A stranger took this photo of my parents doing their daily crossword together in a cafe. My mother writes, “This is not an unusual event…. One lady even paid for father’s drink before I got to the cashier because she saw us walk into the store arm in arm.” Similar:We found a mushroom fairy ring in…
The running you do in a 100-yard dash, an obstacle course, a 5k charity walk-a-thon, a marathon, and when you are being chased by a bear all serve different functions, and the amount of distance we need to cover is only one of the ways these modes of running differ. Likewise, the writing you do when…
Looking forward to getting my copy of the MLA Handbook 8th edition, so I can update all my teaching resources. Meanwhile, here’s some good context for why it matters that the MLA is (finally) updating its guidelines. Writers need to know how to cite an ebook, how to cite a tweet, how to cite an…
I have no particular opinion on her performance as a news anchor, but I was shocked by the patronizing tone adopted in the post in question, as well as her defensive response to criticism. See also: Thoughts On WTAE-TV Anchor Wendy Bell (The “White Privilege Turducken”) Getting Fired Today WTAE-TV news anchor Wendy Bell has been…
Saving this for the next time I teach Death of a Salesman, in which Willy misunderstands what makes a person “liked.” Summary: charismatic people don’t obsess over what they can’t control. Instead, they focus on what that they can do. Similar:Fast-paced, articulate cast shines in Viking-themed OthelloI saw my first Food for Groundlings show…Culture1 small…
Much of what Krystal writes about the novel also applies to drama, but the difference is that theatre presupposes a community. The writing, editing, manufacture, sale, and criticism of books is, of course, a communal endeavor, but the novel as an artifact can be experienced in isolation. Fiction, speaking very generally, is about the individual…
Similar:SCUBA Diving at the PoolBecause a beautiful sunny day at the poo…CultureWhen she's grown and flown, I will miss the thick deposit of glitter in my back seat.When she’s grown and flown, I will miss …AestheticsHere for the daughter.AcademiaJust submitted final grades for the compressed course that began the day after fall grades…PersonalMoonBot is back.…
Similar:The daughter is in “Very Berry Dead,” a new play which opens this Friday and runs for two …The daughter is in “Very Berry Dead,” a …AmusingThe dress we ordered for the “girl next door” role in The Fantasticks… vs the dress that…AestheticsReally enjoyed watching Your Name with the family. Visuals hooked me, but the…
Similar:Excited for Annette Vee’s visit. My journalism students have to submit a story by midnight…Personal‘Because’ has become a preposition, because grammarThe construction is more versatile than …AmusingThe Mom From The Cat in the Hat Finally SpeaksAs a toddler, my son once methodically s…AmusingWhat Jane [Austen] Saw: 1796 Shakespeare GalleryYou are invited to time travel to…
I was not a fan of this show, but I am a fan of this paragraph: I was a teacher in 2004. I coached our school’s chess club. I saw how my students were picked on, bullied. I tried my best to defend them, but I couldn’t be everywhere. My students were smart, huge nerds,…
“When it comes down to it, life is really all about finding a hashtag for yourself and sending hilarious emoji on Venmo,” Packard said, and then, after a moment of reflection, added: “Lena Dunham.” […] “You’ve gotta ask yourself: Would you downvote the Yik Yak of your own life?” Delaney mused. His mood quickly soured.…
Hardcore Twitterers have the savvy and patience to continuously tune the array of accounts they follow. They even train the nuances of their visual attention to notice only what they care about when scrolling rapidly. However, new users usually get lost in the rough before they have a chance to find any diamonds. The next…
Rake-thin and bearded, Dorsey radiates a sense of composed quietude. Walking and talking around Twitter’s offices, he has the air of a docent showing off a collection of Donald Judd sculptures. He wears a white T-shirt, black jeans, and laceless, orange high-tops that look like they’ve been painted from a bucket of melted creamsicles. “What’s…
We went through a Lloyd Alexander phase at my house a few years ago; I read through the whole Prydain series and a few of his stand-alone works. I did enjoy Disney’s The Black Cauldron, which is technically impressive, and ambitious in its storytelling, but made a muddle of two of the five Prydain books.…
Elsinore is a game where you play as Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. She’s stuck in a time loop, a la Groundhog Day or Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Her goal? To prevent Hamlet, a Shakespearean tragedy so tragic that it borders on ludicrous, from ending tragically…. As Ophelia, you gather information and interact with people…
The words we use and the ways we refer to people mirror — and shape — our perceptions, our attitudes, our behavior. So where to begin? The “r” word has fallen out of use and good riddance. “Handicapped,” too, for the most part. Generally we don’t refer to people as “disabled,” as in “he’s a…
Similar:This is manageable. Far better than some semesters.This is manageable. Far better than some…PersonalI wish I could credit the designer. This is brilliant.PersonalDowntime with the boy.PersonalLooking forward in the back room of the officers' pub, in the #steampunk cruiser from…AestheticsCarolyn and her friend Travis on Twin Day at summer camp.PersonalThe daughter (giving the piggyback ride…
ME (a couple years ago): Okay, students. Get your iPads, go out there and record some interviews, edit them into a news story, and upload it to YouTube. STUDENTS: … ME: You have 50 minutes. STUDENTS: … (Time: the present.) ONE OF THOSE FORMER STUDENTS (by email): I just accepted my first full-time job with vacation…
My daughter just trounced me in a pun war. In high school, I often tried masking my social awkwardness by making puns. Not just random puns, but stupid chains of rapid-fire puns, all on the same general subject. I had these mental lists of puns related to bland subjects like photography (“Lens be serious.” “That…
Similar:Why I Resist Web Redesigns (And Maybe You Do, Too)Words many of us never want to hear: “It…AestheticsI may have mentioned that I have a daughter who does things. Her next is "To Battle: A Fig…Tickets for To Battle: A Fight Play AmusingDon’t Text While Parenting — It Will Make You CrankyThe study summarized in…