Similar:Books Wield a Dangerous PowerWhile we might point to violent video ga…BooksWanted in College Graduates: Tolerance for Ambiguity”What answer do you want?” “Just tell…AcademiaAny pasta can become a pasta salad when the office microwave stops working!CultureMicrosoft lays off journalists to replace them with AIMicrosoft is laying off dozens of journa…BusinessThat one ungraded assignment is an…
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…
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…
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…
Similar:What You Read Matters More Than You Might ThinkSeton Hill is revamping its freshman wri…AcademiaPictures from opening night of @pictclassictheatre Jane Eyre. (Show runs through the rest …PersonalWell-chosen wordsWhy is English spelling such a tangle? I…BooksHow children lost the right to roam in four generations –How children lost the right to roa…CultureEducated, uplifted, boosted, and…
Similar:There’s Something Off About LED BulbsWhen I’m stressed, or I feel life is spi…AestheticsA few Dwarven Moments in Stage Right's Snow WhiteThe dwarf scenes were a real hoot. …DramaBackstage opening night.PersonalAn afternoon with Ben Franklin. CultureIconic 'West Side Story' still resonates todayCarolyn Jerz of Greensburg will be playi…ArtGreebles make me happy.Before CGI, filming a…
Could the absurd examples of bizarre public discourse please stop happening so I can investifart some of them? Similar:Digital Storytelling (EL231: Topics in Creative Writing) EL231 “Digital Storytelling” (Dec 1…AcademiaFor the record, if I should happen to be murdered by someone with a gun… For the record, if I should happen to …Current_EventsThe Declaration Of…
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…
I remember being fascinated with and challenged by The Waste Land in high school, though it wasn’t until I read some of Eliot’s essays in college that it all sunk in. The same man who could write such clear, sensible prose when he wanted to explain could also construct densely packed, layered, gnostic verse. What…
Fake news is frustrating. Nothing new there. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Students in my freshman writing class often want to write their first college research paper on the topic of unrealistic images of women in advertising. Their first thesis is often something like “Advertisers should not damage women’s self-esteem by promoting…
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…
To believe Donald Trump, you must believe two largely contradictory things. | You must believe that there are a slew of leakers in the executive branch who are providing damning details to the press illegally, and who must be rooted out and punished. punished….You must also believe that the press makes up imaginary leakers simply…
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:Look…
While Pittsburgh has become more metropolitan in the last generation, the culture here one county to the east still bears witness to its rust belt past. This may sound dull as ditch water to those who believe that the “flyover” states are inhabited largely by clodhoppers, fundamentalist zealots and loudmouthed Babbitts. In fact, Lauck’s aim…
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…
By the end of the semester you will be able to: * Write a good clickbait headline * Fire off a snappy tweet to trolls * Use facts ironically to disprove the President * Locate Sean Spicer in a variety of diverse hiding places * Pin a congressional candidate in under 60 seconds —McSweney’s Internet…
Similar:Vote for Carolyn's Headshot — Round 2 Vote for Carolyn’s Headshot — Round…AestheticsUnion siege cannon, printing press, and "From Slavery to Freedom" were the highl…PersonalLoved part 1 of Alec Silverblatt's Mon Valley Medium. Part 2 tomorrow at 7. #pptplayt…CultureBeing a dad-nerd means finding new ways to play.https://youtu.be/-c6IirtwFawAestheticsA #neovictorian #steampunk ship-of-the-line needs a dramatic flag and…
Successful people may just be lucky; focusing too much on their successes can silence the honorable failures that we can all stand to learn from. People who consider themselves “lucky” take more risks, and are therefore more likely to discover opportunities. They brush off their failures rather than dwell on them. People who consider themselves…