May 23, 2020 | Entertainment, Writing
No, Tom Swift is not a person. A Tom Swifty is a phrase in which a quoted sentence is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed. The standard syntax is for the quoted sentence to be first, followed by the (humorous) description of the act of speaking....
May 3, 2020 | Entertainment, Writing
Atlas Obscura recently had published an interesting article on mistranslation—specifically, menu ones. Emily Monaco, a culinary translator, was explaining how challenging menus can be to translate, from the odd but understandable “ink fish” in place of squid to...
Apr 1, 2020 | Entertainment
It’s April 1st today, also known as April Fools’ Day. While past years I wrote about highbrow pranks like the 7 best literary hoaxes, this year is a strange affair. Lockdowns and quarantines feel like an endless prank the universe is playing on us. So, I...
Feb 13, 2020 | Entertainment
We’ve been watching a lot of Midsomer Murders and the likes with Electra over the years. From which we have concluded that few places are as dangerous as quaint English villages. Now, a hilarious article by Maureen Johnson on Crime Reads, explains just how...
Dec 31, 2019 | Entertainment
It’s tradition to take stock of the past year these days. While we need to avoid our species’ innate gloom, for most people I know it has been a seesaw of a year. Politics has rarely seemed more odious. Climate change is becoming a fact we simply have to...
Dec 11, 2019 | Entertainment
In my last post, I shared a video about British English vs. American English by comedian Laura Clery. Here’s part 2! US vs. UK English (Part 2)Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This...
Dec 9, 2019 | Entertainment
As someone who lived in the UK but is writing for an American audience, I found this hilarious… I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! US vs. UK English (Part 1)Powered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This...
May 31, 2019 | Entertainment
While Game of Thrones is finally over, another war is raging unabated: the one between premium television networks, seeking a new show to rule the world “Thrones” created. As The Washington Post reports, Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and Showtime have all been feverishly...
May 19, 2019 | Entertainment
When I was in my first year at Uni, about a century ago or so, I took a summer job. For a few months, I was running a one-man quality control lab. I was responsible for taking daily samples of cement, processing it, and recording a number of data including...
May 9, 2019 | Entertainment
Those of you who’ve been following me for a long time know that I don’t do rants. But I have to make a small exception now. As you may have noticed, I welcome guest posts on my blog. This is mainly to help writers who’re looking for a break, as I...
