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:Merry Christmas 2019PersonalHitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungrad…PersonalAfter lights out, the girl is knitting.PersonalDance Nation @barebonesblackboxCultureUnion siege cannon, printing press, and "From Slavery to Freedom" were the highl…PersonalMore #blender3d #steampunk goodness. #design #aesthetics #blender3dart Aesthetics
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:The only snow alert you'll ever need.AmusingOh the Overthinks You Can Overthink: Horton the Elephant, the Wickersham Brothers, and Mas…Yesterday, I performed in a school matin…AcademiaI rather like my camera. Bought a new zoom lens a few months ago.PersonalFriday night. What am I doing? #partylikeaprofAcademiaAnother 10 sq cm of details for a #steampunk control panel.…
Similar:Last weekend I roughed out shapes to represent buildings, in order to provide some sense o…Last weekend I roughed out shapes to rep…PersonalRelics (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 4) When a huge hollow sphere traps a Sco…Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-D tr…AmusingGeorge Joseph Jerz (1933-2023)George Joseph Jerz, born on September 3r…EmpathyStack of wooden desk trays…
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:Fall 2025 Grades Submitted!PersonalJesus Christ SuperstarI have a daughter who does things. Her n…CultureLighten Up (an illustrator explores the racial politics of skin color in comics)Lighten Up — The Nib — Medium.AestheticsMy meeting was cancelled, so I spent the morning assembling a cabinet for a Little Free Li…AcademiaHere for the daughter.AcademiaA vacation minibar story…
Similar:My parents doing their daily brain treasers in a coffee shop.PersonalI'm Gradually Losing My Hearing. (It’s Part of Aging.)During a department meeting today, I not…AcademiaI have two scenes in a horror film. My head appears in a third scene.During Fall Break, I filmed my scenes fo…AestheticsMultitasking while studying: Divided attention and technological gadgets impair learning…
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:Business is the most popular college major, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good choiceMake that dime-a-dozen business degree m…AcademiaPeer Review Paranoia: The system is built on trust between scholars. AI is undermining tha…From an essay that includes a reflection…AcademiaOpinion | Alec Baldwin Didn’t Have to Talk to the Police. Neither Do You. “[Police] will…
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:Dress Rehearsal for "My Son Pinocchio"My wife, daughter, and I waiting to star…AmusingLysistrata live.Current_EventsFinished Reading "Fibble," Book 4 in "Heck: Where Bad Kids Go."I finished reading to my daughter the fo…BooksMy parents doing their daily crossword puzzle.PersonalA gangway, flanked by still more #steampunk control panels, leads forward from the chief e…Aesthetics‘Broken Age’ ReviewThis will be…
Similar:Hacking the Attention EconomyThe techniques that are unfolding are ha…CultureSmall Changes in Teaching: The Last 5 Minutes of ClassI just ordered the book Lang mentions in…AcademiaThe posthuman liberal artsAs those familiar with the liberal arts …AcademiaTonight's Supermoon.AestheticsHappy Sweet Sixteen, Carolyn!The girl spent her birthday weekend open…PersonalPluto FlybyWhen I was about 10, I wrote to NASA and…Current_Events