Winky Winky Drudge Report

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…

Passing On a Torch

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…

A Hazard Of New Fortunes: On Bernstein’s ‘Attack Of The Difficult Poems’

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…

A few Dwarven Moments in Stage Right’s Snow White

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:Liz Fosslien's insightful comic on unhealthy conflict vs. healthy conflict.PersonalAfter some long-delayed recabling, these are the bits I…

Elderly woman who botched religious fresco demands royalties – Telegraph

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…

Grammar Girl : How Do You Tell If Something Is True? :: Quick and Dirty Tips ™

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…

Neverending stories

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…

RUN. HIDE. FIGHT. Surviving an Active Shooter Event – English – YouTube

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…

Abandoned Walmart is Now America’s Largest Library

Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle transformed an abandoned Walmart in McAllen, Texas, into a 124,500-square-foot public library, the largest single-floor public library in the United States. The design won the International Interior Design Association’s 2012 Library Interior Design Competition. MSR stripped out the old ceiling and walls of the building, gave the perimeter walls and bare warehouse ceiling…

Opting Out of the ‘Rug Rat Race’

When you talk today to teachers and administrators at high-achieving high schools, this is their greatest concern: that their students are so overly protected from adversity, in their homes and at school, that they never develop the crucial ability to overcome real setbacks and in the process to develop strength of character. American children, especially…