Author Archives
In 2018 I semi-retired by retiring from Weston High School after my 21st year teaching mathematics there. This was also my 44th year as a teacher altogether. In 2023 I retired fully, adding in my 18 years at Harvard’s Crimson Summer Academy each summer. For 21 years I had taught at the Saturday Course in Milton, MA, and I used to serve on the board of the Dorchester Historical Society.
I read, cook, and spend a lot of time building my model railroad. For some reason I’m left with less free time than would be ideal, considering that I’m supposed to be retired, but somehow I also manage to devote time to my wife, Barbara, and to our varying number of cats (once up to six, but now sadly down to one).
Larry Davidson
ljd@larrydavidson.com
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An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Poor Hank Green: if you ask a random person who Hank Green is, the likely answer is either “the brother of John Green” or “never heard of him.” I suppose sibling rivalry is inevitable when your brother sells 23,000,000 copies… Read More ›
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Twice in the same month?
But Barbara and I had just gone to Tavolo last week! So, you ask, why did we have to go there again yesterday? Because it was Buck-a-Shuck, of course! Starters were easy. We shared a kale-Caesar-salad-without-kale (which came pre-split by… Read More ›
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And what was she doing in the kitchen sink?
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And it’s back to Tavolo!
Dinner at Tavolo was delicious as always, even though service was unusually (but unavoidably) slow because it turned out to be much busier than usual for a Thursday evening. Barbara started with the steamed mussels, which came with fennel, garlic,… Read More ›
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Passover in Australia — during the Second World War
As Passover approaches, when there is renewed antisemitism and too much hatred in this world, even from the president of our own country, we want to remember the Passover of 1943. On April 19 the revolt began against the Nazis… Read More ›
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Слава Україні
They’re singing to you, Donald and Elon:
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The Talented Miss Farwell
Who, you may ask, is this Miss Farwell? Probably the protagonist of a novel by Emily Gray Tedrowe, right? Right. Let me explain (without spoilers!): Becky Farwell buys far too many original works of art — more than she can… Read More ›
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Trying to find my ancestors in the 1890–1920 U.S. Censuses
Censuses? Or should it be “censi”? (Or maybe even “censūs,” for us Latin scholars? I always liked the 4th Declension.) Whatever. The first problem is where to look. Google, of course, is your friend. And some people swear by various… Read More ›
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A close-up view of Neighborhood #5, Newtown
Despite its name, the neighborhood of Newtown is actually the second oldest part of Rose City, being preceded only by the Center City neighborhood. (I guess that still made the name somewhat appropriate, comparatively speaking. It’s rather like the name… Read More ›
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They understand us across the pond.
The Marsh Family responds quickly and on point:
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Jet Lag and The Amazing Race
Eight years ago I wrote several posts for this blog about June Academy at Weston High School. You may want to read the first of those posts before continuing with this one. Anyhow, one of the courses offered for June… Read More ›
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Pretty as a Picture
When you look at the front cover of Elizabeth Little’s Pretty as a Picture, you notice an apt blurb by Laura Lippman (see image below): “A twisty story, a cinephile’s delight, a knockout of a heroine. I loved it.” Let’s… Read More ›
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My 10 Favorite Books Redux
When I just happened to be looking at a post I wrote 17 years ago (for reasons that I will explain below), I was surprised to realize that today’s list of my favorite books wouldn’t be very different from that… Read More ›
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Abigail on a pedestal
She claims that she is so beautiful that she should be placed on a pedestal, preferably in a museum.
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Star Mangled Banner
Founders sing:
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Is Runic Better than Roman?
Should we use the Runic alphabet (which we actually used to use, but that was almost a couple of millennia ago) rather than the Roman alphabet (which we currently use)? Of course we should! Let’s see why. Our Roman alphabet,… Read More ›
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Not on the Test
Recorded 16 years ago, but even more relevant today:
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Happy Ἐξελαύνω Day!
In case you’ve forgotten, today is Exelauno Day. But surely you wouldn’t have forgotten such an important day, would you?
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If you need to get blood drawn for a routine medical exam…
go to the lab at the Atrius Health office in Braintree! (I highly recommend it. This is an unsolicited testimonial.) My experience there yesterday can be summarized in three words: fast, efficient, painless. (Those adjectives describe the Atrius lab, not… Read More ›
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Good Lieutenant by E.J. Copperman
Good Lieutenant is the sixth, the best, the most serious, and (alas) the last novel in Jeff Cohen’s Jersey Girl series of mysteries. But — wait, wait! important question here, I hear you cry — you said Jeff Cohen but… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 