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…
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.
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…
A Facebook meme that claims “3 of these 4 honorable men were killed by ‘protesters’” is false. I don’t mean that I can prove that not a single one of the guilty parties ever participated in a protest. However, Police never connected Beaty’s death with the protests (and the FBI declined to do so when…
Similar:Common Sense Media's AI Initiative When the kids were little, my wife…CybercultureWilliam Zinsser: What Is Good Writing? (Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity.)Most of the students in my “News Writing…CultureUSDA's MyPlate – Home page I have mostly a good first impressi…EducationI just tried Open Shot Video Editor, a free open source toolFor years I used ScreenFlow,…
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…
“I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and was not given even a courtesy call, that they would be clearing [the area] with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop,” Budde said. She excoriated the president for standing in front of the church — its windows…
Similar:KTVU Buries News of Asiana Airlines Lawsuit over Fake Pilot NamesLast week, the Fox-afiliated KTVU fell f…BusinessWe’re in Denial About the True Cost of a Twitter ImplosionThe public disintegration of a platform …Current_EventsMy son teaching chess to a young pupilCultureText Adventure Geeks Rejoice: Major Inform7 UpdateI have final grades, an annual report, a…Current_EventsFox lawyers Convince…
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.
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…
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 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.
Similar:Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsStar Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch I was in college and grad school dur…CultureCaptain, the Fake News Detectors are Offline! Slate has a good article about Willi…CybercultureBasic details for #medievalyork city walls for a forthcoming…
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…
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:Spring 2022 Final Grades: Submitted.PersonalNew Data Shatters Video Game Player Stereotypes: Gamers Regularly Involved in Community, C…”Gamers are everywhere and they’re every…BusinessAnother…
Similar:Support the arts in your community! #augustwilson #radiogolfSupport the arts in your community! #aug…CultureJaw-dropping moments of insight and humanity. So funny, so edgy, so affirming! I did not e…PersonalFancy a game of whist with your nemesis? The prospect of ruin adds piquancy to the pleasur…PersonalAxios journalism style delivers traditional news content in scannable formatIn addition…
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…
Similar:Full Bloom opens next weekend. Tickets 724-527-5777.PersonalMinneapolis Police Injure, Arrest Journalists Covering ProtestsThroughout the protests over the death o…CultureRay Harryhousen, visual effects pioneer, dies The Harryhausen family regret to…AestheticsWhy We Forget Most of the Books We ReadIt was pleasurable to encounter a famili…BooksNorth Sea cod: Is it true there are only 100 left?A spokesperson for…
Updating the graphic for a writing handout on how to write instructions, which I created in 2000. Similar:Wood pile stacking animation (Blender 3D)For a medieval project, I wanted a wood …AmusingJournalists are vital to the health of a free nation. #firstamendnent #freepressPersonalFake News Can Be Deadly. Here's How To Spot ItWe are all vectors by…
Updating the graphic for a resource I created in 2012. Similar:Story Pitch: How writers present an article idea to a busy editor I hoped this slide would appeal to m…AmusingWhat Borges Learned from CervantesBorges reinvented Don Quixote as a playf…BooksTurnitin's slick new iPad app almost erases years of web-based GradeMark traumaI have in the past…