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The Little Professor: How to write an essay about teaching that will not be published in the NYT, Chronicle, IHE, or anywhere else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

Verify or duck. Confirm each detail or leave it out of your news story.

Similar:International Studies Association proposes to bar editors from blogging “I think it’s a really strange propo…AcademiaFor some reason, I saw a bump in traffic to a page that linked to a "make-your-own-Trump-e… This sort of thing was funnier back …AestheticsParadise Lost #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 12) Sisko Uncovers a Conspiracy on…Rewatching ST:DS9 Continuing…

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…

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

Similar:I'd love to do a shift at these gorgeous #neovictorian workstations, created in #Blender3D…AestheticsLive theater. August Wilson's Jitney, in the back yard of the August Wilson House.PersonalIf you want to work with words, then journalism courses are very practical options.Academia#PPTPlaytime Tartuffe @thepublicpgh (Looking forward to Part 2 of this live videoconferenc…CultureBooks Come Alive! Catalina Magdalena…

My Kids Are Shatner Than Most

I passed along to my geeklings an appreciation for hammy sci-fi overacting.   Similar:Sesame Street had a big plot twist in November 1986My older siblings say they remember our …CultureIn-home schooling popularity slipping across stateWe were on our way out the door to see A…CultureThe captain will shortly address the officers and crew. Please have…

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:Just in case you…

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:Networks cut away from Trump’s White House addressNEW YORK (AP) — ABC, CBS and NBC all cut…Current_EventsBoston Herald Guild Members Boycotting Twitter After Reporter SuspendedMembers of the Herald’s editorial guild …Current_EventsDo Black Holes Create New Universes? Physicist Lee Smolin…