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:Where No One Has Gone Before (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 5)…
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:Happy memories of PC games I played with my son (now 19) sitting on my lap.While doing some spring cleaning around …CultureOn Death and iPods: A RequiemI never owned a classic iPod, though I d…CultureHaving a rough day. But in a span of about 24 hours, three former students reached out to …One former student…
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:Yesterday we took advantage of a rare free day.At the Carnegie Museum of Art. AestheticsMénage à Troi (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season…
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…
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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:The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15…
Carolyn: “Does no one have a kind word for my Scotland?” Similar:Looking forward to more live local theater. (Support the arts!)PersonalMy student journos are meming it like bosses.PersonalStar Trek: Voyager Premiered 20 Years AgoI remember wanting to like Voyager a lot…Culture"Only You" — 11yo Carolyn Sings a Power Ballad from "Starlight Express"The observation car Pearl…
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:Hyperbole and a Half: The Alot is Better Than You at EverythingThe Alot is an imaginary creature that I…AmusingDisagreement…
Wife: “What did you do with your bedsheet?” Me: “Is that my missing belt?” Girl: “Kilt-y as charged.” Similar:Thinking about physical therapy and cheerful, chatty older gents…I feel like I’m living in a sitcom. A…CultureAbout to launch. PersonalWithout ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle at the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships. “It doesn’t have to be good. It…
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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:Teenage Usability (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)Teens often work…
Similar:Liz Fosslien's insightful comic on unhealthy conflict vs. healthy conflict.PersonalThe Forsaken (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 17) Lwaxana Troi and the station c…Rewatching ST:DS9 Bashir is hosting t…CultureHappy Father’s Day One of my favorite pictures of my fa…Current_EventsThank you, Bogdan, for fixing and dropping off my light.PersonalMe (glares in iambic pentameter)Me: I need to…
Student (shouldering backpack and heading for door): Why does MLA Style have to keep changing? Me (checks clock): Well… Similar:The Best Way to Start an Academic PaperBoth of the following writing samples de…AcademiaThe daughter experiences her birthday cookie AestheticsOn Office Hours and Student Contact at the Small Liberal Arts College I don’t expect students to…
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…