Author Becky Garrison from Greater Portland, Oregon, has been a professional writer since 1994 with experience in nonfiction book, magazine, and online writing. She received a dual MDiv/MSW degree from Yale Divinity School/Columbia University in 1992, a background that led her to write about the rise of secular spirituality, religious satire, and faith & politics, […]
Let’s Talk! – What’s in a name?
This week’s dinner pondering is about a quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It’ s claim is that naming is irrelevant, as “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet”. In linguistic terms this means that the signifier doesn’t determine the significant. Let me claim that this might […]
Across the Fence: Wirtschaftswunder
You probably have heard of this Germanism in the English language, describing the “economic miracle” that happened to Germany after World War II. The Wirtschaftswunder (pronounce: ‘veert-shafts-voon-dah) was the rapid reconstruction and development of the Western German (and Austrian) economy after complete devastation. The term was apparently coined by The Times in 1950. This song […]
Letter: Violated Privacy
Have you ever had people enter your home on their own invitation? I’m not talking burglars. I’m talking about people who are “legally” entering your homes, walking around your private zones, such as your bedrooms, and basically see pretty much everything you own. Are you renting in the City of Lakewood, Washington? Then, it’s most […]
Let’s Talk! – Call of the Wild
Have you settled in comfortably, all screens off, to ponder another prompt which Tyrean Martinsson’s book gives us for today? You might expect me to go for the obvious, Jack London’s novel The Call of the Wild, the story about a pampered dog that gets stolen, sold, abused, and freed, eventually to find out that […]
Across the Fence: Sitzfleisch
The German language has a lot more humorous expressions than most people credit the “people of the poets and philosophers” for. Here’s one of those that has made it into the English language in its abstract meaning: Sitzfleisch (pronounce: ‘zits-flie-sh). It literally means flesh to sit on and describes a specific human body part, namely […]
Let’s Talk! – Cliffs of Despair
There is a place in England west of Eastbourne. It is known as Beachy Head. It is part of the Seven Sisters, a cliff formation on the Channel coast. Beachy Head is also referred to as the “Cliffs of Despair” in Tom Hunt’s book of the same title (Tyrean Martinsson’s book has thrown me another […]
Across the Fence: Mannschaft
Looking into lists of Germanisms in the English language, I recently came across one that astonishes me and that I have never heard anybody use before. “Mannschaft (pronounce: ‘munn-shufft, meaning team) apparently refers to Germany’s national male soccer team whereas “Nationalelf” (pronounce: ‘nut-sea-o-naahl-elf, meaning national eleven) is the nickname for Germany’s national female soccer team. […]
Let’s Talk! – The Moment Before the Alarm Goes Off
It’s only shortly after one in the morning. Why am I awake already? It makes no sense at all. I still have another three hours till my iPhone’s melodious sound will do its work to rouse me from Morpheus’ arms. How lovely to know. How relaxing, right?! Ah, wishful thinking. I change my position in […]