Commentary: What My Struggling Students Wanted Me to Understand

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…

Other than #StarTrek memes, my favorite part of the web is how it’s a rhetorical battleground for the fate of the free world.

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…

Carolyn and Alex in “The King and I”

Similar:I've missed doing this! Another 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel goodness. #blender3d …AestheticsThey're coming in faster than I can mark them. This number will be higher tonight, so I'm …PersonalIt's a thing to do.PersonalEpilogue to Rossum's Universal RobotsMy big finish as Alquist in a Zoom-based…DramaHappy 13th Birthday CarolynI’ve had the privilege of being…

I rather like my camera. Bought a new zoom lens a few months ago.

Similar:Children of Eden (Stage Right, April 2014)My wife and I in Biblical costumes for C…CultureSummer photos of the daughter.PersonalMedea at Seton Hill University.CultureBeing a dad-nerd means finding new ways to play.https://youtu.be/-c6IirtwFawAestheticsThe lighting doesn't really convey that this is supposed to be a slightly curved scroll of…AestheticsKeeping things in the proper perspective at 4Cs: Praise for…

The Girl at rehearsal (where else?).

Similar:On this date in 1999 I first added a date to the list of web links I had been curating. (T…On this date in 1999, I first dated an e…CybercultureDo you get your news mostly from social media? I check NPR, Drudge, and news.google.com.Do you have a regular news-consumption r…CultureFull Bloom opens next weekend. Tickets…

Alex and Carolyn rehearse for “The King and I” Saturday night

Similar:A very happy geekling playing Dungeons and Dragons on her one free evening. #llapGamesUshering for a school matinee. Love seeing the kids excited about @prime_stage Frankenstei… CultureYou aren’t doing it wrong… if no one knows what you are doing.PersonalSeeing the Barebones production of The Sound Inside. (Support the arts in your community!)PersonalMy outward-bound editor's graduation…

A woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false — tale about Roy Moore. She appears to be part of undercover sting operation.

This looks like a deliberate attempt to plant a “fake news” story, presumably in order to discredit the Washington Post for falling for it. Verify, verify, verify. The Post did its homework, and did not fall into the trap. Sadly, this story will be used to discredit people who come forward with legitimate sexual assault…

Fallout Monopoly with the boy.

  Similar:Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice is my literary crush.)PersonalFaculty Senate meet & greet. With food. In the parlors till 6. AcademiaThe only snow alert you'll ever need.AmusingThe Fantasticks closes today at 2.PersonalCan't upload photos to Facebook from my MacBookI spent 30 minutes trying to upload abou…CybercultureScratch 3.0 beta is available. Try out the text-to-speech…

Curse you, conference proposal word limits.

I’m frustrated by these accursed conference proposal maximum word counts. (10) Curse you, conference proposal word limits. (6) Damn proposal word counts!! (4) Cut wherever possible. (3) Trim wordiness. (2) Simplify. (1) Actually, that helped. Back at it. Similar:Where Silence Has Lease (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 2)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…Culture"The threat is…

Did you share Russian fake news? Facebook, apparently unable to insert items directly in our feeds, will make you jump through hoops to find out.

Did you share fake news from Russia during the US Presidential election? Grudgingly following up on a Congressional order, Facebook will permit you to jump through hoops to find out. Because Facebook apparently does not have the technology to insert items of its choosing directly in user feeds, the social media company has helpfully provided…

Controlling behavior of HQ CEO hijacks what should have been a puff piece about popular HQ host Scott Rogowsky

A few minutes ago I heard about HQ for the first time, through a friend’s Facebook post. An item or two down in my feed I saw a different FB friend had linked to this story. The Daily Beast describes a tense encounter with a CEO who calls a reporter, threatens to fire his own…

Taking Harassment Seriously Requires Serious Distinctions

Editor and columnist Jonah Goldberg questions his fellow conservatives who call for the resignation of Al Franken (a Democrat; junior senator from Minnesota), equating the allegations against him with the allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, all the while downplaying the serious allegations against Roy Moore (a Republication; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of…

Details drive the news (new handout)

I have nothing against essays, but not every writing task requires an essay. I tell my students they will be more successful if they produce a narrative personal essay because it’s the right genre for the occasion, not because it’s the only genre they feel comfortable writing. This handout is my latest attempt to help…