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

Similar:Above the ready-room desk is the captain's power-napping loft, because self-care is i…AestheticsThree different sized buildings. Still working on variations for the biggest one. #blender…Three different sized buildings. Still w…AestheticsAre Grading Trends Hurting Socially Awkward Kids? One might argue that the new emphasi…CultureWhy Even Try if You Have A.I.? Now that machines can think for…

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:Stage Right offers four versions of its musical 'Annie' | TribLIVELeapin‘ Lizards! There are four versions…CultureOpinion: A deceptively edited video of Joe Biden signals what’s coming (Washington Post)Critical thinking skills and basic textu…AcademiaWoman comments on man's looks. Man FREAKS OUT.If I ever over-react to a tweet, I hope …AestheticsReading fiction early in life is associated…

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

Similar:Dress rehearsal of The NutcrackerPersonalWhat a great time everyone had at the "Cabbies."CultureThe Outsiders Closing after Friday Night's ShowCurrent_EventsHappy Easter 2022PersonalTop U800. #chesstournamentPersonalWhispers (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 14) O'Brien Must Suffer: shunned and o… Rewatching ST:DS9 In a runabout, …Media

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:My parents doing their daily crossword. I’m spending a few days visiting my …PersonalWhat does a professor do, other than lecture for a few hours a week? Wow, this response! 😮 We really do hav…AcademiaInternet Archive puts classic 70s and 80s games onlineClassic video games from the 1970s and 1…CulturePittsburgh Post-Gazette reducing print edition to…

MoonBot is back. This time he fights a new adversary. #Blender3D physics practice.

I submitted midterm grades at about 11 last night, quickly modeled a new object, and let the animation render overnight.   Similar:She’s wearing a shirt with a frog. We are in town to see the Frog and Toad musical. This s…She’s wearing a shirt with a frog. We ar…AmusingInterview: Bjarne P. Tveskov, Classic LEGO Space…

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:A Box With A Hidden Video Camera Documents Journey Through The MailAs a big fan of Richard Scary, I really …Amusing'Our worst nightmare': New legal filings detail reporting of Rolling Stone's U-Va. gang ra…The court documents, submitted as eviden…AcademiaBlender 3D Flyover of Fantasy Steampunk Spacecraft When my kids were small, at bedtime …AestheticsQuotations: Integrating them…

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:Only a Dad (Edgar Guest poem, read by Carolyn and Peter Jerz for WAOB Audio Theatre)Carolyn and Peter Jerz recite “Only a Da…CultureBlue Feed, Red FeedFacebook is designed to keep your attent…CultureReflections on Flannery O'Connor's "The River"I’m teaching “The River” today in an…

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…

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

I found this image on Facebook (where it was being shared without attribution). Similar:Scratch StatsScratch is a kid-friendly programming sa…CybercultureIn September 1999 I was blogging about Tom Stoppard, techno-utopianism, voice-recognition …In September 1999, I was blogging about …CybercultureCanadians Love Poop, Americans Love Pizza: How Emojis Fare Worldwide The company SwiftKey analyzed more tha…AestheticsThe Incredible Shrinking…

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:1,000-pound rosary sends heavy message: PrayThe rosary that retired quarry worker Be…AestheticsStory Pitch: How writers present an article idea to a busy editor I hoped this slide would appeal to m…AmusingWilliam Shatner: My Problem With Twitter's Verified AccountsAt age 84, William Shatner (most famous …CybercultureSnow White: The Musical Opens Fridayhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiIRCoHoN…AestheticsFilmmakers fighting “Happy Birthday” copyright find…