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:Sad that NASA is taking a back seat to a private company, but still nerding over an Americ…BusinessThe daughter experiences her birthday cookie AestheticsI pulled out a shelf on my teaching station and was greeted by this lovingly arrayed arsen…PersonalOn set. #indiefilm #historicaldrama #creativity #enjoylifePersonalRossum's…
Similar:Modular components to mix and match. The upper storeys are next. #blender3d #medievalyork …Modular components to mix and match. The…AestheticsStill More FaceTime FunI realize that video-chatting teenagers …MediaWhat would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood? @shu_hog… AmusingThe girl as the Spanish Soloist in @laurelballettheater & @westmorelandsymphony…
Similar:My mother-in-law invited me to try out the 60- year-old tape machine that belonged to my f…My mother-in-law invited me to try out t…AwesomeMore household props for a #blender3d #steampunk project. I had made the spice rack and utensi…AestheticsA brief respite from grading. A brief respite from grading. PersonalStar Trek Beyond was an enjoyable nerdy…
Similar:The Myth of the Fake Geek Girl It’s not surprising, then, that being a…CultureMonument Valley: Minimal story, but an engaging world and a satisfying ending.I was in no rush to finish the beautiful…AestheticsDavid "Mr. McFeely" Newell Still Delivering at Seton Hill TEDxDavid Newell is one of the speakers at t…CultureWhen F. Scott Fitzgerald Judged Gatsby…
Similar:The daughter is in “Very Berry Dead,” a new play which opens this Friday and runs for two …The daughter is in “Very Berry Dead,” a …AmusingUpdating a villain's lair in #Blender3D. Still a work in progress.AestheticsOut for an April stroll.NatureFather David Hudgins RIP | In His Own Words My friend from high school passed…
Similar:Happy Sweet Sixteen, Carolyn!The girl spent her birthday weekend open…PersonalI had to act like I knew something about golf. There I am on the right at about :15.PersonalEnjoying live theater.The Illustrious Invalid. @kinetictheatre_pghPersonalGround-nesting Yellowjacket WaspsWhile my 16yo son was mowing the lawn wi…CultureMy buddy JTK helps me make a key point in my slideshow. #4c18…
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:My big acting moment in this scene is declining a drink. #indie #filmAmusingThe third Google hit for " #steampunk control panel" is a #blender3d image I cre…Personal‘I saw the possibility of what could be done – so I…
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:Surprised and delighted to find that Scratch 3.0 runs on an iPad.PersonalSuch A Good Feeling: The Affectionate Documentary 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?'My son and I saw “Won’t You Be Ny Neighb…CultureOkay, freshly downloaded app…Okay, freshly downloaded app, If you are…CybercultureMy wonderful daughter.PersonalMasked up, so I don't infect you, in case you are in a vulnerable…
Similar:Over the years I have leveled up my Blender3D skills.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNLArSlF…AestheticsBuilding a ridiculous amount of detail as I create tiles for distant sections of a #blende…AestheticsHow to Annoy Your Parents (Smurfs, Tweety, Jar-Jar and Ewoks) http://www.youtube.com/wat…AmusingThe Hunted (ST: TNG Rewatch; Season Three, Episode 11) Honorable soldier exiled by the pea…(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break…EthicsCrabby…
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…
Yesterday, I asked my students, “How many of you spent $4 on a cup of coffee in the last month? How many have spent that much to support local news?” “If people don’t get local news, they don’t know what’s going on in their community. If they don’t know what’s going on in their community,…