In 1998 a snopes.com reader coined the term glurge, and I’ve been forever grateful. What is glurge? Snopes has this to say, “Think of it as chicken soup with several cups of sugar mixed in: It’s supposed to be a method of delivering a remedy for what ails you by adding sweetening to make the cure more appealing, but the result is more often a sickly-sweet concoction that induces hyperglycemic fits.” The website tvtropes.org claims the term derives from the sound of someone throwing up. […]
Dear humans: Your insecurity is showing
This book is a study of two fascinating concepts: animal intelligence and human arrogance. Prominent biologist and primatologist Frans de Waal shares insights into animal cognition interspersed with mini-rants about the skepticism that people, even scientists, express at the thought of non-human animals displaying something that we might call intelligence. After reading this book, I’m inclined to suggest a new title: Are We Humble Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? At the heart of the skepticism is human beings’ desire to understand “what it […]
My brain is a jerk and so is yours
Early in Idiot Brain, author Dean Burnett addresses a common misconception about memory. People tend to assume human memory works along the same lines as a computer’s memory: information goes in, is stored, and is retrieved at a later date when you need it. Sure, there might be trouble retrieving at times: you only have perfect recall ability if you’re Sherlock or you take narcotics like Bradley Cooper in Limitless, but all the data is in there somewhere, right? Unfortunately for the pharmaceutical industry, it’s […]
Best. Comic Strip. Ever.
Calvin and Hobbes is without a doubt the best comic strip ever written, and if anybody disagrees with me they can meet me in Weehawken tomorrow morning with pistols drawn. I don’t know of any other comic strip that can veer from the pure joy of a 6-year-old and his best friend to existential musings within the span of 4 frames. It’s also hilarious, which you would think would be a given for this medium, but so many strips out there have continued for decades […]
Ya wee scunner, if it’s nae Scottish it’s crap!
The nice thing about living with another book lover is that when I’m between books and want to pick up something to read, I can just peruse the shelves, and I’m sure to find something new. The upside is this can lead me to discover books I would probably never have sought out on my own. The downside is my options are often limited and are heavily weighted towards nautical fiction and British history. So recently when I was trying to decide on what new […]
This return to childhood never disappoints (a slightly feminist review)
I’m not sure how old I was the first time I encountered The Phantom Tollbooth, but I do recall that my first exposure was in an anthology in an elementary grade reading class. We read the chapter on the Royal Banquet, where Milo is forced to “eat his words.” It strikes me that this book is likely the first exposure kids have to really understanding figures of speech and the complexity of the English language. For those who haven’t read The Phantom Tollbooth, well first […]
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