Category Archives: Popular culture

Wait, this guy is THAT GUY???

Our dog is a “rescue,” and back when we first got her from the Humane Society (and she was extremely restless), we somehow realized that playing “Monk” episodes (the quirky, comedic detective series starring Tony Shalhoub) on our television would … Continue reading

Posted in Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

A Podcast to Follow

School starts for me next week, with meetings this week and summer projects to wrap up. I’m staying home today, though. Because the Republican presidential primary debate is happening at Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee tonight and some sort of … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Milwaukee, Popular culture, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Will “Oppenheimer” save cinema? (Or, Going to “The Show”)

Which is what we called it in my small town back in the day. We had one movie theater in town and thus one movie available to us per week. Hence, “the show.” Not “a” show, and not even “a” … Continue reading

Posted in Movies and film, Popular culture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

I ASSURE YOU; WE’RE OPEN!

Quite an existential feat this furniture store has managed to pull off! It is closed, as evidenced by the security gate across its entrance. It is open, as evidenced by the lit-up sign in the window. And it is timeless, … Continue reading

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Movies and film, Photography, Popular culture | Tagged , | 11 Comments

A song about sunscreen from Baz Luhrmann and some thoughts on Leo DiCaprio

This “song” came on the radio when I was driving home from work the other day. Baz Luhrmann, of course, is the incredibly talented director of films like William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), The Great Gatsby … Continue reading

Posted in Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Snowy Day

Is it just me, or does this Lands’ End catalog cover remind you of that beautiful childhood picture book classic by Ezra Jack Keats? Something about the bright red coat and stark, crisp, clean blocks of color contrast, I don’t … Continue reading

Posted in Books and reading, Creativity, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“When You’re Good to Mama” — Heard on a head-clearing coffee run to Starbucks

I have so much work to do! But as I finished one project and faced the daunting prospect of beginning the next one, I forced myself out of the door because I knew it would be good for me to … Continue reading

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My first DALL•E art project

Because I teach courses on digital society and digital storytelling at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), I have been reading and learning a lot about DALL•E, the new AI-based art generator, this fall. I had seen references to DALL•E all … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Creativity, Digital society, Learning, Popular culture, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

500 tabs and counting down

Does anyone else have a tab hoarding problem? I have a habit of opening tabs on both my computer and my phone and then just leaving them open for easy reference instead of bookmarking them, which requires extra work on … Continue reading

Posted in 500 tabs and counting down, Digital society, Life, Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Some songwriting magic

Have you played the online game of Heardle? It’s obviously similar to the smash hit Wordle in that a new short puzzle appears daily. At some point in the last several months I began playing both of those games plus … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Life, Music, Popular culture | Tagged | 2 Comments