Tag Archives: word

A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Boz

Every semester, staff and instructors at FTCC are allowed to take one class free of charge, and I almost always try to take advantage of that wonderful opportunity. This semester I am taking a class in critical thinking offered by … Continue reading →

Posted in critical thinking, education, freedom, language, literature, politics, totalitarianism, word, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Wonder: My New Year’s Resolution

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Boz

Among the saddest lines in literature are the ones with which Nick Carraway describes his last glance at the sprawling estate on Long Island from which Gatsby watched the green light on Daisy’s dock: As the moon rose higher the … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, art, creativity, Globe, memories, metaphor, narrative, photography, poetry, wonder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Everything Not Forbidden Is Compulsory

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Boz

When I first passed this sign yesterday morning on the way to class, I thought it was an instruction in etiquette: “Don’t sit here because this is a table, and sitting on tables is rude.” Silly me.

Posted in Bill of Rights, books, COVID-19, critical thinking, current events, divisiveness, education, First Amendment, free speech, freedom, history, language, literature, news, novel coronavirus, politics, society, totalitarianism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“A Vendetta” by Guy de Maupassant: An Analysis with an Existentialist Twist

Posted on May 16, 2020 by Boz

Below is a translation from French into English of my May 8 post: Like other writers of the 19th century (e.g. Charles Dickens in England and Alexandre Dumas in France), Guy de Maupassant first published his story “A Vendetta” in … Continue reading →

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Waiting Room

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Boz

Of the many words of Just(e) Words, some have become leitmotivs intertwining the preoccupations of my mind with the events in my life. In fact, I find comfort in the notion that body and soul are so firmly bound together … Continue reading →

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Sloganeering: Fake Language Is the Problem–Not Fake News

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Boz

I have not posted anything on my blog since September 21–over a month ago, my longest dry spell since I began it in May of 2016. Significantly, this hiatus coincides quite neatly with the weeks that have elapsed since the … Continue reading →

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Grammar, Meet God

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Boz

Although I care deeply about language and am passionately interested in its origins and characteristics, I have no claims as a linguist. Therefore, what follows comes more from my heart than my head–mostly emotion tempered with a bit of knowledge … Continue reading →

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Let Me Count the Ways

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Boz

I am not certain I ever heard the name Harvey Weinstein before October 5, when The New York Times published its initial exposé of sexual-misconduct allegations and hush-money payoffs. Nor have I followed the increasing media firestorm with any interest though the … Continue reading →

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Naming Evil

Posted on October 8, 2017 by Boz

I write today in the bloody wake of the most recent in an increasingly frequent series of mass killings–this time, the deaths of 58 country music fans at the hands of a gunman poised 32 floors above the concert venue … Continue reading →

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Charlottesville, Boston, Berkeley and the Desecration of the First Amendment

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Boz

August 19, 2017 Speaking my mind today may be impolitic. However, because what I fear most is the silence following the premature death of the First Amendment, speak I must. I am reminded of Paul’s recital of his unblemished pedigree: … Continue reading →

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