Probably you have at least some interest in language. Probably you are not a professional linguist. If both of these describe you (having an interest in language but not being a professional linguist), then Arika Okrent’s latest book, Highly Irregular,… Read More ›
Month: May 2024
Two murders in Paris
Recently I finished reading two mysteries that happened to take place in Paris. You probably wonder whether that was a coincidence. I did too; it certainly wasn’t intentional, but maybe it was my subconscious at work. The covers of both… Read More ›
Cat’s cradle
Flicka says that she’s the only baby in this house.
Building a model railroad structure, week 3
Hofstadter’s Law in action: As I continue to work on streets and roads (which I’m having difficulty making level, unlike streets and roads IRL which are always perfect), Meredith continues building our suburban house. Both are taking longer than expected,… Read More ›
The Mayors of New York (a book review)
The Mayors of New York is the title of a book by S.J. Rozan. Like you, I had misunderstood what it referred to. It’s fiction, not history! Along with everyone else I asked, I had guessed that it would be… Read More ›
Building a model railroad structure, week 2
ICYMI, you may want to read the first post in this series before reading this one. Right now we’re looking at what we accomplished this week; it won’t look like much, but painting tiny window frames is slow work. Why… Read More ›
Promising Lives Cut Short
Recently I finished reading William Cohan’s non-fiction account called Four Friends: Promising Lives Cut Short. My motivation for choosing to read this book was simple. The author, his eponymous four friends, and I have something in common: we all graduated… Read More ›
Step-by-step: Building a structure on my model railroad layout
Q As asked by a randomly chosen reader of this blog: When will your model railroad finally be completed? It has been “in progress” for years now! A Never. What counts is the journey, not the destination. A model railroad… Read More ›
Murder Crossed her Mind
Every four years like clockwork (assuming, that is, you have a strange clock with a rather vague sense of regularity*) Stephen Spotswood publishes another great novel in his Pentecost and Parker series. And now we’re on to number four: Murder… Read More ›
The Pearl, a well-named restaurant
On our way home from yet another doctor’s appointment (they come far too often, don’t they, when you’re getting close to 80), Barbara suggested stopping for lunch at The Pearl. She had to twist my arm, but I finally agreed… Read More ›
Gyu-Kaku
Yes, it’s a chain, but don’t dismiss it out of hand. After all, it’s a Japanese chain, not an American one. From Waikiki to Kansas City, Toronto to Dorchester, Gyu-Kaku has some five dozen locations in North American alone, supplementing… Read More ›