingScrooge Is My BrotherMy daughter delivered the opening “Marle…CultureThe girl will be performing as the Dew Drop Fairy in the Dec 8 evening performance of The …AestheticsThe Penance of Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, by Edwin Austin Abbey.This painting was inspired by the…

PICT's production of Jane Eyre has its first preview tonight.

Similar:First they came… #kristallnacht @nccheshuFirst they came… #kristallnacht @ncchesh…PersonalAnother delightful section of #steampunk control panel, for a personal #blender3d project….AestheticsThat felt sooo good!PersonalFaces the girl makes during her Luisa monologue. (Four more chances to see The Fantasticks…AestheticsAdvising incoming majors.AcademiaMaking sidewalks to go with the buildings. Tedious but will save time later. #blender3d #m…Personal