Battle of Agincourt — 600 Year Anniversary of Henry V’s “St. Crispin’s Day Speech”

Sure, Marty McFly Day is interesting and all that, but Oct 25, 2015 marks the 600 year anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, the occasion for Henry V’s famous St. Crispin’s Day Speech, which, as Shakespeare rendered it around 1599, ends thus: This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er…

The Little Professor: How to write an essay about teaching that will not be published in the NYT, Chronicle, IHE, or anywhere else

All instructors have to assemble their own pedagogical toolkit from the many resources out there and restock it (and recreate it) as necessary.  There is no one single way of being effective.  There is no magic spell (previous post on this blog to the contrary) that will make all pedagogical techniques effective all the time.…

Humanities research is groundbreaking, life-changing… and ignored

Most arguments for “saving” the humanities focus on the fact that employers prize the critical thinking and communication skills that undergraduate students develop. Although that may be true, such arguments highlight the value of classroom study, not the value of research.But humanities research teaches us about the world beyond the classroom, and beyond a job.…

80 Days review

80 Days was my go-to game over the summer, though lately I have switched back to Faster Than Light. I haven’t had the chance to play the updated game, though I have installed it on my iOS devices. This paragraph, from Christian Donian’s review on Eurogamer.net, really impressed me. Great writing, and a great explanation…

Why Japanese Kids Can Walk to School Alone

It’s a common sight on Japanese mass transit: Children troop through train cars, singly or in small groups, looking for seats. They wear knee socks, polished patent-leather shoes, and plaid jumpers, with wide-brimmed hats fastened under the chin and train passes pinned to their backpacks. The kids are as young as 6 or 7, on…

And yes, that’s her picture in the program (from the PPT Shakespeare contest).

At PPT’s The Diary of Anne Frank.   Similar:Where are Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, etc. in your "American Literature" syllabus?The following comment appeared recently …AcademiaSo, what do professors do all day, anyway?Some days I am not Dennis. I am Marky Mc…AcademiaWe Had No Idea What Alexander Graham Bell Sounded Like. Until Now | History & Archaeology”Hear…

Track and field fundraiser:photo by Carolyn. FIRST ONE!!!

Similar:Your first test layout of medieval city streets will be your worst. #blender3d #medievalyo…Your first test layout of medieval city …DesignTalked too much during a meeting today.Talked too much during a meeting today. …AcademiaBrass desk lamp, with translucent green shade and glowing light bulb filament. #blender3dPersonalWhat blogging wasI’ve maintained this blog since the spri…CybercultureHow exactly…

My Kids Are Shatner Than Most

I passed along to my geeklings an appreciation for hammy sci-fi overacting.   Similar:'History has treated her badly': Hamnet and the 400-year-old mystery around Shakespeare's …Anyone seen “Hamnet”? I was not too i…CultureI really enjoyed powering through Wilson’s Century Cycle during winter term.AwesomeProper commenting is an important part of coding any project, especially in an…

Cave Gave Game: Subterranean Space as Videogame Place | Electronic Book Review

Electronic Book Review just published an article I wrote with Dave Thomas, on cave space in video game ecology. Parts of this article are a companion to my 2007 Digital Humanities Quarterly article on the 1970s text computer game Colossal Cave Adventure. Crowther’s translation of real world caving experience into the digital medium provides a…

The Tribune-Review published a nice preview of Dani Girl.

My daughter Carolyn, Matthew Hommel, Vinny Tresco, and my wife are in this show.  (My wife is also the director.) The show runs Oct 1-3 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 at the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottsdale, Pa.) Geyer production ‘Dani Girl’ offers inspiration to those touched by cancer. –Tribune Review Similar:Computers and Writing 2020…

NASA confirms the best-ever evidence for water on Mars

Mars is the only [other] place where we have solid evidence for liquid [water]. —The Washington Post –– Similar:Fact Check: No, an NPR story on the Trump supporters' attempted coup dated January 6, 2021…According to the Internet Archive, this …Current_EventsHow dual loyalties created an ethics problem for Chris Cuomo and CNN An editorial on on the…