Those who would like to retain the word prostitute often want to do so because it retains a dark, unhealthy stigma that they feel should always be associated with this activity. Those who would like to change the word often want to make prostitution seem like a healthy choice made by empowered women. Beyond the moral… Continue reading Sex Worker vs. Prostitute: When the Term Began
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Memory Scraps That Matter: Coffee, Peckers, and Bernstein
This isn’t about coffee or penises, but of course that’s what all you dirty-minded people care about. It’s about: stray advice from the ancient past that lingers in your mind, for no apparent reason. Why do we remember things? Why do we forget? We accept the forgetting part with age; it’s commonplace. The remembering part… Continue reading Memory Scraps That Matter: Coffee, Peckers, and Bernstein
Life and Death of the MidAtlantic Accent
From years of watching old movies I had heard the MidAtlantic accent but I had no idea what it was called. I found it oddly repulsive and attractive, all at the same time. It represented a kind of ivory tower British ideal, but because it distinctly had American tones, it was accessible. It’s Not MidAtlantic… Continue reading Life and Death of the MidAtlantic Accent
Err, Jibe, and Implosion: Mr. Trumbly Had It Right
At my high school was a teacher named Richard Trumbly. It didn’t matter if you had him as a teacher or not–you knew Mr. Trumbly. He was famous. He was famous for many reasons, but to pick just one? Well, he was famous for being nattily dressed and groomed–suits and pomaded hair–several full decades after… Continue reading Err, Jibe, and Implosion: Mr. Trumbly Had It Right
Illustration Art Mania
I’m obsessed. It began a few weeks ago when, on an Internet auction, I purchased an original drawing called “Rocket Speedway,” by Sidney Howell, executed in 1935. Howell was an artist who occasionally worked for Orton & Spooner. According to the University of Sheffield’s National Fairground Archives, Orton & Spooner major ride-builders and decorators based… Continue reading Illustration Art Mania