This day is designated as “Abet and Aid Punsters Day” … although I can’t say by whom. Punsters are people who enjoy paronomasia, or a ‘play on words’. Puns are phrases used in public speaking which deliberately exploit the confusion between similar sounding words in the name of humor. Some have beco ...
Time (as we all know) sometimes flies like a bird and sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether time is passing quickly or slowly. --- Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons (quoted by jerseygirl108 in literaryquotes today) Where does the time go? Halloween w ...
Mariano Rivera, on the float, was 5 for 5 in save opportunities while allowing one earned run in 16 innings this postseason. Photo: Josh Haner/the New//The New York Times Hundreds of thousands turned up for the Yankees victory parade today---wish I was there. Check out Mariano Rivera in the above ph ...
What the heck is “The Book of 5 Rings?” It’s a military strategy book, written in 1643 by a samurai named Miyamoto Musashi. It is said that Miyamoto-san never had a home, never bathed, never had any children, or women. On a side note, I can’t imagine why he never married, but I digress Miyamoto Mush ...
Being in Belém now means observing daily life and noting the differences with other cities in Brazil and with where I come from. Here’s a few I’ve noticed in the last week. Ègua – In a post I did on common phrases here (in the Language section), I mentioned égua as a way to say something is really g ...
You would naturally assume that finding the dark purple color of açaí in Belém would be as omnipresent as the color green in the trees, especially since açaí comes from this region…but you’d be slightly mistaken. In Rio, you can find açaí ( na tigela, or in the bowl) in many places, from lanchonetes ...
I’m not sure if this is a construction feature particular to Belém and the North in general but most apartments and houses have holes in the walls. As you can see by the photo, I don’t mean residences are old and falling apart. The idea is a pretty nice one, assuming you own a rede de dormir (hammoc ...
Today is a national holiday in Japan called ‘Culture Day’ which promotes culture, the arts, and academics. First held in 1948, Culture Day commemorates the post war Japanese constitution. Typically, there are parades, award ceremonies, exhibitions related to the works of distinguished artists and sc ...
Happy All Souls Day / El Dia de Los Muertos. I think this day, in particular, is as magical as it is holy. I think there's so much to admire in cultures that remember their dead---an integral link to what it means to be human, and a caring society. Would that most of us could be remembered in so ima ...
