Our future robot overlords never looked so squishy. A team of Harvard University scientists has built an entirely soft robot — one that’s inspired by an octopus. The octobot, described this week in the journal Nature, could pave the way toward more effective soft robots that could be used in search and rescue, exploration and…
Similar:National Mall site approved for memorial to fallen journalists Federal officials have approved a site…CultureRare Philadelphia win – for a Whig! For the first time in 159 years, Phi…CultureMargaret Atwood: English lessons teach us to miss the true meaning of literatureEvery time I teach a college literature …BooksComing up for the girl is another classic…
This short film documents an early attempt to use hypertext to help students study poetry. A fascinating early collaboration between computer science and the humanities. Similar:My Kids Loved Narnia but Were Unimpressed by Turkish DelightAmerican kids today would have little id…AmusingThe crying Honduran girl on the cover of Time was not separated from her mother,…
Similar:More modeling in #blender3d. Very happy with reflections and lighting. (The teacup is a po…DesignI'm really enjoying seeing how my students are responding to Hamlet.As part of a class assignment, one stude…AcademiaWalking in Another's Skin: Failure of Empathy in To Kill a MockingbirdThe money quote: “In this essay, I argue…AcademiaCombating Fake News: An Agenda for…
If movies about space have taught us anything, it’s that no one can hear you scream. If you get lost in space, nobody’s going to find you. Unless you’re a spacecraft with a direct link to NASA. Then, there is hope for you yet. STEREO-B, from the Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory mission, went missing on…
Today my son asked me to take him shopping for his favorite foods. He’s tired of fast-food take-out. I told him I was busy today running the spotlight for and videotaping yet another one of Carolyn’s performances (this time her voice teacher’s summer revue).
The poor boy has been left at home a lot while the rest of us did so much theater over the summer. He competed in a chess tournament last week. I fell asleep in the next room. He came in second place. (I have no pictures. I’m a bad father.)
While secondary schools pour their resources into helping students get into a good university, and adults rush to teach teens how to behave well socially, no one’s covering what kids need to know for, you know, the actual classes. I have a clear picture of what’s missing from their preparation. Here’s what to tell your…
AFTER A 14-YEAR run, Gawker.com is shutting down next week. Gawker Media’s new owner, US Spanish-language TV network Univision, made the decision to shut down the site after bidding $135 million for the web publisher’s seven-site portfolio in a bankruptcy auction earlier this week. (A bankruptcy judge is set to approve the final sale later…
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…
Similar:The girl will be performing as the Dew Drop Fairy in the Dec 8 evening performance of The …AestheticsRelics (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 4) When a huge hollow sphere traps a Sco…Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-D tr…AmusingThe Duolingo owl is proud of me.PersonalDetails for a modular mid-range scoutship, from the #steampunk #neovictorian bedtime stori…Details…
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…
Similar:The girl was cast as Luciana (the younger sister) in The Comedy of Errors in the PPT's sum…Show is July 28 at the O’Reilly Theater….DramaPluto FlybyWhen I was about 10, I wrote to NASA and…Current_EventsThe Forsaken (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 17) Lwaxana Troi and the station c…Rewatching ST:DS9 Bashir is hosting t…CultureCarolyn and…
Similar:Rethinking TV news, Part III: First, kill the stand-upI’ve told my journalism students that TV…DesignRobot wars: 100 years on, it's time to reboot Karel Čapek's RURI was honored to play Alquist in Artisti…BooksThe "Monsters, Inc" company play helped me teach ShakespeareToday the awkward but delightful “Monste…AcademiaMars Panorama — 10yo with iPad Pretends Her Bed Is…
Similar:My Kids Loved Narnia but Were Unimpressed by Turkish DelightAmerican kids today would have little id…AmusingJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentThe Princess and the PaintFriday night, my daughter will be playin…AestheticsOh the Overthinks You Can Overthink: Horton the Elephant, the Wickersham Brothers, and Mas…Yesterday, I performed in a school matin…AcademiaDistributing Candy at Holiday…
Similar:My 4Cs StoryI chaired a session on Friday, and gave …AcademiaFall 2021 Grades Submitted Mission accomplished.AcademiaBeautiful set. Support the humans who do arts in your community (instead of settling for …Beautiful set. Support the humans who d…PersonalAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #design #aesthetics #blender3d #blender3dar…AestheticsStage Right Theatre Company's 'Fiddler' all about family,…
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 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:Added multiple swappable upper storeys. Next I will make slightly fewer variations of a sl…Added multiple swappable upper storeys. …AestheticsThis was a rough…
I’d rather blog about prepping my fall classes than actually start prepping my classes, so here you go. I don’t spend much time on the syllabus on the first day, though I do show students where key topics are, and I do assign a take-home syllabus quiz. (“If Gus Griffin tells you he’s worried about…
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…
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…