One Does Not Simply: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Internet Memes

When we envisioned a journal of visual culture issue on ‘Internet Memes’ over two years ago, we sensed that the best way to be generous to our subject matter was to not presume to know what it would look like. Academic publishing – characterized by its long review periods and labored revision processes – habitually…

12yo Actress Carolyn Jerz on Pict Classic Theatre’s Great Expectations: “Your heart will be torn.” (WCNS “Steppin’ Out”)

My daughter, who plays Young Estella in Pict Classic Theatre’s “Great Expectations,” was interviewed on Tony Marino’s WCNS “Steppin’ Out” local arts radio talk show. I’ve embedded the 10-minute segment below. During the segment, she told a ghost story about the Charity Randall theatre, she said her favorite scene is the manners lesson Pip receives from…

On UVa rape story: Rolling Stone editors “regret the decision to not contact the alleged assaulters to get their account.”

Rolling Stone, how about you apologize by disclosing the money you made by sensationalizing the under-researched UVa fraternity rape story, and donating it all to a women’s shelter and a journalism scholarship? To Our Readers: Last month, Rolling Stone published a story titled “A Rape on Campus” by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, which described a brutal gang rape…

Top 8 events not to miss in December

My daughter Carolyn appears as Young Estella in PICT Classic Theatre’s Great Expectations, the first of NEXT Pittsburgh’s “Top 8 events not to miss in December” 1. PICT Classic Theatre’s Great Expectations: December 3 – 20, Stephen Foster Memorial Kick off the holidays with a timeless moral tale that begins on Christmas morning. Follow along with…

Typeset In The Future

While watching classic science fiction films like Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey, do you find yourself distracted from the plot because you spend so much time studying the typography of the computer displays, the signs in public areas, and whether Ripley’s name really appears in Pump Demi in a nameplate in the main cabin…

Major benefits for students who attend live theater, study finds

I wonder what additional measurable benefits come from *performing* in live theater? Field trips to live theater enhance literary knowledge, tolerance and empathy among students, according to a study published this week by researchers in the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform…. “What we determined from this research is that seeing live theater produced…

What Does Children’s “Obsession” With Technology Tell Us About What They Really Need?

Wise thoughts. When we look at children spending what appears to be excessive amounts of time watching television and using smartphones, tablets, and other devices, we are often looking through the lenses of our own experiences—memories of reading, playing outside, socializing with friends and family, and seemingly long stretches of time in which we didn’t…