Wobble Talk And Fighting Words In English

by Kevin Burton    Here’s one subject that never came up when I was teaching English in Mexico – thank God!    In English, when you see the vowel combination “ae” how do you pronounce it?    This was brought to my attention on an otherwise glorious Saturday morning by our friends at the Merriam-Webster …

Looking For A Spark In A Springsteen Song

by Kevin Burton    My favorite Bruce Springsteen song was born of irritation and is marinated in frustration.    I seem to have slipped into it comfortably, as one might slip into a t-shirt and jeans.     Here is how the song came to be, according to SongFacts:    “Springsteen wrote it after his manager, …

Love Is Growing New And She’s Still The One

by Kevin Burton    Found a lyric last week that is so cool, I want to use it to tell my happy Valentine’s Day story.    This is what happens when my usual Tuneful Tuesday post coincides with Valentine’s Day.    The song “Still The One” went to number five for Orleans in 1976.  It’s …

Hey, Shouldn’t We Say Heels Over Head?

by Kevin Burton    Let’s face it, love isn’t usually something you can analyze scientifically. Some of our words and phrases of love don’t make sense either.    In honor of Valentine’s Day and with the help of Merriam-Webster dictionary, we looked yesterday, at where our love and romance words came from. We continue today …

Words Of Love For Valentine’s Day

by Kevin Burton    My love of words brings us to words of love today, courtesy Merriam-Webster dictionary.    Just in time for Valentine’s Day, words and phrases about romantic relationships. Once we get over being lovestruck and tongue-tied, here’s why we say it the way we say it: Goo-goo Eyes    “The term ‘goo-goo eyes’ …

Curiosity, Kevspeak And What To Call A Street

by Kevin Burton   I am a former fulltime newspaper reporter, but maybe my wife Jeannette would have been better than I was.    Maybe much better.    She stuns me with the questions she asks sometimes.  She’s just so curious.  Me?  I am so not curious, I’ve had to come up with a euphemism …

What Does It Take To Be A Screenwriter?

by Kevin Burton     Writer Lily Cooper, on the Grand Canyon University website, lists seven traits one needs to be a screenwriter.    Just about any kind of writing is interesting to me, so when my church offered a screenwriting class I jumped at the chance. I shared some of the details last Saturday (“My …

Words In Motion Gather New Meanings

by Kevin Burton   The friends you make later in life might be surprised to learn what you were like as a youth.    You’re older, we hope wiser, different is many ways for sure.    Some of the words we use go through a similar metamorphosis. Just as you might not be able to …

My Newest Venture: Screenwriting Class

by Kevin Burton    This is not exactly a call for people to get their popcorn ready, but I am now taking a screenwriting class.    If I’m not a fish out of water altogether, maybe I am a saltwater fish in freshwater. Or maybe I’m an old dog learning new tricks, to mix the …

More Words About Deep Thinking

by Kevin Burton    Last Friday I presented some of the words about thinking compiled by Merriam-Webster. Today I bring you the rest of their list.    Call this overthinking if you like. It wouldn’t be my first visit to that particular boulevard.     Whereas all the words I included Friday are useful, most of …