ON BEING BAMBOOZLED
WHAT A funny word “bamboozle” is. At first glance, it reminds me of that rude noisemaker blown at World Cup matches. (No, that’s the vuvuzela. On the other hand, if … Continue reading
REDUCED SHAKESPEARE—WHAT A JOY!
THIS CHARMING book was actually a birthday present from Wife Dottie, and it has easily become a Christmas recommendation to anyone loving someone who reads, be that someone a spouse, … Continue reading
ON GRANGERIZING AND OTHER FUN WITH PRINTS
IMAGES SHARED before photography were typically prints of one sort or another. As its name suggests, a woodblock print has its image chiseled into the block. An intaglio print is … Continue reading
CELEBRATING THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PART 2
BY THE 1870s, the Associated Press had expanded considerably from five New York City daily papers protecting themselves against a potential telegraph monopoly on news. Today, we pick up the … Continue reading
CELEBRATING THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PART 1
DESPITE PRESIDENTIAL carping to the contrary, I trust the Associated Press, Reuters, and Bloomberg, and even a “failing” newspaper like The New York Times, or “Jeff Bezos’s” The Washington Post. … Continue reading
CELEBRATING #, THE OCTOTHORPE
TO THOSE with pre-Internet origins (yes, many of us are still living…), the symbol # might stands for number, as in a #2 pencil, or perhaps pounds, as in a … Continue reading
CAN THAT BE PRESIDENTIAL‽
THE INTERROBANG, a combined ! + ? = ‽, has a well defined origin, several interesting stories, and even an official association. What’s more, given that it expresses combined questioning … Continue reading
A CONNIVING, DECEITFUL, MURDEROUS OKLAHOMAN
THIS IS a tale of an Oklahoman who was entrusted with preserving environment and culture. Alas, he turned out to be conniving, deceitful, and, in time, murderous. A memo to … Continue reading
UNEARTHING THE WEANS
IT’S THE year 7859 and archeologists have unearthed a civilization lost for more than 5000 years. Who are these “Weans” from the Great West Continent? Researchers at Kenya’s Ruwenzori University … Continue reading
ELIZABETH CHUDLEIGH—A GENUINE PIECE OF WORK
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY Englishwoman Elizabeth Chudleigh was a duchess, countess, bigamist, and exhibitionist. But then Georgians were always ones to talk, weren’t they? I encountered her a few days ago while researching … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 