Lessons In Life, Death And A Glorious Hope

by Kevin Burton    In a nursing home there is life and there is death. Both are palpable, as ever before. But in all our salad days, we didn’t notice.    We were young, we were strong, energetic and smart. We were even hip, and sophisticated – well not quite sophisticated – but surely driving …

When In Denmark, Speak As The Danish Speak

by Dictionary Scoop    Coming from the Indo-European language family, Danish has some funny idiomatic expressions. Some will leave you scratching your head.    For example, “reading a horse.” What’s that all about? Continue reading to learn nine Danish expressions and their meaning translated. 1-Mind the cows    When life gets a bit hard, we all need …

Giving Women Credit Where Credit Is Due

by Dictionary Scoop    Did you know that women made many scientific contributions, but their names were hidden and their discoveries attributed to men?     This phenomenon is so common that it even has a name: the Matilda Effect. American historian of science Margaret W. Rossiter coined the term in 1993 in honor of Matilda Joslyn Gage, …

Jesus Can Heal Your Hurt, Even Church Hurt

by Kevin Burton    I have a friend, more of a Facebook friend really, who I wish would read these words. Chances are, you know someone is her position.    The person I am thinking of could not be any more dynamic, energetic, positive, intelligent. Some people just have that charisma that makes them stand …

Quibbles And Bits: Outlaw Z, Forgiveness

by Kevin Burton     Come and get it kids, quibble and bits, short takes, follow-ups from recent posts, bits of news…..    A day or two after I wrote about the letter Z and its two pronunciations (zed and zee), Meriam-Webster made “zeitgeist” its word of the day.    The dictionary says zeitgeist is “the …

Remembering The Man, Jimmy Carter

by Kevin Burton    Classes let out on the day of Jimmy Carter’s inauguration as the 39th President of the United States. So I watched part of it in the library at the Ohio State School for the Blind in Columbus.    Carter and his wife Rosalynn famously got out of their limousine and walked …

Cruise Ship Tourism Threatens Alaska’s Capital

by Christian Karim Chrobog The Guardian    “The noise never stops,” says Karla Hart, her voice competing with the hum of approaching helicopters. “I can feel them before I see them.” She looks at her phone to check a website that monitors air traffic and identifies operators. Hart wants to know whether the pilots are adhering …

Here’s The Nice Side Of A Rich Vocabulary

by Kevin Burton    Newsniks in general and I in particular have been accused of highlighting the negative side of life, seeking it out and advertising it.    That’s not entirely fair, but neither is it a ridiculous assertion.  It’s a discussion.    But now via Merriam-Webster and as has been sung by Bing Crosby …

Be Thankful To God, Stop Complaining

by Kevin Burton    I caught myself in a lie last week. Christmas music, in a manner of speaking, revealed it to me.    Stay with me here.    I have heard people talk about when it was OK to begin playing Christmas music each year, after Thanksgiving, end of November, whatever. But I haven’t …

You And Me, Digging Credence, By The Bog

by Kevin Burton     The Page 7 blog publishes five days a week, usually, and almost every time I post it, I tease it (verb) on Facebook.    A tease (noun) is like a little commercial. Mine are two or three-sentence previews that I write to try to get people interested in reading it.     …