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:Another visit to downtown Pittsburgh with my history-loving son.CultureWhat's a Snollygoster? Even lexicographers are wrong sometimesThis is an amusing little story about ho…CultureFor the record, if I should happen to be murdered by someone with a gun… For the record, if I should happen to …Current_EventsCinderella Deadlines: Reconsidering Timelines for Student WorkI have been experimenting with…

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:Encounter at Farpoint (Season 1, Episode 1: ST:TNG Rewatch) Picard gathers his crew, hates…Rewatching ST:TNG after almost 20 years….CultureThe History of Typography Told in Five Animated MinutesOpen Culture. AestheticsA trend story about millennials, by The New York Times“When it comes down to it, life is reall…AmusingIgnorance Meets an Invisible DisabilityI’m sure my young, healthy-looking frien…CultureAssassination…

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:Consciousness: Where Are Words?Words, words, words. With the advent of …CultureClassroom Vignette: MLA StyleStudent (shouldering backpack and headin…AcademiaHappy Sweet Sixteen, Carolyn!The girl spent her birthday weekend open…PersonalMy simulation project does not require me to master medieval daub and wattle architecture….My simulation project does not require m…AestheticsUnemployment rates for recent college grads: Overall, 5.8%; Computer science,…

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…

#PPTPlaytime adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.

Top — nonverbal addition with Jessica and her mother’s ring; bottom — good camera work (the actors choreographed when to turn on their cameras in order to arrange themselves in this order) @thepublicpgh Similar:Reunion (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 7) Picard Arbitrates Klingon Leaders…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaDeath of the narrator? Apple unveils…

Merchant of Venice Part 2 live, now! #PPTPlaytime

Similar:A full minute standing ovation after that rousing final “Alleluia.” Thrilling!PersonalThe girl told me to post this with the caption, “The Addams Family Goes to the Big League….PersonalI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingUnification, Part 1 (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 7) Picard Questions…

87,000 Missing Deaths: Tracking the True Toll of the Coronavirus Outbreak

Sobering report from the New York Times, providing evidence that COVID-19 deaths have been over-reported. Mortality data in the middle of a pandemic is not perfect. In most places, the disparities between the official death counts and the total rise in deaths reflect limited testing for the virus rather than intentional undercounting. Officially, about 355,000 people had…

Very interesting adaptation of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. #pptlaytime @thepublicpgh

Similar:Thank you, anonymous person who left a container of Oreo minis outside my door.PersonalFolger Shakespeare Library on "The Fate of Ophelia"On my ride into work yesterday, my mothe…AcademiaPeople who caught Covid in first wave get ‘no immune boost’ from OmicronScience deniers who expect medical resea…CultureA Robotic Dog’s MortalityFascinating video journalism from the Ne…CultureThe Scapegoat by…