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:And again I ush.PersonalI've spent 8 hours with 24 different Verizon agents who keep transferring me back and fort…It’s not a Verizon Wireless issue. It’s …BusinessPac-Man on Atari 800 @setonhilluniversity discussion of Summer reading book #readyplayeron…PersonalT-Shirts for student journalists who recently leveled up to “staff writer”(with bear signe…PersonalBreakfast Battle from "The Miracle Worker" (Pamela Lee…
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:I’ve finally started to create female uniforms for the #neovictorian fantasy #steampunk æt…PersonalIt's Friday night in July, and I'm jamming with my fall course preps.The dean sends me an email at 9:07pm. In…AcademiaEducated, uplifted, boosted, and fed. Block party celebrating August Wilson continues thro…CultureGround-nesting Yellowjacket WaspsWhile my 16yo son was mowing the lawn wi…CultureCharming solar…
Similar:Headphones, Croutons and RhetoricME (with crouton tongs in one hand and s…CultureLearning How to Love My Daughter Image description: A teen girl in a …CultureForgotten closet box: powder blue summer suit with a crisp 1990 $10 bill in the pocket and…The chunky laptop seems to boot and the …DesignFired for Making a Game: The Inside…
Similar:Being a dad-nerd means finding new ways to play.https://youtu.be/-c6IirtwFawAestheticsThe boy is visiting the Prohibition exhibit @HistoryCenter while I continue at NeMLA.PersonalFall 2021 Grades Submitted Mission accomplished.AcademiaMy beautiful daughter says "Happy Valentine's Day" View t…AestheticsThe School of Humanities honors me and my colleagues @mikearnzen and Dan Martino as we com…The School of Humanities honors me…
Similar:I went down fighting.PersonalIt's Friday night in July, and I'm jamming with my fall course preps.The dean sends me an email at 9:07pm. In…AcademiaCarolyn as Maria in West Side StoryPersonalIdlewild's Story Book Forest Improves Its SignageIn the past, I have pointed out copy-edi…AestheticsAt the Johnstown Flood Museum. (May 31 1889 the neglected dam at the…
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:A Note to My Remaining Students at the Close of the 2021 Fall SemesterOf course, the power outage meant that w…AcademiaAdobe steals your…
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…
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…
Similar:A Few Good Men at the Pittsburgh Public TheatreFantastic performances, powerful writing…CultureSummer photos of the daughter.PersonalWhat About “The Breakfast Club”?I made three movies with John Hughes; wh…CultureSpring office cleaning thoughts: 1) I used to print a lot. 2) I have enough tote bags. I used to print a lot. I have e…AcademiaI think I’ve mentioned…
The teen summer camp production of Les Miserables runs at the Palace Theatre Friday at 8:30, Saturday at 2pm, and Saturday at 8:30. Similar:You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral—corporations didI never found “Harlem Shake” videos to b…BusinessThe Battle (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 8) A Ferengi plots tricks with Picard's former …A Ferengi…
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:CNN Reports On The Promising Future of the Steubenville…