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:The girl performed musical commercials for a…
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:Google Pledges $300 Million to Clean Up False NewsThis is a welcome step, but we…
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:I just discovered what will grind up a significant portion of my free time over the break.So Khan Academy now has a grammar unit. …PersonalA day may come when the strength of the girl fails and she must make more than one trip to…PersonalAnother 40sq cm chunk of a #steampunk control panel. I'll do three…
Similar:The poetry of deafnessMy auditory processing disorder makes it…AestheticsI had a grand time recording this little story about a misunderstood genius who just wants… The Cask of Amotillado (read by Denn…Culture“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Very glad I got my son interested in 2001: …PersonalPrepare to lower the personnel deployment gondola…
Similar:Chipping away at the total as the final submissions pour in.PersonalCollege student makes masks for the deaf & hard of hearing Other than one trip to the grocery sto…Current_EventsWhite House photo access controls public imageRather than permit photojournalists to s…CultureWoman Yelling at Cat About Academic Argument: an evidence-based defense of a non-obvious p…See: Academic Argument:…
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:When you accidentally send a "Dear Satan" letter.My family and I are in the voice cast of…PersonalThere was a hand, too. Did you bring the hand?AmusingSpent a half hour taming this tangle of cables (left) with a little tiny six-inch-wide car…AestheticsCaptain Gearheart inspects progress on his #neovictorian #steampunk æther cruiser. Now fea…https://youtu.be/VXz7kspFimM AestheticsHi, I’m the…
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:I accidentally started a Wikipedia hoaxHoaxes roam the Information Superhighway…BooksMars Curiosity rover sings 'Happy Birthday,' dares Earth to collect royalties One year ago today, NASA’s Curio…AmusingMy wife reports: “There was one smart aleck walking along the street who exclaimed: “Look,…PersonalMore split-screen actinghttp://youtu.be/EGgeZWskEs8DesignSweaters from Rover?From Awful Library Books. For more schad…BooksIs this stripe appearing or disappearing?…