Hill of Books

Pronouncing, Vocabulary Building, and Murals

July 3, 2015 by libroshombre

“Pronunciation Errors That Changed Modern English” was a fascinating TheGuardian.com article posted by David Shariatmadari in 2014. He noted that …
Continue reading

Category: etymology, libraries, vocabulary, words | Tags: etymology, murals, pronunciation, scrabble, vocabulary, William Berry, words

Vampires, Toilet Etiquette, and the Queen of Sheba

Leave a comment

June 23, 2015 by libroshombre

We’re forest dwellers, and our annual war with the carpenter ants has begun. This year’s invasion put me in mind …
Continue reading

Category: insects, libraries | Tags: Aksum, chocolate, libraries, Queen of Sheba, Seutonius, Tiberius, touilet paper, vampire ants

Aging Brains, de Montaigne, and Exquisite Pain

Leave a comment

June 22, 2015 by libroshombre

Some things do improve with age. In a psmag.com report by Nathan Collins last March, titled “Intellectual Abilities Don’t All …
Continue reading

Category: aging, France, translating | Tags: aging, france, French, French language, John Florio, mental ability, Michel de Montaign, Sarah Bakewell, Shakespeare, tourists, translating, translations

Babel’s Library, People’s Horsebreeder, and Cellular DNA

Leave a comment

June 8, 2015 by libroshombre

When Larry McMurtry, author of “Lonesome Dove,” the Great American Western Novel, was 18 and first entered the Rice University …
Continue reading

Category: libraries, organization | Tags: cells, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, horsebreeder, Jorge Luis Borges, Larry McMurtry, library of babel, Mx., organelles, RNA

Fact-checking, Skepticism, and Keeping Ahead of Computers

Leave a comment

June 3, 2015 by libroshombre

The origin of the word “debunking” came up in this space recently, and today I’m interested in debunking a myth …
Continue reading

Category: degrees, public libraries, words | Tags: Dave Allred, David Mikkelson, degree mill, Factcheck.org, nick begich, openinternational university of sri lanka, People's University, Robert Schiller, rogue, snopes.com, Texas Navy, urban legends

Guy-Ropes, Guy Fawkes, and Guys Read

Leave a comment

May 29, 2015 by libroshombre

Curious about the origin of the term “guy,” as in “Guys Read Program,” I turned to my trusty edition of …
Continue reading

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: American Language, boy's reading, Guys Read, h.l. mencken, libraries, reference services

Ironic Mindfulness, Forgetting to Remember, and Samuel Smiles’ Helpfulness

Leave a comment

May 28, 2015 by libroshombre

The world’s rich in irony if you’re aware of it. Take the word “mindfulness,” for example. A recent KUAC radio …
Continue reading

Category: memory, self-help | Tags: HDAC, memory, mindfulness, Rhys Davids, Samuel Smiles

Paying Homage to Marie of France, Edna of Abilene, and ILL

Leave a comment

May 12, 2015 by libroshombre

Let’s pay homage to our library’s interlibrary loan system (ILL). Through its services we can borrow practically any book on …
Continue reading

Category: interlibrary loan, libraries | Tags: Abilene, edna beasley, feudal system, homage, ILL, interlibrary loan, libraries, marie de france, my first thirty years, public libraries

Confusing English, Difficult Reading, and Bad Politics

Leave a comment

May 6, 2015 by libroshombre

The Atlantic Monthly is such a good magazine that I subscribe to it, even though I can read it, and …
Continue reading

Category: politics, reading | Tags: Atlantic Monthly, Bible, English Spelling Society, literacy project foundation, reading, repitition

Language Maps, Persistent Words, and Stereotypical Incomprehensibility

Leave a comment

April 27, 2015 by libroshombre

“25 Maps That Explain the English Language” is a marvelously informative way to look at our Mother Tongue. It’s difficult …
Continue reading

Category: English language, words | Tags: anglo-saxon, bi-lingual, great vowel shift, incomprehensibility, old english, words, wordsmith

Archives