John Doe, caucasian, approximately 45 years old, evidence of blunt-force trauma to the base of the skull…
Pretty familiar if you’ve been exposed to the barest minimum of American crime fiction: “John” and “Jane Doe” used to refer to an unidentified victim or suspect in a criminal case. But why these names in particular? Continue reading
I’ve been thinking about my watch a lot lately. Well, maybe not a lot, exactly, but more than normal.
You see, my watch has recently started losing some of its batons. Continue reading
I was reading an Italian short story the other day (in an edition with English translations on the right-hand page) when I saw an interesting word: la persiana. Continue reading
I was reading a novel recently in which a character speaks a language which doesn’t have the concept of the first and second person, basically no concept of I (or me) and you. As a result of this, the character himself cannot conceive of these concepts. Continue reading
OK, now we can begin.
I’m not sure what got me thinking about this word (or, ejaculation at least, I’m not sure it merits being considered a word). It’s certainly not one I like to use much. Still, it’s curious. Continue reading
Have you ever thought about how strange that term, human being, really is? Continue reading
This morning, perhaps influenced by the current anticipation for the upcoming Joker film, it occurred to me that the word joker sounds very similar to the Italian verb giocare. Continue reading
