If you encounter the same story on different news sites, that does not mean you caught sneaky America-hating fake news “journalists” in the act. A meme I recently encountered shows three slightly different coronavirus headlines, all of which use the phrase “debate begins.” Text shared along with the meme suggests the repetition means the story…
When given the chance to crop four different arrangements of photos of two different men, each time the Twitter algorithm chose to center on the white man and crop the black man out of the picture. Source: https://twitter.com/sina_rawayama/status/1307506452786016257 Update, 22 Sep: See also https://twitter.com/TLopesVictorM/status/1307846503885672449 Similar:‘WarGames’ and Cybersecurity’s Debt to a Hollywood Hack After…
Friday the CDC released updated guidelines that reflected recent scientific observations that the coronavirus is airborne and can transmit over a distance of more than six feet, as CNN reported. This morning the CDC reversed itself, removing the updated information. From the Washington Post: The agency had posted new guidelines suggesting the virus can…
CNN fact-checks a misleading Biden ad, which edited a Trump speech to make it look like he called coronavirus a Democratic hoax. To be clear, Trump’s informal and freewheeling style of speaking at rallies often leaves his exact meaning hard to pin down. But I agree with CNN that this ad misrepresents Trump’s intentions. Here’s…
Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. The Enterprise tracks a distress call to the lawless colony where the late Lt. Tasha Yar was born. One of the two main factions holds Federation hostages, prompting Picard to editorialize that he “certainly won’t trade weapons for crewmen” — an apparent reference to the Iran-Contra affair. The teaser…
Similar:The Problems of Real-Time Feedback in Teaching WritingSometimes my students get nervous becaus…AcademiaI made some progress.PersonalToday's unexpected but welcome moments of grace She waived a fee. He accepted a…AwesomeI had already created the little utility craft on the lower left, but this weekend I expan…PersonalMy Shakespeare students are off peer reviewing their term paper rough…
Am I doing the tribal rage thing right? Laura Helmuth of Scientific American says the decision to break tradition was both unanimous and quick: “We took this decision very seriously. You don’t give up 175 years of tradition for nothing.” —‘Scientific American’ Breaks 175 Years Of Tradition, Endorses A Presidential Nominee –NPR Similar:A crushing backlash…
I don’t know what this prisoner did, but she sure looks like she existed as a human being, despite laws that defined her as less than human, an animal, and illegal. How dare she! It’s pretty simple when you think about it, isn’t it? If she didn’t want to be arrested, beaten, and executed by…
Similar:Behold this stack of August Wilson library booksYay, libraries. I’m delighted that my co…AcademiaIt's exam week, and at the moment I have exactly one unmarked assignment (for a paper due …It’s exam week, and at the moment I have…AcademiaJoe Turner's Come and Gone (August Wilson's Century Cycle, 2 of 10)August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoi…Books#blender3d…
We stand together against racism. #ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/xfeUACPu8Z — Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 14, 2020 Similar:Overwhelmed? Start a new to-do list with "1) Breathe; 2) Make 'to-do' list" Felt momentarily overwhelmed by the da…CultureMary Rodgers, Composer of Once Upon a Mattress and Daughter of Broadway Royalty, Dies at 8…Mary Rodgers, composer of Once Upon a…
We rehearsed and recorded a Zoom recording of RUR during the lockdown. I really enjoyed being able to do theater while so much of the rest of society was shut down. Here’s a “human interest” promo (which also includes actors who played Robots). Stay tuned for news about seeing the full production. Artistic Prosperity -RUR…
Similar:This long-nelected CD-ROM case tucked away behind my monitor holds almost as many portable…PersonalLovely set for @prime_stage Frankenstein. The daughter joined this cast less than a week a…PersonalThe coronavirus is today just as contagious and just as serious as it was when we were all…CultureThe Problems of Real-Time Feedback in Teaching WritingSometimes my students get…
I’m sure that whoever wrote this headline had no idea how it would look on my web browser, but if this were a print headline, I’d say the design was awful. Similar:Rookie News Anchor — Fired Instantly for Dropping 'F***ing S***' On the AirYes, it is nerve-wracking to speak live …Current_EventsTerms of ServiceFascinating example of…
Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. When people start disappearing from the Enterprise without a trace, only Dr. Crusher remembers them. Some cringeworthy lines (e.g. “If there’s nothing wrong with me, maybe there’s something wrong with the universe”) still earn a facepalm, but I really enjoyed Gates McFadden as she Shatners her way through increasingly…
Similar:Time lapse movie shows exoplanets orbiting star HR8799, 133 light years away. (Published i… AestheticsHow PatrioticAmusingI'm just getting around to watching this speech from Arnold Schwarzenegger. Impressive!I really never paid much attention to Sc…AestheticsThis Is Not a Book: Thomas Jefferson & Apple's App StoreHumanities professors from the Universit…AcademiaIf you like to play with words, good…
“I remember the first meeting where I actually told a city council that it was costing more to recycle than it was to dispose of the same material as garbage,” she says, “and it was like heresy had been spoken in the room: You’re lying. This is gold. We take the time to clean it,…
A very current short play by Bill Irwin. Very creative use of Zoom as a performance space. I didn’t expect it also to cover so much else. Very touching. Similar:Who needs the Metaverse? Meet the people still living on Second LifeYears ago I spent some time in Second Li…AcademiaLincoln’s last play; or, the continuing fascination…
I’ve read about 11 of the Edger Rice Burroughs John Carter / Barsoom series. When my kids were small, I would spend an hour or more at bedtime, reading to them and then turning off the lights and leading a steampunk adventure that lasted for years. I drew lots of pulp adventure details right from…
Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break The Federation faces war with the Talarians over a culture-shocked teenager who sees Picard as a father figure. The Enterprise detects faint life signs on a damaged Talarian ship. Of course they can’t just beam the injured directly to sickbay; they must first send an away team to wave…
Even social events are a minefield. The more people there are, the more spread out everyone is. My excellent lipreading skills can’t surmount distance. I also find myself avoiding things I used to enjoy, like going to stores by myself. I don’t want to worry about one-way conversations.
“Adfl etgjw ilserj mjikas!” That’s what everyone will sound like, if I can hear them at all.
What’s a deaf person to do, at least until face shields become de rigueur?