Archive for November 2020

Thanksgiving for foods -- some thoughts from Bartlett's

Thanksgiving for foods -- some thoughts from Bartlett's
Sometimes I think I will scream if I hear or read one more story about Thanksgiving that centers around food. A day to give thanks is not meant to be a day all about food and eating. Not all. But being thankful for food — particular, special food, whether it’s available only at “the holidays”... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
November 25, 2020 at 11:22 am
• 2 comments

Zoom: It's the '60s PicturePhone come true

Zoom: It's the '60s PicturePhone come true
When I’m getting ready for a meeting on Zoom, from a committee to coffee hour after church, I find myself thinking of my mother. She died in March 2006, but she saw one of the problems with Zoom, or at least with one of its forerunners. When we went on a family trip to the... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
November 21, 2020 at 9:01 pm
• 6 comments

Thoughts from Bartlett's Quotations: Thanksgiving

Thoughts from Bartlett's Quotations: Thanksgiving
The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 250,000 people in the United States alone.  A quarter of a million people are dead. It’s enough to make one think that not only Thanksgiving plans, but perhaps the holiday itself, should be canceled. That thought has crossed my mind — and left it. Looking up quotations... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
November 19, 2020 at 1:16 pm
• 2 comments
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Rest and be thankful: Quotations from Bartlett's about thanksgiving

Rest and be thankful: Quotations from Bartlett's about thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving began to mentioned in the broadcast and print media, I immediately started hearing complaints about how it will be a different holiday this year: relatives can’t come, or we can’t go to them; we won’t be able to eat together; we may not be able to get the usual treats to eat. It... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
November 17, 2020 at 10:13 am
• 9 comments

Happy birthday, Robert Louis Stevenson -- like it or not

Happy birthday, Robert Louis Stevenson -- like it or not
I’ll be spending some time today in the Imaginary Writers’ Room, because it’s a unique occasion.  Robert Louis Stevenson was born on Nov. 13, 1850. He didn’t celebrate every birthday before his death on Dec. 3, 1894 — and not (just) because of his poor health. He legally gave away his birthday.  The little daughter... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
November 13, 2020 at 6:27 am
• 2 comments

Defending a word, as is my wont

Defending a word, as is my wont
Our old chambers had been left unchanged through the supervision of Mycroft Holmes and the immediate care of Mrs. Hudson. As I entered I saw, it is true, an unwonted tidiness, but the old landmarks were all in their place. There were the chemical corner and the acid-stained, deal-topped table. There upon a shelf was... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
November 12, 2020 at 2:00 pm
• 2 comments
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I'll take Changing Slang for 800, Alex

I'll take Changing Slang for 800, Alex
I have loved watching “Jeopardy!” for years, from sick days as a kid watching Art Fleming to time between or after college classes watching Alex Trebek collecting the questions for the given answers. I loved watching it with my dad, and eventually even sharing it by phone. He would watch when he could and save... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
November 9, 2020 at 11:09 am
• 6 comments

Positivity is a bad thing -- Mr. Orwell, call your office

Positivity is a bad thing -- Mr. Orwell, call your office
You’ve got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative And latch on to the affirmative Don’t mess with mister in-between — from the song “Accentuate the Positive” by John Mercer and Harold Arlen The U.S. is facing a new round of shutdowns because of the novel coronavirus… the virus, for short. More than 225,000 people... Read more »
By Margaret H. Laing,
November 2, 2020 at 4:32 pm
• 11 comments