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:Two computer screens aren't better than oneI turned off the extra screen…
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:Today's annoying adventures of adulting: fixing the bathroom ceiling fan.Not fun, but done. ModdingYork Plays 2025: Five cameras, adding up to ~100 hours of footage.Five cameras, adding up to ~100 hours of…AcademiaUgh. Unmarked items waiting for me as I start to recover from an illness.PersonalHeadphones, Croutons and RhetoricME (with crouton tongs in one hand and…
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:Ground-nesting Yellowjacket WaspsWhile my 16yo son was mowing the lawn wi…CultureStudent: “Just wanted to let you know that your class has…
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:York Plays 2025: Five cameras, adding up to ~100 hours of footage.Five cameras, adding up to ~100 hours of…AcademiaI pulled out a shelf on my teaching station and was greeted by this lovingly arrayed arsen…PersonalThe boy wins once again. #chessGamesLeveling up my skills in #blender3D. Using invisible shapes to cut holes …DesignChecking out of @frontporchtheatricals…
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:Surprised and delighted to find that Scratch 3.0 runs on an iPad.PersonalUkraine’s Three-to-One AdvantageThe author…
Carolyn: “Does no one have a kind word for my Scotland?” Similar:Half of my students have never read Hamlet. (I told them not to get too attached to any of…We focused just on Act I today — the ope…PersonalThe Girl Wins the Upper Division Monologue in the 25th Annual Pittsburgh Public Theatre's …CultureAirlock for a…
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:Edgar Allan Poe Was a Broke-Ass Freelancer – The MillionsHis despair is only part of his artistic…Books15 Grammar Goofs…
Wife: “What did you do with your bedsheet?” Me: “Is that my missing belt?” Girl: “Kilt-y as charged.” Similar:Loud as a Whisper (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 5)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…DramaYes Virginia the Musical coming to ConnellsvilleCarolyn Jerz may be only 11 but is alrea…Current_EventsThe Strangest, Most Spectacular Bridge Collapse (And How We…
Similar:Bound Together by an Historic Moment I was a young faculty member teachin…CultureNo, this photo of people wearing coats standing in front of bare trees was not a fake news…It’s distressing and shocking to realize…Current_EventsLocal News in a Digital AgeLocal TV news is the “most visible prese…AestheticsThe Case for Breaking Up With Your ParentsI already…
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:Ian Bogost Has Won a HuffPo Badge…
Similar:8k trimsheets baked as efficient building blocks for my #fantasy #steampunk #cgi cruiser. …PersonalThe Miracle Worker opens tomorrow.PersonalI do not know why this antique service button from my campus cafeteria delights me so.AestheticsJaw-dropping moments of insight and humanity. So funny, so edgy, so affirming! I did not e…PersonalStudents in “A.I. and the Future of Literacy”…
Student (shouldering backpack and heading for door): Why does MLA Style have to keep changing? Me (checks clock): Well… Similar:Bully: She told her son, ‘hit him hard’ –and she learned a lessonThis is a great story about a parent who…CultureAnti-globalism Is Common Factor in Social Media Conspiracy Theories, says UW ProfFascinating academic effort to find…
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…