If you’re a bibliophile and a lover of the beauty and sensuousness of the spoken and written word (like Stephen Fry in this fantastic animated essay), then you probably already know about the sophistication, the richness, and the history (animated, no less) of the English language. But if don’t have a strong background on grammar … Read more
There are some things about President Obama’s first term that we may find infuriating and disappointing, even though his record, though vilified by the opposition, actually shows some amazing improvements that aren’t sufficiently touted in the mainstream media. So yeah, there are some disappointments, especially given the promise and the hope that he awoke in us when … Read more
Every now and then a cartoon comes along that, through the use of a hilarious reductio ad absurdum, so clearly and succinctly demolishes creationism as a viable alternative hypothesis to explain the complexity and diversity of life, exposes its inherent irrationality, and makes clear its ulterior motivation and the double standards on which it is … Read more
I’m really busy at the moment (grading finals and term papers), and don’t have time to get into a long introduction to the fantastic TEDTalk presentation below, but suffice it to say that in a time in which the politicization of women’s issues (whether they should have the right to choose or to have or not have … Read more
I’ve had a weird relationship with the poetry of Billy Collins since I was a freshman in college: I found some of it to be great, interesting, eloquent, disciplined, musical writing, and some of it not even to merit the appellation of poetry at all. And don’t get me started on his Marginalia and the stupid … Read more
As it turns out, there are people who don’t quite understand the concept of a leap year. And while I was looking for pictures to post on this entry, I discovered that I wasn’t aware that there is some movie by the same name. I wasn’t impressed by the trailer, so why don’t we take … Read more