Author Archives: sputterpub

Neat Freaks and Hoarders

Posted on June 27, 2011 by sputterpub

  I mean: minimalist or collector? It seems to me that one of the ways we can classify folks is into two categories based on how many possessions they aim to acquire. I’m not into having stuff. Never have been. When … Continue reading →

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Wraith

Posted on June 24, 2011 by sputterpub

   I encountered different hints at origin when I looked up “wraith” in my Webster’s Unabridged (1979) and on the Internet. I googled the word and peeked at the first four definitional sites, and all of them said “origin unknown.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Language, Poetry | Leave a comment

My Father’s Speeding Ticket

Posted on June 23, 2011 by sputterpub

   I love it when this blog provokes a reader to recall and tell a memory. That happened recently from my mother; she came by on a Saturday and we strolled from my place to lunch on College Avenue, and … Continue reading →

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Cucumber

Posted on June 22, 2011 by sputterpub

I was walking to work awhile ago when I considered the word cucumber. Here’s a random group of facts I’ve collected about it. The word has been in our language since the late 14th century. It came to us from … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Language | 2 Comments

Rats

Posted on June 21, 2011 by sputterpub

I’m sitting in my Berkeley office, which is an uninsulated small structure described by building inspectors as a pretty shed. It has a big desk, plenty of wiring, and several windows, so it’s a nice spot for working in or … Continue reading →

Posted in Critters, Poetry | Leave a comment

Dirty Books

Posted on June 20, 2011 by sputterpub

     The first suggestive book I ever held was my father’s copy of Candide. I have the volume here, with its “Ex Libris” bookplate and its penciled $1.50 used-book price. It was published by Hartsdale House in New York, in … Continue reading →

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Quit Yer Bellyachin’

Posted on June 15, 2011 by sputterpub

Another art gallery is about to close. It hardly matters where; they’re dying like flies trapped in a closed summer cottage. I don’t know how the for-profit galleries are doing in big cities, but the “community” galleries aren’t commercial. They’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncle Upset | 2 Comments

Decompression

Posted on June 10, 2011 by sputterpub

   I did some desert camping in the 1990s, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. Always before I’d headed for the mountains or the seashore, but in my 40s I began to appreciate the silence, solitude, and … Continue reading →

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Thayer House

Posted on June 9, 2011 by sputterpub

  There were so many of us kids in the 1950s, with parents all revved up about the American dream, that communities were forced to be eccentric about schoolhouses and calendars. Historic buildings were converted to limited-grade schools, split sessions … Continue reading →

Posted in School | 7 Comments

Rapture

Posted on June 8, 2011 by sputterpub

There was talk about a Rapture up to a couple of weeks ago. We expect it to resume some in about five months, but probably less than this spring. Among the sardonic comments, the sarcasm, the jokes, I heard occasional … Continue reading →

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