I read “The Name of the Rose” during the summer between high school and college, because my high school drama coach (who had been my freshman English teacher) recommended it. I’m sure I’d get a lot more out of it if I read it again now. I assigned “If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler”…
The University of Maryland on Friday disavowed its study saying a company’s chocolate milk could help athletes recover from concussions, citing a range of problems uncovered by an internal investigation. The university said it is reviewing its internal research procedures as a result, and deleting press releases about Fifth Quarter’s milk from its website. It…
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:I'm just getting around to watching this…
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:Jerry Lewis’s Costars Speak Out: “He Grabbed Me. He Began to Fondle Me. I Was…
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:That's what's been bothering me since yesterday's #AirPod reveal. #manamanaNumber of times one of my $9.99 headphon…BusinessPlaying a well-dressed bad guy. PersonalAnother delightful section of a #steampunk #neovictorian control panel. #design #aesthetic…AestheticsEvita in Zelionople CultureLast weekend I roughed out shapes to represent buildings, in order to provide some sense o…Last weekend I roughed out shapes to…
Similar:Oh that sweet, sweet feeling of progress.PersonalMemories of Toronto Yonge Street EncountersI arrived in Toronto in 1992 as a 22yo g…CultureCarolyn and Nick in Beauty and the BeastAestheticsSome problems bringing #Blender3D models into the #Unity3D game engine. The pink represent…AestheticsIndustriousness. Self-improvement. Thrift. And orange slime. The girl amusing herself on our 70m …AestheticsCEO’s brutalist office,…
Similar:Ugh. Unmarked items waiting for me as I start to recover from an illness.PersonalLook at how many times this false claim of media conspiracy is being shared. Compare that …PersonalEnjoying live theater.The Illustrious Invalid. @kinetictheatre_pghPersonalIt's Science! Carolyn Uses Anastasia's Lip Balm KitMy friend Anastasia gave me a home-made …AestheticsA full minute standing ovation after that…
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:Vulcan mind-melds from Star Trek: The Original Series, in the order that I can think of th… With Dr. Simon Van Gelder in Dagger …PersonalYou aren’t doing it wrong… if no one knows what you are doing.PersonalEclipse!PersonalEye of Sauron, Hobbit Door, Palantir and One Ring Easter Eggs.AestheticsPart of my daily routine is practicing German for…
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…