Some of Elon Musk’s stunts have caught my attention. He was involved in founding the company that became PayPal (which I use from time to time, to accept freelance payments and to pay other freelancers), and I can see a lot of people would benefit from the high-speed train systems he has advocated, but I…
Similar:I’ve finally started to create female uniforms for the #neovictorian fantasy #steampunk æt…PersonalMy 10yo Created Bookmarks to Express Her Complex Relationship with ReadingMy 10yo has a complex relationship with …BooksFrozen (Greensburg Civic Theatre, Greasepaint Players)DramaThe Challenger disaster, Jan. 28, 1986On this day in 1986, the Challenger spac…EducationHelp! I may be running out of excuses for…
The Holocaust was the most murderous and massive manifestation of Jew hatred — and it began and ended with the aid of conspiracy theories. State-sponsored conspiracism fueled the genocide of 6 million innocent human beings. A major pillar of Nazi ideology — and an effective method of drumming up anti-Semitism — was the false accusation…
I can’t believe I’m fact-checking a viral story about a plastic potato, but Hasbro is removing the “Mr.” from its “Potato Head” logo, and offering a new mix-and-match package that includes two potato bodies, one baby potato, and a bunch of loose parts that will let kids put them together however they want. That…
While some survey respondents were unfamiliar with the term “humanities” (apparently guessing that it had to do with the study of the human body), once they were given the definition “studying or participating in activities related to literature, languages, history, and philosophy,” most respondents had a high opinion of the subject. Predictably, people who were…
It’s a bit of a stretch to call this Teddy Roosevelt quote “encoded,” but it’s still fun to notice. We’re told to be on the lookout for more surprises as the mission develops. Systems engineer Ian Clark used a binary code to spell out “Dare Mighty Things” in the orange and white strips of the…
Similar:R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) Artistic Prosperity TrailerWe rehearsed and recorded a Zoom recordi…ArtKeeping things in the proper perspective at 4Cs: Praise for my delivery of a line from Sta…Already met a lot of good people and fou…AcademiaIn an Unpredictable Job Market, How Should People Think About College Majors?I tell my students that if what they…
New video from NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover chronicles major milestones during the final minutes of its entry, descent, and landing (EDL) on the Red Planet on Feb. 18 as the spacecraft plummeted, parachuted, and rocketed toward the surface of Mars. A microphone on the rover also has provided the first audio recording of sounds…
Years later, after earning my degree in Jazz Performance from Howard University, I joined a country band where I was the only Black member. It was 1983 when we visited Frederick, Maryland, and played at an all-white bar (a bar where Blacks were legally allowed to enter but wouldn’t be welcomed). After I finished a…
Beckett’s masterpiece Waiting For Godot was once famously described as ‘the play where nothing happens – twice.’ First produced in French and then re-written by Beckett into English, it remains one of the most significant plays of the twentieth century. Beckett described it as a tragi-comedy: it has as much comedy within the characters and…
Similar:Lego-Building Tween Refers to "The Hobbit" TextMy daughter, having just received a hand…AestheticsI just caught myself thinking, “This doesn’t suck.” #medievalyork #mysteryplay #blender3d …I just caught myself thinking, “This doe…AestheticsRespect the Text: Teaching Textual Primacy to Non-English MajorsIn the past, I have used the first day o…AcademiaFamily outing to the Pittsburgh National AviaryPersonalI am at…
I often invite my colleague Kelly Clever to give the “library session” to my freshman writing students. Of course there’s only so much anyone can accomplish in a single session, but my students often credit her for helping them make the leap from a general idea to a well-formed research question. Maybe they end up…
If it were possible to build a digital novelist or poetry analyst, then computers would be far more powerful than they are now. They would in fact be the most powerful beings in the history of Earth. Their power would be the power of literature, which although it seems now, in today’s glittering silicon age,…
I already bought the thing, and I’m only looking in the manual because I can’t figure out what’s wrong with the non-working piece of junk, so I don’t really want to read a chipper note congratulating me on my purchase. People hate reading instructions, and will only glance at them after they are already frustrated…
The pandemic sucks. We’re spending more time with a smaller circle of people, and tensions can mount. But I’m grateful my family is together, and grateful for our health. Sure, things could be better. Recently in my email I found this reflection on the benefits of being in a relationship. 4 Main Benefits of Being…
Today, February 18, 2021 at 20:44 UTC (3:44 p.m. Eastern US time), if all goes well, another robotic rover will land on the planet Mars. —Bad Astronomy Similar:STAR TREK's Still as Relevant on the 50th AnniversaryIn situations of change, it is natural f…CultureHow Will Historians of the Future Run MS Word 97? How Can We…
Technology is wonderful. My journalism students prefer to conduct their interviews by emails, but the word “interview” defines a back-and-forth exchange where the reporter can respond to body language and other subtle cues that don’t make it into emailed responses. Also, it takes non-trivial effort for interview subjects to write out their answers, only a…
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carolyn Jerz (@i_am_carolyn_jerz) Similar:Responding to Literature at the College LevelA new handout, based on the opening lect…AcademiaMonument Valley: Minimal story, but an engaging world and a satisfying ending.I was in no rush to finish the beautiful…AestheticsAnti-globalism Is Common Factor in Social Media Conspiracy Theories,…
Similar:How Americans DieFantastic data visualization. How Ameri…CultureThe Backstory: A reporter arrested while covering a protest faces trial Monday. Here's why…Journalists are human, humans make mista…CultureFanciful Fun in Theatre Factory’s “The Fantasticks”A great review from Pittsburgh in the Ro…CultureGoogle Books ruled legal in massive win for fair use (updated)Update in a legal battle that’s been goi…BooksWhen…
On Nov. 14, 1889, Bly waved goodbye to family and friends from the New Jersey Hoboken Pier aboard the Augusta Victoria steamer. Traveling by steamships and trains, her journey sent her around the world from America to England, France, Italy, Egypt, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan, and back to a port in San Francisco. She then traveled by train across the U.S., with four major stops including Harrisburg, Pa., before arriving back in New Jersey on Jan. 25, 1890.