Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 23

• Back when Heinlein was antifa (really!)

  By ljd42 on June 20, 2022

  

  When I was growing up and reading a lot of science fiction, the Holy Trinity of sf writers consisted of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. Often they were called “The Big Three.” They had a number of… Read More ›

• I finally got to see the world’s finest model railroad, but…

  By ljd42 on June 19, 2022

  

  As I drove along Main Street in Peabody yesterday, the first bad omen was the sight of the old-fashioned parking meters in front of the Franklin & South Manchester Railroad. Quarters only! The problem was that I no longer carry… Read More ›

• Saoirse and Beanie and…[who else?]…add up to…Lady Bird!

  By ljd42 on June 17, 2022

  

  Although I’ve never been to Sacramento, and certainly wasn’t there in 2002, the movie Lady Bird felt very realistic to me. Realistic and convincing. Kudos to director Greta Gerwig! As A.O. Scott in the New York Times put it, “Every… Read More ›

• Happy Bloomsday!

  By ljd42 on June 16, 2022

  

  As you probably know, today is Bloomsday, the annual Irish holiday commemorating the 24-hour period over which James Joyce’s Ulysses took place. As you also know, I had announced in this space last month that I would be (re)reading that… Read More ›

• Signs of the times in Medford and Brookline

  By ljd42 on June 15, 2022

  

  First, here’s a sign inside the entrance to the Wegmans in Medford: Yes, I know that it’s purely for commercial purposes, but it still makes me feel welcome. On the other hand, here is a pair of street signs in… Read More ›

• Weston pix?

  By ljd42 on June 14, 2022

  

  Apparently my phone has a mind of its own. For some reason it just decided to show me these two Weston photos from the past: One is from about 10–12 years ago (I’d guess), the other somewhat older. Can you… Read More ›

• Basque? Isn’t there anyone around here who speaks Basque?

  By ljd42 on June 13, 2022

  

  Well, the Basques do, of course. But they aren’t one of the major ethnicities in these parts; I’ve known only a couple of Basques in the Boston area. In linguistics courses the Basque language is the standard example of a… Read More ›

• Frogs? Yes, Frogs!

  By ljd42 on June 10, 2022

  

  “Brekekekéx-koáx-koáx!” Unless you google it, you probably don’t know what that means or where it’s from. Perhaps it would be easier in the original Greek: “βρεκεκεκὲξ κοὰξ κοάξ.” No? That didn’t help? Well, I’ll tell you. It might help if… Read More ›

• “Who will clean out the desks?” (a crowd-sourced poem about teachers)

  By ljd42 on June 8, 2022

  You do listen to Morning Edition, don’t you? You do appreciate teachers, don’t you? (Unlike Ron DeSantis and his ilk.) I am so glad that I am semi-retired, so I don’t have to cope with the all-too-common lack of appreciation… Read More ›

• We provide the best secondary education in America. Really?

  By ljd42 on June 6, 2022

  

  “This school,” they kept telling us, “provides the best secondary education in America.” “You,” they kept telling us, “are the elite, the future leaders of America.” “All of you,” they kept telling us, “will go to the best colleges in… Read More ›

• Wordle, Wheel of Fortune, Jotto, & the Mathematics of Information Theory

  By ljd42 on June 5, 2022

  

  Apparently I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t play Wordle. I’m not entirely sure why I don’t, but I can think of a couple of possibilities: it’s far too competitive, it’s far too rigid, and it’s far too… Read More ›

• William says it’s important to distribute your patronage.

  By ljd42 on June 3, 2022

  

  Yesterday the kitty couch, today the round cat bed.

• William napping on his kitty couch

  By ljd42 on June 2, 2022

  

• Languages get simpler over the centuries, right?

  By ljd42 on June 1, 2022

  After all, Spanish is simpler than Latin, isn’t it? And modern English is surely simpler than old English. So that proves it. Or does it? Well, no. There are at least two things that are wrong with the common claim… Read More ›

• A gender-bending version of Stephen Sondheim’s Company

  By ljd42 on May 30, 2022

  

  The Great Performances series on PBS just aired a spectacular documentary, “Keeping Company with Sondheim,” all about making the new version of Stephen Sondheim’s great 1970 musical, Company. You can still see it. This new version of the musical differs… Read More ›

• A strange book cover puzzle

  By ljd42 on May 29, 2022

  

  You recognize this book, right? A glance at the cover makes it obvious what book this is. But then… You look again and start asking yourself why it says Garri, not Harry. And that reminds you of two things: It… Read More ›

• Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to work there.

  By ljd42 on May 27, 2022

  

  There’s a fine line between a dystopia and a utopia. Unfortunately, Dave Eggers chose to draw his line with an extra-thick marker. I’m talking about his fifth novel (fifth or so—but who’s counting?), The Circle. The story focuses on the… Read More ›

• “The Therapeutic Value of Model Railroading”

  By ljd42 on May 25, 2022

  

  Depression? PTSD? GeekDad, who has both, has published a fascinating short personal essay on what he calls “the therapeutic value of model railroading.” You don’t have to be a model railroader to appreciate the essay. You don’t have to be… Read More ›

• A “more perfect language”?

  By ljd42 on May 23, 2022

  

  The Foers know what they’re talking about. You are probably familiar with Jonathan Safran Foer, and perhaps you know his brother Franklin Foer. But this post is about his other brother, Joshua Foer—in particular about a long non-fiction piece he… Read More ›

• Licorice Pizza

  By ljd42 on May 22, 2022

  

  You are probably more “with it” than I am, so you probably know that Licorice Pizza is slang for a vinyl phonograph record, that it originates both as an expansion of the abbreviation for “long playing” and as a visual… Read More ›

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