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:Live theater. August Wilson's Jitney, in the back yard of the August Wilson House.PersonalBusy with Midterm GradesPosted midterm grades for the most labor…AcademiaFinal grades are due tomorrow. My Fall 2020 is almost over. I survived.Final grades are due tomorrow. My only u…AcademiaMy mom’s Lionel train…
Similar:My meme about the distracted boyfriend memeAmusingJournalists are vital to the health of a free nation. #firstamendnent #freepressPersonalBrother Stuck in the BathroomThe girl posted this story on Instagram …AmusingA Christmas Carol — new audio adaptationBooks5 Fun Ways to Help Your Kids Learn Math OnlineMy son has finally found a math textbook…CybercultureWe were a Neilsen…
Similar:Another 10sq cm section of a #neovictorian control panel for a personal #blender3D #steamp…AestheticsSnape is not amused at this year's Hogwarts Feast.PersonalI’ve finally started to create female uniforms for the #neovictorian fantasy #steampunk æt…PersonalSeeing the premiere of a play based on the life of a Holocaust survivor who ended up as a …PersonalIn the Hands…
Similar:Carolyn Jerz featured on Tap Titans TodayI love watching my daughter perform. Her…AestheticsHere’s How the Pandemic Finally EndsThis is the end of the coronavirus pande…CultureWhat a fluke (great headline; great story)AmusingBeautifying the exterior of the fantasy cruiser from the bedtime stories I used to tell my…PersonalInnovative journalism: A game about the rising sea, a podcast…
Similar:My mother has taught me so much. I'm delighted I get to sit in her living room and te…PersonalOn the way to the theater for the show! Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd.PersonalRandom eye candy for props in my #Blender3D #retrotech project. Turned two circle logos in…PersonalEnjoying a visit with an Austrian imperial commander (ahistorically but…
Similar:Summer project: learning the Unity gaming engine.One bedtime about 11 years ago, my 5yo d…PersonalA stranger took this photo of my parents doing their daily crossword together in a cafe.A stranger took this photo of my parents…CultureMy son showed me Seven Samurai. I had never seen it before. Amazing!I’m going to have to watch this…
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:Dragging Myself to a New Skill Level with Blender 3DWorking on some very complex stuff in Bl…AestheticsCompleted uniforms for the officers and crew from the #neovictorian #steampunk bedtime sto… Right now I can move the player aroun…AestheticsI wish…
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:NOT a scene from The Miracle Worker.PersonalQ Who? (ST: TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 16)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaAnother random background control panel for a #blender3d #steampunk project. I wish all us…AestheticsWrite instructions for busy grouches.Updating the graphic for a writing hando…AcademiaThat should be the top "Under 800" prize, but the plaque has an…
Similar:Checking out of @frontporchtheatricals Grand Hotel. What an experience!My brother had already planned to visit …AestheticsA few Dwarven Moments in Stage Right's Snow WhiteThe dwarf scenes were a real hoot. …DramaGo not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.PersonalOn Death and iPods: A RequiemI never owned a classic iPod,…
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…