Hey guys, my SAT kids are reading a passage tomorrow on Wanda Landowska... it's an extremely gutted version of this 1996 essay, from what I can tell. In their version, the notion is that Landowska's playing is remarkably "expressive" and "florid" compared to what came before her. That she's a bit slurry and improvisational. The essay is mostly ( Read more... )

( the cow teaches you how to live, man )

What novels would your recommend for high school ESL (Cantonese, Mandarin) boys currently scoring ~300 on the verbal portion of the SAT? What's a little challenging, not too slangy, and awesome ( Read more... )

I went canvassing in Philly on Saturday. I was surprised at how good I was at it, and how fun it was, especially after Julia's horror stories. My partner and I knocked on over 100 doors, talked to over 50 people, and had long conversations with maybe like 20 of them. Of those 20, 8 were very racist and 3 were sexist, answering that age-old question ( Read more... )

Check out this post by John Quiggin on Crooked Timber:Much more useful in thinking about the likely impact of aid is the amount per person per week. With (very roughly) a billion people in Africa and a billion in the developed world, the aid that’s been given amounts to about $10 per person per year, or 20 cents per person per week on each side of ( Read more... )

I'm going to totally miss seeing the moon and Mars together because it's due to rain like hell all weekend. In fact, there are cloudy skies for most of the East Coast. However! Yiling, you may actually be able to see Mars pass behind the moon if you're still in Renton and the weather is good. All my CA homies might have clear enough skies, but the ( Read more... )

Even though I get hilariously ill every time I go to London, I may have to go back in 2008. Will this be the only Hamlet I ever tolerate (aside from the ones I produce in my imagination)? Signs point to "let's find out ( Read more... )

I'm so thankful for Granny Smith apples. Even in the worst grocery store, even at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere, at an airport, in London, in your mother's fruit bowl, there's still a good chance you'll find some that are tart and crisp and perfect. Thank you, dear little apples ( Read more... )

I'm torn between getting an extremely cheap cellphone with a $30/month plan (the cheapest with Verizon), or even cheaper, and getting something with teh intarwebz, that I can keep my calendar and notes on. I'm also torn between getting something that I know will work all over the country (Verizon), and something that might just work in town and ( Read more... )

I just heard about the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Are you guys okay? Are your friends and family okay?
Edit: Okay, a quick check of my friends lists reveals that most everyone has checked in. Has anyone heard from EV? From Emily? Gut? Susie? Katie and Dave? Andrea? Jason? Best wishes to all of you and your loved ones...