I took a look at animal intelligence yesterday. In it, I mentioned the literal size of a bird brain. But. To call someone a “bird brain” is a figurative way of saying that they are not very intelligent or, perhaps, they have a lack of common sense. It implies that the person’s mental capacity is […]

I visited Maryland yesterday in so many ways. In all of that, I mentioned Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, and hence, the Baltimore Ravens. It only seems right that I should carry over with today’s blog, that glorious raven. I know. I’ve written about them before. But this time will be different, I promise. Sure,

Returning to the thoughts from yesterday, I talked about foxes and FOX News. I also mentioned a poll conducted by the University of Maryland. And that got me thinking about that state on the east coast there. Maryland. I’ve been there a couple of times. Maryland is one of the oldest states in the country

Oh, back to yesterday, I wrote mostly about the alphabet. But I mentioned those quirky pangrams, most notably, that very quick brown fox jumping over the insufferable lazy dog. And it made me wonder about the fox. Are they quick? Are they brown? As it turns out, I learned a few things. For one, the

And we’re back.Yesterday, I wrote a few things about Broadway and mentioned that they’d taken the letter “I” right out of their seating alphabet. Oh, the alphabet. The English Alphabet.We know it well. Most of us learned the alphabet by the time we hit kindergarten. But we probably had an early jump, as it mostly

Yesterday, I talked about our interest in the lives of the people who came before us. The history. And therein, I mentioned Alexander Hamilton. Of course, these days, and most days since August 5, 2015, when I hear “Hamilton,” I think of the widely successful musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. That performance is still running on

Yesterday I mentioned being interested in the life of Gertrude Bell. Apparently, I am not alone when it comes to being interested in other people’s lives. Because according to several sources, there are between 10,000 and 20,000 new biographies published each year in the United States. This number includes both traditional and self-published biographies. People

Yesterday, I mentioned Oz. One of the munchkins was named Gertrude H. Rice. I don’t know any Gertrudes. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever met a Gertrude. There have been some famous ones in history. Probably the most recognizable is Gertrude Stein, the author and so much more.Many times, the name “Gertrude” is given