Words, words, words. With the advent of the stream of consciousness in twentieth-century literature, it has come to seem that the self is very much a thing made of words, a verbal construction forever narrating itself and reconstituting itself in language. In line with the dominant, internalist view of consciousness, it is assumed that this…
Similar:Looking forward in the back room of the officers' pub, in the #steampunk cruiser from…AestheticsThis friendly gangster was parked at WalMart in Johnstown yesterday.This friendly gangster was parked at Wal…PersonalThoughtful Gestures Sometimes Speak Louder than WordsShe ended up waiting out the light cycle…AmusingAt the chess club holiday party. Peter looks forward to his Wednesday…GamesAnother…
A Google self-study found that its own most successful employees had soft skills, such as mentoring ability, empathy, and critical thinking and problem-solving. “Those traits sound more like what one gains as an English or theater major than as a programmer,” according to the Washington Post. [A]mong the eight most important qualities of Google’s top…
Instead of flagging links to questionable news items, Facebook will instead hide them. Which is nice, but it still means we have to trust the algorithm Facebook uses. (Don’t trust Facebook to filter your news for you.) False news undermines the unique value that Facebook offers: the ability for you to connect with family and…
“Dammit Mom, I’m a daughter, not a theoretician!” — the girl, responding to a pointed rhetorical question. Know Your Meme Similar:After purchase of latest accessory, I can no longer close my camera bag. #ConspicuousConsu… With the money I saved by working on…PersonalThe Child (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 1)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureMy kids…
Similar:Seize the Day!PersonalI’m really enjoying the embossed labels. #Blender3D (Making props for my fantasy #steampun…AestheticsFreshman writing students present their research projects in a suitably decorous setting. … PersonalChapbooks — the latest assignment in my “History and Future of the Book” class.Students have already done a 400-word sp…AcademiaLast event of a busy day downtown. #AgathieChristie #murderontheorientexpressAestheticsSpring 2024…
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:After a productive run-through of West Side Story, the girl decided to slide out from unde…AmusingShy Preschooler Won't Say Her Lines in "Peter Pan" Rehearsal (Stage Right! Greensburg)Little Maggie isn’t so sure she wants to…Drama"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania."PersonalCharlie Brown has his kite-eating tree.…
Similar:A picture of puffy white clouds floating in a blue skyAestheticsMe, contemplating the implications of maybe doing a socialize this weekend.PersonalWaiting for the sound of bagpipes. #setonhillgrad 2016PersonalStarting my “Writing about Literature” class by having students react to a John Donne sonn…PersonalStack of wooden desk trays with metal supports. #Blender3D. Normal map, glossy map;…
Similar:When students don't show up during office hours: I adjusted the cabinet and added a new (s…AestheticsFamily, I Hear You. I Love You. Go Away. This Weekend, I'm Marking Papers.No, I don’t want to see the new jacket y…AcademiaThey've got magic to do. Carolyn is the Leading Player. (Pippin, Oct 21-29) AwesomeI haven't seen this…
Similar:Star Trek Beyond was an enjoyable nerdy family outing.PersonalNo more braces!PersonalLEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing parents[C]hildren play to get oxygen, to unders…CultureThe Horror… The Horror! How Music in Horror Games Effects Player ExperienceFrom one of my students, a blog-based pr…AcademiaCode of Honor (ST:TNG Rewatch — Season 1, Episode 3) Rehashed Amok Time plot…
Similar:Looking forward to more live local theater. (Support the arts!)PersonalI have a daughter who does things. If demon curses and buckets of stage blood are your thi…I have a daughter who does things. If de…AmusingGinger Christ Superstar!AestheticsThe Incredible Shrinking Ad [The Future Web Is Mobile]Is higher education ready for the switch…AcademiaMy parents doing their daily…
Similar:A selfie with a Chekov action figure after learning of Anton Yelchin's deathCurrent_EventsPrepping for the “Celebration of Scholarship and Service” #york2025 #medievaldrama #mediev…PersonalOpening Night: New "The Little Mermaid"At night, instead of getting ready for b…Current_EventsModular low-poly medieval buildings. Ground-level storefronts have more detail than the up…Modular low-poly medieval buildings. Gro…AestheticsClassic. So good! #startrek #tosPersonalA Christmas…
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:Drinking milk and using the #WaybackMachine to fix broken links in a 10-year-old blog post…PersonalI'd love to do a shift at these gorgeous #neovictorian workstations, created in #Blender3D…AestheticsFantasticks (Theatre Factory, Oct 18-27) AestheticsLast night I dreamed I was…