Category: Personal Blog

  • Star Trek: First Contact at 30: A Teacher’s Journey Through Time, Memory, and the Borg

    Thirty years ago this year, Star Trek: First Contact premiered in theaters and fundamentally changed what Star Trek could be. Released on November 22, 1996, Jonathan Frakes’ directorial debut took the optimistic crew of the Enterprise-D into darker territory than the franchise had dared to explore on television; it gave us a Star Trek film…

  • Pretty Sure

    The Short Answer The word pretty does double duty in English; it works as an adjective (a pretty painting) and as an adverb meaning “fairly” or “somewhat” (pretty sure, pretty tired, pretty good). This second use has been part of English for hundreds of years, and it’s a great example of how language evolves in…

  • Cleveland Browns QBs

    The Short Answer This claim is mostly true and well-supported by evidence. The Cleveland Browns have indeed started a large number of quarterbacks since 1999, and documented cases of undocumented immigrants voting in federal elections are extremely rare; over 20 years, even a conservative organization that actively looks for fraud found only 25 prosecuted cases…

  • Dan Jones’ Power and Thrones: Rediscovering the Middle Ages

    Book Review: Power and Thrones by Dan Jones Book Reviewed: Power and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages Author: Dan Jones Genre: Medieval History / Popular History Reading Level: Grade 10 to Adult Recommended for: World History, European History, AP World History, History Methods Overview ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) I will be honest with you:…

  • The Price of War We Refuse to Pay for Ourselves

    The article questions why significant funds are consistently allocated for military endeavors, such as the ongoing Operation Epic Fury, while essential domestic programs like healthcare, homelessness assistance, and education remain underfunded. It argues that the financial capability exists for these social programs but is a matter of political choice rather than fiscal inability.

  • A Vision Arrived Too Late: Reading James Canton’s Future Smart in 2025

    Book: Future Smart: Managing the Game-Changing Trends That Will Transform Your World by James Canton Publisher: Da Capo Press (2015) Audience: High School (Advanced) to College Level Recommended for: AP Human Geography, Economics, English Language Arts, Technology and Society electives Rating 3.75 of 5 Stars Why This Book Matters (and Why Timing Matters More) There…