I wrote the following in 2004, when my son was 6 and my daughter was 2. The time is waning that my son will want nothing more than to play Battleship and The Magnificent Race with me all afternoon. Some day I’ll make a silly joke, and my daughter won’t giggle with glee, she will…
Sobering analysis. Would I be able to follow this advice in the unthinkable event I had a personal account to share? Terrorists use social media to recruit, but they also depend on you and the media to use it to amplify their message…. Â The motivation for terrorism is not mere murder or maiming but the…
Does the world need another working definition of digital humanities? Do you have one? Here’s mine. Digital Humanities is the deliberate, critical application of emerging technology to the study of traditional subjects such as literature, art, philosophy, and language, often (but not always) with a focus on how those traditional fields are now using emerging…
Many a high school student has muddled through a book report in a single caffeine-fueled sitting, but successful research term papers or quarterly progress reports require planning. In technical writing, a prototype might be a full table of contents (with summaries for each major section) and one or two complete chapters.  If conducting a survey is…
The girl was concerned she wasn’t nerdy enough, so she’s taken to wearing a prop ring on a chain around her neck and calling it “My Precious.” (Photo credit: Kelly Tunney.) Similar:Brothers (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 3) Awkward Android Family ReunionRewatching ST:TNG after taking a break f…MediaThe Fantasticks (Oct 18-27, Theatre Factory) https://youtu.be/SYp1jQaSwjo…
I’m gobsmacked by the creativity that went into researching, writing, and crafting this layout. A look at how students in the Kansas City region commemorated the campaign in keepsakes meant to be enjoyed by all classmates, no matter their leanings. Source: It Was Hard This Year to Keep Politics Out of High School Yearbooks Similar:Letter…
The Washington Post, famous for breaking the Watergate scandal that brought down Nixon’s presidency, is churning out top-quality journalism in the age of Trump. As an organization the Post is gaining readers, hiring journalists and scooping its competition. As a private company since 2013, when the deep-pocketed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought it for $250…
This is why I spend time teaching my journalism students about how to write photo captions. Which description is more trustworthy? Which description will likely get more shares on social media? Similar:Checking out of @frontporchtheatricals Grand Hotel. What an experience!My brother had already planned to visit …AestheticsEaster Blessings 2021 Current_EventsSymbiosis (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode…
Similar:There Is A Difference Between Middle Grade and Young Adult Lit, and It Does Matter Adolescence took a long time to be inven…BooksIconic 'West Side Story' still resonates todayCarolyn Jerz of Greensburg will be playi…ArtSaints and Poets, Maybe They Do SomeI wrote the following in 2004, when my s…DramaIdlewild's Story Book Forest Improves Its SignageIn the…
Similar:I'm Gradually Losing My Hearing. (It’s Part of Aging.)During a department meeting today, I not…AcademiaDress rehearsal of The NutcrackerPersonalIdentity Crisis (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 4 Episode 18) The Case of LaForge’s Disapp… Rewatching ST:TNG An enjoyable …MediaFaces the girl makes during her Luisa monologue. (Four more chances to see The Fantasticks…AestheticsThe Girl Has Started…
Not a day goes by without The Girl reminding us that everyone else her age has a phone — but she also compares her desire for a phone to Gollum’s desire for The Ring. Many adults have told her she’s lucky not to carry around the burden of social media updates, though part of her…
This fall I will be teaching Shakespeare again; but thereafter, as part of a curriculum redesign, Shakespeare will be rolled into a “Shakespeare in Context” course that will also need to address Beowulf, medieval drama, Arthurian legend, Chaucer, Marlowe, etc. I intend to do this by teaching five different Shakespeare plays, focusing on one play…
It used to bother me that people got all excited about the color shirt that was being worn by a particular person holding (or throwing, or tossing, or avoiding) a small round object. Then I read the Onion article “Walking Sports Database Scorns Walking Sci-Fi Database:” A self-described “sports fanatic” who experiences vicarious thrills through…
Similar:Blender 3D Flyover of Fantasy Steampunk Spacecraft When my kids were small, at bedtime …AestheticsAnd if my point of view is somewhat misty-eyed…And if my point of view is somewhat mist…AestheticsScreening of "Indentured" (short film the girl and I filmed in January)PersonalReally enjoyed watching Your Name with the family. Visuals hooked me, but the story…
Similar:Getting in the Christmas spirit.PersonalMaking progress.PersonalIt’s so heartbreaking seeing the amount of disinformation being spread by elected official…It’s so heartbreaking seeing the amount …Current_EventsYesterday it was 298 so this is actually a good number.PersonalI just looked up the context for the bald guy dropping the chili. I guess I was expecting something like…DesignAnother 10…
Similar:I am not in the splash zone but still definitely out of my comfort zone. Support the arts …I am not in the splash zone but still de…AmusingLaying out our anti-socialization defenses & cleaning out the penitence shack for anot…Visiting Fort Ligonier. When the girl…CultureBack in the groove. I should be able to keep this…
Similar:Serving at Christmas on the Hill 2025PersonalThe girl got picked for an audience participation bit as the muse of comedy in Xanadu. Gre…CultureGeorge Joseph Jerz (1933-2023)George Joseph Jerz, born on September 3r…EmpathyLaying out our anti-socialization defenses & cleaning out the penitence shack for anot…Visiting Fort Ligonier. When the girl…CultureThe Duolingo owl has been judging…
Similar:There’s Something Off About LED BulbsWhen I’m stressed, or I feel life is spi…AestheticsProud of My JournosI saw several heads that I recognized, b…AcademiaShe was a musical ingenue Sunday, filmed a slasher movie past midnight Monday, and was pre…AcademiaShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a purse?To…
Similar:Death to high school English”There’s such an emphasis on keeping stu…AcademiaIn February 2000, I was blogging about "The Heist" (Sorrels); the "Instant Muse Poetry Gen… In February 2000, I was blogging abo…CybercultureKeeping it classy. My 20yo son encounters the fruit-eating scene from the 1996 point-and-c…PersonalIntroduction to Twine (Tutorials by Vegetarian Zombie) I will always love…
Day 1 Today was my first full shipwrecked day after our ship hit some sharp rocks a half mile offshore. What started out as a team-building trip to the Cook Islands has turned into a true nightmare. #OnlySurvivor #PleaseSendHelp #SurvivalSundays #HolisticRescueMarketing —McSweeney’s Internet Tendency Similar:Narrow ParsersCreating n00b-friendly interactive ficti…CybercultureRebound Rumble, FIRST Robotics 2012 GameIn the…