Well it’s another dark Sunday morning and I’m doing my blog. I actually don’t have much to blog about today. My life is settling down a bit with a few less things cluttering my days during Spring Break. That’s nice.

I picked up Sarah Schulman’s Rat Bohemia last night and read the first five chapters. Sometimes I need an antidote to living in an insular little city in America at a time of when reactionary weird conservative illiterate misinformed stuff seems to dominate. Maybe I’m just drowning in silly America. Who knows? But Schulman’s a nice antidote.

I feel like I’m not doing my part lately by omitting links. Part of the expectation I have when I go to blogs is to be linked in to something interesting. So in that spirit here are few this morning.

OED quarterly update: March 2014 | OxfordWords blog

I love it that the Oxford Dictiionary’s blog uses pictures to illustrate new words they are adding.

Ralph Ellison’s Record Collection : The New Yorker

One of the best parts of visiting people is checking out their collections of books and music. I haven’t read this article yet but it looks like fun.

As Owners of Roadside Institution Enter

Political Fray, Texans Weigh Their Loyalties

Fun little read with lots of Texas characters.

The Science of Older and Wiser – NYTimes.com

Lots of interesting info in this article including

3 key components of wisdom:

cognition, reflection and compassion.

5 elements of personal wisdom

self-insight;

the ability to demonstrate personal growth;

self-awareness in terms of your historical era and your family history;

understanding that priorities and values, including your own, are not absolute;

and an awareness of life’s ambiguities.