Medellín, Colombia’s favorite son is the painter/sculptor Fernando Botero Angulo (b. 1932). How do I know? When I visited the city last week, his prominence was obvious. The name of the central square is Plaza Botero. And it’s chock full of his statues. I’m tempted to say “chunk full.” The... read more
Today I discovered that I suffer from a condition I didn’t even know existed: crossword clue envy. Would I like to see my name on the NY Times bestseller list? Sure. Would I be happy if Netflix knocked on my door? Of course. But when I came to 50 Down... read more
I’m re-reposting a 2017 repost of my Goodreads blog from 2014: On the term Bodice Ripper. It is my response to Ross Douthat’s op-ed in the New York Times today. He uses the term to describe a wildly popular Netflix series based on a series of novels understood by their... read more
The pandemic is not over. And we haven’t yet come to the year-mark on quarantine. (I count mine beginning on March 15, 2020.) Nevertheless, I’m feeling something ‘yearly’ this week. It could be that we’re still close enough to the start of a New Year. Or, gosh, maybe something else... read more
Beliefs have consequences. Actions have consequences. Like beliefs and actions, words have consequences. Words do things. What things? J.L. Austen maps them out in How To Do Things with Words (1962). Austen was an ordinary language philosopher who taught at Oxford. He was one of several language philosophers and linguists... read more
If I’m going to be counting blessings, I’ll start with the fact that I’m safe and sound. And I have nice views. Title image: my windows onto the world. Looking north and west over Durham, NC. Even though I’ve become a hermit, these vistas may be helping to keep my... read more
Title image: my physical notion of Covid comfort, namely a daily zoom yoga class. In an earlier blog, I made the point about how whatever we were doing before the pandemic, we’re doing the opposite now. Most all of my pre-pandemic routines have changed. My eating habits have certainly changed.... read more
During the pandemic, I am reposting previous blogs if they have more relevance now than when I first posted them. This current blog is originally from June 24, 2016. I am, sadly, reposting it today. Beloved friend and exercise master Cécile Dumetrier passed away yesterday – September 11, 2020 –... read more
Just this week alone I’ve encountered three new (to me) climate change names. And, by the way, they are all three terrifying. Climate Change Names: A Borrowing Now there are derecho storms? What in the heck? I first heard about them a few days ago when they hit Iowa. The... read more
African American Vernacular English (AAVE) has a number of names, including Black Vernacular English. For many decades now linguists have studied AAVE. They understand it not as a defective form of Standard English. Rather it is a variety of English in its own right. It has its own lexicon, grammar... read more
