No spoilers here. (I managed to avoid all spoilers, and hadn’t even seen the trailer. I did see still pics of porgs, though, and I knew the name of the character the StarWars Bros were hating on, so thank you to everyone who did their part to keep the secrets.) No intellectual critical distance for…
In the bird-flight simulator at the Pittsburgh Aviary, the girl twists and turns, careening around buildings, dive-bombing alleyways, and comes to a perfect landing in the middle of the street just as her timer runs out. The boy immediately heads up to clear the buildings, then flies toward the horizon to see how far he…
Pope Francis recently addressed Italian journalists: Your voice, free and responsible, is fundamental for the growth of any society that wishes to be called democratic, so that the continuous exchange of ideas and a profitable debate based on real and correctly reported data can be guaranteed. In our time, often dominated by the anxiety of…
If you were this person’s attorney, you’d probably want this social media blurb phrased a little differently. The headline attached to the story is clearer. Yes, the social media blurb is shorter, but I’d rather cut the “Twp” and make room for the unambiguous “and.” Derry man accused of assaulting female witness and attorney jailed…
Right now, I’m teaching “American Lit 1915-Present” for the last time. It’s the companion course to “American Lit 1800-1915,” which I’ll also never teach again. They are required courses for English majors who need to cover American Lit, but they were also designed to serve as electives. My colleagues and I have trouble covering the depth that we know our English majors need, without overwhelming students who are just looking to sample a bit of AmLit to fulfill a course requirement. So we’ve revamped both these courses, starting next fall. One new course will be “American Lit 1776-Present,” which will obviously cover fewer works than we can fit into 2 terms, but the benefit is we can be confident that any student who’s taken the course will have a clearer understanding of the scope of American literature. Another new course will be “Topics in American Literature,” which will allow us to go into some depth, without needing to cover a little bit of everything. I’m thinking of picking the focus “Literature and Government,” which could include “Rip Van Winkle,” All the King’s Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Invisible Man (Ellison, not H.G. Wells) and Farhenheit 451.
“If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press… And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started.” — Republican Senator John McCain, in a Feb 2017 interview on…
The euphoria of getting my grades in Friday was short-lived. Similar:Put up the Hoop Sooner: 10 lessons of parenting from one wise guy who's done doing the dad…Earlier today, we dropped our daughter o…AcademiaThe Child (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 1)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureThe girl’s first day on set filming for “The First…
Similar:Looking forward to what looks like an exciting evening of dance.PersonalReport to the bridge so the captain can assess your virtual upholstery skills. #blender3d …AestheticsNext up for the girl: Cherry in "The Outsiders" (March 6-15)BooksShall we dance? The girl tries on her ball gown for The King and I. Her featured show is …DanceI…
Similar:My Shakespeare students are off peer reviewing their term paper rough drafts. I’m official…AcademiaAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsThat should be the top "Under 800" prize, but the plaque has an extra zero. #chessPeter spent the day at a chess tournamen…GamesI just realized I've been misspelling and mispronouncing "detritus" all my…
Similar:Rebooting “Rossum’s Universal Robots” for the 21st century“It is over three hours long, and it is …CultureLook what I found on my shelf in a closet. #history #archaeology #media Look what I found on my shelf in a cl…PersonalThe problem I just learned about calls for tea in the big mug.CultureContext matters. Trump called MS-13…
Similar:Replica of George Washington’s field camp. @fortligonierReplica of George Washington’s field cam…PersonalThey still need work but we have 2 weeks before classes start, so I feel pretty good.They still need work but we have 2 weeks…PersonalMore bits of my summer project – another delightful span of a #neovictorian #steampunk con…AestheticsWhy Doesn’t Ancient Fiction Talk About…
Similar:My kids are in a tree. How's your Friday?PersonalStar Trek Beyond was an enjoyable nerdy family outing.PersonalI'm nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." I’m nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used …BooksAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk #neovictorian control panel. Not the end product.…
This clever freshman writing student created a project in Texture, which is designed for branching narratives (such as the Choose Your Own Adventure stories). In the next few screens, he put up nodes showing older and more recent writing samples, asked me to choose which one showed the better writing technique, and gave me feedback…
Peter looks forward to his Wednesday evening visits to the Monroeville Chess club. (Last one until mid-January.) Similar:Unmarked papers today. How it started, how it's going.PersonalA merry look at journalism in the classic "The Year without a Santa Claus"PersonalUshering The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. @prime_stagePersonalNature walks 2012 and 2018.AestheticsIt’s so heartbreaking seeing the…
I haven’t taught a developmental course at SHU, but when I teach freshman writing, I often encounter students who struggle with the transition from high school to college writing. Those who were praised all their lives as good writers can tell good personal stories, and they can deploy accurate summaries of non-controversial, “correct” facts. I give…
Saturday, Donald Trump tweeted that he knew Flynn lied, and that’s why he “had to fire” him. Critics immediately raised concerns, noting that if Trump did in fact know Flynn had lied, then Trump’s request that FBI Director James Comey “let this go” amounts to an obstruction of justice. Sunday, Trump’s lawyer John Dowd told…
Pop quiz for public relations 101. Scenario 1: You run a wildly popular app that incorporates video with a live host. You learn that a reporter is writing a personality profile of your host. Do you offer some cheerful quotes and then make a note to get your host to sign a new contract that handles…
Similar:Merry Christmas 2019PersonalHaven (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 10) When a low-stakes rom-com shows Troi's beau and …Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaMore delightful #steampunk control panels. These are computationally efficient bitmap rect…PersonalCarolyn is in PICT Classic Theatre adaptation of Oliver Twist (opened Sat night, runs thro…[Artistic Director Alan] Stanford had no…BooksThe Case for Breaking…
Similar:Spring 2024 Grades: SubmittedSpring 2024 Grades: SubmittedPersonalIt was Mrs. White with the revolver in the ballroom. #winning GamesLysistrata live.Current_EventsA Christmas Carol — new audio adaptationBooksMy Memories of "Joseph…" [an original cast member reflects on Rice/Webber/Waring's amazi…My high school Drama coach and freshman …DramaLook at the adorable little tape casette. Adventure International / Scott Adams Inc.…
During the original run of Star Trek: The Next Generation, my college roommate and I invited our friends over to our duplex for Star Trek parties. Our local TV station ran the show at midnight Sunday, which was a terrible time, but we sometimes had 30 people over. Though we kept in touch virtually, I…