Monthly Archives: October 2009

HOW DO YOU SAY “CLOUD COMPUTING” IN FRENCH?

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Philip

HOW DO YOU SAY “CLOUD COMPUTING” IN FRENCH? An article by Max Colchester in the Wall Street Journal describes the French government’s efforts to find a French phrase to replace the English phrase “cloud computing.” The task is made difficult … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

“FOR JOHN AND I.’

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Philip

“FOR JOHN AND I.” Consider the phrase “for John and I.” When I was growing up, it was ungrammatical and it grated on the ears. Usage has changed so that now “for John and me” is noteworthy. Since I believe … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

@ (REDUX).

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Philip

@ (REDUX). I posted here about the words that various languages use for @, as reported in letters to the London Review of Books. A letter from Stephen Richards in the October 8 issue adds the information that the German … Continue reading →

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CHEATING AT CANDYLAND.

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Philip

CHEATING AT CANDYLAND. I used to throw games of Candyland. Ordinarily, fixing games of Candyland would be difficult, but my opponent was in nursery school and was easily distracted, so that when necessary I was able to place the winning … Continue reading →

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CANDYLAND AND BASEBALL.

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Philip

CANDYLAND AND BASEBALL. There is a game in which random events toward the end of a game can have a major impact, and since for many it is the first game they play, it may shape their idea of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Sports | 2 Comments

SHOULD WE GET RID OF UMPIRES?

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Philip

SHOULD WE GET RID OF UMPIRES? Jonah Keri has an article in today’s Wall Street Journal asking “Does Baseball Need Umpires?” The article is inspired by several bad umpiring calls in the ninth inning or in extra innings of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Sports | 5 Comments

TURNING TWINS INTO FREAKS.

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Philip

TURNING TWINS INTO FREAKS. The article I linked to in the last post tells the story of the twins that Diane Arbus put into her collection of “freaks.” They were nice girls attending a party in dresses their mother had … Continue reading →

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DIANE ARBUS—TWINS AND OTHER “FREAKS.”

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Philip

DIANE ARBUS—TWINS AND OTHER “FREAKS.” Diane Arbus was a prominent photographer of the last century. Perhaps her most famous photograph was of a pair of young twin girls. A copy of it sold for almost $500,000 a few years ago. … Continue reading →

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ARE TWINS DIFFERENT FROM “NORMAL PEOPLE”?

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Philip

ARE TWINS DIFFERENT FROM “NORMAL PEOPLE”? The weekend Financial Times has a review by Rosie Blau of four fiction books about twins. One of the books is TWIN STUDY: STORIES by Stacey Richter. I am an identical twin and have … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

THE DIFFICULTY OF HORIZONTAL PROJECTS.

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Philip

THE DIFFICULTY OF HORIZONTAL PROJECTS. I posted several times, including here, on the proposed Chicago Spire, which was going to be the country’s tallest building. This interview by Blair Kamin with Santiago Calatrava, its architect, indicates that construction on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | 1 Comment