To defend Fox personality Tucker Carlson against a defamation lawsuit, Fox’s lawyers successfully argued that no reasonable viewer takes Carlson seriously. CBS | MSN This is a legal win for Fox, who convinced a judge that Carlson is “not stating actual facts” on his show. As Defendant notes, Mr. Carlson himself aims to “challenge[] political…
One of the weirder ways this debate has played out since Barrett was first discussed as a potential Supreme Court nominee is the fight over whether or not People of Praise, the group of which she is a member, is also one of the inspirations for The Handmaid’s Tale. In Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel (and its recent TV adaptation), fertile women are forced to live as childbearing slaves called handmaids. The book isn’t an established inspiration — but the story has developed legs anyway.
Similar:Mr. President, stop attacking the pressReagan recognized that as leader of the …CultureMe, contemplating the implications of maybe doing a socialize this weekend.PersonalEye of Sauron, Hobbit Door, Palantir and One Ring Easter Eggs.AestheticsRecording Christmas Stories for WAOB Audio TheatreFor WAOB Audio Theater, my family spent …PersonalI really enjoyed powering through Wilson’s Century Cycle during winter…
The State Department revoked a prestigious award from a Finnish journalist because of social media posts critical of President Donald Trump, according to a report from the State Department Office of Inspector General. Although the watchdog found that the State Department had acted within its “broad discretion” to rescind the award from Jessikka Aro, it also…
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:The Sword of Kahless #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4,…
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 girl’s first day on set filming for “The First Day of Summer” Carolyn plays a teenager who’s outsi…CultureMisleading to suggest that because I have nothing left to mark that I have nothing to do, …PersonalEveryone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom do the dishes.CultureThe chief engineer has a…
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:Predatory Journals Hit…
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:Alas for You (Godspell, Stage Right)Three weeks ago tonight, I got an email …DramaThe Feynman TechniqueTo master a topic, pretend you are teach…DesignMe, contemplating the implications of maybe doing a socialize this weekend.PersonalSHU Italy Trip « blogs.setonhill.eduSeveral students on Maureen Vissat‘s M-t…AcademiaThe Chronicle of Higher Education Announces Plan to Limit, Curate CommentsBy 2016, the terrain has…
We stand together against racism. #ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/xfeUACPu8Z — Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 14, 2020 Similar:The Importance of Writing Skills in Tech-Related FieldsGood writing skills are valuable, even i…AcademiaA practical application of close reading skills: Nazi-spottingWhenever I teach a literature class, I p…AestheticsMicrosoft's Bing AI Now Threatening Users Who Provoke It: "If I had to…
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:Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated WritersThe AI authors’ writing often sounds lik…CybercultureThe Search for IT Relevence — Featuring Seton Hill IT Guru Phil Komarnyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGh6MasSU…AcademiaBlue Feed, Red FeedFacebook is designed to keep your attent…CultureA stranger took this photo of my parents doing their daily crossword together in a cafe.A stranger took this photo of…
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:Microsoft “lobotomized” AI-powered Bing Chat, and its fans aren’t happyMicrosoft limits long conversations to a…Current_EventsSteampunk officer uniforms — test #Blender3D #Unity3Dhttps://youtu.be/SDh4TW8ujNg The vide…AestheticsiTunes 11:…
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:In Changing News Landscape, Even Television is VulnerableThe transformation of the nation’s news …CultureThe Portable Writing desk — the Victorian laptopFocusing on the materiality of writing, …AestheticsShe’s wearing a shirt with a frog. We are in town to see the Frog and Toad musical. This s…She’s wearing a shirt with a frog. We ar…AmusingTechnology's Impact…
“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,…