Countries Who Lunch
How does a country foster solidarity during a recession? With food. You may remember the post from a few months ago that explored the etymology of companion — from the Latin for breaking bread together. Well, every culture has distinct customs regarding food. If the country in question is Britain, it sponsors a “Big Lunch” […]
A Note on Hmong Language and Culture
When a blurb about Cooking from the Heart: the Hmong Kitchen in America popped up in my Google Reader, I was instantly intrigued because it claims to be the first American cookbook detailing Hmong recipes. How is it possible that no other Hmong cookbook in America (or in English) exists? The quick answer is that […]
In Honor of Bastille Day: The Origin of the Baguette
In honor of Bastille Day, I’ve decided to dally a bit in the history of one of my favorite French exports: French bread. Just a refresher, Bastille Day is a French national holiday celebrated every July 14 (quatorze juillet) to commemorate the Fête de la Fédération held on the first anniversary of the storming of […]
Pomegranates and Hand Grenades
Here in America it seems like food trends come and go every twenty minutes or so. Is meat in or out? Do we like bread or bacon? Acai berries, or lemon juice and cayenne pepper cleanses? It seems futile to keep up with the Joneses sometimes. One craze that has remained on the scene for […]
Etymology of Dignity
In his recent NY Times Op-Ed on Dignity, David Brooks stated that “the old dignity code has not survived modern life.” Brooks lists three examples of the absence of dignity in recent events: Mark Sanford’s press conference, reaction to Michael Jackson’s death, and Sarah Palin’s press conference. Two of those events—Mark Sanford’s scandal and subsequent […]
The Scots Language Bible, Handwritten and Delivered
With all of the coverage about the online publication of the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest complete copy of the New Testament (it dates to the 4th century and is written in Greek), I thought it would be fun to highlight another Biblical scholastic first: the handwritten Scots Language Bible. First, try your hand at a […]
Sowing the Seeds of… a Family Production Responsibility System?
What do you think of when you hear the words “Family Production Responsibility System”? What? It doesn’t bring to mind carefully tended rows of corn, beans, and tomatoes? Acres of wheat, rice, and soybeans? Chickens running around a dusty side yard? I don’t think so either, but apparently the Chinese government came up with the […]
Sausages for Freedom
Obama’s two-day visit to Russia has generated a lot of press these past few days. His trip focused on rebuilding relations with Russia by discussing a new trade partnership, missile security, and global affairs. The latter two were more successful topics, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President Obama signed an agreement in principle to cut […]
Can Poetry be Translated?
A couple of days ago B.J. Epstein posted this quotation by Samuel Johnson: Poetry, indeed, cannot be translated; and, therefore, it is the poets that preserve the languages; for we would not be at the trouble to learn a language if we could have all that is written in it just as well in a […]
The Manx Express: Part II of Language and le Tour de France
If you tuned in yesterday to coverage of Stage 2 of the Tour de France you might have heard a commentator shout out that Mark Cavendish, the Manx Express, had blitzed across the finish line. If you’re like me, the nickname drew a blank. The only word I associate with “manx” is a tailless domesticated […]