Annie Sullivan on teaching: 

Helen Keller, rendered blind and deaf after an infection as a toddler, learned the gift of language from her patient and determined teacher, Annie Sullivan. Their story is told in the play The Miracle Worker (and my daughter plays Helen in three more shows this weekend at Latrobe’s Cabaret Theatre). As a young woman Helen Keller…

Star Trek Beyond was an enjoyable nerdy family outing.

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How Different Cultures Understand Time

Business Insider calls this article an “anecdote… provided by linguist and cross-culture studies expert Richard Lewis.” The article provides several direct links to other works by Lewis, including an Amazon link for his book and an advertisement for the services he offers to businesses. The article makes many unsourced claims, and assumes that all Americans…

NOT a scene from The Miracle Worker.

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Late night set construction for The Miracle Worker.

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The Miracle Worker opens tomorrow.

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Opens Wednesday.

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Truth Trumps Bias

Trump offers plenty of opportunities for his detractors to criticize him. In the case of BabyGate, it does appear that the media were quick to spread an unflattering story without confirming some key facts. From a reporter seated one row behind the crying baby: “Mom and baby, very much not kicked out, came back to their seat a bit later. The baby was sucking a pacifier, silent.” There’s a little more to the story than the transcript and video suggest.

Kinetic Theatre’s “Hound of the Baskervilles” was hilarious.

Kinetic Theatre‘s production was full of great twists that honor the source material while also smashing the fourth wall. (Carolyn has worked with all three cast members in PICT’s Great Expectations and/or Oliver Twist.) Similar:York Corpus Christi Pageant, Toronto, June 7I’ll be in Toronto next week to observe …AcademiaWhy Our Brains Make Us Click on ListsThe article-as-numbered-list…

While at Sadecky’s Puppets to record the role of Heidi, Carolyn met a new friend.

We spent Sunday afternoon at the Sadecky’s Puppets studio/workshop in Tarentum, Pa. Carolyn recorded an audio track for a musical adaptation of “Heidi,” to be synced with performances of live puppeteers touring across 9 states during the coming school year. Mr. Sadecky, who has been performing with his puppets since the early 80s, was charming…

U.S. Public Wary of Biomedical Technologies to ‘Enhance’ Human Abilities

Americans are more worried than enthusiastic about using gene editing, brain chip implants and synthetic blood to change human capabilities. Majorities of U.S. adults say they would be “very” or “somewhat” worried about gene editing (68%), brain chips (69%) and synthetic blood (63%), while no more than half say they would be enthusiastic about each…

How to Disagree

If we’re all going to be disagreeing more, we should be careful to do it well. What does it mean to disagree well? Most readers can tell the difference between mere name-calling and a carefully reasoned refutation, but I think it would help to put names on the intermediate stages. So here’s an attempt at…

Carolyn as Cosette in the wedding scene in Les Miz. #feels

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Carolyn will portray Cosette Saturday at 2pm with 70 talented Stage Right castmates.

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1949 NBC Radio Adaptation of Orwell’s 1984

Long before the Apple ad, and Michael Radford’s 1984 film version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, there was the 1949 radio drama above. Starring British great David Niven, with intermission commentary by author James Hilton, the show aired on the educational radio series NBC University Theater. —Open Culture Similar:Report: Many U.S. Schools Can’t Afford Mannequins, Human Urine…

Texture Writer

I’ve only glanced at TextureWriter, but already I wish I had seen it two months ago, so that I could have incorporated it into my online “Digital Storytelling” class. (I’ll use it this fall, though.) Similar:Lovely #greebles give attractive details to the the flat surfaces of this little bot (from…AestheticsRay Harryhousen, visual effects pioneer, dies  The…

King Oberon Midsummer Make-up

Midsummer closes tonight, July 23. My daughter is playing Puck. Jim’s makeup is wonderful. Similar:Happy to see a familiar face in a slide during today’s Academic Affairs Workshop. Classes …Happy to see a familiar face in a slide …AcademiaPeter vs. the PenguinsFor the past hour, Peter (who is not yet…AmusingLysistrata live.Current_EventsDetails drive the news (new…