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The Ides of March…marching on
The following was discovered by chance, and translated from an archaic form of Latin. I have only one regret, despite this cursed existence visited upon me for reasons and by means that pass my understanding. It has been, for me, five years and eight months thus far. The people now expect, though I see but Continue reading
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Lady Gregory
Good morning! The Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre were (the Abbey still is) cultural icons in Ireland. They were both founded around the turn of the 20th Century when leading Irish writers and playwrights pushed for what’s still known as the Irish Literary Revival. The Irish Literary Theatre was the first; it was Continue reading
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Sylvia Beach
If you visit Paris, you might stop by Shakespeare and Company, a famous (really famously-named) bookstore frequented, back in the day, by writers including Ezra Pound, James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and Ernest Hemingway. The store you visit has the same name as the famous venue, and although it’s a very pleasant shop, Continue reading
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Sprunk (without Wagnalls)
If you want to make sure you don’t have a smear of grease across your nose after working on your car, or check to see that your meticulously-applied clown makeup is in good shape just before the Halloween party, you might use a pocket mirror. Sometimes the folding versions of these are called “compacts.” But Continue reading
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Lyn St. James
Despite lots of progress in diversity, there are still some professions in which women are enormously underrepresented. One of them is automobile racing. Although there aren’t any restrictions against female drivers, and women may even be more physically suited to the sport, there have been very few women racing drivers. One exception, and one of Continue reading
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Compound interest
Remember that time I said English wasn’t one of those languages with a different word for every specific thing? And then remember the times I’ve pointed out that there really aren’t any rules governing English? Good, because even though English uses noun phrases instead of minting new words…it also works exactly the opposite. English speakers Continue reading
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Ken (but not Barbie)
Usually when an English word appears only in local dialects for part of its history, that’s the earlier part of its story. But sometimes a widely-used word disappears from general use only to survive locally. That’s the case with “ken,” which had quite a list of meanings back in the day, but since the beginning Continue reading
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March 13
March 13 When I compile each Book of Days post, I review everything I can find about events of that day. I’ve been doing this for a while now. I’ve noticed that for most dates, there are plenty of battles, wars, massacres, assassinations, sieges, and attacks. If you wanted to write a book of days Continue reading
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Tammy Duckworth
March 12 is Tammy Duckworth’s 56th birthday. She was born in Bangkok, Thailand. Her father was from the US, and her mother was Thai. Although she was born in Bangkok, her father worked for the United Nations in refugee housing and development, and the family moved frequently throughout Southeast Asia. As a child, Duckworth became Continue reading
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Frankly
Quite frankly, it’s not immediately clear why “frankly” should mean open and honest. It has nothing to do with a truthy guy named Frank, after all. The word arrived in Middle English somewhere near 1300 from the French “franc,” which at the time did not yet have to do with monetary currency. Instead, in both Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.
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peterharbeson@me.com