The English language is fascinating, especially regarding the way new words are formed and how meanings evolve. Take “meme.” According to Merriam-Webster, the current meaning is “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) that is spread widely online especially through social media.” But the word itself isn’t new. It actually goes
Egypt has a problem. Both the cost of living and the rate of divorce are increasing. Egyptian divorces rose by almost seven percent in 2018 compared to 2017; it’s now 2.2 divorces for every thousand citizens, up from 1.9 in 2010. At the same time, the marriage rate has fallen from a little over 10
Which fictional literary character had his obituary published in the New York Times? I’m thinking of Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot, whose death was announced on August 6, 1975 (https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/06/archives/hercule-poirot-is-dead-famed-belgian-detective-hercule-poirot-the.html). Although very popular with readers, Dame Christie found her creation “insufferable and an egocentric creep.” The result was the book Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case. Time
September 11 was the birthday of William Sydney Porter, better know by his pen name O. Henry. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, 1862, he is my favorite short-story writer, and his personal life was quite a story in itself. His birthday was remembered in The Writer’s Almanac of September 11, 2019 — As a young
Fear can cause people to do strange things. Like imprisoning Jewish refugees with Nazi prisoners of war. Canada, 1940. The military transport SS Sobiesky arrives with a human cargo of both refugees and POWs. One of the former was Erwin Schild, a 20-year-old Jew who had fled Nazi-controlled Europe for the United Kingdom. But the
It’s hard to get kids’ attention these days, especially with regard to creative writing. So what if you could use time travel? 826LA (http://826la.org/) is running with that idea. Its mission statement is “a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers
I have been reading in Astronomy magazine about the wonders of our solar system, like the landscape of the dwarf planet Ceres (in the October 2019 issue) and the possibilities of life on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Every time we send out an interplanetary probe, we are surprised at what we find. And
August 30 was the birthday of Molly Ivins (1944-2007), a favorite journalist/humorist of mine. Among her musings is “The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.” She was born in Monterey, California, but raised in Houston, Texas; her adopted state provided plenty
I hope we never find intelligent alien life in the cosmos. Granted, it would be exciting, especially to science fiction buffs to see how accurate our imaginations were. But even within our own galaxy, the distances are vast and we don’t have the technology to make travel practical. So if there was contact, they would
You are a fifth-grade girl who comes home from school to find a doll on your front porch. The doll looks like you, is dressed like you, and there is something about the eyes. Who left it? Why is it here? And what makes this doll so special? Here are the first three of eleven
