Stunning writing in this WaPost reflection on the Trump campaign’s journey from a gold escalator to a landscaping parking lot

I’m stunned by the writing. Here’s just a sample: Outside the Clark County Election Center in Las Vegas, a news conference was interrupted by a hysterical man in a sleeveless tank that read “BEER BBQ FREEDOM.” “The Biden crime family is stealing this election!” he screamed over and over again, as if repetition would make…

I accidentally did too much DuoLingo. I don’t want to advance to the harder league. Come on, Valerie…

Similar:Star Trek Beyond was an enjoyable nerdy family outing.PersonalThere is a thing in literature, theme X.I’m very happy that several students in …AcademiaMcCain's 2008 Concession Speech: Republicans interrupt their candidate's concession speech…That moment during McCain’s concession s…CultureI just looked up the context for the bald guy dropping the chili. I guess I was expecting something…

Trump communications director Murtaugh rallies supporters by tweeting fake Washington Times front page

Here’s more evidence of just how crucial it is to the Trumpiverse to sustain the narrative that “the media” are the enemy. Earlier today, Trump’s Director of Communications Tim Murtaugh tweeted a picture of a Washington Times banner headline announcing the victory of “PRESIDENT GORE,” as “a reminder that the media doesn’t select the Present.”…

It started with a ride down an escalator and ended with a press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

Earlier today Trump tweeted that his campaign would hold a “Lawyers Press Conference at Four Seasons, Philadelphia.” He later specified that he didn’t mean the prestigious Four Seasons hotel, but rather an unrelated business “Four Seasons Landscaping,” which happens to be located next to an adult bookstore and near a cremation company. One imagines that…

McCain’s 2008 Concession Speech: Republicans interrupt their candidate’s concession speech to cheer about what the election of his opponent says about the USA

That moment during McCain’s concession speech in 2008, when he mentions Obama, and a ripple of boos begin. McCain, his face showing disapproval, holds up his hands palms down — a controlling gesture, but a calming one. He says the simple word, “Please,” and patiently waits until his audience settles down. He says he just…

Scientists thought only male birds sang – until women joined the research

For more than 150 years, scientists have considered bird song to be an exclusively male trait, but female scientists have changed that. Americans often idealize scientists as unbiased, objective observers. But scientists are affected by conscious and unconscious biases, just as people in other fields are. Studies of birds’ vocal behavior clearly show how research approaches…

What a fluke (great headline; great story)

Similar:How journalists can prep for a possible violent eventJournalists face a unique threat when co…CultureLooking forward in the back room of the officers' pub, in the #steampunk cruiser from…AestheticsOn Immigration, Poetry Isn’t Policy, but Poetry Matters, by David French, National ReviewThe conservative National Review offers …ArtCitations: Efficient In-text QuotationsWhen writing a paper in MLA style,…

Everyone Nov 1

Similar:As Mount St. Mary’s Offers to Reinstate 2 Professors, Faculty Demands President QuitThe president of Mount St. Mary’s Univer…AcademiaAnd so it begins.BooksBogus hit-and-run story about Vice President Kamala Harris created by Russian troll farm, …A healthy respect for the free press and…Current_Events'Island of the Blue Dolphins' woman's cave believed foundFor more than 20 years, Navy…

Online dating is a method of virus control

I first met my wife in person, but we were in a long-distance online relationship for a year, and some weeks are so busy we text each other more than we speak in person. Starting a relationship during a pandemic would be tricky. Similar:Thanks to all the students, faculty, staff, and family who joined us…

Flannery O’Connor reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

It’s striking to hear her audience erupt in laughter at the comedy bits in the opening scenes. I assume they didn’t know what they were in for!   Similar:Distant Voices #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 3, Episode 18) Dr. Julian's very Jungian 30t… Rewatching ST:DS9 Bashir is less than…MediaThe Siege (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode…

Essential Journalists: How Coronavirus Changed TV News

https://youtu.be/CWcEABVWbfA Similar:Trump communications director Murtaugh rallies supporters by tweeting fake Washington Time…Here’s more evidence of just how crucial…CultureStop sharing those unsourced memes about "be woke" and "God doesn't need soldiers" — here…Pope Leo XIV, in his first address to jo…CultureFascinating, and very sad, story behind an iconic National Geographic photo.Fascinating, and very sad, story behind…

COVID-19 Becoming Less Deadly

Bits and pieces from a news article that summarizes recent scholarly studies. Some  moderately good news, and a reminder that increased testing means finding more cases, and finding them earlier, which means people get medical treatment sooner. (More testing means less suffering and fewer deaths. For those of us who care about such things.) Over…