The price of relevance is fluency

“You can’t say anything anymore! You can’t even make jokes!” There’s a constant complaint from people in positions of power, mostly men, who keep making the...

Pidgins and Creoles

Though I’ve been familiar with the terms for years, I wasn’t sure of the exact differences between a pidgin and a creole. So: A creole is the combination of one...

Inequality

Maciej is (1) a friend (2) very funny and (3) in agreement with my beliefs, so I couldn’t resist linking to Dabblers and Blowhards , his new essay. But the key...

Useful Analogies

Now that we’re in the last few months of the Era of Pop-Ups on the web, I’m kind of curious what the annoying ad format means. I think pop-ups are distinct from...

History of Utensils

The History of Eating Utensils . Dig in.

RCB on polygyny

RCB has written an illuminating essay on polygyny , it’s a terrific read. She had given me a briefer version of these thoughts this weekend, but seeing the...

National Anthropological Archives

The National Anthropological Archives website offers a wide range of fascinating information, with exhibits favoring research on the indigenous peoples of North...

The Ainu people, the aboriginal

The Ainu people , the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan, have fewer than 100 surviving full-blooded members. There’s something terribly heartbreaking just...

I really must be a

I really must be a product of my culture, this is the goverment homepage of the state my parents are from. Absentmindedness as a tribute to one’s heritage…?

At long last, the mystery

At long last, the mystery is solved ! The incredibly complicated layout of street numbers and addresses in Queens apparently does follow a pattern. This article...