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You will never see an ad here. If you want or need something, we trust you will be able to want or need it without us planting the urge or ache. You certainly do not need our help finding what your heart desires on the internet.- “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.”—H.G. Wells
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Tag Archives: language
Resolution
On December 31, I thought about resolving to be even lazier in 2007 than I was in 2006, but I never got around to it.
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Tagged art, automobiles, blogging, consumerism, cooking, cycling, daily life, Dostoevsky, ecology, education, family, food, God, hearth and home, history, language, literature, mathematics, meat, media, medicine, music, mysteries, philosophy, politics, privacy, psychology, religion, science, sports, vegetarianism, WTO
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… but no cigar. You don’t like to see this in the New York Times. From an otherwise excellent article on the definition of “civil war” and who gets to say whether there is one in Iraq: Large swaths of … Continue reading
Moonwalker
I haven’t used a conventional alarm clock for years. I have a personal alarm clock named Laura. But recently I’ve needed its services. And for several days now, when it goes off, I find myself thinking, “The alarum has sounded!” … Continue reading
Armor
I was exploring the hotels of Saint Petersburg on the web and found one called Brothers Karamazov. It opened in 2004 and has 28 rooms with all the modern amenities, including internet access. The hotel boasts four special rooms with 19th-century decor, … Continue reading
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I noticed a sign stapled to a telephone pole on the way to work this morning: WE HAUL EVERYTHING AND MORE! 703-555-1212 One assumes they do more than just haul stuff, not that they carry away more than everything. But … Continue reading
Lingua
A Russian friend would periodically make the case that his native language is more expressive than English and, I have to admit, when he rolled out his examples, I was impressed. They were masterpieces of concision and wit. But in … Continue reading
Diacritic
Gmork is a fictional villain, while Gmörk is a decent white wine from Austria. What a difference an umlaut makes.
Velorickshaw
Eleven velorickshaws* currently operate in Moscow, tooling around on Tverskoy Boulevard, Tverskaya Street, and in the area near the All-Union Exhibition Center (they haven’t renamed that yet?**). You can’t tell the driver where to take you—for now, at least, the velorickshaws travel along … Continue reading
Aversions
I don’t know how it came up, but for some reason our daughter found a reason to tell her mother on the phone that she doesn’t like the word “flab.” Not that she doesn’t like flab itself (which may or … Continue reading
Pomes
The conversation went like this. We were walking back from lunch, and I noticed the grass getting long (and remembered how ours needs cutting). I said to Ken: “So, have you cut your grass yet?” It turns out he hasn’t … Continue reading
