Monthly Archives: April 2012

I recently read a feature article in the New Yorker magazine, entitled Battleground America, by Jill Lepore. The article talks about gun control, and how the debate has changed over the past 200 years. This is how it begins: “Just … Continue reading →

The gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the … Continue reading →

Two highly-touted new television shows have appeared on the schedule, both with intriguing one-word titles – Touch and Awake. Both have high-concept premises and each one has a big star– Kiefer Sutherland in the case of Touch and Jason Isaacs, … Continue reading →

Back in the days of Ronald Reagan, Republicans were arguing about whether to hold the line on taxes. Moderate republicans wanted to make the following proposal: “We oppose any attempts to increase taxes which would harm the recovery.” Conservative republicans … Continue reading →

I’ve recently noticed a very common grammatical error creeping into a lot of written and spoken communication. It has to do with confusing the subjective and objective forms of the first person singular pronoun. Sound complicated and technical? Not really. … Continue reading →

On our trip to England last week Pat and I decided to travel light. That meant no paper books, just our Kindle and newly purchased Kobo. Like many people who love to read, I at first resisted the move to … Continue reading →

George Bernard Shaw famously said that “England and America are two countries divided by a common language.” How true. A week in London U.K. reminded me of the curious linguistic differences that have developed and, despite the ubiquity of American … Continue reading →