Cheerful scene from @pictclassictheatre Jane Eyre (getting great reviews; 11 more performances)

Similar:Opening night of Sive.PersonalMy #AugustWilson #Steampunk NightmareToday is my last official day teaching a…AcademiaFall 2017 Grades Submitted. No professional tasks until Tuesday. Bliss!PersonalFacebook, Now You Remind Me of a Half-Drunk Cocktail Party SchmoozerLast week, Facebook asked me what sports…BusinessFallout Monopoly with the boy. PersonalModular components to mix and match. The upper storeys are next. #blender3d #medievalyork …Modular…

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

Similar:'Dream' casting a family affairAmong actors in Cabaret Theatre’s upcomi…CultureDelighted, amused, touched, and quite frankly weirded out (so… many… puppets…) by @t…PersonalEnjoying a visit with an Austrian imperial commander (ahistorically but magnificently pres…Enjoying a visit with an Austrian imperi…PersonalYour first test layout of medieval city streets will be your worst. #blender3d #medievalyo…Your first test layout…

After my conference talk, a post-audition, pre-Jane-Eyre-performance dinner with the girl.

Similar:On set. #indiefilm #historicaldrama #creativity #enjoylifePersonalJoust @setonhilluniversity discussion of summer book #readyplayeronePersonalThat’s water under the bridge! Crowds of NPCs charge across, sweeping the player along. G…That’s water under the bridge! Crowds of…AestheticsI made some progress.PersonalScratch 3.0 beta is available. Try out the text-to-speech blocks!PersonalMore modular low-poly background buildings. I’ll do some more facades then move…

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

Similar:Very interesting adaptation of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. #pptlaytime @thepublicpghCultureThe Classic Typewriter Page Frequently Asked QuestionsHow can I get rid of That Old Typewriter…AestheticsGoogling Is for Old People. That’s a Problem for Google.When I ask my students to use the librar…AcademiaPresidential RhetoricCultureI love a little courtyard. I think I’ve made enough #blender3d buildings for now.…

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:“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks he’s…

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

Similar:When You've Already Got a Major, But You Love Books (Seton Hill English) When committee work is fun… making…AcademiaThey both reached for the gun.PersonalBag a Bot DayAt midnight tonight, participants in the…Current_EventsAnother corner building. Designed and textured. Needs an interior. #blender3d #design #ae…Another corner building. Designed and te…AestheticsIf you win the very first time you…

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:A Brazilian couple bought a deforested ranch and spent decades planting over 2 million tre…A Brazilian couple bought a deforested r…Personal"Chores" — Clip from Snow White: The Musical (Stage Right Greensburg, Sept 2012)Here’s what it sounded like at our first…CultureShe was nervous about the…

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

Similar:The dress we ordered for the “girl next door” role in The Fantasticks… vs the dress that…AestheticsMore household props for a #blender3d #steampunk project. I had made the spice rack and utensi…AestheticsWhy scientists should care about artMy artsy daughter loves stories about sc…ArtLovely #greebles give attractive details to the the flat surfaces of this little…

Brand new chairs for PICT draw applause.

Similar:Sibling Affection and Paternal Abstraction as Drawn By a Six-Year-Old; or, Aren't My Daugh…My six-year-old daughter is a very visua…AmusingA Christmas Carol — new audio adaptationBooksI try to create one brand new element, modify one existing element, and reuse existing ele…AestheticsOops. I’m going to bed now. I’ll fix it tomorrow.Oops. I’m going to bed now.…

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

Similar:Tom Wayman's FAQ on "Did I Miss Anything?"I’ve long been a fan of Tom Wayman’s poe…AcademiaWould YOU trade a Hank Aaron rookie card for a Roberto Clemente… for her? Full Bloom (Au… In Suzanne Bradbeer’s play FULL BLOO…ArtSpring 2025 Final Grades Submitted!AcademiaEnjoyed watching "Queen of Katwe" (Ugandan girl chess prodigy movie)I enjoyed watching this chess-themed…

Easter collage 2018.

Similar:In November 1999, I was blogging about books, camomile tea and Skylon 4, the death of Star…In November 1999, I was blogging about …CybercultureIn July 1999, I was blogging about Dante's ashes, Apollo 11, gender-neutral language, and …In July, 1999, I was blogging about: …CultureWhen it comes to the truth, point of view really does…