Sample, improved lyrics: “An old man turned 98 /He won the lottery, and died the next day (from a severe paper cut from his lottery ticket).” Similar:What Part of “No, Totally” Don’t You Understand?English continues to evolve. I noticed t…CultureApocalypse Rising #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 1) Sisko Infiltrates a Klingon…Rewatching ST:DS9 Worf and…
Rewatching the classic Trek episode “The Conscience of the King,” which features a Shakespearean acting troupe. In one scene, McCoy writes a report on a wedge proto-iPad… …but in the very next scene Kirk scrawls on a piece of paper. This episode also features characters doing computer searches, using an exposition-friendly voice interface to call…
At least three journalists left NBC, after the network aired a tape of George Zimmerman, edited in a manner that substantially altered its content. Filed in Seminole County, the suit adds that “NBC News saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about…
Jon Negroni creates a meta-narrative to connect every Pixar movie, using Boo as the still point in the turning universe. Every Pixar movie is connected. I explain how, and possibly why. Several months ago, I watched a fun-filled video on Cracked.com that introduced the idea (at least to me) that all of the Pixar movies…
The contrast between KTVU’s treatment of its triumphs vs errors reminds us of the difference between journalism vs public relations. Similar:RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsTweet: Came…
Last week, the Fox-afiliated KTVU fell for a prank, repeating offensive fake names for the pilots involved in the crash of Asiana Flight 214 last week. [S]even-year veteran KTVU producer Brad Belstock closed his @producerBB Twitter account after his last Friday tweet just moments after the names were read aloud on the air by Tori Campbell.…
Francesca Borri writes of being a freelancer and a woman covering the war in Syria. (When my life gets hectic, a story like this helps me keep some perspective.) Similar:When is the phrase "when asked about…" part of good news writing? Rarely.A new graphic for an existing handout, w…AcademiaMy students seem increasingly confused by the…
Is your Sunday feeling incomplete because you haven’t read anything about punctuation today? This explanation of the semicolon should help. You’re welcome. Similar:Debunking the newspapers are dying ideaDon’t count on viral social media posts …CultureLincoln’s last play; or, the continuing fascination with “Our American Cousin”E. A. Sothern as the foppish and silly L…CultureIn October, 2000,…
My wife is something of a hoarder. Now, as it happens, I have saved my half of the slip of paper that I tore so that we could write down each other’s phone numbers back when we were about 22, but she saves old catalogs and phone books (phone books!) from years ago. Sometimes, when…
So I’m not being selfish… this is a parenting strategy. Similar:The Printed Word in Peril: The age of Homo virtualis is upon usWho, I thought, besides a multidisciplin…BooksBattle of Agincourt — 600 Year Anniversary of Henry V's "St. Crispin's Day Speech"Sure, Marty McFly Day is interesting and…CultureWho's ready for some free outdoor Hamlet?PersonalThat's what's been bothering…
Next up: Stage Right summer musical theater camp starts Monday! Similar:Office Hours Are ObsoleteI have nothing against holding office ho…AcademiaKindle App Vs. iBooks. (Spoiler: They’re Virtually Identical Now!)I noticed with interest that Kindle now …AestheticsThe Miracle Worker opens tomorrow.PersonalAdobe Shockwave interfereres with my system, blocks my attempts to remove it, and replaces…Does Adobe Shockwave fit…
Testing a tool to automate connections between iOS apps. Similar:LEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing parents[C]hildren play to get oxygen, to unders…CultureWhen a Blogger Shares a Too-good-to-be-true Meme Featuring Hilarious Handwritten Notes fro…Or something like that.HomeEmail Tips: Top 10 Strategies for Writing Effective EmailAfter reading a clickbaity Bloomberg art…HomeAnnie Sullivan on teaching: Helen Keller,…
Similar:NASA astronaut: Russians were ‘blindsided’ by reaction to yellow suitsI posted a while back about the yellow a…AestheticsFor News Outlets Squeezed From the Middle, It’s Bend or BustHundreds of thousands of people on Faceb…BusinessThe Medium is the MoralIt has been more than 40 years since Mar…AcademiaEmissary (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2)…
Submitted revisions of 6 video tutorial scripts & drafted 5 more. Also, scored 3 boxes of leftover reception cupcakes and 1 of brownies. Similar:Lovely set for @prime_stage Frankenstein. The daughter joined this cast less than a week a…PersonalYork Corpus Christi Pageant, Toronto, June 7I’ll be in Toronto next week to observe …AcademiaFall 2025 Grades Submitted!PersonalMelora…
Blogging this so I can find it when I teach my “News Writing” class this fall. People do like to prank journalists with fake names. In this case, the reporter did what you’re supposed to do — get confirmation — but sheesh. KTVU reports fake racist names of Asiana Airlines 214 pilots from NTSB intern…
I recently bought a new phone. since then, I have answered an incoming call in my car. It felt awesome. Similar:Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling…
I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:The Printed Word in Peril: The age of Homo virtualis is upon usWho, I thought, besides a multidisciplin…BooksStudents tend to zone out during my lectures on proofreading. I time it so I can say “clas…AcademiaThe case for puns as the most elevated display…
These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:York Corpus Christi Play Simulator Screencast (PSim 2.1; D.G. Jerz)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwNv1lx3…AcademiaEnjoyed watching the restored version of the hugely influential 1927 sci-fi movie #Metropo…Enjoyed watching the restored version of…AestheticsIn September, 2001 I was blogging about… With a grant from UWEC, I was able t…AestheticsYou can be a…
A thoughtful reflection on religion in Star Trek. While Humans aren’t depicted as participating in any form of organized religion (there is a reference to a Christmas party here, a nod to monotheism there), the series also includes a distrust of science and technology, regularly depicting mad scientists, societies over-dependent on technology, etc.) that insists…
If you’re legally present on a public street or sidewalk, you can legally photograph anything in plain view. (This includes children and crime victims… but just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea.) If law enforcement engages you, ask whether you are free to go; if so, then move out of the…