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:Sherlock Holmes and The Woman (daughter and I rehearsing for a live recording Friday after…CultureMy daughter who sometimes does things will be singing & swinging August 16 – 25 with @fron…My daughter who sometimes does things wi…CultureUgh. Unmarked items waiting for me as I start to recover from an illness.PersonalAttending Religious Perspectives on the War…
Similar:Brothers (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 3) Awkward Android Family ReunionRewatching ST:TNG after taking a break f…MediaSarek (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 23) Aging with Dignity and Vulcan Min…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….CultureCarolyn as Luciana in the PPT Shakespeare Summer Intensive DramaHow Poetry Helps You Improve Your WritingWhile I’d rather see a reminder…
Similar:Crazy-looking keyboards that never caught on As the typewriter become popular, it w…AestheticsGrading the MOOC UniversityThe MOOC classrooms are growing at Big B…AcademiaMelissa Terras Reports Her Success in Making Digital Humanities More InclusiveA pleasant little success story. “TEI” i…Academiaxkcd: Headlines It: nailed. xkcd: Headlines.AmusingProfessor teaches class of 300 students from his phone while trapped in…
Similar:Behind the bar in the officers' pub, from the #steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell my…AestheticsEvery day on my fantasy #neovictorian interplanetary cruiser features glowing green ether … In the backstory for the interactive…AestheticsMe waiting for students to drop by during office hours. AcademiaAn important day to remember.Never again.PersonalCharlie Brown has his kite-eating tree.…
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:Portraits of my 11yo: Pretty, Goofy, and Pretty GoofyAmusingBook geyser. My latest #Blender3D practice.In a peaceful grassy setting, a geyser o…AestheticsNerd-buddies”He likes Lord of the Rings, Star Wars *…BooksYou can be a Trek fan without loving TOS. But if we think tolerance and empathy are good t…I was born in 1968 and grew up with…
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:Who's ready for some free outdoor Hamlet?PersonalFancy a game of whist with your nemesis? The prospect of ruin adds piquancy to the pleasur…PersonalI apologize for this one. R2-D2 stars in Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical CATS.PersonalStudent journalists assemble! The Setonian club fair table is looking spiffy.PersonalA selfie with a Chekov action figure after learning of Anton…
“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:On the Virtues of a Dadsplained Literary ChildhoodThe last book I read to her was Wutherin…BooksThe Miller of the Dee; by James Baldwin; read by Dennis JerzI showed up at the recording studio for …AestheticsRhythm of the Dance (Irish dance, song, and music touring show)My family thoroughly enjoyed this perfor…AestheticsCaptain Gearheart inspects progress on his…
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:Visiting my parents. Admiring their original Hallmark Enterprise Christmas ornament. I ask…AmusingMy students were awesome. So many thoughtful final projects. So much growth. A stressful, …PersonalThe only snow alert you'll ever need.AmusingYesterday my stack of unmarked assignments was about 120, so this is not bad.Nothing in this stack is pressing, but t…AcademiaFirst Day in the…
Similar:Why You Should Blog to Get Your Next Job It’s your resume, only better: E…BusinessThe Portable Writing desk — the Victorian laptopFocusing on the materiality of writing, …AestheticsThe Importance of Writing Skills in Tech-Related FieldsGood writing skills are valuable, even i…AcademiaRepublican National Convention: Scrutiny of Melania Trump’s speech follows plagiarism alle…As a college English teacher, I…
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:The only snow alert you'll ever need.AmusingChess tournament in…