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Get to Know Your Orchestra Posted by Gary Locke on Nov 17, 2016
As the holidays approach, symphonies around the U.S. get a little less serious. One of the great treasures of any community is its musicians. In the United States you will find bands, orchestras, philharmonics, symphonies, and ensembles of all sizes playing every weekend. Most towns have some form of a brass or jazz band in…
Gender and the English Language Posted by Gary Locke on Nov 10, 2016
In many languages, nouns have a specific gender. They can be masculine, feminine, or even gender-neutral. Definite and indefinite articles, as well as adjectives, generally agree with the gender. Germanic and most Nordic languages have three forms of gender. Latinate languages have only two genders for everything. In French, for example, a garden is masculine…
U.S. Election Vocabulary Posted by Gary Locke on Nov 4, 2016
We’ve talked about the U.S. presidential election, but you may still find yourself hearing certain terms which you don’t fully understand. Here’s a handy vocabulary guide to words and phrases which take on greater significance in the United States every four years. Absentee ballot: A ballot which is filled out and usually mailed in by…
Weird and Wonderful: The Edgar Allan Poe Films of Roger Corman Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 27, 2016
Boo! Halloween is upon us, which means that a scary movie or two is almost required viewing in every American household. It’s also a time when lovers of literature tend to take out their volumes of Edgar Allan Poe to dip into the macabre stories and poems of one of America’s first full-time professional writers…
When Should You Use a Hyphen? Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 21, 2016
Let’s now discuss one of the most problematic issues in English grammar: When is the right time to hyphenate a word? This is problematic because most of the rules surrounding the use of hyphens aren’t absolute. Many grammarians use the words, usually and typically when describing situations which call for the use of hyphens. A…
Bob Dylan and the English Language Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 13, 2016
Bob Dylan is the 2016 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature. His work was specifically cited “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. The honor seems to directly expand the Nobel committee’s definition of literature, since many of Dylan’s lyrics rely on musical accompaniment and his unique voice to…
A Uniquely American Treat – Indian Pudding Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 6, 2016
The most distinctly American recipe may well be for Indian Pudding. I have a group of friends that I share meals with four times a year. The eight of us, four couples, gather at the home of one couple and enjoy laughs, catch up on what’s happening in each other’s lives, and indulge in lengthy…