[Photograph by me. Click for a larger heron.]
The nearest faraway place for our household right now is a trail around a lake.
Please consider this photograph a brief respite from the day.
Saturday, September 11, 2021
Heron
By Michael Leddy at 8:02 AM comments: 0
Friday, September 10, 2021
A passion for ancient edifices
. . . and another for Henry Tilney.
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1818).
Related reading
All OCA Jane Austen posts (Pinboard)
By Michael Leddy at 9:34 AM comments: 0
“Cold ellipses”
[“Totally Elliptical.” Zippy, September 10, 2021.]
“ . . . I feel oddly hesitant for some reason . . .,” says Zippy.
Here’s my favorite way to make an ellipsis in HTML. And here’s my favorite use of the ellipsis in literature. I have nothing to say about Dippin’ Dots save that I have never understood their appeal.
Related reading
All OCA Zippy posts (Pinboard)
By Michael Leddy at 9:33 AM comments: 0
Thursday, September 9, 2021
Six parties
A New York Times quiz: “If America Had Six Parties, Which Would You Belong To?”
[Me, the Progressive Party. Gracie Allen’s Surprise Party is not a Times option.]
By Michael Leddy at 3:16 PM comments: 3
Two eyes, eight parts of speech
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1818).
Garner’s Modern English Usage: “Grammarians have traditionally recognized eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.”
Related reading
All OCA Jane Austen posts (Pinboard)
By Michael Leddy at 9:10 AM comments: 0
Hi and Lois watch
[Hi and Lois, September 9, 2021. Click for a larger view.]
No masks, no distancing in today’s Hi and Lois ? Okay, it’s the comics. But no legs on the desks? There’s a way to fix that problem.
[Hi and Lois revised, September 9, 2021. Click for a larger view.]
If you look closely, you’ll see that I’ve made another revision that all self-respecting teachers should appreciate.
*
An observant reader points out that the dog on the poster is Odie from Garfield. Thanks, Kevin. And we agree, given that it’s a Garfield poster, it should come down.
[Hi and Lois revised again, September 9, 2021. Click for a larger view.]
Related reading
All OCA Hi and Lois posts (Pinboard)
By Michael Leddy at 9:05 AM comments: 2
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Phil Schaap (1951–2021)
He was a jazz historian who hosted programs on WKCR-FM for more than fifty years. He was a hero of the music.
The New York Times has an obituary. WKCR is planning a tribute and will be rebroadcasting Schaap’s programs at their usual times.
By Michael Leddy at 2:31 PM comments: 0
Better books?
Catherine Morland doubts that Henry Tilney could be a reader of novels.
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1818).
Related reading
All OCA Jane Austen posts (Pinboard)
By Michael Leddy at 9:23 AM comments: 0
Methods of communication
Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night. They were talking, of course, about their Hulu series Only Murders in the Building.
SC: “Now there’s a lot of texting in the show. Do you guys have your own text chain between the three of you?”
SG: “No, it’s strictly e-mail with these guys.”
SM: “But when we started communicating, we were using pay phones.”
See also “Aloha, Mabel!”
By Michael Leddy at 9:21 AM comments: 4
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
“Tilneys and trapdoors”
Catherine Morland is riding with John Thorpe. But her mind is elsewhere.
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1818).
Related reading
All OCA Jane Austen posts (Pinboard)
[False hangings: tapestries covering secret passages.]
By Michael Leddy at 8:41 AM comments: 0