Category Archives: Language & Etymology

No middle way out of the waste land?

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

I just love the March 6, 1950 cover of Time magazine, which depicts T.S. Eliot poised between a cross over his left shoulde, and a martini (or is it a grail?) on his right. The caption below reads, “No middle … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Language & Etymology, Poetry, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Brief Note from Scotland

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Uncomely and Broken

Today and tomorrow, I’m at the Celtic Classics Conference, being held at Saint Andrews. It’s a lovely town by the sea ( pics below), with famous golf courses and some grand old university buildings, none of which the conference is … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Classics, Language & Etymology, Poetry, Scotland, Sports & Games, Trees & Flowers | Leave a comment

Head-copping

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Uncomely and Broken

An evening or two ago, I stopped into Mooney’s, the great little local market just on the border between Sewanee and Monteagle, to pick up some garlic powder. I had paid for it, when it occurred to me that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & Etymology, Sewanee, Tennessee, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Regnet Pax Omnem Per Terram

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Uncomely and Broken

This morning’s Sewanee Elementary School assembly was a real treat–this year’s petition for peace for the Peace Pole was in Latin: “Regnet Pax Omnem Per Terram.” To prepare, Kathryn Gotko Bruce had the 4th grade students do some study on … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Education, Emblems, Language & Etymology, Music, Sewanee, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Protected: What’s in a Place-name?

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Uncomely and Broken

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Posted in Drama, England, Ireland, Language & Etymology, Military, Sewanee, Slavery, The South, Uncategorized | Enter your password to view comments.

Protected: Julius Caesar, the Hulk, and other Illeists

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Uncomely and Broken

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Posted in Cartoons, Classics, Drama, Language & Etymology, Poetry, Uncategorized | Enter your password to view comments.

Facing Demons in Etruria

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

Out to Fiumcino airport I went, thinking it would be easier to deal with a car rental there and get on to the E80 to Cerveteri and Tarquinia to look at the Etruscan tombs. Alas, Avis at FCO was an … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Boston, Cemeteries & Funerals, Classics, England, Italy, Language & Etymology, Music, Mythology, Oxford, Poetry, Rome, Sports & Games, Time | 1 Comment

High Hosey

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

The other day I asked my wife whether she had ever used the expression “high hosey,” as in “High hosey the front seat.” It means, in essence, to reserve or “call dibs on” something. Although she grew up in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, England, Family, Language & Etymology | 7 Comments

Interview with Chrigel Glanzmann of Eluveitie

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

Below is an exchange I had recently with Chrigel Glanzmann, the lead singer of Eluveitie, the Swiss folk metal band on whose work I’m writing I’ve written an essay (comparing it to Charles Gleyre’s “The Romans Going Under the Yoke”).  … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Education, Ireland, Italy, Language & Etymology, Military, Music, Rome, Trees & Flowers | Leave a comment

Sight and Sounds of the Monteagle Flea Market, late June 2015

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

The man selling homemade pork rinds is telling a customer, “Oh yeah, Obama’s got this country all screwed up. It’s gonna be World War Three.” I assume he’s talking about the Supreme a Court’s recent ruling on gay marriage, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Birds, Cartoons, Emblems, Family, Language & Etymology, Military, Music, Race, The South | Leave a comment