Midway through John Steinbeck’s epic novel “TheGrapes ofWrath” young Ivy observes, “Ever’body says words different. Arkansas folks says ’em different, and Oklahomy folks says ’em different. And we seen a lady from Massachusetts, an’ she said ’em differentest of all. Couldn’t hardly make out what she was sayin’.” One aspect of American rugged individualism is […]
Goodness gracious and good grief ! Leapin’ lizards and jumpin’ Jehosephat! I am an alliteration addict, a slave to the super-sized seductions of sequential syllables starting with the same sound. To tell the truth, the fickle finger of fate has made me the most alliterate fellow you’ll ever meet. So let’s rock and roll and […]
As part of my monthly series honoring the centennial of our world-famous San Diego Zoo, here’s a chance to test your knowledge of our fellow creatures that run and crawl and creep and gallop and swim and fly and hop around our planet. The Canary Islands in the Atlantic got their name from what creature? […]
This is the time of year when teachers send parents evaluations of their children’s academic and social progress. Here are some school reports about famous literary characters in their early years: • The Hulk has been a star heavyweight on the school wrestling team, but his classmates tease him for his tattered clothing and green […]
I am a freelance writer of magazine and newspaper pieces. That means that I write these articles on a fee-paid assignment basis rather than on a regular-salary basis for a single employer. Most medieval knights were committed to a feudal lord, but those who weren’t could hire themselves and their lances to anyone willing to […]
Dear Mr. Lederer: I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend in the Union-Tribune, namely, incorrect hyphenation between print lines. For example, front page today’s (5/5) newspaper – da-redevils;. Do you think the reason is poor editing or faulty software? – Gil Ramirez Coincidentally, Readers’ Representative Adrian Vore addressed complaints like this 10 days later in this […]
Charles Dickens walks into a bar and orders a martini. The bartender asks, “Olive or twist?” Over the past several decades many jokes have featured all manner of people and other creatures walking into bars. For example: Two ropes walk into a bar. The first rope orders a beer. “We don’t serve ropes here,” sneers […]
Because I feel that, in the Heavens above, The angels, whispering to one another, Can find, among their burning terms of love, None so devotional as that of “Mother.” – Edgar Allan Poe The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, […]
In last week’s column I commemorated the death of William Shakespeare 400 years ago, on April 23, 1616. The cause of the Bard’s exiting the earthly stage remains a mystery, but an entry in the diary of John Ward, the vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, where Shakespeare is buried, may offer a clue. […]
Little information about William Shakespeare’s personal life is available, but from municipal records we can deduce that he was born in the English village of Stratford-upon-Avon, in the county of Warwickshire, on April 23, 1564, and that after retiring to his hometown around 1611, he died there on April 23, 1616, at exactly 52 years […]