My wife reports: “There was one smart aleck walking along the street who exclaimed: “Look, it’s the Ghost of Plastic-Waste Past!” and his friend said worriedly “Are we gonna get… milk?”

Similar:Another section of a #steampunk control panel, made in #blender3d for a personal project. …AestheticsProgress.PersonalFULL BLOOM (Aug 31-Sep 2)PersonalForward is the officers' wardroom. To the right is an airlock. Left leads to the on-call o… AestheticsIdentity Crisis (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 4 Episode 18) The Case of LaForge’s Disapp… Rewatching ST:TNG An enjoyable …MediaMy daughter…

The Mind’s Eye (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 25) LaForge Abducted by Romulans

Rewatching ST:TNG (Not sure where this review went!) Similar:Soldiers and Sailors Memorial and Museum Another visit to Pittsburgh with my his…CultureSeton Hill Hogwarts Dinner What would I get if I added powdered…AcademiaAnnoyed and Bored by Lazy Anachronisms in The Great Gatsby MovieI just watched the recent Great Gatsby m…AestheticsPittsburgh Post-Gazette reducing print edition to 2 days…

In Theory (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 25) Data Gets Boyfriendzoned

Rewatching ST:TNG (Not sure where this review went!) Similar:Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship EverI’ve felt a bit like this guy the last f…CultureSeton Hill Hogwarts Dinner What would I get if I added powdered…AcademiaShen Yun Chinese dance troupeOne of seven touring groups devoted to s…ArtThe disinformation system that Trump unleashed will outlast…

Friday 21st March 2025, the sun set on the British Empire for the first time in 200 years

This the sunlight at that time is shown on the map above, when the sun is set on Pitcairn, there’s still around an hour until it rises in Akrotiri and Dhekelia, meanwhile as it’s just after the spring equinox, the sun will have set over the south pole beginning it’s 6 month long night, and therefore setting on British Antarctic Territory.

I’m not really a royal watcher but I’m fascinated that the UK has de-royalized the king’s brother over his misbehavior

Prince Andrew has lost all of his royal titles, including “Prince,” in an unprecedented move by King Charles He will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and has been ordered to surrender his lease at Royal Lodge The move comes amid renewed scrutiny of Prince Andrew’s ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein…

Everyone thinks AI is replacing factory workers, but Amazon’s layoffs show it’s coming for middle management first

Amazon announced Tuesday that it will cut roughly 14,000 corporate jobs, or about 4% of its white-collar workforce, as part of a restructuring meant to “reduce bureaucracy” and “remove organizational layers,” according to a memo. In the memo, Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience at Amazon, said the cuts are designed to make the…

Wood pile stacking animation (Blender 3D)

For a medieval project, I wanted a wood pile, but I didn’t want to have to stack the individual wedges manually. I’m experienced enough with Blender 3D that it only took me a few minutes to get this simulation running — but as this video clip attests, I need to adjust a few parameters. …

The poetry of deafness

My auditory processing disorder makes it hard for me to process speech when I can’t see the speaker’s lips. My wife is being treated for an ear infection. We are asking each other “What?” after somebody coughs, after we ask each other “What did you say?” and after we answer each other “Never mind.” In…

New stamp commemorates Irish priest who saved thousands from the Nazis

I recall being very moved by the 1980s Gregory Peck / Christopher Plummer made-for-TV movie “The Scarlet and the Black,” which dramatized this story. From the late summer of 1943, O’Flaherty worked with “The Organisation”, a massive partisan network, to save more than 6,000 Allied prisoners of war, anti-Fascists, and Jews from Nazi concentration and…

Let’s talk about AI art (long, scrollworthy post from The Oatmeal)

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art Similar:We ask 3 Broadway photographers: How do you turn a live show into a still image?Great story about the art of photographi…AestheticsStunning writing in this WaPost reflection on the Trump campaign's journey from a gold esc…I’m stunned by the writing. Here’s just …CultureHow a billionaires boys’ club came to dominate the public squareThe world’s…

Maybe it wasn’t a sensible idea to hold 5 hours of student consultations on the day midterm grades were due, but I really enjoyed it.

Similar:The poetry of deafnessMy auditory processing disorder makes it…AestheticsHaven (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 10) When a low-stakes rom-com shows Troi's beau and …Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaI told them to put their name on both pages.I told them to put their name on both pa…AcademiaChoosing Carolyn's HeadshotWhich of these headshots do you like…

Surprised by Mama Cass Elliott’s “Different” — powerful folk-pop ballad in trippy 60’s “H.R. Pufnstuf” TV show

I miss the convention in movies and TV shows in which the main characters visit a music hall or club, and we watch them watching an entire number. Maybe they exchange a few lines during a musical bridge, but mostly they’re just in character, sitting through a performance. I have only fragmentary memories of H.R.…

Folger Shakespeare Library on “The Fate of Ophelia”

Similar:Public, Private, Political: Social Theories and Blogging PracticesPublic, Private, Political: Social Theor…AcademiaDan Rather, who knows a thing or two about fake news, shares tips for news consumers”If you find yourself agreeing with ever…CultureOde to Huckleberry Finn, Dec’d(Inspired by Emmeline Grangerford, Dec’d…CultureBlade Runner | Typeset In The FutureThis is nerd heaven — a deep analysis o…AestheticsFour…

Folger Shakespeare Library on “The Fate of Ophelia”

On my ride into work yesterday, my mother mentioned “That popular singer has a song about a Shakespeare character.” I had seen social media posts about Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia,” but hadn’t investigated yet. I watched the video right before teaching my “Shakespeare in Context” class, and I felt kind of overwhelmed. I…

When backwards newbie poets write…

Similar:Can't upload photos to Facebook from my MacBookI spent 30 minutes trying to upload abou…CybercultureHide and Q (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 9) Riker, buffed up by Q, grants desires of the…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…AmusingFriday night. What am I doing? #partylikeaprofAcademiaFinished Reading The Chronicles of PrydainWe could hardly stop reading just before…BooksMy 13yo…

Empok Nor #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 24) Horror-themed visit to derelict Cardassian station

Rewatching ST:DS9 Dax, Worf and Kira arrive at an otherwise empty bar. Before Quark can take their order, a mechanical noise drives them away. In a service tunnel (the source of the noise), Nog is expertly assisting O’Brien, but something goes boom, critically flabbergasting all the station’s jimberjams. The only way to unflabbergast them is…

Where are Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, etc. in your “American Literature” syllabus?

The following comment appeared recently on one of my YouTube lectures, “Historical Context for American Literature.” American???? So where are: CANADA, MEXICO, GUATEMALA, CUBA, COSTA RICA, BRAZIL, CHILE ARGENTINA, PERÚ, COLOMBIA, PANAMÁ, URUGUAY, PARAGUAY, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, VENEZUELA… ETC ETC ETC. STOP SAYING THE UNITED STATES IS AMERICA! Here’s how I responded: Geography and names…

The dawn of the post-literate society

The world of print is orderly, logical and rational. In books, knowledge is classified, comprehended, connected and put in its place. Books make arguments, propose theses, develop ideas. “To engage with the written word”, the media theorist Neil Postman wrote, “means to follow a line of thought, which requires considerable powers of classifying, inference-making and…

Excited for Annette Vee’s visit. My journalism students have to submit a story by midnight tonight. @setonhilluniversity

Similar:More modular low-poly background buildings. I’ll do some more facades then move to the nex…More modular low-poly background buildin…AestheticsMany familiar faces in this cast but this one is my favorite. Sold out opening of Grand Ho…PersonalWhen she's grown and flown, I will miss the thick deposit of glitter in my back seat.When she’s grown and…

Is it okay to say clanker?

Clanker is a derogatory term used to insult AI and its products and services such as delivery robots, therapist chatbots and automated customer service. Why try to hurt the feelings of something that, oh wait, has no feelings? Like most slurs, it has more to do with the speaker using it than the object of…