My diss is printed1 and I’d like to post photos of the pyramid of boxes, and the snazzy cover … but my camera has run out of batteries and won’t release said pics from its robotic claws.
In the meantime, then, a bizarre piece of lexicography:2 the second citation for “tarantula” in Dr Johnson’s Dictionary. It’s [...]
Here are some handy hints I can offer to UvA PhD students in the late phases of dissertation preparation.
Make sure you spell the name of the Rector Magnificus correctly, where it appears prominently on your title page (part of the boilerplate that “So-and-so has been awarded the degree of doctor…”). They’re picky about this: it’s [...]
At the restaurant the other night, I had a genuine spontaneous conversation in Greek. It went like this (while I was sitting with some folks playing music):
Μια κοπέλα με ρώτησε κάτι που δεν κατάλαβα. Είπα, “Δεν είμαι Έλληνας.” Είπε αυτή, “Δεν είσαι Έλληνας και παίζεις μπαγλαμά;” Εγώ: “Δεν είναι μπαγλαμάς! Τζουράς είναι!” Είπε “Συγνώμη”… και [...]
Here’s a photo my father Paul took.
It’s actually not a very big spider. What he did (I kid you not) is duct-taped a lens onto the front of his camera… backwards. Why this works I couldn’t tell you… but it’s why you get that awesome blurry fading effect: the depth of field very very shallow [...]