Pencil sharpeners of the past
In action, from 1886 to 1920.
Orange Crate Art
“Office fritters”?
There comes a time when one throws up one’s hands in the face of one’s handwriting.
Nick’s Diner
A Gowanus location.
Hi and Lois watch
Raking leaves in July (?).
Today’s Saturday Stumper
“Scale model.”
🤫 🤐
Nothing says “nothing to see here folks” like a shushing emoji.
Reunion
From “The Place.”
Kindness as intelligence
J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois, in a commencement address at Northwestern University, June 12, 2023: “Over my many years in politics and business, I have found one thing to be universally true: the kindest person in the room is often the smartest.”
Las Meninas y Nancy y Sluggo
Like it says.
Velázquez and Tootsie Rolls
Ernie Bushmiller’s favorite artist and stock.
Nancy, writing by hand
Nancy has beautiful handwriting. And she’s using a dip pen.
An EXchange name sighting
From One Way Street.
A CMOS quiz
From The Chicago Manual of Style, a new quiz: Other Languages.
The pencil business
A classified ad in a movie.
Better living through TV
“How’d we ever get along without television?”
The mind-body problem
“Is it blowing on us and our feet?”
👍 ?
Does 👍 mean “I accept the contract that you just texted me,” or “I’m acknowledging receipt of the contract”?
Knees, outer, inner
From “The Pleasures and Sufferings of Young Gautama.”
The New Grown-Ups at Bandcamp
“The New Grown-Ups blend traditional folk, country, blues, Celtic, old time, originals, and bluegrass into a snafu of contemporary acoustic music.” They sound great.
Twelve movies
Hi-Jacked and others.
R. Bozzo
From 1913 to 1951, Ralph Bozzo ran this restaurant/coffeehouse.
Brooklyn in the news
In Greenpoint, pages from books and magazines strewn all over the street every Sunday.
Today’s Saturday Stumper
“What a loud barker might be called.”
Tony Bennett (1926–2023)
Alec Wilder on Tony Bennett.
Lisa Desjardins, Geoff Bennett, and Paul Offitt on RFK Jr.
Disease, death, and RFK Jr. Against disinformation.
Sardines, paste, pasta
Sardine paste, or pâté. And sardines with pasta.
Elements of Style reviewed
“At its best when it limns the gap between the seemingly straightforward advice of Strunk and White (use active voice, avoid needless words) with [and?] the messiness of the ensemble’s lived experiences”: from a Chicago Reader review of the Neo-Futurist stage show Elements of Style.
Ikea index-card stand
A repurposed phone stand.
Unchained medley
“You wanna go where everybody knows your name.”
Coming soon
Another indictment.