In the best ways, so far, this film is excellent "Competence Porn" #HATM tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwik...

Is there anything better as a teacher than an observation going pitch perfect?

@theoatmeal.bsky.social absolutely nailing the sadness in AI art and dissecting the myth of “talent” in art/artist discourse. Art is "emotional nutrition" and "consuming AI art is like eating Styrofoam." theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art

Birds are terrifying example 1,000,000

I like the way they foreshadowed her being awkward at dancing so much so early on here. #HATM #DirtyDancing

Inflation calculator says that $250 in 1963 is about $2,600 today. #HATM #DirtyDancing

So, I don't remember the first time I saw this, but here is my Dirty Dancing memory: this was my Grandma Clark's favorite movie. She died when I was ~10 years old and we somehow got her vhs copy. So I used to watch this with my mom growing up. #HATM #DirtyDancing

What cultural hole do you have that’s a bit weird for your generation? If we're talking specific to my generation: I've never seen Independence Day, and didn't watch the first Men in Black until many years later. I somehow did not get sucked into the hype machine of Big Willy Weekend.

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

(solemnly) You've had mail.

I’m tapping out this week because this one is a little bit too scary for me. Enjoy your fast zombies and I’ll be over here prepping for the week/grading. See everyone next week! #HATM #28DaysLater

When this movie came out I was dating a guy who didn't think Costco was a real place. Like, he knew about warehouse stores, but didn't think the name sounded real. #HATM #Idocracy

1. John Quincy Adams played by either Mark Strong or Nick Offerman. #HATM

Watch out for the eugenics-adjacent opening of this movie. Otherwise, very funny, iirc. #HATM #Idocracy

Dirty Dancing is coming to Netflix Oct. 1!!! Please, please, please can we do it at #HATM @herberthistory.bsky.social ? www.whats-on-netflix.com/coming-soon/...

This is like on Superstore when they fired Myrtle because she was too old and replaced her with a hologram that she later met when she came into the store (from 2019).

Today's goal: become a grading machine to catch up on all the grading I got backed-up on when I had a cold a week-ish ago.

Student feedback is an opportunity to build rapport. Student feedback is an opportunity to build rapport. Student feedback is an opportunity to build rapport. (Don't forfeit that.)

The thing that worries me is the possibility that students en masse internalize the idea that composition instruction is simply smoothing out the “problems” of their voice relative to an idealized normative templated prose proficiency. That “education” is the purposeful annihilation of voice.

A tool that signals how far they diverge from an aspirational norm is not that useful for the task of learning that student’s unique entrance into critical thought, and any process that separates me from the difficult work of learning the student’s language is an obstacle to helping them.

I think quite a bit about commenting on student work. It is, in some ways, the most consistently onerous part of the job of instruction, but, to me, that labor is not detached from the broader project of learning in a way that makes it impossible to comment on student work with a tool. brief 🧵 1/5

my favorite robert redford story is that mike nichols considered him for dustin hoffman's part in THE GRADUATE. during their conversation nichols asked redford something like, "have you ever struck out with a girl?" and redford's response was basically, "i don't understand the question"

My latest cartoon for @newscientist.com p.s. this week I am on a USA/Canada tour with my new book. Details and preorder links at tomgauld.com

If they shoehorn in a romance here I feel like I'm going to be annoyed. #HATM #Hostiles

In this fun bit on BBC Radio 1 they have kids call in w/ qs for celebrities. Timothée Chalamet is asked "who is the smelliest actor you've worked with." He won't say, but says it was in a western he made, and the actor went deep method and didn't shower regularly. #HATM youtu.be/lgCjKSPsQe0?...

Prime has a good selection of older movies I think would be interesting to watch here with #HATM Some Like it Hot, It's a Mad Mad World, Night of the Hunter, Manchurian Candidate, Witness for the Prosecution. And some newer ones I'd like to do: Wild Robot, Nickle Boys, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

If you need a laugh this week, go see the new Spinal Tap movie. Those guys are still full of great bits even after all these years.

The power of AI

chatgpt is much like an improv comedy group 1) you are the audience, giving it prompts 2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt 3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And 4) it has the factual accuracy of improv 5) it does not understand comedy

Slightly diminish a book The Grapes of Crankiness

Ironically, it appears that AI chatbots hallucinate for the same reason that students feel compelled to use them: They were socialized in a high-stakes testing culture that rewards guessing and maybe getting it right over admitting when there's something you just don't know.

Does Bill Paxton's patch say "A+ POS"? 😂 #HATM #EdgeofTomorrow

1. For the commentary: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (both the 50s and the 70s ones), and They Live. For the camp fun: Mars Attacks. Just in general: The Thing. #HATM #EdgeofTomorrow

Something I teach my students is that reading is a rhythm. They need to build a space-time where the rhythm of longer form reading is available to them. Generally this begins by having them inventory the various kinds of noise (cellphones, screens, work/care/social commitments) in their lives.

I often think of William Morris' thoughts on the "education of desire". What are the patterns and practices that can help our students feel their appetite for longer/calmer forms of thinking over the incessant cacophony of short form videos leeching out of every surface of their lives.

Tools usually have a specific application - this, however, isn't the case with genAI. It's rather supposed to have as many applications as possible. The question of whether it's the right tool for the right job is replaced by the question of what ever new tasks it can be used for. 3/n

Emotionally dancing by yourself! #HATM #SwingKids

One of the interesting aspects of German culture I talk about in my book (link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...) is the ways in which American culture sort of bridges the war years - Donald Duck comics were popular before, and again after, and that applies to movies and music as well. #SwingKids #HATM

How much of a role did this movie play in the brief swing music revival in the '90s? #HATM #SwingKids

1. I was a pretentious teen who hated the music of the time (late '90s/early '00s). I was just discovering The Clash and prog rock. 2. PBS has some great docs recently-ish. One on Hannah Arendt and one called Nazi Town, U.S.A. #HATM #SwingKids www.pbs.org/video/hannah... www.pbs.org/wgbh/america...

BBC News - Taco Bell rethinks AI drive-through after man orders 18,000 waters www.bbc.com/news/article...

Is it AI? youtube.com/shorts/8-lgJ...

But sometimes productivity actually looks like daydreaming, doodling , breaks, walks, social conversations, & reflective/connective prompts, as these are all ways we can actually step back from intensive work, give our brain some time to chew on it & consolidate, then return refreshed.

So, according to Wikipedia, Hugo Weaving has been in a relationship with a woman since 1984, and "The children were given their mother's surname, which Weaving's son described as the family's "stand against the patriarchy." #HATM en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_We...

I agree with Bernadette here: I'm one of the rare people who doesn't love ABBA. #HATM

I'm a believer in making sure students are "AI aware" but the most important part of making students AI aware, IMO, is to make them "human aware" that is to consider the things we ask them to do in school contexts and how these can and should intersect with their humanity.

🧵

I might just show this in my English classes this semester, it's such good advice!

We are on the cusp of AGI, definitely for real