Recent Posts
-
The books of the century (Which century? The 20th, of course!)
You’re surely wondering which books were the most influential, or most popular, or most important in the 20th Century. Fortunately, Daniel Immerwahr has done the work for you. “Who’s he when he’s at home?” you’re asking. Well, in his own… Read More ›
-
Interdisciplinarity (if there really is such a word)
Yesterday was the final day for this summer’s session of the Crimson Summer Academy. It was a successful return to in-person teaching after two summers of Zoom. We were all relieved to be back in front of real people instead… Read More ›
-
Dan Kennedy is part of the solution!
Northeastern University professor Dan Kennedy is always worth reading. And also worth listening to—on Beat the Press with Emily Rooney and other shows. For my just-concluded Quantitative Reasoning class at the Crimson Summer Academy I wish we had had time… Read More ›
-
No, Mark Twain didn’t say that!
“I never said half of the things I said,” remarked Yogi Berra. Or so the story goes. Similarly, Mark Twain is often credited with writing things that he never wrote. As are Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli and other distinguished… Read More ›
-
Another Jersey Girl Mystery
Five days ago I wrote a brief review of E.J. Copperman’s third mystery novel in his Jersey Girl series. I pointed out that I had inadvertently skipped the second novel in the series, Judgment at Santa Monica. I commented that it… Read More ›
-
We have hope for the future: My students’ interdisciplinary presentations
👏 We just finished listening to the interdisciplinary presentations from my students’ end-of-summer projects. As you know, the course is an applied math course called Quantitative Reasoning; these rising sophomores showed just that with passion and commitment. In the words… Read More ›
-
Books with linguists
Read that title again: it’s books with linguists, not books for linguists. This thought came from a post on Language Log, in which Barbara Phillips Long asks whether “there are books with linguists as major characters.” Commenters came to the rescue, with… Read More ›
-
Two different worlds: my students’ favorite musical artists
Yesterday we conducted a mock election to determine my students’ favorite musical artists using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). The purpose was to let them experience RCV first-hand by going through a simulation. I think it accomplished that goal. What most… Read More ›
-
Great fun! This is a truly enjoyable mystery novel!
I am not a big reader of cozies. But this is a worthwhile exception. I’m talking about Witness for the Persecution, by E.J. Copperman. Or is it by Jeff Cohen? Anyway, yes, the word is persecution, not prosecution. You’re probably… Read More ›
Featured Categories
Books ›
-
The books of the century (Which century? The 20th, of course!)
August 7, 2022
-
Another Jersey Girl Mystery
July 31, 2022
-
Books with linguists
July 29, 2022
-
Great fun! This is a truly enjoyable mystery novel!
July 26, 2022
Dorchester/Boston ›
-
We have hope for the future: My students’ interdisciplinary presentations
July 30, 2022
-
Too hot to cook!
July 24, 2022
-
Tavolo
July 21, 2022
-
Atrius/Harvard Vanguard acquired by a for-profit company
July 19, 2022
Food & Restaurants ›
-
შემომეჭამა
July 17, 2022
-
Three steamed lobstahs
July 15, 2022
-
224 again (does that make 448?)
July 13, 2022
-
Can you pronounce dBar as one syllable?
July 1, 2022
Life ›
-
Dan Kennedy is part of the solution!
August 4, 2022
-
Two different worlds: my students’ favorite musical artists
July 27, 2022
-
Julia Metraux on “How queer Jews reclaimed Yiddish.”
July 8, 2022
-
Don’t shoot off fireworks in residential neighborhoods…
July 4, 2022
Linguistics ›
-
No, Mark Twain didn’t say that!
August 2, 2022
-
A European view on languages
July 23, 2022
-
What’s an “app crit”? And why should I care?
June 22, 2022
-
Back when Heinlein was antifa (really!)
June 20, 2022
Math ›
-
Gender issues: a perspective from a Russian Jewish mathematician
June 24, 2022
-
Wordle, Wheel of Fortune, Jotto, & the Mathematics of Information Theory
June 5, 2022
-
“God created the integers…”
May 9, 2022
-
Gulp. Are there (were there?) special math problems given only to Jews?
May 1, 2022
Model Railroading ›
-
I finally got to see the world’s finest model railroad, but…
June 19, 2022
-
“The Therapeutic Value of Model Railroading”
May 25, 2022
-
Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Ringo Starr. What do they all have in common?
March 24, 2022
-
That long-awaited model railroad update: finally a progress report!
December 28, 2021
Movies & (occasionally) TV ›
-
Saoirse and Beanie and…[who else?]…add up to…Lady Bird!
June 17, 2022
-
A gender-bending version of Stephen Sondheim’s Company
May 30, 2022
-
Licorice Pizza
May 22, 2022
-
Stephen Sondheim’s Putting it Together
May 16, 2022
Teaching & Learning ›
-
Interdisciplinarity (if there really is such a word)
August 6, 2022
-
And now…I’m back to teaching…
June 29, 2022
-
More and more teachers are leaving the teaching profession.
June 27, 2022
-
Frogs? Yes, Frogs!
June 10, 2022
Technology ›
-
Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to work there.
May 27, 2022
-
Seventeenth anniversary of my very first blog post!
May 18, 2022
-
Following 22 podcasts…
April 4, 2022
-
More chaos! More CatNet!
March 21, 2022
Travel ›
-
Miriam and Alan explore Scotland.
July 6, 2022
-
What could possibly shock a German?
April 19, 2022
-
After reading The Paradise Affair by Bill Pronzini, I don’t want to visit Hawaii!
September 18, 2021
-
(Re)Born in the USA: An Englishman’s love letter to his chosen home, by Roger Bennett
September 2, 2021
Weston ›
-
Weston pix?
June 14, 2022
-
What are we? “Jewish Americans” or “American Jews”?
April 8, 2022
-
Parachutes, by Kelly Yang
September 8, 2021
-
Zoe Rosenthal is not Lawful Good, by Nancy Werlin
August 31, 2021
Learning Strategies 