Whenever I discuss the trip I took to Barcelona this past summer, the topic of language always comes up. Nearly everyone asks what Catalan is, having guessed that one would speak Spanish everywhere in Spain. In the case that they have heard of Catalan, they will erroneously consider it a dialect of Spanish. If they […]
What a Language Means: Catalonia’s Linguistic Pride Read More »
(Note: Pictured above are my Armenian-American friends, Artur Mazmandyan and Kristina Grigoryan, and their two daughters, Nelly and Siranush. Today they will honor the memory of their Armenian countrymen who died over one hundred years ago during the Armenian genocide. The family lives in Denver.) Over the weekend, I went to see The Promise, a
April 24 is Armenian Genocide Recognition Day Read More »
(Special this week to the Academic Redneck: guest columnist and Pikes Peak Community College student Tina Bopp discusses her efforts to overcome a learning disability. Tina is enrolled in my English Composition I class this semester.) When I first started going to school, it was evident that I had a learning disability called dyslexia. Dyslexia
Like Hula Hoops or Something Read More »
In 1996, Dolly the Sheep became the first creature ever cloned by science. Now, years later, geneticists have made yet another breakthrough. Using stem cells, a team of researchers at Japan’s Kyoto University were successful in creating the first artificial egg and sperm—of a mouse. Even more astounding, the fertilized egg actually produced offspring. Normal, healthy
The First Artificial Egg: Of Mice and More Mice Read More »
I was sitting on the wooden bench in the train station in New Haven, Connecticut when I spotted her. I poked my mom with my chubby four-year-old finger. “Why is that lady chocolate?” I asked, pointing at the African American woman who was walking across the station platform. “Don’t point,” my mother said while pushing
Attack of the Rabid Hamsters Read More »
Last week my colleague Jerome Parent wrote a column called “Donald Trump as Tricky Dick Reincarnated.” In it, he argues that the two presidents share uncanny similarities. Parent predicts that Trump will “meet a similar fate” as the president brought down by the Watergate scandal. On a positive note, I am encouraged that the
Trump as Tricky Dick? Steady On! Read More »