JohnnyO once discussed his ‘Wheels On The Bus’ iphone app that allows the user (his daughter, in his case) to play back the song in a number of different languages. All is good until you get to the German version, where the singer is breathlessly rushing to keep up with the music— such is the syllabic [...]

Though I’ve left the Czech Republic for Germany, I feel obliged to keep up America’s favorite ongoing blog series, The Mysteries of Czech Language. Czech language has a built-in structure where you can form diminutives from just about anything. A waitress at our favorite Prague restaurant seemed to have a nervous disorder that compelled her [...]

One of those semi-incriminating cached searches that come up on your iPhone when you don’t have a good alibi ready: Along similar lines, I wonder if the mysteries of Czech language point towards a secret unholy marriage between rhinoceroses and unicorns: Rhinoceros = nosorožec, meaning ‘Nose horn’ Rhinoceros visual aid: Unicorn: jednorožec, meaning ‘One horn’ [...]

Two things I’m finding confusing right now: 1. Taste dissonance: grapes and raisins. Given that grapes and raisins are practically the same thing, you would expect their tastes to be complementary. So why is the experience of eating one and then the other in rapid succession so unappetizing? Try it for yourself– it’s surprisingly bad. [...]

Film director Elia Kazan, from an unpublished letter to Tennesse Williams. Kazan is asking Williams to add a speech in praise of bohemianism to his liberal-leaning script for “Camino Real”: A dying race call them what you will: romantics, eccentrics, rebels, Bohemians, freaks, harum-scarum, bob-tail, Punchinellos, odd-ducks, the out-of-steps, the queers, double-gated, lechers, secret livers, [...]

It also kind of looks like a martini. This question had been haunting me for years– thanks, Internet. Amidst all the proposals being floated around to balance the budget and save the US from crippling long-term debt (i.e. raising the retirement age and so forth), what about simply abolishing the Postal Service? It wouldn’t solve [...]

Yesterday’s befuddling-chat-of-the-day:

Favorite new Czech word: Zázrak. Means ‘miracle’. I can’t tell you how much enjoyment I’m getting out of this one. The next time something mildly surprising or fortunate happens, lift one hand, say ‘ZAAAAAZ-RAK!’ with great zest and make a face like Doug Henning (above). If you’re in a public place, just say it under [...]

How could I have forgotten Dr. Devil in my Czech product marketing update post from two weeks ago? He’s like the volatile yang to Mr. Proper’s orderly yin in the dramatis personae of our bathroom cleaning products.

My father was visiting last week. It took his discerning eye to draw our attention to the name of our current toilet paper brand, which I hadn’t noticed before: Happyend, a German brand. No word yet on the specific terms of this guarantee. Meanwhile, Mr. Clean has become Mr. Proper: Same guy, but over here [...]