Part II of the Mon Valley Medium was a powerful experience. Funny and painful. @thepublicpgh #pptplaytime Looking forward to Romeo and Juliet next week.

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Loved part 1 of Alec Silverblatt's Mon Valley Medium. Part 2 tomorrow at 7. #pptplaytime

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What’s My Cue? Let’s Talk Shakesepare with Andy Kirtland Virtural #Britsburgh

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What Each Side of the COVID-19 Debate Should Understand About the Other

I’m very conscious that my lockdown experience has been fairly smooth. I’m teaching two classes right now, versions of which I have already taught online. At home, my nuclear family is getting restless and bored, but we’re busy and productive. Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk with my son in our quiet little suburb.…

COVID-19 deaths vs. other common causes (in America)

The number of weekly COVID-19 deaths in America has recently surpassed the 2018 average weekly death rates for heart disease (now the second most common cause of death) and cancer (now in third place). As a kid in school, I expected scientists to be able to provide the one and only correct answer, because that’s…

Another NewsBreak.com Exclusive Exposes a Royal Family Lie #FakeNews

You sheep who trust the lamestream fake news media think you know them as Prince Charles, the heir to the UK throne, and Prince Harry; but this exclusive from NewsBreak.com exposes them as a married couple who died of COVID-19 within hours of each other. You’ve heard of newsbreak.com. They’re the source that exposed this…

No, This Beach Photo Doesn’t Prove The Media Is Lying

Have you seen this image mashup being cited as evidence that you should wake up because “the media” is lying to you? Newsbreak.com is an aggregator. Its business model is scraping stories off of various places on the Internet and reposting them on its own site. I found a page on newsbreak.com with the headline…

Toasting Shakespeare at the Bard’s Birthday Bash

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Coronavirus: advice from the Middle Ages for how to cope with self-isolation

Like many people, I curate my social media posts. After a month of coronavirus lockdown, I’ve been curating more than usual. I have spent (many) sleepless nights scrolling through news reports in slack-jawed horror; I’ve (often) felt overwhelmed; I’ve lost my temper at my family (regularly). I haven’t posted about such events because I don’t…

The Vengeance Factor (ST:TNG Rewatch Season Three, Episode 9) Sovereign’s Chef Beguiles Riker

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. As Picard mediates a reconciliation between a recently enlightened civilization and its barbarian outcasts, Riker pursues a humble servant girl. After a brief visit to a raided Federation outpost, we get a well-done infodump from the stately Marouk, ruler of the Acamarian civilization. She lets Picard talk her into offering…

The truth hits Thorvald. Loved PPT PlayTime’s online presentation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.

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The Price (ST:TNG Rewatch Season Three, Episode 7) Master Negotiator Beguiles Troi

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. As the Enterprise hosts negotiations for access to a wormhole shortcut to the Gamma Quadrant, Troi becomes intimately involved with one of the delegates. A budget-friendly “bottle” episode that doesn’t feel cramped. We get to see Deanna’s routine, as she spends time decompressing in her quarters, working in her…

Toiletries for a steampunk villain who needs to look dapper. Straight razor and shaving brush on a chrome stand with a marble base. #Blender3D practice.

Nice lighting shows clearly that I have no idea how to do translucency. See the vertical lines in the highlighted edge just under the cabinet window? The woodgrain is going the wrong way. I know how to fix that, but still don’t know why the soap bottle and the brush bristles look like a styrofoam…

Journalism, Fake News, and “Clickbait Defamation”

Sometimes when my social media contacts are complaining about “the media,” they are really responding to headlines, which they cite as examples of “fake news.” Sometimes the headlines they respond to are creative interpretations supplied by a third party with a dog in a particular fight; but other times I can see very clearly…

Happy Easter 2020

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Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting

Thoughtful essay from Julio Vincent Gambuto. Get ready, my friends. What is about to be unleashed on American society will be the greatest campaign ever created to get you to feel normal again. It will come from brands, it will come from government, it will even come from each other, and it will come from…

More details in the powder room of my villain’s lair. #Blender3D

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Dog and TP Wall

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The Enemy (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 7) — LaForge and a Romulan Cooperate to Survive

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. LaForge is stranded on a hostile planet with a nervous, injured Romulan. The “mutual enemies must learn to cooperate” storyline is by-the-numbers, but I still enjoyed it. I don’t remember ever seeing this episode before, but seeing the frequently reused “planet hell” set (featuring a distinctively stair-stepped sloping wall)…

Fake Graph: The Actual “Dunning-Kruger Effect” Is NOTHING Like I Thought It Was

For years, I’ve been teaching a fake graph. In pretty much every course I teach, on some day when students seem discouraged or distracted, I’ll draw an X axis labeled “Experience” and a Y-axis labeled “Confidence,” and sketch out the “Dunning-Kruger Effect” curve, as preparation for an informal pep talk. (Update, 27 Nov 2021: My…