University of Virginia president takes an important first step in addressing serious allegations of sexual violence. I gained no personal benefits from the fraternity/sorority culture at UVa, and while I understand not all fraternities are party-first houses, I would not shed a tear if the whole fraternity system shut down permanently. Beginning immediately, I am…
Completing a humanities degree is a good marker for economic success. I regularly tell my students that their liberal arts degree will make them competitive for internships, and that it’s the internships (plural) that will get them their entry-level jobs. The present value of the extra earnings that graduates in humanities majors can expect over…
Gamergate originally began as a hashtag in social media after an independent game developer’s ex-boyfriend made public allegations against her regarding a close relationship between the developer and a journalist in exchange for positive press, which was later proven false. Since then, the controversy has escalated to reveal what many in the gaming industry say…
I am thrilled to be part of this great cast. “The thing that makes ‘Fiddler’ so special is the story of family, the story of tradition,” says Tony Marino, artistic director at Stage Right Theatre Company, which brings a production of “Fiddler” to The Palace Theatre in Greensburg from Nov. 21 to 23. Marino says…
This weekend, I will be playing the rabbi in Stage Right Theatre Company’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. Here is a video I made last year, during the dress rehearsal of Children of Eden, using a handheld iPod Touch. Here is a picture of a rabbi. On his forehead, he’s wearing a phylactery — a…
Idea for a scientist pull-cord doll: “Fashion is hard!” Very interesting in the light of this: I made a shirt for one of my close pals @mggtTaylor for his b’day. Did not expect this!! #shirtgate #shirtstorm #Rosetta #Shirt #sewing — Elly PriZeMaN (@ellypriZeMaN) November 13, 2014 Here’s Glenn Reynolds’s take: So how are things going for…
Congratulations, President Meadows. You have turned the little local squabble you wanted to silence into a very public issue. (See “Streisand Effect.”) Meadows said even though the administration is not prevented from speaking with students about the labor impasse, he had declined to answer [student journalist] Garber’s questions about the dispute. That, Meadows said, means…
I’m really enjoying the experience. I’ve made a playlist of all the numbers I’m in, and as I drive or do laundry I’m mentally practicing the choreography. What do we do again after the sunburst? Am I supposed to cut in front of or behind Travis when we zip our two separate lines into a…
How very sad that someone with this level of visibility is making the choices Matt Taylor has been making. A female scientist who chose to appear at a public event dressed like the sexualized women on Taylor’s T-shirt would likely be criticized as unprofessional, so it’s only fair to wonder what Dr. Taylor was thinking when he chose to wear…
Vienna State Opera, funny ballet. Слава Украине! – YouTube. Similar:Twelfth Night Cast Photo (Prime Stage, May 3-12)My daughter can hardly stop talking abou…AestheticsIn May, 2001 I was blogging about lanuguage, design and Cliffs NotesIn May 2001, I was blogging about B…AmusingGem of the Ocean (August Wilson's Century Cycle, 1 of 10)August Wilson’s Century Cycle >…
Words that defined Ronald Reagan’s presidency, as remembered by the White House speechwriter. As a speechwriter you spent your working life watching Reagan, talking about Reagan, reading about Reagan, attempting to inhabit the very mind of Reagan. When you joined him in the Oval Office, you didn’t want to hear him say simply that he…
I gave my class a Poem to read. The author’s Name — I hid. I said, “How would you recognize A poet — edited? “What if each Dash I have removed — And lowercased each Quirk?” The students said, “Well, Dr. Jerz, Then you would be a jerk.” The prose version: The poem I showed…
After last night’s first rehearsal for “Fiddler on the Roof,” things that have made me start singing “Tradition!” in my head so far today: 1) Reading the name “Alyssa.” (Alyssa!) 2) Thinking about textbooks for next semester. (Edition!) 3) Thinking about hell. (Perdition!) 4) Turning on my car engine. (Ignition!) 5) Thinking about my upcoming…
This year I have seen an uptick in the percentage of users who are visiting my website with a mobile device. About a year ago, I introduced a responsive web design on my site, with the idea of making it more friendly to narrow screens. I’m glad that design was already in place before I…
Yes, the article is interesting, but I’m blogging it for the Jane Austen reference. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a journalist in possession of a negative statistic must find a way to blame Millennials for it. In 2012, Jordan Weissmann and I observed that young people were turning away from homes and cars,…
The theories of evolution and the Big Bang are real and God is not “a magician with a magic wand”, Pope Francis has declared. Speaking at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Pope made comments which experts said put an end to the “pseudo theories” of creationism and intelligent design that some argue were encouraged…
The FBI fabricated a story to look like a news piece with an Associated Press byline about bomb threats against Lacey’s Timberline High School in 2007, according to documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and revealed by the ACLU on Monday. The FBI also created a fake email link “in the style of…
A comic about Seagulls. If you feel like this…. #FriesGate Similar:I Set A Trap To Catch Students Cheating With AI. The Result Was DeflatingMy classes are generally small enough th…AcademiaGIFs, memes and liveblogs: The controversial new language of book reviewingSalon has an interesting essay on multim…AestheticsNews organizations held off on reporting Venezuela raidThe New York…
Although the IF community first formed around Inform, a tool for creating parser-based games of the popular sort released by Infocom (Zork, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy game, and A Mind Forever Voyaging), tools today are numerous, and many of them bypass the compelling but fricative parser language entirely. For example, in recent years,…
I used to wear a suit and tie when I taught technical writing at my previous job. In part I was sending a message that technical writing is a profession, and in part I was playing dress-up to enjoy the first full-time job I’d ever held (at age 29, after 11 or so years doing…