Humanities Are Much More Than Woke
Critics say majoring in literature or history in college is a dead-end pursuit. Nothing could be further from the truth. The humanities are more than woke and more valuable than … Continue reading
Strange Song Titles and a Sweet Slice of Satire Love
I have a difficult time remembering the titles of my favorite songs. Often I can’t remember the name of the artist or group who performed the song either. So, during … Continue reading
Words to Revive from the Scrapheap of Time
Words. What would we do or be without them? And why have we allowed so many perfectly mouth-watering words slip out of everyday use? There is every reason to resurrect … Continue reading
May the Numbers Be With You
From the Tower of Babel to Esperanto, mankind has striven to find a universal language. They overlooked math. Galileo earned fame as an astronomer, but he may have been overlooked … Continue reading
Confessions of a Wordaholic
By now you know I love words. Colorful words. Onomatopoeic words. Words dripping with meaning. Newly minted words. The Washington Post published its annual list of neologisms that deserve adoption … Continue reading
Rich Man, Poor Man. Fake News, Real News.
As a young kid, I learned the price you have to pay for reporting the real news. Now I discover that you can get rich by making up fake news. … Continue reading
The Scary Reality of Fake News
Fake news suddenly has become big news – with real news as its victim. Paul Horner, a notorious fake news purveyor, says he played a role in Donald Trump’s election as president by … Continue reading
Doubting Shakespeare
Mark Rylance, who won an Oscar for his nuanced portrayal of a Russian spy in Bridge of Spies, is heading a reinvigorated effort to prove someone other than William Shakespeare wrote the canon … Continue reading
Blogging in an Angry World
Blogging in an angry world is hard, especially if you aren’t all that angry. Your audience is angry, or at least touchy. About politics, religion, terrorism, neighbors, noise, congestion and … Continue reading
Words To Quit Living By in 2016
One of the virtues of English is its adaptability, which also can be one of its most distressing downfalls as it adopts annoying words and phrases. Here are some that … Continue reading
For the Love of Language
I love language. As an infant, I was as fascinated by the sound of words as the stories they told. When I began my journalism career – in elementary school, I … Continue reading
Vive la Francaise
I owe the French an apology. Yes, the French have a reputation for snootiness. But individually, the French are extremely polite – even if you speak English, which sounds to … Continue reading
Gary Conkling Life Notes 