Party Like a Jerz

 My dad just made us root beer floats. Similar:Man enough to sew my own computer bag. Insecure enough to seek validation on social media …AmusingAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAesthetics8 (Short Halloween film by Josh Reardon)My daughter and I appear in this short f…AestheticsBeautiful. No Data / Lore opposition required. AestheticsUnnatural…

Rest assured, there will soon be enough Rey toys to monetize the imaginations of the little girls who grew out of princess worship

The problems of female characters being under-represented in geek merchandise is real. But when it’s a secondary character like Gamora or Black Widow, at least toy companies have an excuse. When the girl is not just the star of the movie, but of the whole franchise, that’s another story. That character, of course, is Rey,…

When Asking the Question is Part of the News Story (New Example: Clinton Supporters)

I ask my journalism students to avoid using the phrase “When asked about…” as a default transition in news stories. While they are taught in freshman comp classes to introduce their quotes and then explain the significance of the quotes, to a journalist that’s just filler. This story from the Daily Mail (a UK publication…

The Chronicle of Higher Education Announces Plan to Limit, Curate Comments

By 2016, the terrain has shifted. Publications of all stripes are re-examining what it means to engage with their audiences and to encourage productive conversations. Quite a few of those conversations — including ones about our work — have already moved to social media. Many publications have played down comments or eliminated them altogether; others…

What Khan Academy’s Fun, Free Learning Empire Has to Do with Dystopian Social Control

Over the Christmas break, I’ve been churning through Khan Academy math drills, so that I can be a more effective homeschool parent. It’s actually kind of fun watching my score go up, and earning badges. In the way that birds who are trained to peck buttons for food think it’s fun to peck their little beaks bloody. As a grad student ploughing through…

A Thursday throwback to end 2015.

Similar:A brief respite from grading. A brief respite from grading. PersonalAmong today’s major professional accomplishments: installing this hook. #springbreakMy office door feels more complete now. …AcademiaMore #steampunk control panel goodness. This section features a nice retro pixelboard text…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…AestheticsAnd if my point of view is somewhat misty-eyed…And if my point…

Daughter made a Rainbow Loom Marty McFly. Note vest jacket and hover board.

Similar:Hamlet. #tobePersonalStuffed planet Venus, made for me by my dear mother, around 1974.AestheticsT-Shirts for student journalists who recently leveled up to “staff writer”(with bear signe…PersonalArsenal of Freedom (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 21)With an A-plot that comments on the Cold…CultureEnjoying an ice cream cake, apple pie, and the classic Star Trek episode “The Doomsday Mac…PersonalChess…

And so it begins.

Similar:The Nagus (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 11) Quark is named the financial lead…Rewatching ST:DS9 In an episode focus…CultureHitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungrad…PersonalLife in Code and Software (Open Humanities Press)This book explores the relationship betw…AcademiaJournalism: Muzzle your biases. Seek out diverse but credible…

Is There a Santa Claus?

Update, Dec 2020:   We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: Dear Editor— I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If…

NASA Releases New Earthrise Image

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) recently captured a unique view of Earth from the spacecraft’s vantage point in orbit around the moon. “The image is simply stunning,” said Noah Petro, Deputy Project Scientist for LRO at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The image of the Earth evokes the famous ‘Blue Marble’ image taken by Astronaut Harrison Schmitt during Apollo…