tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39370006235536194352011-11-23T03:16:52.695-05:00Teaching the next generation to love the lexicon.Jimnoreply@blogger.comBlogger431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-76804037655099395072007-07-16T20:31:00.000-05:002007-07-16T20:40:14.773-05:00

Well, folks, it took only six months, but I've decided to indefinitely put the brakes on He Writes About Words. Think of the hiatus as being announced with a cyberspace version of a "Closed For Remodeling" sign--you know, you're not sure whether the place will ever be back in business. The fact of the matter is that writing as a contributor to Hoosier Beer Geek is currently enough to satisfy my

Jimnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-67168541079236279682007-07-11T22:56:00.000-05:002007-07-11T23:03:22.194-05:00

I spent my last post laying into sports journalists, telling you why you should pay them no mind. SI's Grant Wahl, however, is a guy you can trust to tell it like it really is about soccer in America, and to do so quite knowledgeably. This week, Grant has the SI cover story on Mr. Beckham's arrival.Enjoy.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-6292648479382813252007-07-05T14:40:00.001-05:002007-07-11T23:00:30.439-05:00

Time to deviate from the regularly scheduled programming.Question: Who is this man?Answer: If you don't know, then (a) you aren't a soccer fan, following only NASCAR and the Sunday morning pro fishing shows on ESPN2; (b) you are a soccer fan, but only to the extent of attending your kid's under-eight league matches; or (c) you a hermit in the vein of the Unibomber.On July 13, David Robert Joseph

Jimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-34472311554839194972007-06-23T11:47:00.001-05:002007-06-23T12:31:23.584-05:00

Many of you are undoubtedly planning some sort of summer getaway, whether it be to the beach, the city, or the country. Having a literary traveling companion is a must for me, especially if I'm flying somewhere. If you're of a like mind, here are a few engaging nonfiction reads that won't put a lot of stress on your brain cells:40 Watts from Nowhere - Sue Carpenter. Carpenter runs a pirate

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-28297397079309467162007-06-21T13:29:00.000-05:002007-06-21T13:40:05.937-05:00

The other blog to which I contribute, Hoosier Beer Geek, was featured as part of the cover story in this week's INtake. Many thanks to Jim Walker for the great piece that he wrote on us and the finer points of beer. It's wonderful to see beer being recognized as possessing as much character and depth as wine. I also strongly encourage you to read Jim's other column from this week's edition, in

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-12983907793364338522007-06-18T20:23:00.000-05:002007-06-23T12:29:27.532-05:00

A few days ago, my friend Bryan and I were kvetching about the state of music today, particularly about the type of music that mp3 blogs specialize in--that ubiquitous but semi-amorphous musical category, "indie rock." These sorts of conversations happen when, like us, you're approaching forty but you still somewhat pathetically cling to the last modicum of your youth by making sure you keep

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-38537396408483295252007-06-17T08:25:00.000-05:002007-06-17T21:39:05.303-05:00

Congratulations to my fellow beer geeks Chris and Jason for being recognized as first-rate fathers.Yesterday, I brainstormed to name the one literary father that all dads should emulate. After mulling over the possible choices, I nominate the rare dad who was on a first-name basis with his children:Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. Why Atticus Finch? For those few who have never read

Jimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-83130442170496906702007-06-11T21:37:00.000-05:002007-06-11T21:44:55.799-05:00

Time to veer into the world of the disgusting...How many times did you hear this expression in high school or college? If you hung out with the same sort of people that I did--drunken fraternity guys who drank lots of cheap beer--then you heard it a lot. In case you've ever lain awake in the early morning hours wondering where the expression came from, Slate's Explainer has your answer.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-78982651449069038082007-06-05T22:11:00.001-05:002007-06-06T08:59:09.436-05:00

I stopped into Mo'Joe Coffeehouse on the way to the office today to pick up a cup of decaf. After getting my cup of "no fun" (as one of my friends likes to call it), I went over to the area of the coffeehouse where they put event flyers and the like. Sitting there was this intriguing postcard with the photograph posted above. On the back was this message:The Van That Thought Out Loud is a

Jimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-76204681430875495252007-06-03T15:10:00.000-05:002007-06-03T15:22:41.483-05:00

Slate has a piece on the history of church signs that is very much worth the read.And sorry for the slight blogging hiatus. Work deadlines, you know. That, and writing beer reviews.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-35662337165498349922007-05-25T07:50:00.000-05:002007-05-25T08:05:26.315-05:00

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich and his co-author, William Forstchen, have just released their latest novel, Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th. As this review in yesterday's New York Times notes, the editors of Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Forstchen's book could have taken more of a hands-on approach. Try to get your head around this passage from the book:James nodded his thanks, opened the wax

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-47834689036167320322007-05-21T19:38:00.000-05:002007-05-24T22:27:24.827-05:00

Poor Misha Vainberg. The protagonist of Gary Shteyngart's acclaimed satirical novel, Absurdistan, desperately wants to leave his homeland, Russia, to return to the United States. There, Misha went to college on his oligarch father's ruble and, upon graduation and a move to Manhattan, met his beloved Bronx-born and -bred girlfriend, Rouenna, who awaits his return to the U.S.But Misha begins the

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-20517124427828346712007-05-16T09:15:00.000-05:002007-05-16T22:23:54.081-05:00

Studies in the past several years have shown that adults, particularly young adults, are reading less and less literature than ever before. These studies note that literature reading cultivates critical thinking and analytical skills because of the focus one is required to keep when reading. Furthermore, as a corollary to the drop in literature reading, studies have also shown that the amount of

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-22320717909234523302007-05-14T08:00:00.000-05:002007-05-14T08:05:05.572-05:00

The New York Times has this article on the publishing industry, focusing on the question of what makes a bestseller. As someone who is a voracious consumer of the products offered by the industry, I found the piece to be fascinating, particularly because of the guesswork the publishers undertake to find a bestseller and because of the lack of market research that those publishers do.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-39784414637437286642007-05-07T11:19:00.000-05:002007-05-07T11:56:25.157-05:00

"World's Best Dad"? "Soccer Mom"? Some business logo? Footprints?How about this?:"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-45658433437139710512007-05-05T14:11:00.000-05:002007-05-07T20:04:18.866-05:00

You'll find Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, on many recommended reading lists. It is certainly one of the best books that I've read in the past decade. Kavalier and Clay has compelling, page-turning ingredients--engaging characters (two boys who make good on their dream to become comic book authors); a common but winning theme (

Jimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-12138706797328639162007-04-26T17:44:00.000-05:002007-04-26T18:03:26.183-05:00

Today, I received the following note:Just as a reminder that as of May 1, 2007 the residence of [name of apartment complex] are no longer aloud to park in the parking lot to the north of the apartment building. The ICI parking lot.Thank YouThe foregoing was written by--(a) My eight-year-old niece;(b) Borat; or(c) The temporary property manager of our apartment complex.If you guessed (c), then

Jimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-26446853521209334572007-04-23T14:25:00.000-05:002007-04-23T21:59:49.401-05:00

Here is the first edition of Looking for Books, a new semi-regular feature of HWAW intended to help you sift through new reading options.For this edition, the selections focus on the Muslim world.Hardback: The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin HamidThis is a book that pivots on a smile. A third of the way through Mohsin Hamid’s second novel, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” the narrator, a young

Jimnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-58494619887469725132007-04-21T11:41:00.000-05:002007-04-21T12:29:42.844-05:00

No, not M. Night Shyamalan or Tesla.I'm talking about the signs at my health club. Specifically, I'm talking about signs that some people apparently don't read.To wit:SPIT IN TRASH CANS ONLYThis particular sign is posted near each water fountain at the club. But every morning that I go to work out, I find a loogie in one of the water fountains. Nothing like a nice frothy hocker staring you in

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-18039193800673858842007-04-15T12:34:00.000-05:002007-04-15T12:54:46.187-05:00

I know virtually nothing about Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip. Here is, however, what I do know:The video for their song, "Thou Shalt Always Kill," has become the viral video of the moment.Scroobius Pip, who is the MC on the track, looks a lot like Matisyahu and sounds vaguely like Ali G.The song bears a strong resemblance to LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge."The lyrics are a baffling

Jimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-48032530927013345522007-04-12T07:01:00.000-05:002007-04-12T07:03:25.771-05:00

An Indiana literary legend is gone.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-62642693163549794842007-04-10T07:04:00.000-05:002007-04-10T07:17:12.703-05:00

This Sunday is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. One way to honor those who lost their lives in the Holocaust would be to come down to the Statehouse at 2:30 p.m. for the Rally for Darfur. There will be several speakers and musicians on hand. Come out and urge our government to take action to end the genocide in Darfur.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-4960274384272001422007-04-08T18:37:00.000-05:002007-04-08T18:46:14.709-05:00

This is way off-topic for this blog, but I couldn't resist. From fusilli. And for those of you who watched The Ten Commandments on ABC last night, check out the 10 Plagues, Peeps version.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-51581536289643789712007-04-08T17:36:00.000-05:002007-04-08T18:17:36.395-05:00

Every once in awhile, I'll check in to see what Oprah's Book Club is touting as the "must read" of the moment. Most of the time, I'm not drawn to Oprah's selections. But the current OBC book, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, is easily one of the best books that Oprah has ever picked.The Road, which was nominated for a 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award, narrates the struggle for survival by a

Jimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-29142529292660618052007-04-01T19:28:00.000-05:002007-04-02T08:36:47.358-05:00

On Monday night, Jews all over the world will gather in their homes to celebrate the first night of the most important Jewish holiday, Passover (Pesach in Hebrew, pronounced "pay-sahkh"). The holiday commemorates the Exodus--the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Those of you who attended Sunday school or who have seen Cecil B. DeMille's unintentionally campy classic are

Jimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-75728095056661752532007-03-24T11:28:00.000-05:002007-03-24T11:40:30.121-05:00

McDonald's Corporation is not happy with the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of the word "McJob," which the OED says is "an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector." As a consequence, the company has decided to urge dictionaries in the UK to remove the definition, claiming that "McJob" means the exact opposite (i.e., a job

Jimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-86879402439943941312007-03-16T18:33:00.000-05:002007-03-17T06:49:27.170-05:00

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming at He Writes About Words for this entry, which is cross-posted at extrawack!This is Jim, your final extrawack! guest blogger. Before I get to the real substance of this post, I should say Erin Go Bragh. I hope you enjoy a nice cool (not cold) Guinness as you celebrate the snake beater holiday. Here in Indianapolis, we dye the Canal green, drink

Jimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-3030260789368979222007-03-13T13:17:00.000-05:002007-03-13T13:26:29.891-05:00

After a long hiatus from writing about the world of music--well, aside from writing about lyrics--I'll be putting on my hipster badge again this week in a guest blogger stint at the venerable and unquestionably cool music blog extrawack! My official guest blogger day isn't until March 17, but in the meantime, please stop by and check out extrawack!'s offerings.

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-35182856044535844062007-03-12T17:56:00.000-05:002007-03-12T19:03:47.597-05:00

At some point in our childhood, most of us had a teacher that we didn't like. Some of even hated that particular teacher. I didn't have any issues with a teacher until the ninth grade, when I managed to get an English teacher I shall never forget. I'll call her Miss Smith.For some reason, I could do nothing correctly in Miss Smith's eyes. This was very difficult for me because I had never had

Jimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-49118403454935613322007-03-08T16:14:00.001-05:002007-03-08T19:35:08.109-05:00

Slang is one of my favorite language topics. In my mind, slang is one of the keys to the vibrancy of the English language. It helps the language to grow and change. It also reflects contemporary culture and attitudes. In short, slang could reasonably be considered the lifeblood of any language.So this article from the local alternative newsweekly got me thinking about the power that peer

Jimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-37083594366509966952007-03-04T10:24:00.000-05:002007-03-04T14:49:39.192-05:00

When I began this blog, I envisioned Lyrics in Focus as a monthly feature. However, some songs are just too intriguing to pass up.The Eurovision Song Contest is the pinnacle of musical cheese on the Continent. In short, the contest works like this--European nations enter a native musical act in the contest. Each act is selected by telephone voting in each country. After the contestants are

Jimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-83771329910609416282007-02-28T19:11:00.000-05:002007-02-28T22:08:36.163-05:00

It may be trite to say that history repeats itself. But unfortunately, our world leaders rarely seem to learn from their mistakes.When Marvin Gaye released his landmark album, What's Going On, in 1971, the United States was in the grip of turbulent times, as it is again today. Pollution, poverty, and the Vietnam War were all prevalent in the American consciousness. Gaye managed to address these

Jimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-12100616164296022462007-02-24T12:09:00.000-05:002007-02-24T13:20:06.277-05:00

When I was a kid, I was somewhat of a comic book reader. I can't say that I was a comic book collector because I never went searching for rare, priceless issues of Spiderman or The X-Men or put my comic books in plastic laminate. Rather, I just wanted to read good stories coupled with pictures.And good stories I did read. It's amazing that compelling, complex plot lines appear in the comic

Jimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-2913745107928905682007-02-15T18:30:00.000-05:002007-02-15T19:07:07.635-05:00

Organizations like this one concern me. As far as I can tell, those who are are dying to make English the official language of the United States are motivated by fear and ignorance.Like it or not, Spanish has become the second language of this country. But while our country continues to experience wave after wave of Hispanic immigrants (both legal and illegal), and while more and more

Jimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-7458439062316417662007-02-14T20:06:00.000-05:002007-02-14T20:12:37.631-05:00

Want to get your grammar geek on? Check out the Grammar Girl podcast. That's right--there's actually a podcast about grammar. Mignon Fogarty, the namesake of the podcast, was recently featured on CNN.For those who are curious about correct grammar yet don't want to get bored to death...

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-88176200272438569922007-02-06T18:35:00.000-05:002007-02-06T19:33:29.699-05:00

"Oh, Boone!"If you slammed your hand in the car door, is this the sort of interjection you'd use? Absolutely not. You or I would probably have no qualms about dropping the f-bomb. But Pat Boone, who is featured as one of the talking heads in Steve Anderson's documentary, F*ck, uses his own last name in place of the most powerful word in the English language.Anderson's documentary examines

Jimnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-24825754590877785602007-02-03T09:56:00.000-05:002007-02-03T12:37:37.451-05:00

Standing on a beachWith a gun in my handStaring at the seaStaring at the sandStaring down the barrelAt the Arab on the groundSee his open mouthBut hear no soundI'm aliveI'm deadI'm the strangerKilling an Arab~ The Cure, "Killing an Arab"I remember listening to this song for the first time back in 1986. I was a sophomore in college, and I had just picked up The Cure's first compilation album,

Jimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-46229199906512022182007-02-01T20:24:00.000-05:002007-02-01T21:02:50.923-05:00

This week, I was reading an article in a very well-known daily publication. The author of the article wrote that a member of a particular political group was "towing the party line." After I read the sentence, I stopped, paused for a moment, and read again. I realized then that the author had made a very common mistake: he mistook one homophone for another.Homophones are words that are

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-25157131810152780022007-01-29T19:32:00.000-05:002007-01-29T20:05:00.210-05:00

I regard professional sports team names with some ambivalence. This is particularly so in the era of modern sports, where names for new sports franchises are often chosen by fan vote. As a result, we have ridiculous monikers like the Minnesota Wild, the Toronto Raptors, the Colorado Rockies, and the Columbus Crew. The Kansas City club in Major League Soccer began life as the "Wiz" before the

Jimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-66644067863528033692007-01-26T14:47:00.000-05:002007-01-26T17:16:49.211-05:00

Those who are fans of "The Only Band That Mattered" know that Joe Strummer, guitar player and vocalist for The Clash, had a propensity to gum up the vocals when he assumed lead vocals on some of the band's songs. You need only listen to "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais" or "London's Burning" to hear what I mean. On the band's compilation album, The Story of the Clash, Vol. 1, there is a short

Jimnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-58226710435780667902007-01-25T17:40:00.000-05:002007-01-26T09:37:58.975-05:00

Butler University recently posted the schedule for its Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series. The highlight this spring will be the last lecture, which will be given by Indianapolis native and literary legend Kurt Vonnegut. The lectures in the series are free, but tickets for the Vonnegut lecture will go quickly, so pick yours up early. I went to see British author Nick Hornby speak last

Jimnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-65543571769078140162007-01-24T20:21:00.000-05:002007-01-24T21:36:38.065-05:00

As an Indiana native and resident, I thought I'd start with a discussion of a term that most of us who live here see or hear on at least a weekly basis: Hoosier.In the most widely understood sense, "Hoosier" refers to a native of Indiana. Most of us here don't affix any sort of pejorative meaning to the term, although I came from the northwest part of the state, where very few people refer to

Jimnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3937000623553619435.post-7541319066869300632007-01-23T16:02:00.001-05:002007-01-24T20:01:12.339-05:00

Hello, new readers. Welcome to my new endeavor: He Writes About Words. I hope that you enjoy what you read here, just as I hope that you visit here often.I'm not new to blogging. For a few years, I maintained a blog that no one read. I shut that blog down last year because I didn't have much time to update it, and I felt that it simply wasn't focused enough. I thought that I tried to tackle

Jimnoreply@blogger.com0