Saturday Cooking: Spicy Baked Shrimp

I relish the elegance of simplicity, and I savor good food.  After a friend prepared this straightforward shrimp dish for me, I asked for the recipe.  When we cooked the dish together, I admired it all the more for its ease and flavor. It gives me pleasure to share it here. Ingredients: three tablespoons extra [...]

Dichotomy: Childlike vs. Childish

As an English teacher, I strongly advocate subtlety and nuance in language.  Dichotomies often help me to draw out concepts. I have heard many adults–teachers included–say things such as, “Sometimes we need to let kids be kids.”  Most people understand the rough idea of that statement, tautological though it may be. The same adults, however, [...]

Celebrity

For over a century, we have lived in a mass-media culture.  In the latter half of the 19th century, the major mass media–books, magazines, and newspapers–took the form of the printed word.  Soon, audiovisual media came to prominence as well–cinema, records, radio, and television.  The internet has brought us digital manipulations of some extant media–particularly [...]

The Island

We sail to our sanctuaryOn Wednesdays and SaturdaysWe peel and chop on the eastern beachAnd carry our fare to the south endFor exquisite preparation.And while it warms, We spread a towel on the western edgeAnd place olives in cold, tiny glassesAnd stir our spiritsWith the long spoon of discovery.But always, always,We sip from our glassesAt [...]