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:The Last Outpost (ST:TNG Rewatch. Season 1, Episode 4) Riker shouts from…
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:AI-generated essays are nothing to worry about (opinion)After reviewing 22 AI essays I asked my …AcademiaAnother delightful section of #neovictorian #steampunk control panel, intended for backgro…One of…
In the wake of the pandemic, the entertainment industry created a new position on set to help keep outbreaks at bay. […] The demands of the job are big: sanitization, testing, safety equipment and distancing. Cast and crew are split into different zones, based on the frequency of testing and ability to wear masks. The…
I’m proud of the daughter for her involvement in this Equity audio production. (Some of the screams mentioned by the reviewer are hers.) One would be hard-pressed to find a more perfect production for the pandemic, as the radio drama comes with no visuals and forces one to shut out the outside world for the…
https://youtu.be/CWcEABVWbfA Similar:The Loss (#ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 10) Troi's Empathic Sense FlatlinesRewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….EmpathySteampunk flag for the United States of Britannia (from the alternate history my kids and …In the steampunk world my kids and I mad…AestheticsIs There a Santa Claus?Update, Dec 2020: https://www.youtube.c…CultureMénage à Troi (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three,…
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…
My big finish as Alquist in a Zoom-based production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Similar:A student who had often been frustrated during my class used this poem in her final reflec… PersonalThe Duolingo owl is proud of me.PersonalStar Trek The Original SeriesAmazing mural. Amazing. …AestheticsCalifornia Political Cyberfraud Abatement Act Pulled by AuthorCalifornia’s Ed Chau withdrew…
Rewatching ST:TNG. The plot, such as it is, quickly gets Picard and Wesley separated from the Enterprise and in the company of a mining shuttle pilot who challenges Picard’s authority. After a few on-location scenes in a bleak desert, the story shifts to the standard generic cave set, where some falling chunks of foam and…
I wish I had the time or energy to get out the telescope and camera, but I did go out for a walk in the neighborhood and got an eyeful of this in the sky. Similar:Settling in for a half day updating my knowledge of the job market my students will face.Settling in for a…
In October 2000, I was blogging about The F. Scott Fitzgerald Short story “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” (background; full text) A biography of Virginia Woolf The precarious status of English as a global language A call for papers for a special issue of Text Technology devoted to interactive fiction (I have a copy on my shelf…
There are some sound pedagogical reasons for turning cameras on. Thus, I suggest sharing those reasons with the students before giving them the choice of what to do about their cameras. Explain why you are making your request. For example, being able to see students’ faces gives instructors a quick and easy way to discern whether students are finding the material engaging, at least in smaller classes. One instructor told me that “I asked students to turn their cameras on to say hi to their classmates at the beginning and end of class, and those were the best moments of the class.”
Similar:Jesus Christ SuperstarI have a daughter who does things. Her n…CultureColorful variations of an upholstered desk chair for my fantasy #steampunk #blender3d proj…AestheticsThere was a hand, too. Did you bring the hand?AmusingAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. Trying to add a subtle pattern to the light-…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…AestheticsWhen you…
Similar:Confessions of a Nerdy Homeschooling DadAre you unexpectedly home-schooling your…CultureSCUBA Diving at the PoolBecause a beautiful sunny day at the poo…CultureSee The Nutcracker!@laurelballetperformingco dancers and full @westmorelandsymphony orches…DanceVery impressive mural has been installed in Admin for SHU’s Centennial.PersonalThe daughter is in “Very Berry Dead,” a new play which opens this Friday and runs for…
Obviously I would have preferred to see it live, but the pandemic-era video presentation — with clever graphics that indicate stage actions and pop-up text that augment the recorded performances — was subtle and touching. Similar:Thoughtful analysis of how the tension, shot choices, and music contribute to a memorable …https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbq9xy8a…AestheticsReaders Are Liars: The 1928 Study…
Similar:My Polish grandmother used to bake these cookies, which my wife picked up at a Ukranian fe… My grandmother shaped …AestheticsSmalltalk through masks is hard; I really was glad to see so many familiar upper halves of…If you said hello to me recently and I d…CultureI accidentally did too much DuoLingo. I don't want to…
The daughter plays Laertes in Seton Hill’s free, live Zoom production of Hamlet (with a film noir theme) which opens tonight at 8. (The first half will be performed tonight and next Friday; the next half will be performed Saturday and next Saturday.) Free tickets to Seton Hill’s livestreaming video production of Hamlet Through the…
From The Brookings Institution (non-profit, deeply sourced factual writing; has been accused of both conservative and liberal bias; is cited in Congress about equally by conservative and liberal politicians; leans a bit left in terms of loaded language): American institutions are not perfect, of course. We all should want to improve scientific practices, remove bias…
Sinclair Lewis’s 1935 anti-fascist novel adapted for radio by Berkeley Rep. Similar:A practical application of close reading skills: Nazi-spottingWhenever I teach a literature class, I p…AestheticsApple faces threat of legal action over ‘in app’ paymentsI haven’t taken the plunge and installed…BusinessWhere Silence Has Lease (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 2)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureCrabby…
It was a reporter’s bodyguard, not an anti-fascist activist, who shot and killed a right-wing demonstrator who had assaulted him. The viral spread of those false claims apparently alarmed the Denver Police Department, which had taken Dolloff into custody along with the journalist he was guarding and quickly determined that they were not left-wing…
Similar:T.S. Eliot: "when we do not know enough, we tend always to substitute emotions for thought…I remember being fascinated with and cha…CultureStar Wars: The MusicalThe Walls are Closing In It’s all …DramaThis is what happened when a KDKA-TV journalist showed biasSocial media platforms are full of peopl…CultureDC Art Science Evening Rendezvous (DASER)Live in the…