William is so handsome…
On his blue comforter, even if for some reason it has a lot of cat fur on it:
Recent Posts
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Being human in the age of algorithms
That’s not the title. It’s actually the subtitle. The book’s title is Hello World. OK, so now that you know the title, you want to know who the author is—right? Well, the author is applied mathematician Hannah Fry, whom I… Read More ›
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Ayliean (who?)—and her Hitomezashi patterns (what?)
No, I don’t know how to pronounce Ayliean. My Scots Gaelic isn’t what it used to be. (It never was.) And I’m not so sure about Hitomezashi either, as my Japanese isn’t what it used to be. (But I did… Read More ›
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Christine Lavin, Tina Ross, and Barbara Barrie
Great short Zoom concert/interview last night by Christine Lavin, hosted by Tina Ross! Not sure whether it’s still available after the fact. In any case, you can check out her other concerts and recordings here. But I do need to… Read More ›
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If ontogeny really recapitulated phylogeny…
If you need the full explanation, visit explainXKCD.
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Another treat from Richard Osman
A couple of months ago I reviewed the first novel in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. Now I turn to the second, which I have just finished reading. This mystery, The Man Who Died Twice, is at least as… Read More ›
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Stress is good. That’s why Shakespeare could never have been French. (Say what? Read on for an explanation.)
No, not that kind of stress! We’re talking about stressing syllables, not your mind. English poetry and prose alike depend heavily on stress—especially poetry. In prose, if you get the stress wrong, your words may be incomprehensible. Or you may… Read More ›
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Tavolo Take-out Treat
Anticipating today’s snowstorm, Barbara and I just had to treat ourselves to a take-out banquet from Tavolo last night. (We blame Tara for it, since she had posted a tempting menu excerpt on FB.) Here’s what we had (pix below):… Read More ›
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Yang’s Yummy Dumplings
Finally, over a period of a month or two, Barbara and I have consumed nearly all of the fifty delicious dumplings that we bought from Yang’s in Dorchester. Don’t worry: they came frozen, and are still frozen. At least the… Read More ›
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Texas German vs. Pennsylvania Dutch
Is there really such a language as Texas German? The answer is yes. So why is it—according to my informal (and totally unscientific) poll—that everyone has heard of Pennsylvania German (usually, however, called by the misnomer Pennsylvania Dutch, where “Dutch”… Read More ›
Featured Categories
Books ›
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Being human in the age of algorithms
January 18, 2022
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Another treat from Richard Osman
January 10, 2022
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The Bicentennial Man
December 17, 2021
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A classic mystery—written in 2021!
December 15, 2021
Dorchester/Boston ›
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William is so handsome…
January 20, 2022
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Tavolo Take-out Treat
January 7, 2022
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Yang’s Yummy Dumplings
January 5, 2022
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NYE@AG
January 1, 2022
Food & Restaurants ›
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A Jewish Christmas, in two parts (Part Two: Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas)
December 27, 2021
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A Jewish Christmas, in two parts (this is Part One: the requisite Chinese meal)
December 26, 2021
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We miss Nanina’s!
December 4, 2021
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Men of Boston Cook for Women’s Health
October 29, 2021
Life ›
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Christine Lavin, Tina Ross, and Barbara Barrie
January 14, 2022
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Rudolph in Old English
December 25, 2021
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People love dead Jews.
December 6, 2021
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Never—no, always—take the shortcut!
December 3, 2021
Linguistics ›
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If ontogeny really recapitulated phylogeny…
January 12, 2022
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Stress is good. That’s why Shakespeare could never have been French. (Say what? Read on for an explanation.)
January 8, 2022
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Texas German vs. Pennsylvania Dutch
January 3, 2022
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Can German speakers understand Yiddish—and vice versa?
December 30, 2021
Math ›
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Ayliean (who?)—and her Hitomezashi patterns (what?)
January 16, 2022
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Trains, Rock Paper Scissors, & Hannah Fry: What do these three have in common?
December 20, 2021
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Everyone mispronounces omicron! (Well, almost everyone.) And it means more than just a COVID-19 variant…
December 10, 2021
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The hidden meaning of crypto
December 8, 2021
Model Railroading ›
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That long-awaited model railroad update: finally a progress report!
December 28, 2021
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All aboard! MRR at the MoS
December 21, 2021
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Visiting all 2563 train stations in the UK!
August 25, 2021
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Boston in Transit (the book this time)
May 5, 2021
Movies & (occasionally) TV ›
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The Queen’s Gambit: what’s it all about?
December 13, 2021
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The Best Years of our Lives
November 18, 2021
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A Lincoln-Sudbury alumnus stars in Gifted.
October 15, 2021
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The Court Jester
October 6, 2021
Teaching & Learning ›
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Whining about Daylight Saving Time
November 13, 2021
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Look it up! But first understand the purpose of dictionaries.
November 11, 2021
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On the planet of the apps: Between Glossika and DuoLingo, who wins?
October 24, 2021
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Democracy? How could geometry tell us anything about democracy? To find out, read Shape, by Jordan Ellenberg!
October 20, 2021
Technology ›
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Netflix cares about the length of a sentence in a given language. You should too.
December 24, 2021
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Emoji and hand gestures
September 7, 2021
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The so-called SmartPhone trap: Is it real?
August 11, 2021
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Looking forward (mostly) to another summer of teaching remotely
June 20, 2021
Travel ›
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After reading The Paradise Affair by Bill Pronzini, I don’t want to visit Hawaii!
September 18, 2021
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(Re)Born in the USA: An Englishman’s love letter to his chosen home, by Roger Bennett
September 2, 2021
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“Why haven’t I ever been to Petra?”
January 6, 2021
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A Moroccan teen blogs about linguistics (and other matters…).
June 6, 2020
Weston ›
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Parachutes, by Kelly Yang
September 8, 2021
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Zoe Rosenthal is not Lawful Good, by Nancy Werlin
August 31, 2021
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No, it’s not Lupin. It’s Hannah LeBaron’s Adventure Cats!
July 29, 2021
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Should “exam schools” exist?
July 1, 2021
Learning Strategies 