Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Similar:Ray Harryhousen, visual effects pioneer, dies  The Harryhausen family regret to…AestheticsAve atque valeWhat is a liberal education and what it …AcademiaSorry, not sorry. I don't want such friends. Back in 2003, shortly after I moved …CultureCandy Land Was Invented for Polio Wards It is a game absent strategy, requi…AestheticsMy Shakespeare students are off peer reviewing…

The Language of Gender Violence

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…

Harvard revokes admission of several students for posting “offensive” memes

The First Amendment of the constitution protects the incoming students’ right to say whatever they like, even if Harvard doesn’t like it. And, as a private institution that is not regulated by the First Amendment, Harvard has the right to kick out incoming students unwise enough to exercise their rights in this manner. (The government…

Shakespeare’s Genius Is Nonsense

Just as comedians generally don’t laugh at their own jokes, Shakespeare doesn’t call too much attention to his own linguistic cleverness, which is one reason his work rewards close scrutiny. It’s not that he was being deliberately obscure or flowery — though some of his obsequious characters definitely exhibit such speech patterns. One line of…

I had a singular time voicing Sherlock Holmes in The Mystery of Dr. Watson (WAOB Audio Theatre)

Similar:Despite its impressive output, generative AI doesn’t have a coherent understanding of the …[A] popular type of generative AI model&…CybercultureA WWII Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help You See in the DarkYet another widely held cultural myth fa…CultureFranz Joseph and Star Trek’s Blueprint CultureIn 1977, when I was about nine, I saw th…AestheticsIt…

I should be writing my “Fake News” paper for this weekend’s “Computers and Writing.” Instead….

Could the absurd examples of bizarre public discourse please stop happening so I can investifart some of them? Similar:Having a rough day. But in a span of about 24 hours, three former students reached out to …One former student said I’m the only adu…AcademiaChatBot Helps Crack the Case of the Missing 45GBThe other day I…

Liberals and conservatives dislike reading opposing views

Most research subjects, when offered the chance to win $10 and read essays that opposed their views, or $7 and read essays that confirmed their views, chose comfort over the higher potential prize. Liberals and conservatives reacted basically the same–with liberals slightly less willing to read conservative views. (I changed the click-baity headline, which sensationalized the issue…

Trump and JFK: Masters of New Media

I didn’t use Newsweek’s clickbaity headline: “Trump and JFK Are More Alike Than We Like To Think.” They are different in many ways, but JFK was remembered for mastering the new medium of television (people who listened to the Nixon/Kennedy debates on radio were more likely to believe Nixon won, but those who watched the…

Where There’s a Whip, There’s a Way

The girl was singing lyrics she learned from a friend. They were so bad I had to Google them. But the animation and tune were better than I expected. Wocka-chicka makes everything better, including this cheesy-but-catchy orc song from the 1980s animated Return of the King. Saving this for the next time I need motivation. Similar:My…

Computer scientist Leslie Lamport to [Brandeis] grads: If you can’t write, it won’t compute

I like introducing my English majors to coding. Here’s a computer scientist who’s returning the favor, advocating the importance of writing skills. “If you succeed in attaining a position that allows you to do something great, if you do something that really is great, and if you realize that it’s great, there’s still one more…

Today's workload included requesting a "less-depressing used chair" #lowexpectations #partylikeaprofessor

Similar:Merchant of Venice Part 2 live, now! #PPTPlaytimeDramaThank you, anonymous donor of Mardi Gras candy.Okay, on closer inspection I see the red…AestheticsCarolyn performed as Ariel yesterday in the New Renaissance Theatre Company's production o… Carolyn performed as Ariel yesterday i…AmusingDate a girl who reads.I earned a +8 or +9 spousal bonus when I…AmusingWho choked up…