Monthly Archives: March 2024

Parapros . . .What??

I never encountered paraprosdokian before, but I liked it as soon as we met. David Bordwell introduced us, by way of his 2016 book, The Rhapsodes: How 1940s Critics Changed American Film Culture. Bordwell, one of my husband’s favorite critics, … Continue reading

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The Horseless Dashboard

The term dashboard dates from the 1840s or so. What? you exclaim. There were no cars in the 1840s! How could there have been dashboards? You’re right about cars, of course. Karl Benz developed the first car in Germany, acquiring … Continue reading

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Baltimore Boys

I wrote about R. Eric Thomas here, describing Thomas’s hilarious take on Mister Rogers and the mythical land of Bubbleland in his book of essays, Here for It, or, How to Save Your Soul in America. Last week I read Thomas’s … Continue reading

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