Toddlers, multiple experiments have shown, can test hypotheses about how machines work—for example, they can figure out which blocks made a machine play when some but not all blocks trigger the toy. We have to be careful, though. This exploratory, quasi-scientific approach to the world doesn’t last if adults teach kids to do something else: Kids will let adult…
Palmer’s Kickstarter page shows her proffering a Dylanesque hand-lettered sign proclaiming, “THIS IS THE FUTURE OF MUSIC.” She may be an authority on this topic—having asked for two hundred thousand, she got $1.2 million. That is not a particularly folksy sum, but not yet the stuff of ignominy. Album in hand, Palmer prepared to tour.…
In an advanced new media class, I’m introducing technical writing to some excellent students. When I asked for a technical report, I got a lot of very well-written essays. It’s a media production studio, not a writing class, so I haven’t made the specifications of the technical report genre very central to the instruction, but…
I have a lot of memories associated with the campus mail room. As an undergrad, I wrote a lot of letters, and sent them in envelopes with stamps, and got a fair number back. But email and Facebook is so much more efficient — I’m not surprised that campuses are looking at ways to put…
When a failing high school tries to reinvent itself, it turns to writing — with amazing results. At my own high school, our science teacher was a retired nuclear submarine admiral who used to say, “Give me students who can read and write, and I can teach them to pilot a nuclear submarine.” So I’m…
Silly fun, just in time for the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. via KLINGON STYLE (Star Trek Parody of PSY – GANGNAM STYLE) – YouTube. Similar:When it comes to the truth, point of view really does matter.You may have seen a version of this meme…DesignAs if 2021 wasn't already bad enough, it…
The transformation of the nation’s news landscape has already taken a heavy toll on print news sources, particularly print newspapers. But there are now signs that television news – which so far has held onto its audience through the rise of the internet – also is increasingly vulnerable, as it may be losing its hold…
The Drudge Report today features an amusing array of images — Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Hilary Clinton, and Russian President Vladimir Putin — all of them winking. Clearly the nonverbal message is that all these people — who are unpopular with the conservative populist base to which Matt Drudge caters — are working together. The…
I recently introduced my kids to “The City on the Edge of Forever.” Here’s another dad, writing about introducing his kids to classic Star Trek. But they aren’t just younger versions of me; they pick up on stuff I didn’t at their age. After a few episodes, The Girl asked “why don’t the girls get…
Fugelseth said he was inspired to launch his son’s prized toy after seeing a similar video using a Lego figure. “I figured if two high school kids can send a Lego man to space, then I, as a grown man, can make Stanley [go] to space,” Fugelseth told the Oakland Tribune. Using a weather balloon and…
Bernstein recognizes the affect that difficulty first releases — anxiety, reluctance, the deep breath as one gathers resolve to do something difficult, such as read a poem known for its difficulty. His performance includes several masks, switching the impression to a generic Dr. Phil (“Difficult poems are not like this because of something you as…
The dwarf scenes were a real hoot. Below is a shot of me as Brandybuck, the crabby 2nd-eldest dwarf. It was a genius move to put some of the funniest lines into this iconic death scene. Similar:The black chair is down to 18¢ per ounce? Shut up and take my money, Amazon!PersonalOne of the…
The elderly Spanish woman who ruined a religious fresco with her botched restoration is now demanding royalties from her work after it became an unlikely tourist attraction. An internet petition to keep the repair job garnered widespread support and seizing an opportunity to swell its coffers, the church began levying a 4 euro (£3) entrance…
There’s a buzz of excitement this week in the Greensburg rehearsal studio at Stage Right, where a local cast is preparing for the premiere of a full-length musical a year in the making. Anthony Marino, Stage Right’s artistic director, has big plans for “Snow White the Musical” that don’t end at the Palace Theatre. He’s…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiIRCoHoNv0 Choreographer and actor Renata Marino talks about creating a dance number for her character, the evil queen. The video also includes a clip of Elly Noble (Snow White) and Vinny Tresco (Prince Edward) singing a duet. Show runs at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg, Pa. Sept 21-23. www.stagerightgreensburg.com Similar:Notes on Teaching August Wilson's…
Thanks for the link, Karissa. The article begins, “It used to be we thought that people who went around correcting other people’s grammar were just plain annoying. Now there’s evidence they are actually ill, suffering from a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder/oppositional defiant disorder (OCD/ODD). Researchers are calling it Grammatical Pedantry Syndrome, or GPS.” The Hallmarks…
“But I’m going to be a video game designer!” protests one of my Grade 10 English students. “I don’t need to be able to read novels or write essays.” The way the game is rigged right now, in order to gain admission to a reputable video game design program in a traditional post-secondary institution, one…
The reason they survive to this day, Zipes suggests, is because the classic fairy tales—such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel, which all have analogues in cultures throughout the world—are perfect examples of “memetic” engineering. Drawing on the notion of the meme coined by Richard Dawkins, Zipes imagines the elements of fairy tales competing for…
I’m the one holding the camera and coming in obviously late on the base line, but we’ve all just learned this song within the past 40 minutes or so, and we’re pretty happy with how it’s coming together. Snow White: The Musical “Chores” Rehearsal – YouTube. Similar:Jumpsuit for a female mechanic in my #neovictorian #steampunk…
Department of Homeland Security-funded video. Part of me hopes it’s more effective than the infamous “duck and cover” cold-war films, but that’s probably the part of me this video is carefully designed to mollify. I must say the chevon design theme looks cool, and the “Run > Hide > Fight” very nicely emphasizes the hierarchy…