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Category Archives: Quotations
A Sober Voice
“And that man’s a doctor!” as the endearing old refrain of the vouching Jewish mother goes. A recurring thread in recent news is how in a decapitated republic certain U.S. governors are stepping up to provide badly needed leadership in … Continue reading
Africa Felt Better
With the United States now leading the world in Covid-19 cases, the health care system fraying and the economy faltering, some American citizens — especially those living abroad — are starting to see their country in a new, unsettling light. … Continue reading
Poisonous Language Travels (Like a Virus)
As news filtered from the Joaquín Rosillo nursing home on the outskirts of Seville that a few residents had tested positive for coronavirus, worried families scrambled for information. But amid a nationwide lockdown, with their movements limited, there were no … Continue reading
Neck-Broken
A photo of Henry Adams helped draw me into a review by George F. Will of an anthology of conservative thinkers (“American Conservatism: Reclaiming an Intellectual Tradition,” Edited by Andrew J. Bacevich). In “The Education of Henry Adams (1907),” Adams … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Quotations
Tagged conservatism, Henry Adams, language, rhetoric, society, style, writing
1 Comment
Sauerkraut Ice Cream
George Will reviews “American Conservatism: Reclaiming an Intellectual Tradition,” Edited by Andrew J. Bacevich. Being susceptible to typography-based graphics I was drawn in by the illustration. Will’s opening statement added enticement. When assembling an anthology of writings representative of a … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Quotations
Tagged conservatism, George F. Will, Joan Didion, language, rhetoric, style
1 Comment
If There’s a Heaven, It’s Parody
Your neologismic servant, a spastic parodic — or is it “parodian” —, speaks his title. For one crowning moment, the Gray Lady really was “fake news.” An October surprise, so to speak. In September 1978, a strike by pressmen had … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Quotations
Tagged humor, humour, journalism, language, New York Times, parody, rhetoric
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¡Viva el pinche Franglaisismo!
Mixing English and French with artistic abandon “irks some purists.” The irking of purists is always and never a good sign for those who straddle irkdom. FouKi, a popular Quebec rapper whose real name is Léo Fougères, observed that Franglais … Continue reading →