Who is Karen? As Gretchen McCulloch explains, language changes more rapidly today than in the past, because internet. One current meaning of Karen is new. According to Wikipedia: Karen is a term used in the United States for a person perceived to… Read More ›
That’s grim, not Grimm. Well, both, actually. As some Americans — and all Germans — know, the Grimm fairytales can be quite grim. Some of us have gained a particular perspective on this point from Stephen Sondheim’s wonderful musical, Into the… Read More ›
“Defund the police.” That means… what? Does it mean eliminate police departments? Does it mean reduce their funding? Does it mean anarchy? Here are three posts I saw on Facebook yesterday — one posted by a friend, two from a… Read More ›
“William, you don’t fit in that box.” “Yes I do.”
William, Flicka, and Vincent — as you can see — were observing proper social distancing as they lined up six feet apart, waiting patiently for their dinner last night. (BTW, William isn’t quite as large as the perspective makes him… Read More ›
Barbara and I have new masks, hand-made with love by our niece Aviva. (Unfortunately the cats think that they’re cat toys because of the dangly straps.)
You will want to read a longish poem just published by my favorite Canadian linguist, James Harbeck. Before then, note what he has to say about words: Words are delicious and intoxicating. They do much more than just denote; they have appearance,… Read More ›
He thinks he’s on TV. He doesn’t realize he’s just sitting in a box from BJs.
Everyone seems to be posting their high-school graduation picture on Facebook these days. So, I guess I have to join ’em. Here we are. P.A. 1965:
(This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post. I suggest reading it first, if you haven’t done so already.) A quote from John Horton Conway in today’s MathBlab: You know, people think mathematics is complicated. Mathematics is the simple bit. It’s… Read More ›
This is Wiggins. She peers through the bars because she thinks that quarantine is like jail. No, she’s not one of ours; her human is our friend Meredith.
Apparently they don’t understand about social distancing.
I’m not quite sure why this has been going around the Internet, but people are understandably reluctant to travel right now, so maybe it’s a good time for a visual representation of where you’ve been (USA only, unfortunately). Link is… Read More ›
Which picture shows Christine Lavin? Anyway, listen to her song about a certain someone:
“After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.” — Mr. Spock in “Amok Time.” I’ve recently been watching various recommended episodes… Read More ›
Vote Blue, no matter who! And here is the inestimable Randy Rainbow: In case you don’t know the original for this song, check out how Randy compares to Donny Osmond.
Somehow I suspect that they sent this to the wrong email address. Should I fill out the form? I do meet three of their criteria, after all.
…even when the furnace isn’t working.
“The Day Democracy Died”: vote for whichever candidate the Democrats nominate! But first listen to this song. (Thanks for the link, David Schwartz!)
What happened in Iowa? Well, we don’t really know for sure how Mayor Pete managed to astonish everyone, but that’s not what I’m writing about here. And what does it have to do with Ireland anyway? The issue is one… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 