Today I asked Barnaby and Cassandra what they are thankful for. “Each other!” they meowed. “And our forever home.”
Month: November 2025
Language city: The fight to preserve endangered mother tongues in New York
The title and subtitle may make this book sound rather esoteric. But in that case they are unintentionally misleading. You don’t have to be a linguist or a cultural anthropologist to enjoy reading Language City. If I still have your… Read More ›
“So you want a model railroad” — a well-known… okay… not-so-well-known Warner Bros. film from 1955
When you watch a movie made in 1955, you can’t judge it with 2025 glasses. A lot has happened in 70 years! With that caveat, enjoy this short Warner Bros. film. Also keep in mind, as the French say, plus… Read More ›
A slowly dying cause
What do you know about Cornwall? Cornish hens, I suppose. And Cornish pasties, but only if you’ve been to Britain. That’s probably it, unless you have an esoteric linguistic interest in the lesser-known Celtic languages, as I do for some… Read More ›
Three cheers for Jason Jensen — not only a model railroader but also a true American artist!
Model railroading is both a craft and an art. My favorite model railroader on YouTube is Jason Jensen, who is #1 as both a craftsman and an artist. Many of his videos are lengthy, but they’re worth it, as he… Read More ›
Thai Oishii
Looking at the name of this Dorchester restaurant, your first thought is that its cuisine must be Thai. It’s right in the name after all! But then you realize that the second word, oishii, is clearly Japanese, not Thai (we… Read More ›
The new Springsteen bio-pic
Your most urgent question (I’m sure) is why did I put a hyphen in biopic. The answer is that I learned recently that a majority of people pronounce biopic to rhyme with myopic! (In other words, they are parsing it… Read More ›
Happy birthday, Cassandra. You are no longer a kitten.
Happy first birthday, Cassie! You have left your kittenhood behind and are now officially a full-grown cat.
Everything possible
Back in 1983 I first heard this beautiful song, as a result of a recommendation by my sister Ellen. It was written and performed by Fred Small, who is least known as a lawyer, better known as a UU minister,… Read More ›
Chinese food in Greater Boston, then and now
A shout-out for Richard Auffrey, the Passionate Foodie, whose blog by that name has been providing thorough and accurate info about food and wine for almost 20 years! In particular, I want to commend him for his numerous posts about… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 