“Three murders? For a cozy? Isn’t that a lot?” Yes, three murders in one cozy. I guess that’s a lot. This self-referential quote is from Betty Webb’s latest, The Panda of Death. And yes, it’s a cozy, but I read it anyway,… Read More ›
Month: March 2020
Contagion
If you haven’t seen it — or even if you have — this is the time to watch Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 movie, Contagion. (Or maybe it’s the time not to watch it, if you worry that it’s going to trigger you.) As you may… Read More ›
Arabic — its sounds and its writing system — plus some related issues
“They speak Arabic in Iran, Pakistan, and Xinjiang, right?” No, that’s wrong. “OK, what I meant is that they write Farsi, Urdu, and Uyghur in the Arabic script. That’s right, isn’t it?” That’s closer, but still not right. We need… Read More ›
Tavolo again
Another take-out dinner from Tavolo last night, to aid our neighborhood friends in this time of social distancing: meatball appetizer, chitarra carbonara, chicken parm. All was delicious; we helped ourselves as we helped our friends!
Keeping the Faith: Is it a Jewish film?
A priest and a rabbi walk into a bar on St. Patrick’s Day…. Yes, it sounds like the beginning of too many jokes. But in this case it’s the opening scene of a movie, Keeping the Faith. As a romcom, it’s not… Read More ›
Zia Gianna
Take-out lasagna portions from Zia Gianna last night: one slice of meat sauce with peas, one with spinach, gooey cheese with both of course. Warning: these are not only delicious but also huge! Barbara and I together ate less than… Read More ›
No social distancing?
Apparently they don’t understand about social distancing.
Which non-Anglophone countries speak English most fluently?
I’ve known lots of non-native speakers of English who speak English fluently. Some of these are friends of mine, some are friends of my family, some were my classmates, some are my students. But is there any pattern to the… Read More ›
A Very Stable Genius
As you know, the U.S. is currently being led by “a very stable genius,” as our dear leader calls himself. I finally finished reading A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America, written by two Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters from… Read More ›
Unorthodox Quarantine Bonus
I was trying to avoid writing anything about the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, because that’s of course what everyone is talking about. But, sitting here in self-semiquarantine, I have just listened to a special 16-minute bonus episode of the Unorthodox… Read More ›
Don’t Believe a Word!
Do you want to get a serious look at linguistics from an author who writes clearly for a general audience? If so, read David Shariatmadari’s Don’t Believe a Word: The Surprising Truth about Language. When I say it’s for a general audience, you… Read More ›
Which states have you visited?
I’m not quite sure why this has been going around the Internet, but people are understandably reluctant to travel right now, so maybe it’s a good time for a visual representation of where you’ve been (USA only, unfortunately). Link is… Read More ›
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols
The perennial Sherlock Holmes strikes again! Nicholas Meyer, author of the famous The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, follows that up with another Holmes pastiche, this time with much more serious content: debunking the antisemitic hoax The Protocols of the Elders of Zion…. Read More ›
Quidditch in Yiddish, etc
Surely you want to read the Harry Potter books in their new Yiddish translation, don’t you? “But I don’t read Yiddish!” you exclaim. That’s admittedly a handicap. But you can make some progress by sounding out the Hebrew letters (with… Read More ›
You probably think this song is about ___________________ (who? not you).
Which picture shows Christine Lavin? Anyway, listen to her song about a certain someone:
Bay State Model Railroad Museum Open House
So you’ve never heard of the Bay State Model Railroad Museum? Well, it exists, even if you haven’t heard of it. It’s very small — but yes, it does exist and seems to be thriving, right in the heart of… Read More ›
What difference could a few zeroes make? Zero is nothing, isn’t it?
Bloomberg spent $500 million on ads. The U.S. population is 327 million. He could have given each American $1 million check and still have money left over. I feel like a $1 million check would be life-changing for most people…. Read More ›
Which is better, having or wanting?
“After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.” — Mr. Spock in “Amok Time.” I’ve recently been watching various recommended episodes… Read More ›
“Any Dem will do.”
Vote Blue, no matter who! And here is the inestimable Randy Rainbow: In case you don’t know the original for this song, check out how Randy compares to Donny Osmond.
Dim sum at Chau Chow
During a brief break from her 14-hour stint as an election warden at the polls yesterday, Barbara and I had a delicious dim sum lunch at Chau Chow on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester. Since it’s a weekday, there were not… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 