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:The Hidden Subversive Messages of [MGM's Screen Adaptation of] The Wizard of OzWhen I tried teaching The Wizard of Oz i…BooksUpdated a "Gender Neutral Language" handoutMTV recently ditched the “Best Actor/Act…AcademiaThe Galactically Hot Women of Star Trek TOS…

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

Similar:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessThings that have made me start singing "Tradition!" in my head so far todayAfter last night’s first rehearsal for “…AmusingFind yourself someone who makes you plomeek soup like Nurse Chapel makes for Spock.PersonalThe Struggle to Save Ballet From ItselfA former dancer reckons with the rigors …AestheticsAmong…

The Offspring (StarTrek:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 16) Data Experiences Fatherhood

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. Data builds an android derived from his own positronic neural pathways, and intends to raise it as his child — a prospect that invokes Picard’s iconic facepalm. Picard (to admiral conjured up by writers who needed an antagonist): “There are times, sir, when men of good conscience cannot blindly…

Police Department, Fire Department Tell Different Versions of Same Richmond Incident

A Richmond police official and a fire official agree that Sunday, multiple individuals interfered with a fire truck’s response to a fire. But beyond that, each source tells a rather different story.

I just watched a pretty good Star Trek episode exploring the premise that well-intentioned people can remember and sincerely believe widely different interpretations of the same events, without being intentionally deceptive.

When equally credible sources make conflicting claims, there’s probably a story there somewhere. If a source makes unverifiable claims, or won’t respond to legitimate follow-up questions, or vilifies or aggrandizes a third party, that’s a good reason to be skeptical.

Yesterday’s Enterprise (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 15) Alternate history featuring the Enterprise-C

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. A space anomaly activates an alternate timeline in which the Enterprise-D is a bustling battleship, Picard is a hard-edged militant facing defeat after decades of war against the Klingon Empire, and somehow only Guinan realizes something’s wrong. This version of Picard struggles with ethical complexities that “our” Picard could…

Presidential Rhetoric

Similar:College Seniors Confident about Their Work Ethic, Written & Oral Skills; Employers Disagre…According to the NACE 2018 Job Outlook, …AcademiaAn Opt Out Letter That Speaks to All ParentsOne household notifies the authorities t…CultureNew Handout on Surviving Group Projects in CollegeI posted a new handout with tips on surv…AcademiaLittle People, Big Fun: A Brief History of Fisher-Price…

A Matter of Perspective (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 13) Multiple-POV Courtroom Drama

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. An agitated Riker, beamed off of a research station just before it explodes, finds himself charged with murder. Testimony from Riker, the victim’s widow, and (indirectly) the victim tell conflicting stories. A solid storytelling concept, which somewhat freshens a mishmash of already-familiar TNG tropes: a brilliant male scientist, his…

All Sheep Matter

Similar:Los Angeles sheriff appears to back down after signaling he was investigating reporterVillanueva has repeatedly singled out LA…Current_EventsIrony in Blakes7 Reboot?RT @Laroquod: @DennisJerz If #Blakes7 tu…BusinessEnsign Ro (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 3) New Bumpy-nosed Officer Is Stubbor…Rewatching ST:TNG Picard is ordered to …CultureI just thought of a time before you were born when…

Slate: “Police Erupt in Violence Nationwide” | Notice how writing style frames a story? Grammar matters.

The ongoing protests following the killing of George Floyd were caught up in violence again on Saturday, as police all over the country tear-gassed protesters, drove vehicles through crowds, opened fire with nonlethal rounds on journalists or people on their own property, and in at least one instance, pushed over an elderly man who was walking away with a cane. Here are some of the ways law enforcement officers escalated the national unrest.

Minneapolis Police Injure, Arrest Journalists Covering Protests

Throughout the protests over the death of George Floyd, journalists have been injured and arrested covering the unrest. That trend continued Saturday and there were examples across the country but journalists on the ground in Minneapolis expressed dismay at how law enforcement officials seemed to be targeting members of the media. In the Friday night…

Hong Kong: journalist permanently blinded in one eye amid increased police violence

A rubber bullet shot by the Hong Kong police on Sunday caused a journalist to lose sight in an eye. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) again urges the authorities to guarantee reporters’ safety. A reporter working for Indonesian-language media outlet Suara Hong Kong News, Veby Mega Indah, has permanently lost eyesight in the right eye on…

Microsoft lays off journalists to replace them with AI

Microsoft is laying off dozens of journalists and editorial workers at its Microsoft News and MSN organizations. The layoffs are part of a bigger push by Microsoft to rely on artificial intelligence to pick news and content that’s presented on MSN.com, inside Microsoft’s Edge browser, and in the company’s various Microsoft News apps. Many of the affected workers are part of Microsoft’s SANE (search, ads, News, Edge) division, and are contracted as human editors to help pick stories. Robots will now pick news stories for MSN and Microsoft News.

Sad that NASA is taking a back seat to a private company, but still nerding over an American launch of astronauts.

Similar:Portraits of my 11yo: Pretty, Goofy, and Pretty GoofyAmusingRey is not a role model for little girls (major spoilers ahead)The headline is silly clickbait — of co…CultureChecking out of @frontporchtheatricals Grand Hotel. What an experience!My brother had already planned to visit …AestheticsDo you get your news mostly from social media? I check NPR, Drudge, and…

Minneapolis protest cleanup: Did you share this meme without fact-checking it? (Don’t spread fake news about the news.)

A Facebook meme with 52k reactions and 37k shares includes pictures of volunteers cleaning the streets in Minneapolis, the day after mass protests of the death of George Floyd. The pictures make a powerful point about the values of the community. However, the text includes an unnecessary slam against journalism, because it introduces the images…