I’ve been a college English faculty member for over 20 years and I just realized I’ve been spelling and pronouncing “detritus” wrong all my life. A short while ago I realized I had typed “detrius” — and that’s how I heard the word in my head — “DEE tree us.” But the word has an…
Similar:Celebration of Writing Fall 2019PersonalYouTube distortion after the same clip is re-uploaded 1000 timesIn theory, technology lets people make a…AestheticsThe State Of Media EmploymentThis is why I require my “new media jour…BusinessMany things in the world are awful right now but my latest section of a #neovictorian them…AestheticsThe 19th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition Welcome to…
Ford built about a half dozen of these custom cars designed by Allegheny Steel. I’m not a car guy so I can’t place it beyond that. Similar:Me: Carolyn, are you ok? Carolyn:Just reminding myself that I am a gift.AmusingA Robotic Dog’s MortalityFascinating video journalism from the Ne…CultureAmazon may well be the most evil company in…
Playwright August Wilson Takes Center Stage on U.S. Postal Service Commemorative Forever Stamp 📬📃🖊 #AugustWilsonForever #BlackHeritageStamps https://t.co/Ezj04lKcPa — U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) January 28, 2021 Similar:After decades lost, Star Trek’s original Enterprise model may have been foundLong before sci-fi shows created their v…DesignThe Out-of-Control AuthorWhen you’re writing just for yourself, y…BooksA Word About Group ProjectsOkay,…
Don’t reject a news source just because it slants against your own slant, and don’t accept a news source just because it slants the same way you do. Update: Media Bias Chart 10.0 If you find a news source where you agree with all the content all the time, that doesn’t mean the source is…
I have shared and liked this image, and incorporated it in lesson plans. The juxtaposition suggests that the little knot of photographers is hunkering down in order to make a small fire appear more threatening in front of L’ Arc de Triomphe in Paris. I have seen plenty of cases where unrelated images were juxtaposed…
After spending several days clicking buttons and ticking boxes and waiting for pages to refresh in my school’s content manager, I really, really miss the command line interface. This video shows the 1970s computer game “Colossal Cave Adventure” running on a printer terminal (that is, its only display is text that it prints out on…
Similar:My wife Leigh will direct the small-cast drama "Full Bloom" Aug 30-Sep 2My wife Leigh received a Pennsylvania Co…ArtThe Incredible Shrinking Ad [The Future Web Is Mobile]Is higher education ready for the switch…AcademiaMaking progress.PersonalI had a grand time recording this little story about a misunderstood genius who just wants… The Cask of Amotillado (read by…
August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoiler-free scene breakdown Premiered: 1982; Broadway 2017 Setting: 1977; Becker’s cab station, Pittsburgh Act I.i (morning?) Youngblood accuses “old man” Turbo of cheating in checkers; Turbo accuses Fielding of drinking his gas money; Youngblood turns down a grocery run, which Turbo takes; Youngblood gets defensive at Doub’s silent look; Shealy…
In January 2001, I was blogging about The Onion: Clinton Not Expecting to Collect White House Security Deposit Anachronisms in the movie Titanic A textual detective who helps the FBI solve crimes and says Clement Clark Moore did not write “A Visit from St. Nicholas” A student whose client backed out needed a project, so…
August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoiler-free scene breakdown Premiered: 1990 (Broadway 1992) Setting: 1969; Memphis’s small restaurant, Pittsburgh Act I.i Memphis (hard-working and honest) complains that Wolf (notorious numbers runner) is tying up his phone; Risa (waitress with self-scarred legs) doles out sugar at Wolf’s request; Memphis complains his “old lady” left him and wouldn’t…
Similar:The girl on Halloween 2018. (The boy and I were watching the 1931 Frankenstein at the libr…PersonalContagion (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 11)Picard faces aggressive Romulans and an …DesignAfter lights out, the girl is knitting.PersonalTalked too much during a meeting today.Talked too much during a meeting today. …AcademiaOkay yes, this affirmation does matter to me…
The confirmation bias describes the very human tendency to reject evidence that challenges our worldview, and to seek out — and often cling to — evidence that supports it. If we believe black cats are bad luck, we remember every time a bad thing happened to us after we saw a black cat. If someone…
Similar:I played Pseudolus freshman year in college. Haven't seen the show in a while.AmusingAnother random background control panel for a #blender3d #steampunk project. I wish all us…AestheticsMore glorious #steampunk control panels, created for no practical purpose. #blender3d #ble…AestheticsAnd now that June’s almost over, it’s time to start prepping for the fall term. (Sigh.)Personal"I'm a geek.…
August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoiler-free scene breakdown Premiered: 1985 Setting: 1957; 1965; Troy Maxon’s lived-in backyard, Pittsburgh A prose prologue contrasts the experience of European immigrants who were embraced by cities, with the opposition faced by the descendants of African slaves. I.i. (Friday evening) Troy (large man) and Bono (his “follower”) “engage in a…
Similar:"We are not Amazon franchises": booksellers respond to Amazon Source Wonderful snark from an indie bookselle…AmusingOn the way to the theater for the show! Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd.PersonalOn the Ethics of Rebranding a Former Trump Administration Official as an Amusing TV Person…It’s also a disservice to readers to rep…CultureThe ballroom of my #steampunk fantasy…
August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoiler-free scene breakdown Premiered: 1995 Setting: 1948, backyard of a house, Pittsburgh I.i. (Sunday; right after Floyd’s funeral) Louise sings a “bawdy song” as Red Carter and Canewell squabble over pie; Canewell admire’s the preacher’s sermon, and Vera reports seeing six angels that came out of the sky; Canewell and…
Whenever I teach a literature class, I put a lot of energy into helping students understand the difference between the plot summary and personal engagement (“The character I could most relate to in this story was…”) they got praised for doing in high school, and the more advanced literary close reading skills I ask them…
A few hours after the horrifying attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol, I received a text from a friend noting, with distress, the picture of Republican senator Josh Hawley pumping his fist in support of the mob just a few hours before the attacks. “But Hawley went to Stanford,” they wrote. “He…
August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoiler-free scene breakdown Premiered: 1987; Broadway & Pulitzer Prize 1990 Setting: 1930s, Doaker’s house, Pittsburgh Scene description mentions an old upright piano with legs carved in African style. I.i. (5am) Offstage Boy Willie calls, waking Doaker (severe, settled railroad cook). BW introduces Lymon, from “back home.” He asks for Bernice.…