Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 34

• I missed the milestone! Post #2000!

  By ljd42 on May 25, 2021

  Five posts ago—that was my 2000th post in this blog! I had been intending to observe that as an important milestone, but it slipped past me. Oh well, let’s just turn the clock back to May 16, and we’ll be… Read More ›

• Vincent and William

  By ljd42 on May 24, 2021

  Keeping a watchful eye out for intruders, Vincent guards his brother William as he sleeps:

• Goat problems!

  By ljd42 on May 23, 2021

  No, no, we’re not talking about your pet goat’s behavioral problems. We’re talking about a certain type of math problem—a type of problem to which I used to devote a couple of classes per year when I was teaching Honors… Read More ›

• There was violence in Congress! (Hard to believe, I know—but true…)

  By ljd42 on May 21, 2021

  Hyper-partisanship in the halls of Congress is nothing new. But at least we don’t have physical violence there anymore. Not today, at any rate. Are you listening, Mitch? Joanne B. Freeman has written an outstanding history book, The Field of… Read More ›

• Dana Bullister for City Council!

  By ljd42 on May 19, 2021

  Normally I don’t endorse political candidates in this blog. But normally my former students don’t run for office! In fact, as far as I know, this is only the 2½th time. Please correct me if I am wrong. Why the… Read More ›

• A beautiful abacus set… and it was free! Free is good.

  By ljd42 on May 18, 2021

  A family giving away their beautiful abacus set! Who could resist? Not me. As you will see in the photos below, we have an authentic Chinese abacus in pristine condition, inside a box in pristine condition, along with an undated… Read More ›

• The Art and Craft of Approaching Your Head of Department to Submit a Request for a Raise

  By ljd42 on May 16, 2021

  Despite the title, this is a novel! Actually, the title is a bit problematic. The actual title of Georges Perec’s novel is L’art et la manière d’aborder son chef de service pour lui demander une augmentation, but perhaps for some… Read More ›

• Brasserie: An old but new restaurant in the South End

  By ljd42 on May 14, 2021

  It rises again like the phoenix! As you know, the sad fact is that many restaurants have been forced to close permanently during the pandemic. But we were delighted to learn that one of our favorites, Gaslight Brasserie du Coin,… Read More ›

• “Can data solve our wicked problems?”

  By ljd42 on May 13, 2021

  That’s a direct quote from an audience member in yesterday’s online program at the Leventhal Center: “Can data solve our wicked problems?” The program, titled “Matt Bui on how communities use & refuse data about themselves,” was part of the… Read More ›

• A typical house in Dot?

  By ljd42 on May 12, 2021

  Spotted on my walk yesterday afternoon—a longer walk than usual because the weather was so perfect—was this beautiful house. Is it really typical for Dorchester? Well, you be the judge.

• All Other Nights

  By ljd42 on May 11, 2021

  About 80% historical fiction and 20% chick lit—that’s my very rough estimate of the nature of this novel by Dara Horn. And it won’t surprise you that I enjoyed the 80% much more than the 20%. There are, of course,… Read More ›

• Foundation’s Friends (for, not by, Isaac Asimov)

  By ljd42 on May 9, 2021

  This is a collection of 16 original science fiction short stories, plus one novella, written by 17 authors and assembled 32 years ago in honor of Isaac Asimov shortly before his untimely death. Inevitably the quality is uneven, but the… Read More ›

• Finally… Dining in at the Ashmont Grill

  By ljd42 on May 7, 2021

  

  After more than a year, Barbara and I finally had dinner inside at the Ashmont Grill! It’s really a different experience, especially when we are greeted by Butterfly at the door and the meal is presented by our favorite server,… Read More ›

• Boston in Transit (the book this time)

  By ljd42 on May 5, 2021

  Five weeks ago I wrote about a BPL talk on “Boston in Transit,” i.e. the history of public transit in Boston. Now I’ve been reading the accompanying book, with the same title. What a gorgeous book it turns out to… Read More ›

• Department of Death

  By ljd42 on May 3, 2021

  The trouble with good academic satires is that they are too much like reality. This one is an excellent academic satire, and a mystery to boot. Department of Death is the latest and best of Lev Raphael’s literate mysteries featuring… Read More ›

• A cheery song about the MBTA! (Red, blue, orange, and green)

  By ljd42 on May 1, 2021

  Okay, so the lyrics aren’t perfect. That’s all right; don’t quibble. Just remember: always look on the bright side of life. No, wait, that’s John Cleese. Oh, well. Here’s the MBTA song:

• Ready Player Two

  By ljd42 on April 30, 2021

  How do you avoid being formulaic when writing a sequel to a creative and highly successful popular novel? The answer, apparently, is that you don’t avoid it; you give in to it. Now don’t get me wrong! Ready Player Two,… Read More ›

• Tavolo

  By ljd42 on April 28, 2021

  Scrumptious dinner last night out on the patio at Tavolo! Barbara started with chef’s burrata with arugula, melon, prosciutto, vincotto, and black pepper; my starter was frico (pan-fried grana Padang, potatoes, baby arugula, pickled red onions, with balsamic reduction). Unfortunately,… Read More ›

• Train of Thought

  By ljd42 on April 27, 2021

  Some fun reading for the pandemic! Linda M. Au’s Train of Thought is a light-hearted account of a two-week cross-country train trip—well, almost cross-country, being Pittsburgh to Seattle and back again. People who don’t appreciate train travel always observe that… Read More ›

• The Crying Game

  By ljd42 on April 25, 2021

  “If you reveal an ending that everybody already knows, does it still count as a spoiler?” There’s at least one flaw in this question: no matter what the movie, surely it can’t be true that “everybody” knows the ending, or… Read More ›

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