Recent Posts - page 2
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Making math relevant?
Good rhetorical question from SMBC: “Do kids ever look up from Minecraft or Pokemon cards or a Harry Potter book and say ‘This is boring because it’s not relevant to real life’?” And yet that’s exactly what too many kids… Read More ›
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Deadmistress
Yes, you’re right: the title is a portmanteau. It’s not a concatenation of “dead mistress” but a portmanteau of “dead” plus “headmistress.” Get it? This 2011 mystery by Carole Shmurak wasn’t so easy to find. CommCat couldn’t locate it for… Read More ›
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Is anyone still teaching cursive? Does anyone care?
“Niche scholarship and the blue-moon occasion do not justify a universal policy of childhood education,” observes John McWhorter. As you see, I’ve taken that observation out of context. Without context it’s hard to know what McWhorter means, so let’s unpack… Read More ›
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Yes, it really is by J.K. Rowling, but…
It’s not part of the Harry Potter franchise. I’m talking about The Ink Black Heart, the sixth novel ostensibly written by Robert Galbraith, the well-known pseudonym that J.K. Rowling uses for her outstanding Cormoran Strike series. Unlike Harry Potter, the… Read More ›
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It Happened One Night
Romcoms have never held much appeal for me, not even when they were made in 1934 and were called screwball comedies, and not even when they starred Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Nevertheless, I watched It Happened One Night, since… Read More ›
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Before I Go to Sleep (the book, not the movie)
It’s obvious that author S.J. Watson had seen the movie Memento before writing his first novel, Before I Go to Sleep. What isn’t obvious (at least to me) was that a mediocre movie of the same title was made from… Read More ›
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William says…
“Tessellations are meant for sitting on,” says William, “as long as there’s a soft rug between me and the tiles.”
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Three ways to rescue writing assignments from the curse of AI
Following up on my post of December 16: the internet has been atwitter recently (no pun intended) with news about the first artificial intelligence that is likely to pass the Turing Test. (If you don’t know what that is, you… Read More ›
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That feeling when…you’re trying to enjoy Venice during a pandemic
I mean Venice, Italy, of course. Not Florida or California or Las Vegas or any other inauthentic place. Not that I visited Italy during the pandemic—at least not IRL—but I did manage a virtual visit by reading Give unto Others,… Read More ›
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Returning (again!) to the Grill—this time for NYE
Completing our Dining in Dorchester holiday week trifecta, Barbara and I followed up Sunday’s Christmas dinner at Chau Chow and Wednesday’s baked stuffed lobster from Adams Fish with New Year’s Eve dinner at our local favorite, the Ashmont Grill. We… Read More ›
Featured Categories
Books ›
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This high-school reunion was even deadlier than usual.
February 3, 2023
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In which I read a graphic novel… and give it a surprising A+!
January 29, 2023
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A pair of Horowitzes? (Is that the plural? How about Horowitzim?)
January 22, 2023
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Deadmistress
January 15, 2023
Dorchester/Boston ›
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William stays warm.
February 4, 2023
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Possibly our last dinner at the Ashmont Grill
January 30, 2023
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The town of Lincoln first participated in—and later rejected—this “radical experiment in integration.”
January 27, 2023
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Farewell, Ashmont Grill 🥲
January 23, 2023
Food & Restaurants ›
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Returning (again!) to the Grill—this time for NYE
January 1, 2023
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BSL@AFM (mmm…lobstah!)
December 29, 2022
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A very traditional Christmas dinner
December 26, 2022
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At holiday time…
December 20, 2022
Life ›
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Chynah Tyler on igniting the passion of a new generation of voters.
January 25, 2023
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They say that Christmas is for everyone—even Jews. But is it?
December 25, 2022
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What is Jewish Noir?
November 16, 2022
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Ukraine: Its intertwined history and linguistics
November 14, 2022
Linguistics ›
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Answers for linguistics quiz
December 21, 2022
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Hints for linguistics quiz
December 18, 2022
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ChatGPT from OpenAI
December 16, 2022
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Your lingquiz for the season
December 14, 2022
Math ›
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Clearly a ¼-pounder is larger than a ⅓-pounder. After all, 4 is larger than 3. Right?
February 1, 2023
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Making math relevant?
January 17, 2023
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Fantastic ______s and Where to Find Them
December 24, 2022
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“Dear parents of math geniuses…,” writes Tanya Khovanova
December 6, 2022
Model Railroading ›
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I finally got to see the world’s finest model railroad, but…
June 19, 2022
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“The Therapeutic Value of Model Railroading”
May 25, 2022
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Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Ringo Starr. What do they all have in common?
March 24, 2022
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That long-awaited model railroad update: finally a progress report!
December 28, 2021
Movies & (occasionally) TV ›
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It Happened One Night
January 10, 2023
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It’s Magpie Murders, not The Magpie Murders!
November 30, 2022
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Remember the…the what? Remember the Alamo? Remember the Maine? No, remember the Horn & Hardart Automat!
November 8, 2022
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Catch Me If You Can
November 5, 2022
Teaching & Learning ›
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Q: Is AI forcing us to switch to project-based learning? A: Not really, but…
January 20, 2023
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Is anyone still teaching cursive? Does anyone care?
January 13, 2023
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Three ways to rescue writing assignments from the curse of AI
January 5, 2023
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Who cares about the burning of the library at Alexandria?
December 2, 2022
Technology ›
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How to build a metaverse
October 22, 2022
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What’s wrong with the word “inbox”?
September 13, 2022
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Trust what you read! (On second thought…)
September 2, 2022
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How has Phillips Academy Andover changed in a little over half a century?
August 30, 2022
Travel ›
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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
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What could possibly shock a German?
April 19, 2022
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After reading The Paradise Affair by Bill Pronzini, I don’t want to visit Hawaii!
September 18, 2021
Weston ›
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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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Weston pix?
June 14, 2022
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What are we? “Jewish Americans” or “American Jews”?
April 8, 2022
Learning Strategies 