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Stonehaven’s new edition of The Challenge of Baha’u’llah
My book The Challenge of Bahaâuâllah, first published 25 years ago, is now available from Stonehaven Press in a stunning commemorative edition! The new version is revised, expanded, updated, and redesigned. It sports an exquisite fresh cover and easy-on-the-eyes typography. A thorough reformatting provides easier readability and even better ease of reference. Youâll find it at…
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Very Stable Anagrams
Break out your old box of Scrabble blocks. Pick out the exact letter-tiles youâll need to spell: ⌠âa very stable geniusâ Just donât arrange them that way. Instead, lay them down in the following sequence: ⌠â. . . but â senile savagery!â Yes! You can do this. Because that is what the letters in âa…
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My Prayer for 2018
May each one of us be happy, healthy, and fully engaged with others (especially those whose views and experience may differ from our own). May our country stand as a beacon for racial healing and harmony, for interfaith understanding, for economic justice, for gender equality, for commitment to science, and for borders open to all…
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May Your Nights Be Merry and Bright!
Merry Christmas, dear friends. Plus the happiest of whatever other holidays you may be celebrating this time of year, or any other time. This is a photo I took a couple of days ago of a house just down the street from the East Knoxville home Cheri and I inhabit. A fitting tribute to the…
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Alternative Facts? No — Alternative Anagrams!
Itâs official: âAlternative factsâ tops the list of ânotable quotesâ from 2017. Thatâs according to Fred Shapiro, associate director of the Yale Law School Library. He publishes this annual list, which also includes a bunch of runner-up doozies. Shortly after last January, when Kellyanne Conway left this devil-spawn baby on our lexical doorstep, I jotted…
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Two Words: Of
Not literally two words. Just the one word — âofâ — used in two different senses. Both jangling. At least to me! Recently Iâve been hearing statements like âI missed that bullseye âcause Iâm not that good of a sharpshooter.â And there was the case of a minor soap star confessing, âIâm not that good…
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Two Words: Crevice/Crevasse
These look like alternate spellings of the same word. But they aren’t. To be sure, they have similar meanings and similar pronunciations. I’ve always assumed they meant the same. I was mistaken. Here’s the scoop: The other night, at maybe 3 am, I was proofreading the all-new digital version of my 1998 book, The Metropolis…
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One Southern Word: Ratback
A few years ago, there was an upsurge of interest in âhow to talk Southernâ. You could buy books on the language, maybe listen to podcasts. Theyâd teach you things like the Southern definition of âahâ. In case youâve forgotten, âahâ (in Southern-speak) has two meanings. In one sense, it refers to yourself as a…
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Knoxville in Bloom
Hereâs hoping youâre enjoying spring as much as we are. As Knoxville gears up for its annual Dogwood Arts Festival, all our flowering trees, of whatever species, are getting into the spirit. Here are a couple of photos from our eastside Chilhowee Park neighborhood. This first one is the home of our friends, Pete and…
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Three Words: Another Think Coming (or is it “Thing”?)
Can common usage of a common word like âthingâ be wrong — even when itâs grammatically correct? This question pesters people like me, worrying as we do about whether grammar ârulesâ should be prescriptive or descriptive. For some time lately, Iâve been hearing the expression âanother thing comingâ. As in: âIf Hawkeye thinks itâll be…
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What Our Jonquils Know About Climate Change
Earlier this month (February 2017) the outdoor temperature was 77 degrees F. Even in the previous month, January, the mercury often registered above 60 degrees — and rarely fell below high 40s to mid 50s. This in East Tennessee! When I moved here in 1977, sub-zero temperatures were commonplace for January and even mid-February. (I…
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Valentine Anagrams — 2017 Edition!
Happy Valentine’s Day 2017! To all our long-time readers, and to a host of new subscribers: We love you all! Today youâll see plenty of heart-themed features in the mainstream media. Theyâll tell you the history of Valentineâs Day. Theyâll tell you funny jokes and sentimental love stories. What they wonât tell you (but I…