Recent Posts - page 12
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Linguini, meet clams!
A month ago I posted this comment: “I’ve already written many times about Tavolo, so just a word about one new item.” And now, once again a new item. You guessed it from this post’s title: linguini with clams on… Read More ›
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Dorchester-Italian (two ways): Via Cannuccia and Tavolo
Everyone knows North End Italian — but the North End is approximately a thousand miles away and parking is impossible. Yes, there’s always the MBTA, but… well… the T is the T. So why not think about Dorchester Italian, a… Read More ›
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Happy St. Gertrude’s Day!
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Posts you may have missed
Now that I’m back to writing in my blog, I just remembered that there are friends who follow me on Facebook but don’t follow my blog directly, so they no longer see automatic summaries of my posts! (Other settings also… Read More ›
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Three cheers for the heroes at Beth Israel!
As you know if you’ve been following this blog, I spent 18 days of this past July as a patient at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. Unfortunately, since I was unconscious or confused most of that time, I remember… Read More ›
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“My cat likes to be pet.” Does that sentence sound grammatically correct to your ear?
To my ear, at any rate, it does not sound correct. Shouldn’t it be “to be petted”? But I’ve recently heard this use of pet as a past participle (more on that below) from at least two well-educated native speakers… Read More ›
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Truly Vera [get it?]
Apparently I’m the last person in the Western Hemisphere to learn who Vera is. Truly. That is because I watch so little television, and television is the main way in which Americans know Vera. But this post is about a… Read More ›
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Read Desert Star again (but maybe it would be best for you to wait until you’re in your seventies)
Actually, don’t wait until then! If you’re in your thirties or forties or whatever, read Michael Connelly’s Desert Star now…and then read it again when you’re in your seventies. It will be a different book. Of course if you’re already… Read More ›
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Vietnamese and Chinese Food on the Dot
Where oh where do you go for Vietnamese and Chinese lunches? Dorchester, of course! Over the past week, one day for the Davidson-Bean household was Vietnamese food day and two were Chinese food days. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures… Read More ›
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Happy Ἐξελαύνω Day!
This is my not-quite-annual “march forth” post wishing everyone a happy Exelauno Day. In case you’ve forgotten, here is my post from two years ago, which happens to be mostly about learning Ukrainian (!) but opens with remarks about Exelauno… Read More ›
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I’m back!
Where, you may be wondering, have I been for the last eight months? Actually, I’ve been in Boston the whole time, so why no blog posts? For those who don’t know the answer, here’s the Readers Digest condensed version. Like… Read More ›
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You think it’s a coincidence…
In my post of June 25 I wrote: Was “42” ever a Jeopardy clue? If so, I suspect that most readers of this blog would respond with “What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and… Read More ›
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Instead of the Neponset Cafe…
Barbara and I used to go to our local Neponset Cafe (the Dorchester one by that name) whenever we needed a ramen fix, as their ramen was the best around. But alas they were another victim of the pandemic and… Read More ›
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Fireworks
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Flicka says…
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What do you do when you’re too exhausted to cook?
So…think about this schedule: you teach a one-hour class of 33 high-school juniors, immediately followed by a one-hour faculty meeting in a different building, immediately followed by a four-hour class of 39 high-school sophomores in yet a third building! And… Read More ›
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Somebody is confused.
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42
Was “42” ever a Jeopardy clue? If so, I suspect that most readers of this blog would respond with “What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything?” or maybe just “What is the meaning… Read More ›
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Where do you go for that special occasion?
It used to be easy. We always went to the Ashmont Grill. Sadly, the Grill is no more. Happily, there is Tavolo. Same owner, same manager, some of the same staff. So we went to Tavolo for our special occasion… Read More ›
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Randy Rainbow for President!
Featured Categories
Books ›
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A note from Langston Hughes to my dad
January 10, 2026
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Enough is enuf.
January 8, 2026
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Friends with words
January 4, 2026
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Language city: The fight to preserve endangered mother tongues in New York
November 26, 2025
Dorchester/Boston ›
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Milkweed
January 16, 2026
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This year’s traditional Christmas dinner
December 26, 2025
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Thai Oishii
November 16, 2025
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Chinese food in Greater Boston, then and now
November 1, 2025
Food & Restaurants ›
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Dumpling Kitchen
October 11, 2025
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Totto Ramen
July 23, 2025
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Special anniversary dinner at Tavolo
June 25, 2025
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Milkweed in Dot
June 10, 2025
Life ›
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They understand us across the pond.
January 11, 2026
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Where are you dining today?
December 25, 2025
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A Chanukah carol (in Yiddish)
December 21, 2025
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“So you want a model railroad” — a well-known… okay… not-so-well-known Warner Bros. film from 1955
November 22, 2025
Linguistics ›
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Who’s better at understanding written English — you or some random teen in South Korea?
January 22, 2026
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Will the real John McWhorter please stand up? (No, no, that’s not the real one; that’s the AI John McWhorter!)
January 18, 2026
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Is Modern Hebrew a conlang?
January 6, 2026
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Claude predicts the future of English.
December 24, 2025
Math ›
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Very sad news
October 17, 2025
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The metric system has gotten an update!
July 14, 2025
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As Tom Lehrer says, that’s mathematics!
July 9, 2025
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The Plinko Bounce
June 28, 2025
Model Railroading ›
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Three cheers for Jason Jensen — not only a model railroader but also a true American artist!
November 17, 2025
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No need for instructions?
June 4, 2025
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A close-up view of Neighborhood #5, Newtown
March 28, 2025
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A close-up view of Neighborhood #4, Orchard Heights
February 20, 2025
Movies & (occasionally) TV ›
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The new Springsteen bio-pic
November 11, 2025
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Breaking Silence: a truly outstanding documentary!
July 29, 2025
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The Social Network
May 11, 2025
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Dylan
January 8, 2025
Teaching & Learning ›
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Triple threat: Carl Sagan, critical thinking, and an exam
October 13, 2025
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Truly these are oldies but goodies — songs from… wait for it… two millennia ago!
September 28, 2025
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Measles and polio down in the schoolyard
September 8, 2025
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A former student’s PhD defense
August 15, 2025
Technology ›
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Not the other Wes Moore
June 22, 2025
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Bye bye Mark Z.
February 6, 2025
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Posts you may have missed
March 15, 2024
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I’m back!
February 28, 2024
Travel ›
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Written in the South Pacific during World War II
February 17, 2025
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Globle
February 15, 2023
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No pirates. And it’s not in Penzance. But it’s nearby: It’s Death in Cornwall.
August 9, 2022
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Miriam and Alan explore Scotland.
July 6, 2022
Weston ›
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“Dear parents of math geniuses…,” writes Tanya Khovanova
December 6, 2022
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How can girls succeed at the highest level of high-school debate?
November 20, 2022
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Reading Latin and Ancient Greek for fun and profit. For what? Fun? Yes, fun. Really. And the profit was purely intellectual, not financial.
October 19, 2022
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Trust what you read! (On second thought…)
September 2, 2022


