Tin Man (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 20) Sad telepath bonds with starship-sized creature

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. Racing the Romulans to engage a starship-sized space creature near a pending supernova, the Enterprise takes aboard a first-contact specialist with a troubled past. Civilian Tam Elbrum’s sensitivity to the thoughts of others makes him so impatient and arrogant with the humanoid crew (at one point even shoving Picard…

Understanding the difference between credible information and propaganda

In the context of my role as a teacher interested in encouraging my students to understand the difference between credible information and propaganda, this language from DonaldJTrump.com will make a good discussion topic. I teach my journalism students to cover stories fairly. Journalists would not be doing their job if they simply repeated the results of…

The coronavirus is today just as contagious and just as serious as it was when we were all locked down.

Similar:Copspeak, "the past exonerative" tense, and punching NazisIn the Constitution, any suspect is inno…CultureUntil next term, I have zero more unmarked assignments. #fistpumpUntil next term, I have zero more unmark…AcademiaJon Bentley | My Life in ArtWonderfully weird retro pop art. Jon re…AestheticsExperience: I let a baby bird nest in my hair for 84 days He…

CEO’s brutalist office, for a Zoom-based production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). #Blender3D

Similar:I’ve finally started to create female uniforms for the #neovictorian fantasy #steampunk æt…PersonalSTEM Education Is Vital–But Not at the Expense of the HumanitiesPromoting science and technology educati…AcademiaNew Renaissance Theatre Company's The Merry Wives of Windsor (in rep with The Tempest…PersonalAuschwitz color photo: 'A 14-year-old girl, not just a statistic'I don’t know what this prisoner did,…

Set design for Acts II and III of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) #blender3d

Similar:Imagine, if you will, a Shakespeare course / Propos'd in blank verse like the Bard would w…Verses Proposing a New Course: “Shakespe…AcademiaIn January, 2002 I was blogging about… A 20-something former CEO takes a fa…BooksBuilding a ridiculous amount of detail as I create tiles for distant sections of a #blende…AestheticsProcession #classof2017PersonalMy big brother and my son facing off…

Happy Flag Day! All flags matter, but nobody needs to say that out loud.

Happy Flag Day! All flags matter, but nobody needs to say that out loud, because we are rational and well-meaning individuals who recognize my expression of respect for my nation’s flag in no way interferes with anyone else’s ability to express respect for their own flags. Similar:Folger Shakespeare Library on "The Fate of Ophelia"On my…

ABC News executive placed on administrative leave after reports surface of insensitive, racist statements

The Huffington Post reports that dozens of sources agree that an ABC News executive created a racist and toxic work environment. ABC told The Huffington Post “we have placed Barbara Fedida on administrative leave while we conduct a thorough and complete investigation.” Barbara Fedida, a senior ABC News executive in charge of talent, is on…

NYPD’s Lt. Cattani offers heartfelt apology for “wrong decision” that threw his reputation “in the garbage” May 31

Cops are trained to make snap decisions under highly stressful situations. Often their training saves lives. Sometimes they deeply regret decisions they make. After thinking back on his recent behavior while working during a protest at Foley Square May 31, NYPD officer Robert Cattani offered a heartfelt apology: “I know I made the wrong decision,”…

Post-publication review as an efficient alternative to pre-publication peer review

Andrew Gelman of “Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science” writes: Peer review is fine for what it is—it tells you that a paper is up to standard in its subfield. Peer reviewers can catch missing references in the literature review. That can be helpful! But if peer review catches anything that the original authors…

Fox News, accused of manipulating news images, relabels them as “collages,” “regrets these errors”

Using bits and pieces of real news in order to distort the public perception of a story is unethical. Not all news organizations distort the truth this way. What do you think about the ones that do? Today, Fox re-labeled three different altered images, identifying each as a “collage” and posting a note that says…

Set design for a virtual production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Post-apocalyptic laboratory. #blender3d

Similar:Trials and Tribble-ations #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 6) Trivial Time Travel…Rewatching ST:DS9 Strait-laced time c…AmusingDogmeat and I may yet win this game. Yes, this was the decisive moment. I…GamesGem of the Ocean (August Wilson's Century Cycle, 1 of 10)August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoil…BooksJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentThe Assignment #StarTrek…

Liberal arts college professor assaults alt-right group member

Carefully choosing language that fits your slant is a powerful form of persuasion. I try to teach my students to recognize and avoid biased language, which is a more difficult process than simply firing back with different biased terms that support your own slant (“You’re an anti-choice woman hater,” “No, you’re an anti-life baby killer!”).…

Allegiance (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 18) Picard plays ‘Escape the Room’ as his doppelgänger flirts and sings

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. The episode feels like a gimmick approved by a cigar-chomping producer who barked at a room of scrappy doe-eyed writers: “Put a script on my desk by 4pm today, or tomorrow you’ll be back on the bus to Dubuque!” Picard is transported to a windowless chamber where he and…

Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop

Medium is not a peer-reviewed source, and the author is anonymous, which affects how credible this article is. The clickbaity headline obscures the fact that this essay offers a good argument that much of the good done by cops doesn’t involve having a “monopoly on state violence.” It’s also a reminder that being “blue” as…

My #Blender3D set design for a Zoom-based production of Rossum’s Universal Robots, which I’ll be recording next week.

I’ve loved this 1920s play for almost 30 years, and never imagined I’d be in a production. Similar:Sobering data; stunning visualization.This NYT story on the effects of race on…CultureMelissa Terras' Blog: Male, Mad and Muddleheaded: Academics in Children's Picture BooksLabcoats, suits (but not if you are fema…AcademiaAirport retro video games collect spare coins in SwedenFliers…

Yes, I spent the last hour designing this brutalist pen holder for a virtual production of Rossum’s Universal Robots. #priorities #Blender3D

Similar:Enjoying a visit with an Austrian imperial commander (ahistorically but magnificently pres…Enjoying a visit with an Austrian imperi…PersonalStem subject snobbery: a student’s view on why arts subjects matterWhile everyone complains about the subje…AestheticsLiaisons (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 2) Picard is Marooned with a lovelorn …Rewatching ST:TNG Worf grumbles about…AmusingHe checkmates me in two…