РУССКИЕ БИТЫ
I’M NOT SURE what prompted my purchase of Barron’s Russian at a Glance, 2001. I had already experienced a significant Russian adventure in 1990, visiting the crumbling Soviet Union, as … Continue reading
SWISS ADVENTURES
ENJOYING FRANCIS DURBRIDGE’S “Paul Temple and the Geneva Mystery,” I got to thinking about other Swiss adventures. Here are tidbits about a couple of my own Swiss adventures, augmented with … Continue reading
只是平躺 (JUST LYING FLAT)
INDEED, THERE ARE times when chilling out is the appropriate response. Even in the People’s Republic of China. Details are given in Elsie Chen’s “These Chinese Millennials are ‘Chilling,’ and … Continue reading
WHAT IF OFFICER FIDO IS A WUSS?
POLICE DOGS HAVE to be capable of a certain level of aggression. How else to command the respect they deserve? So what to do if Fido happens to be a … Continue reading
AZTEC TIDBITS
WIFE DOTTIE AND I had a brief encounter with Nahautl, the Aztec language, during our first session of Community College Japanese class. As a first example, Sensei-san taught us “Watashi … Continue reading
JUST DON’T CALL HIM “OPPA”
“A VICIOUS CANCER,” said Kim Jong-un, “is corrupting attire, hairstyles, speeches, behaviors.” State media warned that, if unchecked, North Korea would “crumble like a damp wall.” Image by Bloomberg from … Continue reading
MERCATOR MISUNDERSTANDINGS
IF FLAT-EARTHERS were correct (they aren’t, by the way), life would be a lot easier for cartographers. As noted here at SimanaitisSays, the two-dimensional plane and three-dimensional sphere are not … Continue reading
BAVARIA AND THE CONRAD CASE
MUCH OF THE action in vintage radio hero Paul Temple’s Conrad Case takes place in Bavaria. So, despite more than a little anachronism, I turn to my Baedeker’s Southern Germany. … Continue reading
JAPANESE CONVERSATION STARTERS—AND TERMINATORS
I’VE FORGOTTEN WHERE I acquired my Traveler’s Phrase Book & Dictionary; its price notation suggests it was here in the U.S. Nevertheless, it was published in Japan by Nanun-Do, 1976, … Continue reading
SPACE GRUB EXTRAORDINAIRE
“THIS BOEUF BOURGUIGNON is over the moon!” Well, not quite yet, but it is among the offerings to astronauts now joined up at the International Space Station. Kenneth Chang writes … Continue reading
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