Quibbles And Bits: World Cup Edition

by Kevin Burton    How to wrap one’s heart and empathetic mind around the heartbreak for England as it coughed up a late lead to lose 2-1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals Wednesday?    Think of a Cleveland basketball fan watching Michael Jordan sink a jumper over Craig Ehlo in the 1989 playoffs …

The Soccer Match That Kicked Off A War

by Toby Luckhurst BBC In 1969, El Salvador and Honduras fought a four-day conflict that cost thousands of lives and displaced thousands more – a bloody struggle still remembered as the Football War.    It was 2-2 after 90 minutes at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. This was the third game between Honduras and …

Five Choices For Disaffected American Expats

by Blake Bachelor CNN    (Blogger’s note: Yesterday we ran the first part of a BBC story explaining why many Americans, especially retirees, are leaving for other places. Today reporter Blake Bachelor gives details of just where to go and how best to thrive there.)    Here are five countries that are well-suited for retirees. …

Seeking The American Dream In Other Places

by Blake Bachelor CNN     Drawn by sunshine or a lower cost of living, a growing number of Americans are choosing to live their golden years outside the US, in the hope that it will better suit their financial or lifestyle needs and wants.    While official numbers aren’t available, companies and organizations that specialize …

Ten Surprising Foreign Language Enclaves

by Dictionary Scoop    Migrations, trade, and other historical events have contributed to the spread of languages to regions far from their origins. But sometimes, we arrive at a new location expecting to hear a particular language, only to be surprised by the use of a language we wouldn’t expect.    Here are ten places in …

Quibbles And Bits: B-Side Fortune Cookies

by Kevin Burton    I list these songs below, and chances are you’ll pick up right away where I am going with them:    “Laughing” and “Undun” by the Guess Who, “It’s Too Late” and  “I Feel The Earth Move” by Carole King  “Who’ll Stop The Rain” and  “Travelling Band” by Credence Clearwater Revival, “Something” …

Can True Love Be Found At A Flea Market?

by Kevin Burton    The Burtons love a good farmer’s market. And the local weather has been conducive to attending the outdoor version.    So this could happen pretty soon. Sign us up!    A farmer’s market of course, is the much yummier first cousin of a garage sale.    But what of a flea …

Bet You Didn’t Eat These Things Yesterday

by Kevin Burton    You’re not even tired of turkey yet, as Thanksgiving was just yesterday.    Unfortunately for most of us the holiday is more of an annual “couldn’t eat another bite” day than a day of Thanksgiving to God.    Well here’s a list from Dictionary Scoop that may inspire you to wake …

Now The Dictionary Is Speaking My Language

by Kevin Burton    At one of my newspaper stops I was introduced to readers as speaking “fluent Spanish” That wasn’t, and isn’t, quite true.    But I do speak some Spanish and it has done me some good over the years.    How much Spanish do I speak? I once described it as “enough …

In Praise Of Mexico, Lettuce And Billy Joel

by Kevin Burton    On a tip from a new friend, I knocked on the door of Interlingua language school one day, and asked the good people there to employ me.    Shockingly, they took me up on it.    This was in the Reagan 80s. I was in somebody else’s country, Mexico, and somebody …