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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Maybe it’s especially resonant if you’re a baby boomer. Or maybe if you’re from New Jersey. Maybe if you’re a long-time folkie. Maybe if you were a teacher or a student at Lincoln-Sudbury. Maybe if you’re Jewish. Actually, I don’t… Read More ›
Please listen.
Tom Lehrer is 97 years old! (Actually, I missed his birthday, which was three months ago.) Needless to say, he isn’t performing anymore. But still, his longevity might be attributable to his music, since so many musicians seem to live… Read More ›
Not really a flashmob, but that’s OK. It’s still beautiful and inspiring.
Here I sit, listening to a special guest on Pod Save America: Wes Moore. I am immediately taken back to a blog post of mine from 14 years ago. That post was about a book with which you may be… Read More ›
Written and performed by the great Bruce W. Nelson:
Probably not so easy to parody Sondheim. (Not so hard to parody Trump and Musk — except when you’re under such a tight deadline!) Well done, this 40% of the crew!
The West End, you say? Where is that? Well, that should be easy: we all know that the West End is the portion of Boston that was “urban-renewed” (i.e. demolished) in 1958. But surely it didn’t have a significant Welsh… Read More ›
How did the Republican party get into the condition it’s in today? And where is it headed? Let’s start by looking at what was being said in 1964 and in 1950, in a book that I was assigned to read… Read More ›
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 ›
They’re singing to you, Donald and Elon:
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 ›
The Marsh Family responds quickly and on point:
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 ›
Learning Strategies 