Introduction to The Skin of Our Teeth (optimistic, absurdist metatheater; Thornton Wilder, 1942)

Similar:Even in the U.S., Chinese Students May Have Tiananmen ‘Amnesia’But now that he was at college in Americ…CultureCovfefe chaos: What Trump’s typos say about his administrationMisspelled tweets and typos in press rel…CultureFacebook’s push of “related articles” to users without checking credibility draws fireThe links under your friend’s post got y…CybercultureRobot competition requires science, innovation and…

When People Only Read the Headline — Misuse of Journalism

The Society of Professional Journalists links to an interview with an MIT professor who’s studying misinformation on social media (which is not the same thing as bad journalism — some bad actors take journalism out of context in order to deceive). Responsible journalists are aware that sensational headlines can harm the public. The truth is…

Which of my colleagues wants attention?

Similar:#MyNYPD Hashtag Promptly HijackedSomeone is regretting this PR move. …Current_EventsFeeling a bit puzzled by the "Twitter Tools" pluginI really like MailChimp’s “Social” plugi…Social_SoftwareJournalists who are doing their job by reporting fairly on a controversial topic often get…Americans can fairly and legitimately di…EthicsScience Fair VictoryIn this photo from the front page of tod…ArtArchitecture in Video Games:…

The girl asked me to read R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) to her. #quarantine #partylikeaprofessor

Similar:Stage Right's Alice in WonderlandMy daughter shared the role of Alice thi…Culture"A Story Before Bed" Publisher Seems to be Scraping and Republishing My Blog Content on "L…According to preterite, Looks like your…BooksStage Right Nation goes Into the Woods at Saint Vincent Summer Theater. Great job Renata, …Stage Right Nation goes Into the Woods a…PersonalTo my…

In “World Drama” I’m adding the absurd, optimistic “The Skin of Our Teeth” (dropping bleak “Waiting for Godot”)

In light of current events, I’m dropping the bleak Waiting for Godot from my World Drama class (actually I’m making it optional; students could drop a different play) and adding Thornton Wilder’s absurdist but optimistic The Skin of Our Teeth.   Writing while World War II was still raging, Wilder depicts a representative American family…

The Survivors (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three Episode 3) Charming geriatric love and a pacifist morality play

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. After the Federation colony on Raina IV is obliterated, the Enterprise discovers a perfectly preserved house with two elderly survivors. The standoffish Uxbridge impresses Worf by confronting strangers with a non-functional hand phaser, and the hospitable Rishon tells a charming story of how the two fell in love on Earth.…

What gives you comfort? I collect lights. Some of these have magnets!!

Similar:Intimations of MortalityPlato, Montaigne, Pascal—those were the …CultureIt's probably safe to throw these out.PersonalLEGO turned itself around by analyzing overbearing parents[C]hildren play to get oxygen, to unders…CultureAn Opt Out Letter That Speaks to All ParentsOne household notifies the authorities t…CultureFun and Games with Samuel Beckett and Pict.Beckett’s masterpiece Waiting For Godot …CultureBecause Internet: the new…

How are you holding up? What difficult choices have you made? How can we all help each other get through COVID-19??

Carolyn and were recently cast in a historical film. I recorded my video audition last week, feverish with an upper respiratory tract infection, coughing and gulping from a mug of tea between lines. Our characters are in different time periods, but we each get to fight someone in a duel. Filming for our scenes was…

Confessions of a Nerdy Homeschooling Dad

Similar:Heard any good stories lately?My daughter has a terrible time settling…BooksSurprise sidewalk encounter with my man Hopkins outside the Admin shuttle stop this mornin… Spring and Fall Gerard Manley Hop…AestheticsWhat About “The Breakfast Club”?I made three movies with John Hughes; wh…CultureFacebook paid Teen Vogue to run a fake article praising Facebook for "helping ensure the…

Confessions of a Nerdy Homeschooling Dad

Are you unexpectedly home-schooling your kids? Every family is different, and every kid is different. But I think anxious parents who are in unexplored territory probably need to hear this: you won’t hurt your children if you don’t keep them academically occupied for a block of 7 hours. On a typical brick-and-mortar school day, kids…

Oedipus Tyrannos (Oedipus Rex) — Brief Introduction

My first lecture screencasts for my newly-online class. (Thanks, COVID-19.)     Similar:I’m thinking this is a still from the cringey Season 1 episode of TNG where the natives bu…AcademiaHere's to the grim-based photojournalist who saved my bacon ~35 years ago Here’s to you, grim-faced photojournal…AcademiaOklahoma Was Never Really O.K. (Frank Rich, Vulture)”Oklahoma! was greeted…

Trump, finally, takes the coronavirus emergency seriously

CNN’s Stephen Collinson praises the president’s Monday press conference. This version of Donald Trump will save lives. The President offered Americans something they have rarely seen from him in his latest and most somber press conference yet on the coronavirus pandemic on Monday. He dispensed unimpeachable information based on fact. He called for national unity and…

Kitchen utensils for my steampunk villain’s hideout. #Blender3D.

There’s nothing particularly steampunky or villainous about kitchen utensils, but I am glad I feel well enough to get back to Blender3D. Similar:Why teens are leaving Facebook: It’s ‘meaningless’However, there’s a silver lining for Mar…BusinessOperation War DiaryOne hundred years ago today, Britain dec…Culture[E-Mail is for Old People] –[E-Mail is for Old People] (User Frie…AmusingParable of the…

Coronavirus Tribute to Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” (1942)

I found this image on Facebook (where it was being shared without attribution). Similar:The Last Outpost (ST:TNG Rewatch. Season 1, Episode 4) Riker shouts from a cliff while Fer…Rewatching ST:TNG after about a 20-year …CultureNew York fails Common Core testsJust 23 percent of charter students scor…BusinessFacets #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 3, Episode 21) Dax's colleagues…

Those mean fake news people at the Washington Post are at it again, this time publishing a vivid simulation of the effect of social distancing

Those mean fake news people at the Washington Post are at it again, this time pushing a series of four simulations that vividly illustrate the impact of social distancing. Where do they get off, creating clear and informative graphics to illustrate a scientific principle? What do they think they’re doing, some kind of public service?…

Social Distancing: Because the Needs of the Many Outweigh the Needs of the Few

Similar:Crime coverage on Fox News halved once US midterms were over In the weeks leading up to the US midt…Current_EventsThis Is What It Looks Like Just Before the Muslim Brotherhood Jumps YouAs the recent death toll in Egypt surpas…CultureSee How Vaccines Can Make the Difference in Delta Variant’s ImpactHere’s a great NYT “interactive” story t…DesignThe…