Texas has only one Amerind "reservation". The Alabama-Coushatta (A-C) tribal lands are in Polk County, Texas, North of Houston. I have visited there and got to know many of the people. The tribal lands are full of activity in the Summer when tourist trade is best. Many teenage A-C boys and...

In my youth, I thought the Kickapoo Amerinds were a fictional tribe invented by Al Capp, the creator of Li'l Abner. In that comic strip, two very ugly Amerinds made Kickapoo joy juice and were perpetually drunk. Although I admired Al Capp, I thought he was going a little far to stereotype Amerinds a...

Slava, what a delightful malapropism: Procrustean for procrustian (a made up word). I am Procrustean in the same sense as Slava. I love crusty bread. But I do not insist the interior of the loaf be nice and soft in all instances. I like a variety of breads. Whole-meal breads do not tend to be nice a...

Timbuktu is in a lot of hurt right now. Muslim radicals do not believe in Muslim saints but the locals do. There are many tombs of Muslim saints in Timbuktu becasue it has been a center of Muslim learning for centuries. The radicals are destroying the tombs. I suggest Kalamazoo be added to the list ...

Bing Crosby Freedom Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7_VYn4MCII

A favorite actor and friend of many died Tuesday 2012JUL02. I know the Good Doctor held him dear and admired him. I am sure many of you did too. Some of you may be aware of his early years as a humorist. Griffith began his career with a recording of a monologue entitled “What It Was, Was Football”. ...

Did anyone look at the discussion thread from gocomics.com about the philosophical comic strip? I did, and I am so thankful for Alpha Agora. I agree with many of the contributions to Alpha Agora. When I don't agree, I respect them and usually understand them. By our name, we just attract superior co...

Now I understand, call_copse. It is the association of glossolalia with charismatic that was causing your puzzlement. In my cultural background, they go together and I never thought this was not universally the case. Sometimes I get a little provincial in my focus.

Lewis Carroll coined the phrase portmanteau word of which portmanteau is an example. If you have outgrown "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" then you have grown too much. About a sleeveless mantle, Slava: Mantles are sleeveless as are capes, cloaks, togas and s...

See solipsism in the comics. A strip called "Get Fuzzy" by Darby Conley gets philosophical in this Sunday's (2012JUL01) comics. Check it out. I don't sell newspapers and this is far from my favorite comic, but the philosophy spoof is enthralling.

Agreed.

A very interesting comment, Slava. Between losses incurred due to damage in transit (of which I was unaware), and mathematical average, the word meant a statement of medical estimate. I suspect the present common use of average does not take the precision required of a mathematical definition. "...

Having run the course on pronunciation, I would like to comment on the meaning of the word. The Good Doctor's definition is quite correct but it holds further meaning for me. I believe there are theological as well as philosophical aspects to solipsism. I believe there exists only one sin. It is the...

Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, I do not recommend "Tristram Shandy". One the other hand, after having mentioned it the other day, I am re-reading "Raintree County". It is a hard read because you are not always sure if you are in a flashback or a flash forward. The v...

I think looksome may be a gift of Applachian dialect to the world. The world, like Luke, has dismissed it as "old timey".