My favorite blurb of the movie was from the FT, which declared it "worryingly erotic"

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries Amazon.com: Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries: 9781101870945: Stamper, Kory: Books

And friends, if you haven't read her “Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries,” hop to it. It is such a delight.

www.amazon.com/Word-Secret-...

Aha! @korystamper.bsky.social’s new book arrived today, and the week ahead is suddenly immeasurably brighter!

3. Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken:” written to mock an indecisive friend, now interpreted as salute to individualism

2. “Funeral Blues” by W. H. Auden (“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone”): written to satirize the exploitation of tragedy for political gain, now quoted earnestly at funerals →

What else belongs on this list?

1. “Schrödinger's Cat:” invented as a send-up of Bohr and Heisenberg, now invoked as a demonstration of quantum mechanics →

I wonder who else it's said that about?

I'm going to be mightily disappointed if they don't respond to each one with “yup, it’s a bug”

This is really worth a look:

Today I learned that Cambridge University has published high resolution photographs of their collection of Baskerville punches. Cue the revivals!

Jean Widmer, Designer of Celebrated French Graphics, Dies at 96

One of the great logos, achieving everything that we hope for: it’s meaningful, recognizable, relevant, practical, reproducible, memorable, and fun. RIP, Jean Widmer.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/a...

H-Bomb: A Frank Lloyd Wright Typographic Mystery The famed architect made a surprising error on one of his most notable buildings — or did he? A deep dive to uncover the truth.

In December, I casually sent a vacation photo to Paul Lukas, a friend and fellow obsessive, because it had an inverted “H” that I knew would give him a giggle, or vex him, or both. Two months later, amazingly, these 2,000 words:

www.inconspicuous.info/p/h-bomb-a-f...

Fantastic, Brendan — thank you for finding this and sharing it! (Off to smear some mentholatum under my nose, à la “Silence of the Lambs,” and see if that holds back the nausea.)

I’m really glad they left “regulating commerce” on the table for all those Star Wars prequels.

Surely someone has tracked his collected posts, and scored them by how quickly he makes them about himself. At 39 words, this feels about at par, but I’m not a scholar, and lack the constitution to wade any deeper.

HOW have I never known the word “logodaedaly”?

I thought Pillion was (10^24)?

Not many people remember that Washington’s father created the role of Val in “A Chorus Line”

Say what you will about AI, but it's the only technology that’s ever managed to effectively combine mansplaining with the ritual apology

Now I'm hearing this to the tune of "Que Sera, Sera"

Posted without comment

Note, he mentions “Killybegs, Kilkerry, and Kildare,” but can’t do a fellow a solid and include “Killarney,” which is a perfectly respectable variety of raspberry plant. This obvious fact, known to me for nearly one full minute, could have cemented a highly asterisked half victory on a technicality.

"Ish," he says! (How's The Kale In Glocca Morra?)

Me, incredulous: “Sumbitch mentions rutabaga, arugula, and even *rampion,* but can’t slip us a little *kale*?”

A great piece of information visualization by Prof. Christina Pagel — and maybe the first time I’ve ever seen a toggle between “Classic UI” and “New UI” that shows two equally great interfaces. Bookmark and share!

The good news is that you never need to say “Ixflinambdafrt,” you just need to remember that it’s the thing your doctor interchangeably refers to either by its trademark name “Celefebraxis” or its category name “the modal BFAI inhibitor”

The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.

The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.

https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3

I'm right there with you! We talk about this a lot: the yearning to create, and connect with people and things in a more meaningful way, for a simpler, uncomplicated way of life. Which is I assume what it means to establish, fund, and operate a not-for-profit arts foundation in a remote locale

Also a portable MRI

(Indeed, “The dictionary” is a red flag!)