Monthly Archives: August 2011

“O Fortune, Fortune! all men call thee fickle…”

Posted on Monday, 29 August 2011 by

I swear I didn’t do it on purpose! Two weeks ago, I claimed that my writing was interrupted by a power outage caused by a freak August blizzard. I also alluded to the necessity of milking cows on the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

Hurricane Ironic?

Posted on Friday, 26 August 2011 by

The word on the street is that we had an earthquake on the East Coast. It was even felt up here in New York, though not by me. It was apparently more noticeable in New York City, but in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Vocabulary | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

“I don’t care what’s written about me so long as it isn’t true.”

Posted on Monday, 22 August 2011 by

Dorothy Parker was a collection of contradictions. She was a masterful short story writer, but never managed the full-length novel she always wanted to write.  For much of her life, she was a drunk, but she actually detested the taste … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

A mid-August link fest.

Posted on Friday, 19 August 2011 by

I’m going to cheat today. Monday’s 1,700 word post left me a little worn out, kind of like Harry Potter after conjuring a Patronus. Yes, I admit it. I read all the books. But I got the British “adult” versions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Linkage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Second Languages, Part Deux

Posted on Monday, 15 August 2011 by

Here’s where we left off in ‘le premier part’: My other studies led me to brief forays in Italian, German, Latin, and soon, Arabic. Throughout it all, I wondered how it was changing me, this constant attention to other languages. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bilingualism, Linguistics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The dog ate my homework.

Posted on Saturday, 13 August 2011 by

Dearest readers, I have promised you would have Part Deux by the end of the week, and I will tell you that it’s essentially written but just needs editing. But then something came up. Yeah. I had to…uh…someone got…uh…I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

One more time! Second Languages, le premier part…

Posted on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 by

Though I’m technically still on summer break from teaching duties, it’s definitely time to start gearing up for the semester and plan my courses. However, I’ve been having a hard time transitioning my ‘summer brain’ back into activity, and so … Continue reading →

Posted in Bilingualism, Linguistics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Hackles up!

Posted on Saturday, 6 August 2011 by

The Great Book Reorganization continues, but it is going rather slowly. Sure, there are other things that I need to do, but it also goes slowly because I cannot seem to resist the temptation to open up the books I … Continue reading →

Posted in English Grammar, Grammatical Change | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments