Category Archives: Quotes

As every second post on this site is a quote. You’ll find a deep and broad variety of quotes under this category, which overlap with several other tags and categories. Many of the quotes are larded with links for deeper reading on the subject of the quote, or connections between the subject of the quotes and other people, things, or ideas. See the Taxonomies page for more about this category.

George Bernard Shaw on Morality

Posted on November 12, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Morality consists in suspecting other people of not being legally married.”

George Bernard Shaw

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.

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Cultural Literacy: Courtly Love

Posted on November 12, 2021 | Leave a comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on courtly love. This is a half-page worksheet with a three-sentence reading (the latter two of them longish compounds), and three comprehension questions. I guess this isn’t exactly a burning issue in social studies ritht now, but as I recall we were expected to address it in the freshman global studies cycle here in New York City–which is probably why I wrote it.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Curtain Wall

Posted on November 12, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Curtain Wall: This non-load-bearing wall was first made possible with the introduction of the structural steel skeleton in the Carson Pirie Scott store (Chicago, 1899-1904). Years later, Walter Gropius acknowledged that in ‘modern architecture the wall is no more than a wall or climate barrier, which may consist of glass if maximum daylight is desirable.’ As a result, in 1925-1926, he created the workshop wing for the Dessau Bauhaus which became the precursor to the characteristic glass box building of the International Style. See bearing wall.”

Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.

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Antithesis

Posted on November 11, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Antithesis (noun): The juxtaposing of contrasting words or ideas through parallel of balanced phrasing; rhetorical counterposing of opposites, as by asserting something and denying its contrary; the second or opposite element in an expressed contrast. Pl. antitheses; adj. antithetic, antithetical; adv. antithetically.

‘The poet ate his salad with his fingers, leaf by leaf, while talking to me about the antithesis of nature and art.’ Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar.”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

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Couplet

Posted on November 11, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Couplet: In prosody, a pair of lines forming a unit, usually either because they set off as a separate stanze or because they rhyme. The best-known couplet is the soc-called heroic couplet.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

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Women Beware Women

Posted on November 10, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Women Beware Women: A tragedy by Thomas Middleton (1580-1627). It has not been established when he wrote it (some time before 1622), but the works was published posthumously in 1657. The admonitory title primarily refers to the character Livia (although none of the other characters is particularly savoury). In the main plot Livia distracts Leontio’s mother with a game of chess while the duke seduces Leontio’s wife, Bianca. In the subplot Livia persuades her niece Isabella that she is not related to Uncle Hippolito, Livia’s brother, so that mutual lust may be consummated. The corpse count by the end of the play is high. Apparently T.S. Eliot was alluding to the scene featuring the game of chess in the title of Part II of The Waste Land (1922), ‘A Game of Chess’, although the only reference to chess is in the lines:

And we shall play a game of chess,

Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door.

Middleton’s political satire, A Game at Chess, which he wrote in 1624, was also admired by Eliot.”

Excerpted from: Crofton, Ian, ed. Brewer’s Curious Titles. London: Cassell, 2002.

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Stephanie Ericsson’s “The Ways We Lie”

Posted on November 10, 2021 | Leave a comment

When the English teacher with whom I work recently introduced Stephanie Ericsson’s essay “The Ways We Lie” late last week, I’d never previously seen it. If you search it, you’ll see that it is evidently in use in a number of schools around the country. It’s not especially profound, but it does touch on some of the my philosophical issues that lying and truth-telling raise. Ms. Ericsson has enjoyed a successful career as a writer and and actor, the latter of which surprised me.

In any case, here is a copy of the essay itself along with a contextual and learning support that I composed to attend it. The essay is in Microsoft Word, though I didn’t render it so, so I cannot vouch for it accuracy or fidelity; the contextual and learning support I did write, and, as below, if you find any problems with it, please advise. I copy-edited it twice, which doesn’t mean it doesn’t contain lapses or errors. There is a reason why professional writers–which I am not, alas–use the services of their publishers’ copy-editing offices.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Essays/Readings, Independent Practice, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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Term of Art: Tactile Defensiveness

Posted on November 10, 2021 | Leave a comment

“tactile defensiveness: Being overly sensitive to touch; withdrawing, crying, yelling, or strking out when touched.

Some experts believe that that tactile defensiveness is related to disorganization in the midbrain, which is responsible for filtering incoming stimuli and—when abnormal—may not screen out all excessive tactile stimulation. As a result, a person would register even the most subtle sensations as irritating or painful, so that the person may respond to touch by grimacing or pulling away.

The central nervous system relies on different sensory nerve receptors in the skin to monitor the environment: light touch (surface), pressure (deep), temperature (hot and cold), and pain. It is quite possible for a person with tactile defensiveness to have one type of receptor that is oversensitive and the rest be normal. This explains why a person could tolerate light touch but pull away from a firm hug or prefer to run outside with a coat but be content with haircuts.

The tactile defensive individual can experience great distress in the course of daily life, constantly being bombarded with raw sensations. A person might insist on wearing only very soft clothes with large head openings or refuse to wear jewelry (especially around the neck). The slightest bump from another person may feel like a threat, and his or her defensive response may appear to be impulsive or aggressive. People with this condition may dislike group games such as tag or dodgeball, and holding hands with a partner can be physically agonizing. A person with this condition may shrink from being touched, which prevents him or her from being able to interact with friends in a normal way. Daily personal grooming, including bathing, washing hair, trimming nails, or brushing teeth can also be interpreted as uncomfortable.”

Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

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Non-Finite Verb

Posted on November 10, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Non-finite Verb: also nonfinite verb. A form of the verb that does not display a distinction in tense, in contrast with finite verb (where there is a distinction between present tense and past tense: hopes, hoped). A non-finite verb is either an infinitive or a participle. There are two infinitives: the to-infinitive (‘Estelle wants to dance with Matthew’); the bare infinitive (‘Philip will come with Matthew’). There are two participles: the -ing participle or the present participle (‘James is playing cards’) and the -ed participle or (according to its function) the past participle or passive participle (‘James has visited me recently’; Jane was helped by Jeremy).”

Excerpted from: McArthur, Tom. The Oxford Concise Companion to the English Language. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

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Rotten Reviews: A Fan’s Notes

Posted on November 10, 2021 | Leave a comment

“Rotten Reviews: A Fan’s Notes

‘The book’s fault is its lack of passion.’

Library Journal”

Excerpted from: Barnard, Andre, and Bill Henderson, eds. Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1998.    

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