S is for Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904-1991) is pronounced “Zeus” in English, like the Greek god. And he is a, if not the, godhead in the pantheon of English literacy. In a hilarious reading of Green Eggs and Ham, the Rev. Jesse Jackson called him a “latter-day saint”. He was a third-generation German-American who grew up […]
R is for the 3 Rs
The three Rs? They are “reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic”. Sir William Curtis (1752-1829) called the foundations of a basic education, reading, writing and arithmetic, the 3 Rs around 1825, when he was well over 70. Was he aware of the irony of his words? Was he funny or illiterate? Sir Billy Biscuit’s origins were modest. […]
Q is for question
I have a question. Ich hätte da mal ‘ne Frage. Dear Germans, liebe Freunde, we English speakers sometimes complain that you can be so direct that it’s almost rude. And yet you have the very charming habit of adding that little introductory phrase, I have a question, when you want to ask one. It’s almost […]
P is for Pooh Bear
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne (Illustrations by E.H. Shepard) is the first book I remember having read to me. Every character rings true, every scene feels right. As a child I dragged my stuffed animal behind me just like Christopher Robin did his, and perfectly understood the “thump, thump, thump” of Winnie ther […]
O is for old
In the olden days… — The Germans say: Damals… In alten Zeiten… And that is usually the beginning of a story. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But this man has some new tricks to teach you about how to get “old dogs” to tell you really good stories about the olden days. […]
N is for notes
Love notes … “I love you” the note informed him. However, this was no ordinary note. This piece of paper had a mind of its own and was going to do everything in its wafer-thin power to unite a slightly naive boy with an intriguing girl from the other side of the tracks. Directed by […]
M is for the movers and shakers
Movers and shakers are people who initiate change and influence events, now most often applied to the rich and powerful in politics and business. The public perception of the term began after the first performance of Sir Edward Elgar’s choral work The Music Makers, in 1912. The work is a setting of Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s 1874 […]
