Speaking of writing ...

Here's a link to a Tech Nation interview with Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid, an account of the neurological processes involved in writing and reading, and, more finely, the different systems involved in handling alphabetic versus pictographic scripts, like those used by Chinese, Japanese, and some other Asian languages.

Another language dies ...

This time Bo, one of the world's oldest.

"Maverick?" Whoa, Dude ...

Well, it's the season for politics here in the US, even in bucolic, New Agey Asheville. Why, just Monday Barack Obama, tucked away at the Grove Park Inn to prepare for his most recent debate with John McCain, stopped by my favorite barbecue place for lunch. Unfortunately, unlike Chall Gray, I wasn't there. Today, though, I came across a little news that might be of interest to Senator McCain, the would-be "maverick":

Samuel Augustus Maverick (July 23, 1803–September 2, 1870) was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. His name is the source of the term “maverick”

Lesley in comments over at TBogg, adds:

Follow up. A Different Jake H. in SadlyNo alerted me to this article in the NY Times on the infuriated Maverick family. A double dose of awesome.

“I’m just enraged that McCain calls himself a maverick,” said Terrellita Maverick, 82, a San Antonio native who proudly carries the name of a family that has been known for its progressive politics since the 1600s, when an early ancestor in Boston got into trouble with the law over his agitation for the rights of indentured servants.

Terrellita Maverick, sister of Maury Jr., is a member emeritus of the board of the San Antonio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.

Considering the family’s long history of association with liberalism and progressive ideals, it should come as no surprise that Ms. Maverick insists that John McCain, who has voted so often with his party, “is in no way a maverick, in uppercase or lowercase.”

“It’s just incredible — the nerve! — to suggest that he’s not part of that Republican herd. Every time we hear it, all my children and I and all my family shrink a little and say, ‘Oh, my God, he said it again.’ ”

“He’s a Republican,” she said. “He’s branded.”

Branded by now in several other ways - and hopefully, in about four weeks, to be branded decisively in yet another.

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Photo: The original Maverick, Samuel, thanks to Wikipedia.

100 Words

For now, just a link to a list of 100 words that the editors of the American Heritage Dictionary say every high school graduate should know - mostly Latinate, but including "belie", "churlish", and "yeoman". Hmmm ...

A hat-tip to dailykos, where a few more folks, no doubt, will also see it.

Poetry to the rescue

Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert strip, lost his speaking voice, but was able to remap the connections between his brain and vocal chords, and speak again. How, you might ask? Well, by using one of poetry's old tricks.

(Thanks to Ezra Klein)