Journalists write to inform, not to impress.
Sometimes when I find myself putting more than a usual amount of creativity into a comment on a student paper, I take a break from churning through papers to make another meme.
Vulcan mind-melds from Star Trek: The Original Series, in the order that I can think of them…
With Dr. Simon Van Gelder in Dagger of the Mind the Horta in Devil in the Dark; mirror Spock melds with McCoy in Mirror Mirror with Nomad the floating space probe in The Changeling. Kinda sorta with random guard (remotely projects the vague idea that the prisoners have escaped, so not really a meld) in……
A Simple Plot for a Literature Review
There are two things you need any time you are stuck in writing. You need to set the course and steady the course. If you are stuck while writing a literature review, then each of these things– set the course and steady the course– have particular ways in which you can do them easily, and…
A Grave Tale (a short story I narrated for WAOB Audio Theatre)
A Grave Tale (WAOB Audio Theatre) Written by Kelsey McIngyre Narrated by Dennis G. Jerz Similar:When it comes to the truth, point of view really does matter.You may have seen a version of this meme…DesignMake Video Horizontal Again For confessionals or tapdance routi…AcademiaFor the Cause #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 22) Eddington and Odo…
Fake News Remains Top Industry Concern in 2017
“In the past, people fabricated content. There were ‘midnight flyers,’ which were pieces of propaganda usually sent out by candidates and put on the windshield of your car or under your door at home. And there were forms of content that contained serious misinformation in them. Sometimes they looked news-like and sometimes they didn’t,” explains…
The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, Study Shows
The researchers found that participants with their phones in another room significantly outperformed those with their phones on the desk, and they also slightly outperformed those participants who had kept their phones in a pocket or bag. The findings suggest that the mere presence of one’s smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning,…
Donald Trump’s chilling escalation of his war with the media
A journalist’s response to President Trump’s early morning caps-imbued assault on the FAKE news media. Let’s be clear about what Trump is suggesting here. He wants the Senate intelligence committee to open an investigation into the “Fake News Networks” to get to the bottom of why so much of the news is “just made up.”…
How We Found Tom Price’s Private Jets
Great behind-the-scenes story of the hard work that went into breaking the Tom Price private travel story. The first tip came from a casual conversation with a source back in May: Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was using private jets for routine travel, possibly in violation of federal travel rules that allowed such flights…
Backstage with the White Swan and her prince.
Similar:The boy plays chess with his uncle before seeing The Fantasticks.PersonalThe Fantasticks closes today at 2.PersonalThis happened the last time an eclipse was visible in the area. My students left the room,…Pinhole projection. PersonalThis is the first time during the pandemic that we’ve brought this game out. Very topical.PersonalI may have mentioned that I have…
Russian Grand Ballet Swan Lake.
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Half of my students have never read Hamlet. (I told them not to get too attached to any of the characters.)
We focused just on Act I today — the opening scene on the battlement, the initial court scene that introduces Claudius and Gertrude, the domestic scene where Ophelia gets mansplaining first from her brother then from her father, and Hamlet’s encounter with the ghost. After the slow opening acts in A Comedy of Errors, The…
British Politician begins reciting colonial-era Kipling poem in in Myanmar temple
After the UK ambassador cut off his recitation of a pro-colonial Kipling poem in a Maynmar temple, UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson said, “No? Good stuff.” The foreign secretary has been accused of “incredible insensitivity” after it emerged he recited part of a colonial-era Rudyard Kipling poem in front of local dignitaries while on an…
Carolyn and Nick in Beauty and the Beast
Similar:The Sword of Kahless #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 9) Kor invites Worf and Dax…Rewatching ST:DS9 Kor (the charismatic …AmusingTake a moment to appreciate these good COVID-19 statisticsMay 1, my state had the third-highest pe…AwesomeFinal Mission (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 9) Picard and Wesley bond on a Desert …Rewatching ST:TNG. The plot, such…
Teaching the First Amendment Freedoms
In an opening lecture, I briefly listed the five freedoms Americans are guaranteed in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Then I moved on. I quizzed them the next week, and they didn’t do too well. They did a little better when I surprised them with a follow-up quiz. After that,…
Inverted Pyramid: A news story starts with what’s most important, not with whoever spoke first at the event you’re covering.
Jerz > Writing > Journalism Using the inverted pyramid structure is one of the major differences between a news story and a personal essay. Similar:This is what happened when a KDKA-TV journalist showed biasSocial media platforms are full of peopl…CultureAt Age 11, I Named the Curiosity RoverWonderful story! I still remember that …EducationThe dangers of short form content -…
Who cares about hyphens, commas and capital letters? You should.
You’re a busy editor, fighting a deadline. Two submissions arrive in your email. One is brilliant but full of grammatical errors and style inconsistencies. You’d have to spend an hour fixing it up. Another submission is just okay, but it’s ready to go. Which would you publish? I often encounter students who’ve been told all…
The girl rehearsing as Babette in Stage Right’s Beauty and the Beast
Carolyn rehearses with Nick Lenz. Her show is Friday night. (She’s a napkin, wolf, and villager Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.) Similar:Before the haircut. PersonalBryan A. Louiselle, 1966-2022 (musician, composer, orchestrator, musical director)I was Mayor Shinn to Bryan’s Harold Hill…CultureWearing A Mask Is A Sign Of Mutual Respect During The Coronavirus PandemicShortly after my region ended…
Reception after faculty workshop. #partylikeaprofessor
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In Which I Bow Before the Mistress of Teen Snark
The Girl: I’m sorry I’m being so… Me: Self-deprecating? The Girl: No! Me: Testy? The Girl: No… the term I was going for is “bitchily modest.” Similar:Rehearsing 'Fiddler on the Roof' is like trying to herd cats onto a grid and make them wal…I’m really enjoying the experience. I’ve…CultureSomeone seems to have slipped this over…
On the Ethics of Rebranding a Former Trump Administration Official as an Amusing TV Personality
It’s also a disservice to readers to report on Spicer’s post-White House life and not mention how unusual and controversial his tenure was. This is a guy famous for meeting with reporters near the bushes on White House grounds, for coining the phrase “Holocaust centers,” for creating the necessity for courtroom sketch artists in the White House briefing…