Our understanding of COVID-19 has accreted around the idea that it kills a few and is “mild” for the rest. That caricature was sketched before the new coronavirus even had a name; instead of shifting in the light of fresh data, it calcified. It affected the questions scientists sought to ask, the stories journalists sought…
Similar:What kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationI went down fighting.PersonalBattlestar Galactica 'Launch When Ready' Bridge Girl Fan Page (updated with links to archi… –Battlestar Galactica ‘Launch When …CybercultureAnother section of a #steampunk control panel. Useful for a cutaway shot after a character…AestheticsProto iPads and…
Another very rough day. Students are cheerful and patient, obviously happy to be here. I can barely understand what the students right in front of me are saying. (It’s not about volume… the problem is I can’t see their lips moving; I do have an appointment with an audiologist Friday.) I long for the days…
Similar:White antiracist hero: "A hired killer fired a bullet right at Cassius’ chest… just as Cas… What a story! Sharing sto…CultureThe annual patriotic showing of #1776 has begun.CultureJournalism has become ground zero for the vocation crisis When scholars of journalism study the …BusinessHow Exactly Do You Catch Covid-19? There Is a Growing ConsensusFrom the…
I survived the first day teaching in a masked classroom. As I expected, I had a very difficult time hearing my students. I felt awkward taking up the first class talking about myself, but I told them I’ve recently been diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder. My ears can pick up the sounds of their…
Bee walked on six spindly legs to the spot where Spider had stopped moving. Bee, whose job was to record the doings of the lab, had been across the room, but its video feed had captured the moment. The tiny arachnid-shaped bot had been monitoring the bio-nanobot colonies when it teetered and fell, alone. “Can…
Plenty of news organizations have reported on the tragic case of a white boy who was murdered while riding his bicycle. One must ignore easily verifiable opposing evidence to claim that “the media” are universally ignoring this story. It’s even more unhinged to latch upon the conspiracy theory that the reason for this (non-existent) lack…
Similar:Bihar Boards: An annual ritual of cheating and chitting!When Board examinations are due in Bihar…AcademiaHumanities and STEM Can and Should Get Along BetterIn my lit and writing classes, I regular…AcademiaThe Myth of ‘Learning Styles’The discourse around “learning styles” (…AcademiaWriting a Cutline (Caption) for the News: Three examples of an often overlooked journalism…In journalism, the “cutline”…
Similar:As a student journo, naturally I covered the visit from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry…I recall just sort of telling the editor…AcademiaMore #steampunk control panel goodness. This section features a nice retro pixelboard text…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…AestheticsOut for an April stroll.NatureLook what mysteriously appeared outside my office door!PersonalTom Wayman's FAQ on "Did…
One of the few harsh critics of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, which premiered 70 years ago. Mr. Bentley, who was also a playwright, was an early champion of modern European drama in the 1940s but had little use for American plays. Source: Eric Bentley, Critic Who Preferred Brecht to Broadway, Dies at 103…
On Tuesday, as Florida set a daily record for covid-19 deaths, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods prohibited his deputies from wearing masks at work. His order, which also applies to visitors to the sheriff’s office, carves out an exception for officers in some locations, including hospitals, and when dealing with people who are high-risk or…
Similar:Alice in Quantumland: A Charming Illustrated Allegory of Quantum Mechanics by a CERN Physi…Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory of Qua…AestheticsOne of the Sadder Lost and Found Messages You'll Probably See TodayNot my item, but the pathos caught my ey…Design“Thank you for being kind.” —Friday afternoon email from a student who’d been a little sal…PersonalI'm nerdy…
block of American society. But for critics of how the term is used today, Judeo-Christian is vague, historically flawed and even inflammatory. These opposing views reflect a deep rift in American society and illuminate very different fundamental political beliefs.
“This is a term defined by exclusion,” said Shalom Goldman, a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, arguing that the term is often used to reject secular values and Muslims.
“It’s essentially saying our values are not the values of the Enlightenment or the Constitution, but instead our values are the values of the Bible,” he said.
Rabbi Jack Moline, president of the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance, called the term a “generalization” and said it is one “Christians in particular use to put a patina of universality on a certain Christian culture in the United States.”
Good news writing, and praise for Trump’s cool demeanor during a crisis, from : The Independent The large man in the grey suit interrupted Donald Trump. No one interrupts Donald Trump – especially at the White House. At his White House. Then the man turned his back to the television cameras showing the utterly surreal scene live around the…
Similar:After a successful piano recital.CultureA Career-Aligned Major Isn’t EnoughI’ve taken over teaching the English dep…AcademiaReaders Are Liars: The 1928 Study That Predicted the Future of NewsThe invention of the telegraph and the s…BusinessTo all these tools I've loved before…While cleaning out my desk at home I add…AestheticsI have a daughter who does things. Here’s what…
You might have been asked to submit a short video assignment. Don’t do what I’m doing! You can’t see my eyes, the background is distracting, you’re looking up my nose and the lighting is awful. This short video demonstrates some quick tips that will greatly improve a video submission assignment. Your instructor and your classmates…
Similar:Stem subject snobbery: a student’s view on why arts subjects matterWhile everyone complains about the subje…AestheticsIt's a Didactic Day in the Neighborhood: Mister Rogers and Educational IdeologyI recently lamented that my kids are gro…AestheticsWhat is Technical Writing?I noticed an uptick in traffic to an old…AestheticsUngrading after 11 weeksMathematics professor Robert Talbot repo…AcademiaPopcorn MakerI’ll have to…
I regularly teach Flannery O’Connor, and assign a whole book of her short stories when I taught an American Lit 1915-Present course. Now that I’m teaching “American Lit 1776-Present” I keep her stories in rotation, but I have more material to cover, so I have to be more selective. O’Connor’s fiction contains many themes and…
Jerz > Writing > Technical Writing Tips Similar:I think I smelled a hint of my mint toothpaste just now. Wishful thinking, or another sign…For the past 2 weeks I have slept a lot,…AcademiaHow Artists on Twitter Tricked Spammy T-Shirt Stores Into Admitting Their Automated Art Th…Yesterday, an artist on Twitter named Na…BusinessThe bots are coming. And they have…
BURKE, Va. (AP) — On a recent car ride, my sons, Billy and Jimmy, were discussing an interactive “Minecraft” show on Netflix that allowed them to choose the direction of the story. I said it sounded like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book, an artifact of my 1980s childhood. Then Billy, who’s 10 years old,…