Without preamble, here we go. Woke. This one is particularly irksome. High on the irony scale. “Woke” may have multiple origins, but the most contemporary one appears to be from early 20th century Black consciousness raising–”stay woke” appeared in a … Continue reading
(Picture from here.) Television was different when I was a kid growing up in California. It was early days. There wasn’t the vast backlog of material available that there is now. But there was the same need to fill dead … Continue reading
(the following Rant has been modified for Adult Language from the original, but it hasn’t been defanged entirely, and contains blunt talk about impolite things. Proceed at your own risk) — Happy Pride Month! I’ve only recently encountered the subgroup … Continue reading
Two new space operas have appeared in the last couple of days. I inhaled them both: one a novel by Elizabeth Bear, and the second is a four-author serial, a form that is becoming increasingly popular As I pointed out … Continue reading
When I saw this sign on the back of the scale at the farmer’s market stand, I said to the Happy Boy cashier, “I wish that were true.” They agreed with me. I hope we’re moving that way, moving toward … Continue reading
“[T]hat which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” So Juliet says to Romeo, exhorting him to deny the name of Montague. “O be some other name!” But while Romeo is willing enough to throw … Continue reading
I actually had a hairdresser once who really was pretending to be gay to avoid his ex-wife. While I didn’t find his act particularly convincing, I did wonder what he had going on that his ex couldn’t stay away from.
Continue readingWhen my English 12 students finish MAUS, we’re moving on to THE COLOR PURPLE. I’ve never taught it before and was floundering over ways to approach the book. Part of the district curriculum requires seniors to compare three different versions … Continue reading
Over the weekend, Darwin and I went to an apple orchard. These places abound in Michigan, an apple state. They’re half U-pick, half amusement park, half bakery. The apples aren’t any cheaper than the store AND you have to pick … Continue reading
The Census Bureau is only planning to ask about sexual orientation on their pre-survey which asks people what barriers exist that prevent them from taking part in the census (CBAMS). https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2017/sexual-orientation.html This is a major problem. Originally for the upcoming … Continue reading
