Too few menus include lamb (except for Greek restaurants). Even fewer include duck (except for some Chinese restaurants). Fewer still include both lamb and duck, which are my two favorite meats. First-world problem, I know. But fortunately 224 Boston Street… Read More ›
Month: February 2022
German is hereby completed!
Well, OK, not exactly. I don’t even know what it would mean for German to be completed. It’s just that I have completed everything that Duolingo can offer me in German. And that is far from “everything.” Basically, I have… Read More ›
What would you do if you could predict the future?
First, you would read this book! You can’t predict the future, but you’ve got to read the book. Maybe once every two or three years I read a novel that I can’t put down—except that in those cases I usually… Read More ›
What is a city?
Massachusetts has 50 cities and 301 towns—collectively known as “municipalities.” Does it matter which ones are cities and which ones are towns? And should you care about the definition of “city”? Perhaps; perhaps not. If you’re studying civics anywhere in… Read More ›
Judging a movie that was made 60 years ago
What a cringy movie! Oddly enough, I had never seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s—neither when it was first shown in 1961 nor subsequently on TV or DVD. But now I have. So here’s the problem. In the throes of cancel culture,… Read More ›
What lies on the other side of the River Styx?
Who knows? You’ll have to read the engaging novel Across the River Styx to find out. You might have a rough voyage, but the reading won’t be rough. Looking at the cover image below, you’ll see what this novel is:… Read More ›
How does gerrymandering harm you?
Elbridge Gerry has a lot to answer for. As you probably once knew—but have now forgotten—Gerry was vice president of the United States under James Madison, a role for which nobody remembers him (as is the case for most vice… Read More ›
Who knew?? Iterating Dorchester takes you to philosophy!
TIL what TIL means. No, wait! I learned that last year. Let’s start again: TIL that an extremely simple iterative process always takes you philosophy. Here’s how you do it: Go to any article in Wikipedia. Click on the first… Read More ›
Taking creative risks in the classroom
John Spencer’s essay, “What Happens When Teachers Take Creative Risks,” is well worth reading if you’re a teacher. Actually, it’s also worth reading if you’re teacher-adjacent, such as a parent or a student. I was particularly struck by his initial… Read More ›
One pączki, two pączki? Fat Thursday, not Fat Tuesday? Are you confused yet?
Let me unconfuse you, as I earlier had to unconfuse myself. Unless you are Polish, or live(d) in a predominantly Polish neighborhood (like the northern tip of Dorchester), you surely think that a Polish pastry is called a pączki (pronounced… Read More ›
The source material for… (Episode II of these episodic posts: The Queen’s Gambit)
Should you read the book or see the movie? If you do both, what’s the right order? And does a mini-series count as a movie? I promised a couple of months ago that I would re-read The Queen’s Gambit—the original… Read More ›
Five pennies (not 5¢?)
What an under-appreciated musical! I’m talking about The Five Pennies, a 1959 movie starring Danny Kaye, along with Barbara Bel Geddes, Louis Armstrong, Tuesday Weld, and others. If you’re unfamiliar with it—as I had been until last week—it’s basically a… Read More ›
It was just ducky!
Barbara and I had a simple but extra-delicious dinner yesterday at Tavolo: focaccia; seared duck breast with roasted fingerling potatoes, baby kale, roasted beets, and cranberry-and-orange jam; and carbonara consisting of house-made chitarra, pancetta, romano, egg, and parsley. Then I… Read More ›
How worried are you about “learning loss”?
Parents and teachers alike are understandably worried about learning loss during the pandemic. How real is the worry? Is there something else that should worry us more? And what exactly does “learning loss” mean anyway? John Spencer helps you and… Read More ›
You’re wondering what a “book word” might be. Right?
Here are some examples of book words: awry, bedraggled, biopic, cache, calliope, Greenwich, Hermione, misled. So, what do these words (and a few dozen more) all have in common? The answer is that they all are (or might be) words… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 