Recent Posts - page 55

  • Opal and Sabine

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    Opal the Opossum and Sabine the Skunk, companionably sharing Piper’s food. (But where’s Piper?)

  • Should you read this book? Or just the review?

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    Occasionally the review is more informative and entertaining than the book itself. Consider a review of The 25 Rules of Grammar by Joseph Piercy. In case you’re confused, it’s the book that’s by Joseph Piercy; the review is by Joe… Read More ›

  • 110 Grill, South Bay

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    As long as we were at the South Bay Shopping Center yesterday, Barbara and I decided to reserve a table at the “new” 110 Grill through Open Table. (New to Dorchester, and new to us, that is. The restaurant is part… Read More ›

  • Scots: an indigenous language or a dialect?

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    Most Americans, I’m sure, hold an erroneous belief about languages in Scotland. Here are some common beliefs on this subject: Some Americans think that all Scots speak Gaelic. Not true. (And more on this one below.) Some — most, probably… Read More ›

  • Paper Son

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    A mystery focused on Chinese-owned grocery stores in the Mississippi Delta? Who knew! And I don’t mean some investment scheme by contemporary mainland Chinese; I mean Chinese families that have lived in Mississippi for a century now, i.e. American-born Chinese,… Read More ›

  • My dad, wearing many hats

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    “What does your dad do?” people used to ask me when I was a kid. Always my dad, not my mom, even though she too was a professional. Things have changed today (I think). This article is about my dad,… Read More ›

  • Found in a book… and some linguistic remarks

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    So I‘m sitting next to one of my bookshelves this morning, and I happen to notice an old French paperback. I say to myself “I wonder if I can still read French.” (The answer is “not so well.”) I pick… Read More ›

  • A noisy deal-breaker

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    …The space is also fashionably (some will say painfully) loud, to the point where conversation in the dining room at peak hours requires shouting. I understand why this is voguish — younger patrons equate quietness with death, and operators love… Read More ›

  • Before She Knew Him

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    If you like character-driven psychological thrillers, Peter Swanson’s Before She Knew Him may be the book for you. If you like mysteries but not thrillers, this might not be for you. I’m not going to summarize the plot. In fact, it’s… Read More ›

  • Mollie

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    Mollie usually prefers her kitty couch, but today she prefers sitting regally in the sunlight on the back of the humans’ couch:

  • A language game

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    Check out Dialect, a tabletop role-playing game based on linguistics! I’ve never tried it myself, mind you. But it certainly looks intriguing — for the right set of players. The question is, who has the time and the interest to… Read More ›

  • Wordslut

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    All published reviewers of Wordslut are women — at least as far as I can tell. But men should read it too. Aside from gender issues, you may be wondering whether this is a technical linguistics book or a popularization. Its… Read More ›

  • Steel & Rye

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    Once again it was too hot to cook, and it happened that Barbara and were a stone’s throw from Steel & Rye, which we hadn’t been to in a long time. Steel & Rye is actually in Milton, but it… Read More ›

  • Sabine

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    This is Sabine, our friendly neighborhood skunk:

  • The Bowery Bar

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    Yesterday it was too hot to cook, so Barbara and I decided to try out dinner at The Bowery Bar, a relatively new restaurant in Dorchester that we hadn’t yet been to. They have a beautiful patio, but we opted… Read More ›

  • Interpreting a sign

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    How do you interpret this sign? Does it mean… (A) handicapped parking on Election Day, with a 30-minute limit (and parking allowed for everyone on other days)? (B) handicapped parking all the time, usually with indefinite time but with a… Read More ›

  • Booksmart

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    Anyone who has been to Weston High School or a similar suburban school — whether as a student, a teacher, or a parent — will appreciate the new movie Booksmart. If you’ve been to a suburban school in southern California, so… Read More ›

  • Supreme Musical Artists of the Past Fifty Years

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    Michael Jackson? Tupac? What do you think — who are the supreme musical artists of the past fifty years? As some of you know, the sophomores of the Crimson Summer Academy vote every summer for which three artists should hold… Read More ›

  • Painting a Mural

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    A group of dedicated high-school students and city employees paint a mural, in historically accurate colors, overlooking the garden maintained by community volunteers at Clementine Park in Dorchester:

  • Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

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    Mixed feelings about this non-fiction book. Maybe I should talk to someone about it. On the one hand, it’s filled with fascinating stories and views — things that make the reader close the book in order to stop and think… Read More ›