A bit of a meander here, but bear with me. First, Steven Pinker says something about the “n-word” that sounds reasonable but is pretty stupid, backing himself up with something even more stupid (that people somehow take seriously). Corey, AKA TiltedListener, does a fine job dismantling the latter sentence-by-sentence and Taylor Jones, a linguist cited in the article, demolishes whatever credibility is left. Where all this ultimately led me was to some writing about “ableist language”, which poses an ongoing challenge in my own speech. Particularly the word “crazy,” which, for some reason, I battle with myself about changing. || See also, John McWhorter’s interesting take on the poem that started the whole thing.

“Shocking” is right. → The Untold Story of Otto Warmbier, American Hostage

Forensic linguist reveals how murderer was snared sending texts because of commas || See also: Words on Trial and What is Forensic Linguistics?

Whither Clark Bars, Mary Janes, Thin Mints and the eponymous half-chalk-dust half-sugar wafers? → Necco shuts down abruptly, is sold

Fore-edge painting! → A Hidden Art Form You’ll Flip For (fore-edge painting) || Fore-Edge Paintings at the Lilly Library || Fore Edge Painting – An Introduction | On the Edge. Previously: The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd.

“Kurt Vonnegut compared the role of the artist in society to that of the canary in the mines: Both alert us to the presence of danger. The reading brain is the canary in our minds. We would be the worst of fools to ignore what it has to teach us.” → Screen Time Is Changing Our Brain Circuitry || Pairs well with Why ‘getting lost in a book’ is so good for you, according to science.

Katexic Clamorites know one of my favorite topics is words we mispronounce(d) because we learned them by reading. Daniel Midgley, host of the fab Talk the Talk podcast, proposes calling them “calliopes” (rhyming with ropes), “persephones” (rhyming with telephones), or “booklish.” Then he and the Speakeasy hosts share many great examples. → Speakeasy: accidental mispronunciations

I Say LOL, You Say Ek Number: How People Around The World Laugh Online

This week in visuals and visual art: The Daring Golden Bridge || Visarute Angkatavanich’s amazing betta fish photos || Dennis Isip – The Neon Archives

Today in 1927, Wings, the only silent film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture (at the first annual award ceremony in 1929), premieres at the Criterion Theater in New York City. Starring famed flapper Clara Bow, Wings not only set the standard for aviation films thanks to the technical achievement of its air-combat scenes, but was also the first movie to show two men kissing and among the first wide-release films to show nudity. This was perhaps in keeping with the debauchery around the set in San Antonio (where The Rough Riders was simultaneously being filmed), which director William Wellman would later describe as the “Armageddon of a magnificent sexual Donnybrook.” Remastered by Paramount in 2012, you can watch ► clips of wings on YouTube and, naturally, pay to see the rest.