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:Had a blast watching all the amazing entries in Pittsburgh's 48 Hour Film Festival, b…PersonalMy Shakespeare students are off peer reviewing their term paper rough drafts. I’m official…AcademiaGraduation procession #classof2017Personal8 (Short Halloween film by Josh Reardon)My daughter and I appear in this short f…AestheticsAs a…
Similar:When it comes to the truth, point of view really does matter.You may have seen a version of this meme…DesignHappily masked in center row C. (The daughter is dance captain.)DramaBeautiful day for a walk.PersonalSmalltalk through masks is hard; I really was glad to see so many familiar upper halves of…If you said hello to…
Similar:We were a Neilsen ratings family during the pandemicIn March 2020, just as the lockdown clos…BusinessI just thought of a time before you were born when I should have been kind, but I can't re… Sometimes when I’m driving along los…AcademiaI made some progress.PersonalMasked, vaxxed, and settling in to watch live theaterBarebones is a little…
Similar:Sharing a root beer float with your dad doesn't fix everything that's wrong in the world, …AestheticsWest Side Story to play out on Geyer Performing Arts Center stageCarolyn Jerz is playing the lead role of…CultureCandyland is a masterpiece of game design (John Brieger unpacks the specific cultural cont… AestheticsThis 8-Year-Old Chess Champion Will Make You…
Similar:Merry Christmas 2022.PersonalPlaying with depth of field (blurring details that are closer than and farther from the fo…AestheticsThe girl as Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn and Thorin. #proudofthegirl #notentirelysurewhy #still…AestheticsYou come very close to successfully combining argument and explication here… I recently came across a box of old wr…AcademiaLast day filming for “The First Night of Summer”PersonalShe’s…
Similar:Friend I hadn't seen for about 20 years delivers a vintage nerdy gift.During the original run of Star Trek: Th…MediaBefore the haircut. PersonalRandom eye candy for props in my #Blender3D #retrotech project. Turned two circle logos in…PersonalThe ballroom of my #steampunk fantasy space cruiser is now a less lonely place. Thanks to watching many, many YouTub…AestheticsThough…
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:George Joseph Jerz (1933-2023)George Joseph Jerz, born on September 3r…EmpathyThe Most Toys (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 22) Data Abducted by Eccentri…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….ArtVulcan mind-melds from Star Trek: The Original Series, in the order…
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:FULL BLOOM at Latrobe’s Olde Main, Aug 30-Sep 2.CultureMore #blender3d #steampunk control panel details. #blender3dartAestheticsSecret Mouthwash Dance Exposed as FraudRecently, while getting the kids ready f…AmusingThey figured it out.PersonalAdam Bard shaves off half his hair and beard on opposite sides for unique driving licence …Something I might want to do one day, be…AestheticsThey've got magic…
Similar:Drawing of Once on This Island by the amazing Rebecca Scassellati.PersonalAdding detail to a #steampunk control panel workstation. #blender3d #design #aesthetics #b…AestheticsI pulled out a shelf on my teaching station and was greeted by this lovingly arrayed arsen…PersonalSpring 2024 Grades: SubmittedSpring 2024 Grades: SubmittedPersonalLooking forward to more live local theater. (Support the arts!)PersonalSummer project: learning…
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…