Barnaby & Cassandra in the process of convincing you that they are indeed a bonded pair of Russian Blue cats:
Month: August 2025
Is Superman circumcised?
That question does sound like clickbait — but it’s not. In fact, the book titled Is Superman circumcised? is surprisingly rather academic and serious. Author Roy Schwartz explores the history and sociology of the Superman character with an emphasis on… Read More ›
The Photographer
Unlike most of the books I review, The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter is not genre fiction of any kind. Not exactly a mystery, not quite a thriller, this is a mainstream story that has the vibe of a thriller… Read More ›
“Spending a Day at the Lottery Fair”
This 1983 story by Frederik Pohl was clearly influenced by Shirley Jackson’s famous story “The Lottery,” which had been published 35 years earlier. Probably some good high-school English papers were written in the ’80s comparing and contrasting the two stories…. Read More ›
A former student’s PhD defense
The highlight of my week was a talk at MIT yesterday by a former Weston student of mine, Akiva Gordon. You may think that I must not get out much if a lecture at MIT was the highlight of my… Read More ›
Barnaby has discovered the kitty couch.
And apparently it’s even better than the box!
Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell
Even though it’s a Sherlock Holmes tale, this book was not written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (You can see that in the cover image below.) Nor was it written in the 19th Century, as the cover contains a color… Read More ›
They say that Welsh is impossible to pronounce — but is that really true?
Admittedly, Welsh does look impossible to pronounce, at least for Americans. But that’s mostly because of the frightening spelling, with words like ffrwyth, cynysgaeddir, and ymddwyn. (And don’t forget, of course, the famous town in Wales, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. That name is… Read More ›
Petard
Is this really what MIT is like? Or, rather, what it will be like in ten years or so? I’m talking about Cory Doctorow’s science fiction story, “Petard: A Tale of Just Deserts.” Perhaps, like the author of an otherwise… Read More ›
Concordia Language Villages
If only these language villages had existed when I was a teen! Actually, a few of them already existed — but unfortunately I hadn’t heard about them at the time. Such is life. Where, you ask, are they located? Well,… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 