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:Modular components to mix and match. The upper storeys are next. #blender3d #medievalyork …Modular components to mix and match. The…AestheticsThe girl got picked for an audience participation bit as the muse of comedy in Xanadu. Gre…CultureSiblings gotta sib.PersonalThat moment when you're logging into a table…
Similar:Kinetic Theatre's "Hound of the Baskervilles" was hilarious. Kinetic Theatre’s production was ful…BooksHow Not To Make Professional ContactsTowards the end of my year-long radio ne…AmusingExcited for Annette Vee’s visit. My journalism students have to submit a story by midnight…PersonalVote for Carolyn's Headshot — Round 2 Vote for Carolyn’s Headshot — Round…AestheticsA performance, two auditions and…
Similar:Bag a Bot DayAt midnight tonight, participants in the…Current_EventsI'm not showing you my email inbox, or my laundry pile, or the state of my soul. Just…PersonalPrime Stage Theatre to end 2018-2019 season with Shakespeare comedy Twelfth Night, May 3–1…2019 Pittsburgh Public Theater Shakespea…CultureA Successful Failure: The TI-99/4A Turns 40My family had one of these when…
Similar:The girl is the Dew Drop Fairy in @laurelballetperformingco The Nutcracker Saturday evenin…PersonalR Grammar Gaffes Ruining The Language? Maybe Not : NPRMatthew Gordon, a linguist at the Univer…Culture"If It's Not Baroque, Don't Fix It" Cogsworth Broadway Supercuthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx6t-pef…AmusingWest Side Story — 50 Years AgoWhen West Side Story opened on Broadway …CultureIn-person classes heighten age-related hearing problems…
Similar:"She even disgraces the name of Linton." –Heathcliff, on his simpering wife Isa… 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 …BooksUntil next term, I have zero more unmarked assignments. #fistpumpUntil next term, I have zero more unmark…AcademiaOh…
Similar:My 1951 day DuoLingo streak was fun, but… Ever since DuoLingo announced it…BusinessDuet (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 18) Kira is convinced an ailing Cardassian…Rewatching ST:DS9 Kira is convinced s…CultureSherlock Holmes and The Woman (WAOB Live Virtual Performance)I was happy to play Watson. The daughter…BooksI may or may not make a zapping sound under…
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:Frisbee is a brand name, but how newsworthy is that?What would you do? Today I wrote 192 …AcademiaCreated a new graphic for an existing handout on writing editorials.The “lead editorial” represents the offi…EmpathyWaiting for the house to open.…
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:When you hear your daughter the understudy is going on for a sold-out show. Live theater i… CultureCarolyn and her friend Travis on Twin Day at summer camp.PersonalThe girl's entrance as Marley's Ghost.PersonalFULL BLOOM (Aug 31-Sep 2)PersonalMeme alleging Trump said “Africans Are Lazy, Good at Sex, Theft” is a hoax I’ve seen this meme shared…
Similar:Reading a Classic American Play to My Daughter BooksAmazing birthday cake, created by Jane Eyre herself, Karen Baum. (Thank you @kaboom1250!)PersonalThat felt sooo good!PersonalHappy Easter 2016PersonalIt's Science! Carolyn Uses Anastasia's Lip Balm KitMy friend Anastasia gave me a home-made …AestheticsFinished Reading The Chronicles of PrydainWe could hardly stop reading just before…Books
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…