Ocean

I admit to sitting through a late night showing of Monster last night. In addition to our small group, the theater had 4 other people in it,...

A misleading title, to be sure, but the day’s young and needs some punch to get it going. In the last New Yorker , Hertzberg offered a qu...

If you can’t do something great, just do something to an excess and you’ll achieve greatness. What else can be said of a person who applied ...

The Washington Post identifies Wisconsin as a Gore state that may well swing toward the Republicans in these presidential elections (article...

Spring Break is in full swing. Need evidence? Consider the following: 1. Students are blogging more (after all, they have more time), fac...

An interesting take on the movie “the Miracle” appears in the New Yorker this week. Most people would say that I am the last person to e...

What Julia Child did to French food in America, Luciano Pavarotti did to Italian Opera worldwide. I’m a sucker for Italian music of any sor...

My sister is a freelance translator. I know a large number of freelance writers and cooks (aka caterers). Add to it the freelance teacher...

A writers group that I am loosely affiliated with posted this week a list of the most overused expressions in writing. Most of these words c...

Hardly two months have passed, and he is with us again. On January 11, I posted a testimonial to Simon, the robot who takes care of all lost...

Pt.3 Where I come to understand that to not know something is divine In an article by Farrar (look for it in the “Critical Review”) I read...

Pt. 2 Don’t believe all that is said about Poland In an article from the Journal of Democracy, I read that perhaps the western press has e...

Pt.1 We talk because we don’t have time to pick nits I spent the afternoon reacquainting myself with the feel of paper and the smell of in...

So maybe China is not the only place where traffic has had a pernicious influence on daily life. The WashPost has an article on DC week-end ...

Maybe I’ve not seen my share of road rage in the States, or witnessed traffic patterns in remote corners of the globe, but I am fairly convi...

If the Finns cannot express anger, does that make them more prone to suicide, alcoholism and depression? What happens when a nation practice...

With the last class over for the week, my spring break has begun. Some students stock up on sun screen, others on printer paper (conversatio...

Thanks to all readers who wrote with deep concern and regret over what happened to the car (post March 7, below). [sample email: “eek!” “I f...

As May 1st draws near –the day 10 more countries, including Poland, officially become part of the EU- the number of articles in the press me...

There are people who do not think about retirement. They never want to not go to work. As long as the feet move and the mind stays on track...