That Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian Troll Sent It

Professional disinformation isn’t spread by the account you disagree with — quite the opposite. Effective disinformation is embedded in an account you agree with.

Empathy in a Downtown Sub Shop

Sitting in a downtown sub shop. A half dozen 40yo dudes — boots & jeans & beards & tattoos — pile in, trash-talking each other. “I don’t wanna sit next to *that* retard!” says a guy in a knit cap. “You gotta pick your ‘tards!” I take a deep breath. Almost immediately, the dude with the biggest beard and most visible tattoos lowers his voice and murmurs something to Guy…

The Measure of a Man (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 9)

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. Data’s autonomy is at stake in a taut, character-driven courtroom drama that resists pandering — no distracting fist-fights or space battles. This episode not only succeeds as a stand-alone meditation on the human condition, it meshes narratively with events from past shows and offers affordances for future story arcs at a time when most TV was purely episodic. “The Measure of a Man,” by…

Saint Crispin’s Day Speech from “Henry V”

Dennis Jerz performs the famous speech proclaimed by the titular king before the Battle of Agincourt, from William Shakespeare’s “Henry V.” (WAOB Audio Theatre)

A teen girl in a spring dress, with her hair up. Text: “You’re so beautiful,” I told my daughter. She rolled her eyes. I asked her what I should say instead. She thought a bit. “You should say, ‘You shall prevail.’” “You shall prevail,” I said. She smiled.

Learning How to Love My Daughter

Image description: A teen girl in a spring dress, with her hair up. Text: “You’re so beautiful,” I told my daughter. She rolled her eyes. I asked her what I should say instead. She thought a bit. “You should say, ‘You shall prevail.’” “You shall prevail,” I said. She smiled.

In September 1999 I was blogging about Tom Stoppard, techno-utopianism, voice-recognition software, and Edgar Rice Burroughs

In September 1999, I was blogging about What makes a play worth seeing twice, according to Tom Stoppard The then-unrealistic expectations of voice-recognition software A critique of the “information wants to be free” mantra A Microsoft exec who predicted that digital publication would eclipse print publication within a decade How marketers are pushing your buttons with the help of technology and semiotic theory The storytelling genius and embedded racism of…