NASA Just Found a Lost Spacecraft

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…

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:Public service announcement! If you are feeling awkward at a social event and you see me t…AwesomeFrozen opens tonight. (All shows have been sold out for over a month.)DramaAnonymous comment cards from student journalists at the end of the second week. These folks are amazing! It’s such a…AcademiaHeart of Glory (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode…

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:Learning How to Love My Daughter Image description: A teen girl in a …CultureOverview of the Forward Ops station, one deck below the main bridge of the fantasy #steamp…PersonalJerz Nerdcation 2013On a visit to the Washington DC area for…CultureSpot of sunlight seems to be sliding down an escalator.   View t…Aesthetics8 (Short Halloween film by…

Late night set construction for The Miracle Worker.

Similar:Avoiding Spoilers Gives You a Superficial Appreciation of ArtI very much appreciate that nobody spoil…ArtA computer scientist urges more support for the humanities (opinion)”Lior Shamir, a computer scientist who’s…AcademiaAn alternate universeMy plans to use a Chromebook over the we…CulturePluto FlybyWhen I was about 10, I wrote to NASA and…Current_EventsEntire staff of Russian TV channel resigned…

The Miracle Worker opens tomorrow.

Similar:The Duolingo owl has been judging my German every day for the last year.EducationWho choked up while reading aloud Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” during a lesson on creative nonf…Who choked up while reading aloud Sagan’…PersonalI have for some reason reached another #duolingo milestone.CultureOnce On This Island (next weekend)PersonalWe love us some Sherlock any way we…

Opens Wednesday.

Similar:Before and after making a meme of myself as Oberon, King of the FaeriesCultureAdding details to a clip-art silhouette, for a project that will be released in a day or t… An important but small detail in a B…AestheticsWaiting for a talk on preserving artifacts from NASA’s Apollo program So much to see at the…

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:Stage Right Nation goes Into the Woods at Saint Vincent Summer Theater. Great job Renata, …Stage Right Nation goes Into the Woods a…PersonalHelping…

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:Looking forward to another visit to Illyria. Support humans who create art in your communi…PersonalMy Daughter's Synesthesia: "S" Is Always Red, and "T" Is Lime GreenAccording to a color-picking test at syn…AestheticsCrochet octopus for the win! Crazy costume for #pptplaytime Boougie Gentleman (adaptation …PersonalThe boy approved of the WWII historical fiction Dunkirk. CultureWhat does the girl…

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

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:Rightful Heir (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 23) Worf's quest for the return o…Rewatching ST:TNG Worf is uncharacter…CultureStage Right offers four versions of its musical 'Annie' | TribLIVELeapin‘ Lizards! There are…

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:Journalists dole out cash to politicians (quietly)Traditionally, many news…