hmmn

Now my father is in the biz, so I know mistakes can obviously happen in any newsroom, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how some editor (or intern?) substituted Japan for Hong Kong in the headline for a story of yet more SARS-related deaths in Hong Kong, as pictured above (the [...]

On Monday, the Finnish parliament voted Anneli Jaeaetteenmaeki into office as the next Prime Minister of Finland, the first Finnish woman to hold the post. Her appointment also means that Finland is the only country in Europe with both a female president (Tarja Halonen, elected 2 years ago) and a female prime minister. Now, I [...]

Fred over at Fragments at Floyd wants “awe” back and offers some replacements for consideration: Shock and Terror. Shock and Fear. Or Shock and Dread. Here are a couple more: what about “Shock and Killing,” or “Shock and Destruction?” Oh right, one can’t be that literal, that truthful. The real shock: the way that language [...]

One of the books I contemplated buying at the book sale I previously wrote about was a nice Penguin edition of Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary. But from reading the preface I noticed that the book was in the public domain, so I figured it must be available online, and thus didn’t ultimately buy the [...]

Japanese writer Natsuki Ikezawa, together with photographer Seiichi Motohashi, has published a small book about his trip to Iraq last Fall, entitled “On a Small Bridge in Iraq.” An English version of the book is available online for free, in .pdf format (requires Adobe Acrobat), here. (It can also be purchased in print form for [...]

In my small night, alas the wind has a rendezvous with the leaves of trees In my small night rests the fear of ruin Listen… Do you hear the blowing of the darkness? I look at this good luck like a stranger I am accustomed to my hopelessness Listen… Do you hear the blowing of [...]