Skillful propagandists always leverage people’s pre-conceived notions to steer the conversation away from what is prejudicial to their side’s interests. The tactic works because it often deflects attention towards other injustices that are also real, making it easy to elicit a strong emotional response that blinds the audience to the underlying cynicism. Redfish, for example,…
The problem isn’t Shakespeare—it’s how he’s been taught. […] Since Shakespeare’s work is “not of an age but for all time,” as Ben Jonson famously put it, I suggest that you get over your Bardophobia and embrace your inner Bardolator. Trust me, it’s worth it. First, you need to relax. You’re not stupid. You’re not…
I really enjoyed seeing the first workshop performance of SHU alum Greg Kerestan’s original horror-comedy musical, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” based on the classic 1920 German expressionist silent film. The music is powerful, and the cast is hilarious and creepy, in all the right proportions. The daughter plays a ballet mistress socialite (and…
Similar:After decades lost, Star Trek’s original Enterprise model may have been foundLong before sci-fi shows created their v…DesignIn education, Apple must augment the reality of the cheap notebookIn 2012, Apple tried to position iPads a…CybercultureEclipse!PersonalTrump, halting his own policy: "I didn’t like sight of families being separated." No fake news here. This is why journ…Current_EventsSherlock…
In the Constitution, any suspect is innocent until found guilty by a court, even suspects who kneel for eight minutes on the throat of an unarmed, handcuffed person who is caught on video pleading to breathe, passing out, and dying. If the court hasn’t (yet) ruled that a death is homicide, then it’s not accurate…
Similar:Waiting for the house to open. @prime_stagePersonalThose shoggoths hacked from lungs unspeakable1) Last night, I’m fairly certain some …AmusingI may have mentioned that I have a daughter who does things. @frontporchtheatricalsI may have mentioned that I have a daugh…CultureThe Duolingo owl is proud of me.PersonalPrepping for the “Celebration of Scholarship and Service” #york2025 #medievaldrama #mediev…PersonalChess…
Rewatching ST:TNG After Worf loses a photon torpedo. Picard takes Data with him on a three-day shuttle jaunt to find it. I realize so far that probably sounds like a joke, but it’s accurate. They return to find the Enterprise-D adrift, and the corridors filled with animal noises. (I was listening with headphones, and the…
Interesting introduction to the history of musical annotation and copyright. The journey to that sheet music copyright began with Greek and Roman grammarians; they had developed signs to guide declamation (high voice, low voice and falling voice). Musicians adapted those signs to “[indicate] the contour of a melody.” This provided “a memory aid to singers who knew words and melody by heart.” In the…
Similar:When backwards newbie poets write…Personal"A Mushroom at Last… A Mushroom Forever"I asked my 10yo why she was moping. “…AmusingShrek: The Musical (Nov 22-24; Stage Right! Greensburg)Come see me as the Captain of the Guard,…Current_EventsMaybe it wasn’t a sensible idea to hold 5 hours of student consultations on the day midter…AcademiaAnother very rough day. Students are…
Similar:Masked, vaxxed, and settling in to watch live theaterBarebones is a little black box theater,…BooksTransfigurations (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 25) Injured Humanoid Charm…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaMy laptop hard drive is full & my comfort-food shelf is emptyMy laptop drive is full & my comfort…CultureWhen she's grown and flown, I will miss…
Rewatching ST:TNG An agitated engineer is poised to leap inside a warp nacelle’s plasma stream. He tells Riker “they laughed at me,” and jumps. Picard wants to know what happened so he can break the news to Lt. Kwan’s parents. Data tells LaForge he had great difficulties after he initially became sentient, and considered resetting…
Source: The dangers of short form content – The Woke Salaryman: Similar:Show, Don't (Just) Tell (another update)AcademiaThe Most Epic Demo in Computer History Is Now an OperaThis is nice, but what I really want to …AestheticsEmpok Nor #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 24) Horror-themed visit to derelict Ca…Rewatching ST:DS9 Dax, Worf and Kira ar…EthicsProgress…
Rewatching ST:TNG Masks (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 17) Ritual symbols start appearing on the ship and mythological figures inhabit Data’s personality. This script is a mess. The comic opening is good. During an art class in the children’s center, Troi encourages Data to explore his imagination, but his sculptures are comically literal. The…
An interview means a real-time give-and take, not a list of questions you email. Most people worth interviewing are too busy to write out their answers to help you meet your deadline. If you can’t meet in person, ask if your source will do a videoconference, or even (if they’re the right generation) an old-fashioned phone call. (Gasp!)
Hoarding disorder — a mental health condition in which people have trouble getting rid of possessions because of a perceived need to save them — affects about 2.6 percent of people worldwide, according to the American Psychiatric Association. There are higher rates in those over 60 and people who have other psychiatric problems, such as anxiety…
Rewatching ST:TNG In the captain’s chair on a night watch, Dr. Crusher tells Troi why she likes being in command. Troi then tells Riker she’d like to take the bridge command test, too. Data has been collecting radioactive metal from a remote site on an inhabited planet, but something has clearly gone wrong, because he…
Similar:Nature walks 2012 and 2018.AestheticsIt's exam week, and at the moment I have exactly one unmarked assignment (for a paper due …It’s exam week, and at the moment I have…AcademiaParty Like a Jerz My dad just made us root beer floats.PersonalAs I was preparing to take this screenshot, two more papers came in.I still have odd…
This is the overall traffic to my website. The spike was driven by a burst of visits to this one page. Similar:Audisee Presents: The War of the WorldsAs new age synthesizer music, a rich bar…BooksMy mom’s Lionel train set (a gift from her father in 1948) had been in storage for 35 year… My mother…
Rewatching ST:TNG As Riker and Troi discuss crew evaluation reports in Ten Forward, we spend time with four junior officers who would normally get a few lines each. We already know Nurse Ogawa and Ensign Sito (one of the cadets who obstructed an investigation in s5e13 “The First Duty“). Lavelle is a square-jawed Dudley Do-Right…
Similar:Playwright #AugustWilson Takes Center Stage on U.S. Postal Service Commemorative Forever …https://twitter.com/USPS/status/13548292…CultureIn May, 2002, I was blogging about… typefaces in period movies; poets Paul Dirac and Ste…In May, 2002, I was blogging about …ArtJournalists call out White House claims on terror reportingThe easily-disproved surface-level claim…CultureA computer scientist urges more support for the humanities (opinion)”Lior Shamir,…