Actually, on two courses. The school I'm at (Newark Academy) ends the year with a nine-day "June Term", wherein students take one class for six hours a day. June Term classes are supposed to be experiential and rigorous, and maybe a bit weird. All teachers are supposed to suggest courses; I made three idea proposals and [...]
Unintended ironies
A GOP Congressman (Clay Higgins, LA) decided to film a selfie movie in the gas chamber at Auschwitz (no, really), in which he tells constituents that the horrors really spoke to him: "A great sense of dread comes over you in this place," Higgins says, leading the viewer on a five-minute, nine-second tour of the [...]
I woke up to a country I didn’t recognize
I am stunned. Although I spent the last week cautioning people from assuming a Clinton victory, although I told myself it’s never over until the ballots are cast, I realize now that I never actually entertained the possibility of a Trump victory. I had too much faith in the basic decency of the American people, [...]
In which Dinesh D’Souza proves he doesn’t know the difference between past tense and present tense.
(written in response to an insipid Facebook post by the -- thankfully -- inimitable Dinesh D'Souza, showing the idiotic comic copied above) "Is" is not the same as "was". But, hey, what would you expect from a hack? I think it's actually hilarious that defenders of the modern GOP think they can win [...]
Three thoughts on the FBI’s bite at the Apple
I had three thoughts after reading about the brewing conflict between Apple and the FBI.
Lost Worlds and A Strange Visitor From Another Planet
I just re-watched the pilot of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1996). It is actually pretty good, especially for a late-1990s superhero show. It's sly and clever, and does a nice job working around its obviously-inadequate effects budget. There's real chemistry between Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher, as well. Hatcher really sells Lois [...]
“Morning” After Blues?
I had the same thought as Steve Bennen when he penned A generation later, Rubio flubs 'Morning in America': Maybe the whole "morning" metaphor was a little too subtle for Marco Rubio. He's not pitching Reagan's message; he's offering the literal opposite. The point of "Morning in America" was that things had turned a corner and [...]
Versailles on the Potomac
{Originally penned 2015 Apr 26 and recently rescued from the Drafts folder} So there have been police confrontations (and possibly even riots) in Baltimore over the past 12 hours, but apparently CNN didn't feel compelled to cover them. Instead they kept with covering the White House Correspondents' Dinner where various people, including the President, got to [...]
Lunacon 2014 (2): Saturday
Even though Lunacon is over, I'm going to keep writing up my notes and impressions, if only to keep writing in general. Saturday was the busiest day of the con, and it certainly showed in my personal programming grid. I faced the typical con paradox: Too many good panels all at the same time. I [...]
Review: Star Trek Into Darkness
{originally written 2013 May 23, then banished to the Drafts folder for no good reason when I never got around to finishing it.} Spoiler-free review: A solid sophomore outing for the NuTrek crew, but it's no Wrath of Khan. ====== Spoilers follow =========== And this movie so desperately wants to be The Wrath of Khan. The good: [...]