ABOUT ENGLAND
A BOOK is a wonderful gift, often because of unexpected things to which it leads. Georgina, a dear English friend, gifted us with a book that, according to its cover … Continue reading
TYPE CASTING
TYPOGRAPHY IS an art form, the design of letters, numerals, punctuation marks and other characters and how they fit together. And to paraphrase an old chestnut, “I don’t know much … Continue reading
WHALE TALES
I DISLIKE multi-tasking but confess what follows is simultaneously a book review, a favored research activity and a technological report. Christopher Moore’s book Fluke is a tale of whimsy, fantasty … Continue reading
WHAT’S THAT IN LIGHT WARLPIRI?
A LANGUAGE is being born in Australia’s Northern Territory. Warlpiri rampamu is spoken by a small, isolated group of indigenous Australians, most under the age of 35. This is noteworthy … Continue reading
ALICE KOBER, ACE DECODER
A NEW book concerning the Bronze Age describes a mystery every bit as intriguing as any faced by Sherlock Holmes. The tale of the Linear B has ancient script and … Continue reading
U.S. DIALECTS
WE ARE a country rich in dialects, y’know? The dialects are partly based on geography, partly education, partly upbringing, partly age, but fun to learn about however they’re analyzed. A … Continue reading
CALIFORNIA COOL
IN THE mid-part of the last century (how quaint this sounds in 2013!), Southern California was the birthplace of the cool. A wonderful exhibit curated by the Orange County Museum … Continue reading
WHAT’S “FRENCH KISS” IN YIDDISH?
THE WORD police of the world have been very active recently. Matters have ranged from “French kiss” to “Jewish dumpling,” which certainly suggests the breadth of it all. And, in … Continue reading
FAKED PHOTOS
IF YOU happen to find yourself in Houston, Texas, between June 2 and August 25, 2013, this city’s Museum of Fine Arts is hosting “Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop.” … Continue reading
OPERA CHAOS, ACT II
A STAGE so ripe for chaos as grand opera certainly deserves more than a single mention (www.wp.me/p2ETap-11h). In fact, there are those who say, with complete accuracy, that onstage and … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 