Connecting with the Boy

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.)

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.

Similar:This is about half of the #steampunk control panel details I've created in the past m…AestheticsEvery few years, I Google the name of the kid who saw "The Empire Strikes Back" the night …HistoryVolunteering at our local food bankEthicsFolger Shakespeare Library on "The Fate of Ophelia"On my ride into work yesterday, my mothe…AcademiaWhat are you…

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.

Similar:They figured it out.PersonalI made some progress.PersonalMy parents doing their daily crossword puzzle.PersonalSlicing up a massively detailed trimsheet to simulate reflections and geometry for four va…PersonalA vacation minibar story from 20 years ago.PersonalThe film Carolyn was in is a finalist. The screening will start soon. #48hrfilmproject Sup…Personal

Late night set construction for The Miracle Worker.

Similar:"All for the Best" RehearsalHere’s a brief clip of a rehearsal of “A…AmusingIn-home schooling popularity slipping across stateWe were on our way out the door to see A…CultureSlow flyby of a scout shop. Starfield backdrop; particle-based engine exhaust; hull uses a…More progress as I continue to level up …AestheticsCaptain Gearheart inspects progress on his #neovictorian…

The Miracle Worker opens tomorrow.

Similar:Westmoreland County Air Show 2012 (Photos)Traffic leaving the Arnold Palmer Region…AestheticsThe coronavirus is today just as contagious and just as serious as it was when we were all…CultureMe loving my birthday truck, c. 1971.  I adored this truck, and spellin…DesignMy colleague @crissycp offers warm soda bread and tea every year, as part of her authentic…AcademiaWhat…

Opens Wednesday.

Similar:Physics simulation demo: crate made up of mostly loose boards. #Blender3d #design #practic… https://youtu.be/OqqlWZvWaqM Physic…AestheticsOn Her One Free Day Between Two Shows…[View the story “On Her One Free Day Bet…DesignToo Short a Season (TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 15) When an old admiral youthens, shows…Rewatching ST:TNG. I was underwhelmed…HistoryYes, this is my 11yo daughter yodeling…

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:Iowa Reporter Found Not Guilty By Jury After Arrest At Black Lives Matter ProtestJustice for a brave reporter arrested fo…AwesomeThe film Carolyn was…

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

Similar:Me, contemplating the implications of maybe doing a socialize this weekend.Personal‘Snow White’ gets a new musical There’s a buzz of excitement this week…CultureImaginary vs Real Office SpaceHere’s a fantasy workspace, that I built…AcademiaI just bought Diamond City.GamesWhen students don't show up during office hours: I adjusted the cabinet and added a new (s…AestheticsReader, I ushered…

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:My Ouya arrived.My Ouya arrived — a Kickstarter-funded …CybercultureI Felt a Great Disturbance in the Font. And the Margins.You don’t want…