Rewatching ST:TNG When Picard is up in the middle of the night amusing himself with his archaeology hobby, he’s annoyed to find that Stellar Cartography has taken communications, library systems, and the replicators offline. When he heads down there, the officer in charge is taking some sensor readings that are so delicate they can be…
Objective news reporting is an ideal. Wherever humans are involved, there will be bias. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with journalism that reports with a particular slant, but informed consumers of news who want to understand a complex issue aren’t served by one-sided media coverage that flatters and amplifies their world view. This chart sorts popular…
If you said hello to me recently and I didn’t seem interested in smalltalk, but just raised my eyebrows, made friendly sounds, and drifted on, I hope I didn’t seem indifferent. I really was glad to see so many familiar upper halves of faces at the Lamp Theatre last night, but it was also kind…
The role of mainstream journalists is significant, and, overall, their record has been far less than stellar. Too many, whether in a one-on-one interview or at larger sessions with a number of reporters, have failed to push back in a way that matters. Trump is such a facile talker — one who specializes in dazzling…
Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-D visits Deep Space Nine, so that the producers can take advantage of the beautiful promenade set and jam in a guest appearance from DS9’s Dr. Bashir. O’Brien doesn’t appear in this episode, but he’s mentioned in a brief and completely unnecessary scene where LaForge complains the pasta on DS9 “tastes like…
Similar:Me, contemplating the implications of maybe doing a socialize this weekend.PersonalProfessoring. With an(other) apple pie cupcake.I touched up and board-ified a presentat…AcademiaThis the last hour I will have a teenager in my house. (Tomorrow my youngest turns 20.) I blogged in 2004: “The ti…AwesomeDo you get your news mostly from social media? I check NPR,…
For decades, champions of the video game industry have touted gaming’s cultural impact as the equal of literature, film and music. Traditionally, the classic works from those mediums have been preserved for study by future generations, and amid gaming’s global rise in relevance, a group of video game scholars and advocates is pushing to preserve…
Similar:Hooded faculty and staff are loaded into the launch tube below Sullivan. @setonhillunivers…Hooded faculty and staff are loaded into…PersonalPortraits of my 11yo: Pretty, Goofy, and Pretty GoofyAmusingI am not really sure why I have kept it up this long. I have no immediate or foreseeable p… CultureAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d…
Similar:Skin of Evil (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 23)My rewatch reflection on the Star Trek:T…DesignCarolyn's performance as Ariel #bardinbloom @ThePublicPGHSo good to see her preforming live on st…CultureMy son just handed me my serving of noodles in the butter substitute container. Recycling.AmusingI’ll be seeing the final performance tomorrow. @bigstormpcI’ll be seeing the final performance tom…PersonalI…
Rewatching ST:TNG Picard is in sickbay with a gaping hole in his chest. Crusher can’t save him. In a white void, Picard meets a familiar figure, Q, who claims to be God, and conjures up a vision of Picard’s father (who is *so* disappointed), and voices from Picard’s past — people he says have died…
Similar:5 tips for choosing the right typefaceWhen it comes to picking a typeface, you…AestheticsFinding downtime during orientation week is not a walk in the park. Except when the downti…PersonalSpring 2022 Midterm Grades: SubmittedPersonalStudents Produce Breathtaking 3D Simulation of 17thC LondonThe haze effect lying over the city is b…DesignEnjoying live theater.The Illustrious Invalid. @kinetictheatre_pghPersonalInfographics: the…
Similar:USDA's MyPlate – Home page I have mostly a good first impressi…EducationI’m thinking this is a still from the cringey Season 1 episode of TNG where the natives bu…AcademiaThis Is What It Is Like To Be Deaf From BirthUltimately, I got sick and tired of both…Culture“I don’t know how that Jerz guy thinks he’s going…
My friend from high school passed away a few days ago. What an amazing preacher. So intelligent, so approachable, so passionate. What a loss to the Diocese of Lansing and everyone who knew and loved him. I am laughing through my tears at his aside, “I want to smack ’em!” (I knew him…
Rewatching ST:TNG Troi wakes up, looking like a Romulan. When Subcommander N’Vek tells her she’s impersonating the imperial intelligence officer Major Rakal, and that she’ll be killed if she doesn’t play along, he invites her to use her empathic powers to see whether he’s lying. He’s not. He’s using the assumed authority of “Rakal” to…
A conspiracy theory featuring a news story that NPR posted early on Jan 6 2021 and then updated after the pro-Trump demonstration turned into an anti-democracy riot was shared widely last year. My meme explaining the concepts of time-stamps and updating a breaking news story didn’t get shared nearly as much. People who already believe…
Rewatching ST:TNG LaForge gets a little too involved when investigating the disappearance of a lieutenant posted on a remote relay station. On a routine supply mission near the Klingon border, the Enterprise-D finds only a friendly dog and a mystery. The plot requires the details of the mystery to remain fuzzy so that LaForge has…
Similar:One hundred years ago, Czech writer Karel Čapek introduced the world to the word “Robot”PersonalBill Murray Admits A Painting Saved His LifeDuring a February press conference in Lo…Aesthetics11 Tips H.P. Lovecraft Had for Novice Writers”Avoid reading so as not to taint your c…CultureFour Benefits of Being in a RelationshipThe pandemic sucks. We’re spending more …Culture5…
Some of my amazing colleagues have collaborated on an amazing NEH-funded summer institute that provides teachers in grades 6-12 with resources for teaching about genocide. The event, scheduled for summer 2022, includes units on the erasure of Native Americans, an empathy-building Narrative 4 storytelling workshop, and more. There’s a stipend for participating in this event,…
Similar:That's it my boy, throw the clickbait into the water, cast it wide.AmusingThose shoggoths hacked from lungs unspeakable1) Last night, I’m fairly certain some …AmusingA student who is writing her research paper on Taylor Swift made a passing reference to Ka…PersonalThoughtful PopCult Analysis of 'Peanuts' Deserves Better than a Clickbaity Headline Hating…On a shelf in…
Similar:What are you eating at midnight breakfast?PersonalDon't Like Hamlet? Now's Your Chance To Rewrite It”It’s not really fair to say, ‘Look at t…CultureLetter to the editor: Why our English department deserves more respectI came very close to accepting an offer …AcademiaOverview of the Forward Ops station, one deck below the main bridge of the fantasy…