So I get to shul for Parshah Vayishlach (Gen 32:4-36:43), all ready to talk about Dinah, which for my money is one of the five most disturbing stories in the Torah, and I discover that the sixth grade kids from…
I’ve seen a few things recently on-line that are interesting, but about which I don’t have enough to write an essay. So: From the Language Log, Arnold Zwicky writes about Two and Threes, specifically about the figure of speech taken…
The eighth week we read Parshah Vayishlach (Gen 32:4-36:43), which contains two major events and one minor but memorable one: the meeting of Esau and Jacob, Jacob’s vision of wrestling with an angel, and the rape of Dinah and subsequent…
Well, and first of all, of course, I am thankful for my Best Reader, and for my Perfect Non-Reader, and for you Gentle Readers all. Next, I’m thankful for John Carroll’s annual Thanksgiving column. After that, I’m thankful for everything…
I’d just like to remind any Gentle Reader who may be thinking about participating in the Oscars game that the time has come to send me your initial picks, as you can tell from the rules. Thank you,-Vardibidian….
Since my blathering has pushed the note off the main page, I feel it only fair to point back to my report on The Skinner, as someone purporting to be Neal Asher has responded to my mockery. To save y’all…
So. Your Humble Blogger saw The Incredibles, and enjoyed it immensely. Anything said below should be held in that context; I thought it was great, and pretty much if you think you’d like it, you will. For one thing, it’s…
I happened to see a New York Times article about two recent studies of the Liberal Professoriate (working paper versions are available of the two, How Politically Diverse Are the Social Sciences and Humanities? Survey Evidence from Six Fields and…
This week’s parshah is Vay’etze (Gen 28:10 � 32:3), about Jacob’s sojourn with Laban. Now, strangely for Genesis, this is a story with more or less a happy ending. Laban doesn’t lose much by his deceptions, as he remains wealthy…
This time through The Nine Tailors (I do seem to be on a Sayers kick, don’t I) Your Humble Blogger was really interested in the architecture of the church at Fenchurch St. Paul. And, of course, in their 12th Century…