Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 5

• Rare Tongues

  By ljd42 on July 13, 2025

  

  “When a language disappears, a unique way of understanding the world vanishes with it.” If I had to pick a single sentence from Lorna Gibb’s Rare Tongues, that sentence (164 pages into the text) might be my choice. But the… Read More ›

• The kittens keep inventing new poses for taking their nap. Now just close your eyes…

  By ljd42 on July 11, 2025

  

• Please listen to our next president. (We can hope.)

  By ljd42 on July 10, 2025

  

  Please listen.            

• As Tom Lehrer says, that’s mathematics!

  By ljd42 on July 9, 2025

  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 ›

• Julingo teaches us the key points of ____________ [insert language here]

  By ljd42 on July 6, 2025

  

  Who, I hear you ask, is Julingo? Well, her real name is Julie Maksimova, and she hosts a wonderful series of short and not-so-short videos giving you snapshots of quite a variety of languages, such as Papuan, Ukrainian, Sumerian, Estonian,… Read More ›

• The kittens love each other.

  By ljd42 on July 4, 2025

  

• Melting kittens

  By ljd42 on July 1, 2025

  

  T

• The Plinko Bounce

  By ljd42 on June 28, 2025

  

  You probably know what the title refers to, but I certainly had no idea what “Plinko” meant when I started reading this mystery a couple of weeks ago. In fact, I was halfway through the book when I finally found… Read More ›

• Special anniversary dinner at Tavolo

  By ljd42 on June 25, 2025

  

  Last night Barbara and I had a delicious early dinner at Tavolo to celebrate our 44th anniversary. (No, we’re not old.) Barbara started with a gorgeous burrata that came with a prosciutto-wrapped peach, arugula, and aged balsamic dressing. I skipped… Read More ›

• We are the world (a beautiful and inspiring rendition performed by a Paris “flashmob” three weeks ago)

  By ljd42 on June 23, 2025

  

  Not really a flashmob, but that’s OK. It’s still beautiful and inspiring.

• Not the other Wes Moore

  By ljd42 on June 22, 2025

  

  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 ›

• Generations

  By ljd42 on June 18, 2025

  

  A

• Th1rt3en

  By ljd42 on June 16, 2025

  

  Yes, the title of this book really is Th1rt3en, not Thirteen. It looks better in all-upper case as printed on the cover: TH1RT3EN. And, as you see in the image below, in case you’re missing the point, the digits 1… Read More ›

• A Message for Joni Ernst and the GOP

  By ljd42 on June 13, 2025

  Written and performed by the great Bruce W. Nelson:    

• “A Murder Most French” and “A Fashionably French Murder”

  By ljd42 on June 12, 2025

  

  Just over a year ago I reviewed Mastering the Art of French Murder, the first in a new series by Colleen Cambridge. Subsequently I read the next two volumes in that series: A Murder Most French and A Fashionably French… Read More ›

• Milkweed in Dot

  By ljd42 on June 10, 2025

  

  Barbara and I enjoyed brunch today at the brand-new Dorchester branch of Milkweed! Barbara had the “traditional home-made hash,” which came with two sunny-side-up eggs, grilled Roma tomatoes, and sourdough toast — such a generous portion that she had to… Read More ›

• Irony

  By ljd42 on June 7, 2025

  

  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!

• No need for instructions?

  By ljd42 on June 4, 2025

  

  Usually a kit for building a model-railroad structure comes with instructions and pictures. On the other hand, the last one that I bought just came with this explanation:: Hmmm… couldn’t they have found a competent English speaker nearby? I guess… Read More ›

• Two cuddly kittens

  By ljd42 on June 1, 2025

  

  You know, of course, that you’re supposed to say “Rabbit rabbit” on the first day of the month, but Cassie and Barnaby claim that you should say “Kitten kitten.”

• Welsh of the West End

  By ljd42 on May 30, 2025

  

  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 ›

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