Category Archives: Writing

A Little Treasure (Island)

One of the very first “grown-up” books that I read as a child was a fabulous edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island. I can’t be certain, but I believe that it was a well-worn copy with wonderful illustrations by … Continue reading

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I would prefer not to

Writer Clive Thompson has created and shared a new online tool allows you to visualize any piece of writing by stripping away everything but its punctuation. His free web tool—”just the punctuation”—allows you can paste in any piece of text … Continue reading

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“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”

I must admit that I am more than a bit curious to see the latest film version of the sci-fi classic Dune. Although David Lynch’s Dune is regularly panned, I enjoyed it with some reservations when it was first in theaters. My first exposure … Continue reading

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Song of the Open Road

Feeling wistful and nostalgic these days for the open road. What better poet to capture the way of the road than Walt Whitman. Song of the Open Road, 4 The earth expanding right hand and left hand, The picture alive, … Continue reading

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Why Fall Into Autumn

Yesterday’s post got me thinking about why we English speaking folks in North America use both Fall and Autumn to describe the season between Summer and Winter. Why does it have two acceptable and apparantly interchangable names? And why do British speakers of English … Continue reading

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a wistful omen of the first sign of autumn

austice n. a wistful omen of the first sign of autumn—a subtle coolness in the shadows, a rustling of dead leaves abandoned on the sidewalk, or a long skein of geese sweeping over your head like the second hand of … Continue reading

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Who doesn’t love the Wizard of Oz

Here we are at the final day of the annual Banned Books Week and I just discovered that the beloved American children’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a banned book. In fact, for decades it was one of the most … Continue reading

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Encyclopedia of a world that does not exist

Over the years, I have run across a number of versions of the weird and wonderful Codex Seraphinianus. Along with English and French edtions, I have also seen an original Italian version from 1981. It’s difficult to catagorize this fascinating surreal fictionalized … Continue reading

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There is no telling where time is

This piece is from former British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes’s collection of poems Earth Dances, with original linocuts by British artist R. J. Lloyd and printed in 1994 in an edition of 250 copies signed by the poet and artist in 18 point Bembo and Bodoni on … Continue reading

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Foundation

I first read Isaac Asimov’s seminal science fiction Foundation trilogy as an adolescent. It was challenging and sometimes confusing, but worth the effort. So, I was excited to discover the new television series based on the iconic books that premiered last Friday. … Continue reading

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