Meh. That’s my main reaction to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the dark film that I saw yesterday. Admittedly, there’s a lot to like about it — but there’s nothing to love. It’s certainly weaker than the previous nine films… Read More ›
I’m truly embarrassed to have served on the board of directors of an organization that can commit a faux pas like this, especially in the current political climate. Here is this year’s annual Christmas holiday card from the Dorchester Historical… Read More ›
Excerpts from a recent article in McSweeney’s, “If people talked to other professionals the way they talk to teachers”: “Ah, a zookeeper. So, you just babysit the animals all day?” – – – “My colon never acts this way at… Read More ›
“What do you call someone who speaks three languages?” “Trilingual.” “And what do you call someone who speaks two languages?” “Bilingual.” “And what do you call someone who speaks only one language?” “American.” OK, it’s a stereotype, but — sadly… Read More ›
Douglas and I now have matching purple exercise mats — matching purple, that is, even if they have very different dimensions. Douglas, of course, thinks that his is a sleeping mat, not an exercise mat. … Read More ›
The Breakers is a rather low-key episode in Marcia Muller’s long-running Sharon McCone series. In general there are two types of long-running series: those where the characters remain static and familiar, and those where the characters change and develop. Sharon… Read More ›
The downside of giving up the commute from Dorchester to Weston is that I don’t listen to as many podcasts as I used to. (Sure, I can — and sometimes do — listen to them at home, but it’s not… Read More ›
Disappointing. That’s all I can say. The Museum of Science had announced a special one-day members-only preview of their new model railroad exhibit, so of course I had to go. “What does it have to do with science?” asked Barbara…. Read More ›
Exactly one week ago I wrote about the podcast Word Bomb, describing the first eight episodes. Now the ninth episode has come out, and I feel compelled to address one point: how Canadian is Word Bomb? The official description of Episode #9… Read More ›
Kristen Lepionka grew up mostly in a public library and could often be found in the adult mystery section well before she was out of middle school… She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her partner and two cats. That’s what the… Read More ›
Passport to Murder; Death by Committee; The Black Hour. My imagined Final Jeopardy clue says “This is is what all three titles have in common.” … … OK, enough suspense: the answer is “What are three titles of recent academic… Read More ›
I thank my former student, Sury Dewa Ayu, for this link to Erica Walker’s website Noise and the City, which examines how urban noise affects public health in various Boston neighborhoods. Here’s Erica’s own blurb about the site: Erica Walker is a doctoral… Read More ›
William points out that he looks good on the purple blanket:
Fat, doxx, like, trigger, moist, they, partner, renoviction — what do these eight words have in common? The answer is that they are the topics of the first eight episodes of Word Bomb, a new podcast from Canada. Unlike most of… Read More ›
Your president just called CNN “the enemy of the people.” This, of course, is far from the first time that he has referred to the press by this phrase. (Marvin Kalb just published an entire book on the subject, straightforwardly… Read More ›
“You learn something new every day of your life,” my dad used to say to me. He was right, of course. A week ago I learned a concept that is, apparently, familiar to economists and philosophers but was for some… Read More ›
This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post in the form of three items that could have been in it, but the post was already long enough without them: First of all, I am bothered by the complainer’s use of an anonymous… Read More ›
As we all have learned over the past two years, our Dear Leader’s strategy is to blame others for his own shortcomings, to accuse his enemies of those characteristics that are really his own character flaws, to claim to speak… Read More ›
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