A good exploration, in the light of current interest in “fake news,” of the troubled relationship between conservative Christianity’s understanding of truth and secular experts’ understanding of facts. (Mainstream Protestantism and Catholicism have negotiated this difference much more smoothly.) But it wasn’t Christianity, or religious faith itself in general, that helped make Republican voters more likely…
Analyzing humor, as E.B. White famously said, is like dissecting a frog; few people are interested and the frog dies of it. Nonetheless, writing humor is a highly logical exercise — fit idea X into form Y for humorous result Z — and can therefore be broken down in ways that more slippery kinds of…
Similar:UPDATE: BREAKING: 'Star Wars' Returns — 'Episode 7' Slated For 2015 And More Movies Plann…The moment in Attack of the Clones when …BusinessThe Icarus Factor (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 14)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…PersonalNight Terrors (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 17) Trapped crew grows paranoi…Rewatching ST:TNG After discovering t…PersonalSummer Theater Camp…
Art conveys significance; however, much of that significance is constructed by the receiver. That’s why I care less about what a work of art “means” and more about what it “does.” Understanding what a work of art does requires interpretation. The context of a work of art can contribute to the significance of the artwork in surprising…
Similar:Nutcracker dress rehearsal montage. Carolyn plays the Dew Drop Fairy Saturday at 7.PersonalOn the way to the theater for the show! Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd.PersonalThe annual patriotic showing of #1776 has begun.CultureOur 2014 class banner was an iPad. I can’t believe I just noticed that today.PersonalCrabby 9yo Constructs a Head-mounted Frump-amplification Isolation CubeMy…
Similar:Out & About: Cabaret Theatre presents its 'Cabbie Awards'You can just make out Carolyn, Leigh, an…CultureSorry, but I am done hearing about the "Cruise from Hell" story. Done.Okay, so yeah. One of these describes a …CultureSo many dials to polish. More workstations. #steampunk #neovictorian #design #aesthetics #… AestheticsLawyers who won Happy Birthday copyright case sue…
Phllip Lopate writes a good essay on the challenges of writing a celebrity profile. My take: Just as Plato argued that ideal leaders would be so well-balanced that they would not desire to lead (and thus would not have the power-lust that would enable them to rise above their competitors), it follows that ideal celebrity profile writers would be…
“Doctor dragged off United flight was felon who traded prescription drugs for secret gay sex with patient half his age and took them himself – and he needed anger management, was ‘not forthright’ and had control issues, psychiatrist found,” wrote The Daily Mail this week of Dr David Dao, in probably the longest headline ever…
The language in the official United response to the “re-accommodation” incident deserves some analysis . Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. We apologize for the overbook situation. If you “refuse…
Slate has a good article about William “Captain Kirk” Shatner’s involvement with a Twitter incident that involved Autism Speaks, the alleged connection between vaccines and autism, and the ready availability of easily Googled but unreliable “information.” Shatner is a celebrity, which means that he has outsized influence. That he would use his platform to lend…
Similar:My second greenscreen test.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d-LPwKQ…CybercultureIconic 'West Side Story' still resonates todayCarolyn Jerz of Greensburg will be playi…ArtJust a handful more of these elegant #steampunk control panels and I can move on to the ne…AestheticsI've got a lot to learn, but my #blender3D #neovictorian #steampunk cruiser, and this…AestheticsJohn Speed’s 1611 map of #medievalyork features a “scale of…
Similar:Another 10 sq cm section of a #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dart #designAestheticsUshering The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. @prime_stagePersonalCrochet octopus for the win! Crazy costume for #pptplaytime Boougie Gentleman (adaptation …PersonalIt appears there may be some audience participation in this outdoor production of Richard …PersonalMy contribution to WAOB Audio Theatre’s plan to…
Peter was the lowest-ranked player to enter the tournament, but ended up tied for second place. Similar:Friday night board game therapy. #startrek #monopolyPersonalTo DoTo Do (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) 5: …AcademiaMy undergraduate connects the Leontes/Polixenes conflict in The Winter's Tale to a pro wre…Today’s class on The Winter’s Tale was v…DramaAn afternoon with Ben Franklin. CultureCarnegie Science…
Similar:Don’t Text While Parenting — It Will Make You CrankyThe study summarized in Time Magazine lo…CultureThe girl’s first day on set filming for “The First Day of Summer” Carolyn plays a teenager who’s outsi…CultureWondermark: In Which There Is a TauntingWondermark AmusingGrading writing: The art and science — and why computers can’t do itTech companies and…
This short film reminds us why art matters. Spend 8 minutes watching it. Two heart-wrenching twists, at 5:26 and 5;48 (and the story continues during the closing credits). Similar:For New Acquisitions, UMD Libraries Choose Ebooks by DefaultIncreasingly book vendors provide option…AcademiaThis morning I awoke to YouTube’s live footage of crowds circling a mosque in Mecca.…
A letter, published a few weeks ago, in which the inventor of the World Wide Web discusses personal security, fake news, and political transparency. Today marks 28 years since I submitted my original proposal for the world wide web. I imagined the web as an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information,…
Similar:Advising incoming majors.AcademiaHow Not to Hate Shakespeare The problem isn’t Shakespeare—it’s h…CultureGender and Language — Revisiting Advice I Posted in 1998When I was in college and active in a Ca…CultureA #steampunk control panel in context. #blender3d #design #aesthetics #blender3dartAestheticsSame photo, two different interpretations.This is why I spend time teaching my jou…PersonalThis English major will walk…
Facebook wants you to spend more time on Facebook, so why should they promote links pointing to content that exists outside of Facebook? Facebook’s approach to content control means that communities that use Facebook have to play by Facebook’s rules. Users have limited ability to communicate with Facebook’s administrators when there’s a problem, as we’ve seen…
I am definitely on team revise-to-avoid-using-“they”-as-a-singular-pronoun, but the 2017 edition of the AP Stylebook (the industry standard writing guide for journalists) acknowledges the limited use of “they” as a singular pronoun. As always, the goal is clarity, not rigid adherence to a rule. They/them/their is acceptable in limited cases as a singular and-or gender-neutral pronoun, when…
California’s Ed Chau withdrew his proposed legislation that would have criminalized the willing sharing of “a false or deceptive statement designed to influence the vote” on any issue or candidate. (The Electronic Frontier Foundation objected to the bill: “You can’t fight fake news with a bad law.”) The bill would also make it unlawful for…