This is a challenging writing task. Presidential biographies are a staple of children’s book publishing, and of classrooms across the country. Nonfiction for children is a surging category, particularly in light of a Common Core mandate that schools put greater emphasis on it in their curriculum. Publishers like Penguin Young Readers, Scholastic and Time for…
All of us with Facebook accounts do work for Mark Zuckerberg. Our tagging, sharing, and liking gives Facebook valuable information that advertisers use to reach us. This article describes how Facebook has been courting news organizations, asking them to provide content tailored to Facebook’s needs. Facebook is not interested in an informed, educated public that…
My kids have never seen The Princess Bride. (This is an odd pop culture gap for my 80s-obsessed girl.) Similar:Games as Text and K12 Social Studies Rather than training students to ident…CultureEvery few years, I Google the name of the kid who saw "The Empire Strikes Back" the night …HistoryLet He Who Is Without Sin…
A literary work is a powerful tool for simulating what it’s like to inhabit someone else’s life. Not just tolerating difference, or grudgingly giving “the other side” equal time; but generating real empathy for the diversity of humanity. There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away Nor any Coursers like a…
It’s extremely important to understand what a wide range of people are thinking about, and that includes being exposed to influential ideas that I disagree with. I’d rather not hide from an idea that has power, especially if it turns out I can do something about the issue. The headline is a little misleading… there…
NASDAQ.com throws shade via Reuters: Snapchat is popular among people under 30 who enjoy applying bunny faces and vomiting rainbows onto their selfies, but man yon Wall Street are critical of its high valuation, slowing user growth and lack of profitability. Joel Randewich, NASDAQ.com Similar:Plans for the Little Known Confederate HelicopterThe possibilities of combining Civil…
Free speech is valuable. It’s dangerous to set the precedent that it’s okay to censor speech as long as you side with the censor and against the position being silenced. A New Jersey school district has suspended a teacher after yearbook photos of two high school students were altered to remove President Donald Trump’s name…
Similar:My meeting was cancelled, so I spent the morning assembling a cabinet for a Little Free Li…AcademiaI apologize for this one. R2-D2 stars in Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical CATS.PersonalThe Cabaret Theatre (Latrobe) presents Shakespeare's popular Midsummer Supernatural pranksters! mismatched …CultureSteampunk flag for the United States of Britannia (from the alternate history my kids and …In…
Similar:World Press Freedom Day. (Don't take the free press for granted. Journalists are not the e…PersonalChilling on Forbes Avenue with a small friend.Chilling on Forbes Avenue with a small f…AestheticsSpent the morning in a socially distanced recording studio.PersonalShort-range #neovictorian excursion craft, now with glowing power orbs! Over the past year…https://youtu.be/-cJp-kelrL8 AestheticsThis morning I awoke…
Similar:Mars Is a Hellhole: Colonizing the red planet is a ridiculous way to help humanity.Some of Elon Musk’s stunts have caught m…BusinessEverybody Dies (Shakespearean Tragedy Infographic) The image (by Magee and Griffin) is an…AestheticsLeonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83Leonard Nimoy, the sonorous, gaunt-faced…Current_EventsFacebook shrinks fake news after warnings backfireIn its efforts to…
Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. Best case scenario? A virtual reality game that is either based around Portal or Half-Life, or unites the franchises into one experience. Valve has invested heavily in VR and clearly values the technology as an entertainment phenomenon – the Portal demo for Vive is one of the…
Similar:This time of year I trust the process. Students are learning why a "yes/no" rese…PersonalThe Missing Will, by Agatha Christie (WAOB Audio Theatre)I had a great time playing Hastings in t…CultureA serious summer activity.Once classes start again, we will all ha…CultureThe Problems of Real-Time Feedback in Teaching WritingSometimes my students get nervous becaus…AcademiaA day…
Similar:‘A slow-motion disaster’: Journalism museum in talks about possible building saleLast year, SHU did not sponsor a bus tri…BusinessI'm in the timeline where the Borg are everywhere and Riker doesn't want to go b…PersonalRedemption, Part I (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 4, Episode 26) Klingon Empire Faces Civ… Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Gen…DramaTwittering The MachineI’ve…
MTV recently ditched the “Best Actor/Actress” awards in favor of “Best Actor,” which suggests the gender-specific term “actress” is less popular among MTV’s target audience. I added that detail, fixed some broken links, and updated the graphic. See Writing Tips: Gender Neutral Language. Similar:Disruptions: Texting Your Feelings, Symbol by SymbolBeing a word-oriented thinker, I don’t…
With the money I saved by working on the car (watching a lot of YouTube tutorials) I bought a new midrange zoom, in the hopes I won’t miss shots by swapping lenses. And now my camera bag won’t quite zip shut. #ConspicuousConsumption Similar:"Only You" — 11yo Carolyn Sings a Power Ballad from "Starlight Express"The observation…
Similar:Texting? Pets? Millennials Are Flunking Job Interviews – CNBCThe other day, a Facebook friend posted …BusinessWho left these on my office door? *fake cough sounds like “Betsy”*PersonalHumans are being hired to make AI slop look less sloppy The illustrations clients bring to her…ArtDress rehearsal for Mamma Mia.PersonalSettling in to enjoy live theater. Support the…
Similar:Essay on meaning of a life grounded in the liberal arts @insidehigheredFor David N. DeVries, the critical think…Academia"This Is Probably Going to Kill Us:" How First 'Star Trek' Movie Avoided DisasterThis article left out someone important!…HistorySherlock Holmes and The Woman (WAOB Live Virtual Performance)I was happy to play Watson. The daughter…BooksIn August, 2001 I was…
While doing some spring cleaning around my computer desk at home, I noticed that there are scores of old PC games that are still stacked up within arm’s reach, even though I no longer even use a computer with an optical drive at that workstation. But these are games that have sentimental value for my…
Oppressors deny their own agency and dehumanize their victims by using the passive voice. I want my students to recognize this deliberate strategy, and to look for hidden actors and dehumanized recpients of injustice. (I try to teach about active and passive verbs in a more lighthearted way, but I only bothered to photograph and…
The voice of Wallace has died. The silly, plummy, character-driven steampunk/sitcom hybrid Wallace & Gromit films were a big influence on the tone of the “Captain Gearhart and the Magnificent Blimpship” steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell the kids. Peter Sallis has died at the age of 96, his agents have announced.The actor…