In an opening lecture for my journalism class, I listed the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. I’ve referred to the importance of the First Amendment several times, but I haven’t listed the freedoms in class. One week after the opening lecture, I asked students to list those freedoms on…
Wish I’d known this technique when I spilled tea all over my JC Superstar script. (I did the paper towel and fan thing, but didn’t try leaving the book under weights overnight — probably because I needed to use the script at rehearsal.) Similar:Humans are being hired to make AI slop look less sloppy The…
His despair is only part of his artistic journey. When researching Poe last year, I was surprised to come across an anecdote about him playing leap-frog with his wife and splitting his pants, causing both of them to collapse in fits of laughter. I’m sure it was the memory of joyful moments like this that haunted him as she lay dying and long after she was dead.
Similar:Recording Christmas Stories for WAOB Audio TheatreFor WAOB Audio Theater, my family spent …PersonalDon't Automatically Blame the Reporter for a Headline ErrorWriters make mistakes. That’s why we hav…Current_EventsAfter my conference talk, a post-audition, pre-Jane-Eyre-performance dinner with the girl.Personal“If music be the food of love, play on!” I may have mentioned that I have a daughter who…
Like vegan pizzas and secular Christmas celebrations, I can hear and understand the reasoning behind why people like football, but their explanation does nothing to make me want to participate on any level. So it’s very interesting to me to read this report of an apparent cultural shift, sparked by concerns about brain injury. You…
I’ve recently processed and absorbed my recognition of the “left brain vs right brain myth.” (One side of the brain may work harder on some tasks, but there’s no evidence to suggest that whether a person is logical or creative has anything to do with how that person’s brain hemispheres relate to each other.) The…
Your mileage may vary, but I immediately thought of Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, who states this problem in negative terms. Yes, she’s a made-up character delivering a line in a movie about an imaginary ring from a fantasy book, but anyone who really understands Tolkien’s story will have reflected on the…
Kim Ash teaches the Newseum’s “Fighting Fake News” class. Whereas teachers once feared that teenagers would fall for everything they read online, now they’re concerned young people won’t believe anything they read. —Washington Post Similar:Dozens of Plagiarism Incidents Are Reported in Coursera's Free Online Courses”If we really are trying to teach the wo…AcademiaThe Mere Presence…
Is your academic essay a bit short? First, make sure that you have formatted your draft as required (usually professors ask you to double-space). Faking a longer paper won’t make your writing any more persuasive or intelligent or analytical or factual. It won’t help you to learn what your instructor wants you to learn. My…
Similar:When you need to record footsteps on a sidewalk, and the carpeted studio has a brick wall.AmusingEvery day on my fantasy #neovictorian interplanetary cruiser features glowing green ether … In the backstory for the interactive…AestheticsThe geekling is 14 today.PersonalPfully Pfizered and pfeeling pfine so pfar. Current_EventsI have a daughter who does things. If demon curses…
When you’re a homeschool parent, you go with what works. Yes, Carolyn, you may have my plaid bed sheet. Finish reading this book on Scottish history and I’ll take more pictures. No, you may not wear your kilt to church. Similar:Scientists should be goggled and in the lab, where they belong. Shut up and make…
Carolyn: “Does no one have a kind word for my Scotland?” Similar:Merry Christmas 2018PersonalParty Like a Jerz My dad just made us root beer floats.PersonalPublic service announcement! If you are feeling awkward at a social event and you see me t…AwesomeEnjoying live theater.The Illustrious Invalid. @kinetictheatre_pghPersonalGetting a little bit better with each #blender3D scene I render.AestheticsLove…
Each element of the periodic table gets its own haiku. What a clever project — traditional haiku frequently celebrate nature. An interactive review of the periodic table — composed of 119 haiku The elements, in haiku Similar:Revisiting a Website I Created in 1996: Engineering Writing Centre (University of Toronto)During the Christmas break of 1996, when…Aesthetics11001001…
Wife: “What did you do with your bedsheet?” Me: “Is that my missing belt?” Girl: “Kilt-y as charged.” Similar:Lysistrata live.Current_EventsStage Right's production of 'Secret Garden' is heart-tugging showIn the Stage Right production, the role …Current_EventsPage Layout 101: Proximity creates context. Don't let this happen to you.DesignI came of age playing too many CD-ROM point-and-click adventure…
Similar:Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe. —Thomas JeffersonEducationHappy memories of PC games I played with my son (now 19) sitting on my lap.While doing some spring cleaning around …CultureCOVID-19 deaths vs. other common causes (in America) The number of weekly COVID-19 deaths…Current_EventsCollege is not a commodity. Stop…
Fascinating academic effort to find a pattern in apparently random conspiracy theories that regularly pop up in our infostreams during social crises. Experts usually dismiss them because they are so wild and unlikely, and have thus failed to notice their impact. Starbird’s insight was to map the digital connections between all this buzzing on Twitter…
I did in fact search YouTube for videos featuring corridors on the starship Enterprise. And I found this bizarrely satisfying video, featuring not just corridors, but also doors. (Whoosh! Whoosh!) I remember this — our first look at Captain Kirk in the 1979 “Star Trek the Motion Picture.” Similar:Nature walks 2012 and 2018.AestheticsParadise Lost #StarTrek…
Similar:Heart of Glory (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 20)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaAdded a pilot and cockpit details to my flyby of a #steampunk scout ship. Costume is a pr…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyvR90jm…AestheticsIt appears there may be some audience participation in this outdoor production of Richard …PersonalDarkest Hour (2017)I’m not a huge fan of war movies, but…
Student (shouldering backpack and heading for door): Why does MLA Style have to keep changing? Me (checks clock): Well… Similar:AI is better at writing poems than you’d expect. But that’s fine. Even the most rebellious poets follow …CultureThe right — and surprisingly wrong — ways to get kids to sit still in class When it…
I posted a new handout with tips on surviving group projects in college. Employers value applicants who can work in groups. Most college students say they hate group work, but in the real world, few people work alone. Your assigned partner for a class project may be slow to respond because he or she is dealing…