Lev Raphael's Blog, page 31

What's Up With Wolf Blitzer?

Listen to Wolf Blitzer for more than a few minutes and you'll notice that he has a very odd verbal tic: He obsessively punctuates what he says with "if you will."

He seems almost addicted to those three little words.

Now, "if you will" is an idiom that's a more formal version of "so to speak." When you use "if you will" you're indicating that what you've said might be a stretch. You're inviting your listener(s) to accept a usage that might be unclear, nonstandard, fanciful, or peculiar....

Before Black Friday, Thank Cynthia Ozick

If you look for a quote on gratitude to spice up an email, tweet, or Facebook post this Thanksgiving season, one of the top ones you'll find is by American novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick:

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."

It's everywhere: Goodreads, Tumblr, Pinterest, QuotesRUs -- you name it.

And with so many bogus quotes circulating by Twain, Wilde and any writer you can imagine on the Internet, I wondered. I'd read Ozick for years: novels,...

Give Thanks Today to Cynthia Ozick!

If you look for a quote on gratitude to spice up an email, tweet, or Facebook post this Thanksgiving season, one of the top ones you'll find is by American novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick:

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."

It's everywhere: Goodreads, Tumblr, Pinterest, QuotesRUs -- you name it.

And with so many bogus quotes circulating by Twain, Wilde and any writer you can imagine on the Internet, I wondered. I'd read Ozick for years: novels,...

Tis the Season to Be Grateful -- to Cynthia Ozick?

If you look for a quote on gratitude to spice up an email, tweet, or Facebook post this Thanksgiving season, one of the top ones you'll find is by American novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick:

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."

It's everywhere: Goodreads, Tumblr, Pinterest, QuotesRUs -- you name it.

But I've read Ozick for years: novels, stories, interviews. I've even reviewed her. She's got a dazzling mind, she's very funny, and she can be quite a...

Don't Miss "The Man in the High Castle"!

When I heard that Amazon was doing a miniseries based on Philip K. Dick's Hugo-winning novel from the Sixties, I realized that it had been sitting on my shelves between DeLillo and Didion for years. But somehow I'd never gotten around to reading it. Once I picked up the old paperback and dusted it off, I couldn't put it down.



Dick created something amazing: a beautifully-written dystopian sci-fi thriller (with a twist) that's also a spy novel and a psychological portrait of people living u...

Amazon's "The Man in the High Castle" is Chilling Wartime Drama

When I heard that Amazon was doing a miniseries based on Philip K. Dick's Hugo-winning novel from the Sixties, I realized that it had been sitting on my shelves between DeLillo and Didion for years. But somehow I'd never gotten around to reading it. Once I picked up the old paperback and dusted it off, I couldn't put it down.



Dick created something amazing: a beautifully-written dystopian sci-fi thriller (with a twist) that's also a spy novel and a psychological portrait of people living u...

The Man in the High Castle is Chilling Wartime Drama

When I heard that Amazon was doing a miniseries based on Philip K. Dick's Hugo-winning novel from the Sixties, I realized that it had been sitting on my shelves between DeLillo and Didion for years. But somehow I'd never gotten around to reading it. Once I picked up the 1992 paperback (with a weird cover) and dusted it off, I couldn't put it down.



Dick pulled off something amazing: a beautifully written dystopian sci-fi thriller (with a twist) that's also a spy novel and a psychological po...

The Vikings are Coming! The Vikings are Coming!

Have you noticed that Vikings are as ubiquitous as Zombies these days?

Well, almost.

There's the series Vikings with its haunting, gloomy theme song. That tells the story of the legendary fierce warrior Ragnar Lothbrook of the Danes as he battles in England. It's brilliant at creating a sense of another culture that's as violent as our own, but in completely different ways, and has its own code of honor.



Then there's the recent movie Northmen: A Viking Saga , which I found scenic and exci...

The Vikings are Coming!

Have you noticed that Vikings are as ubiquitous as Zombies these days?

Well, almost.

There's the series Vikings with its haunting, gloomy theme song. That tells the story of the legendary fierce warrior Ragnar Lothbrook of the Danes as he battles in England. It's brilliant at creating a sense of another culture that's as violent as our own, but in completely different ways, and has its own code of honor.



Then there's the recent movie Northmen: A Viking Saga , which I found scenic and exci...

Captured by Vikings

Have you noticed they're everywhere these days, coming in second to Zombies?

Well, almost.

There's the series Vikings with its haunting, gloomy theme song. That tells the story of the legendary fierce warrior Ragnar Lothbrook of the Danes as he battles in England. It's brilliant at creating a sense of another culture that's as violent as our own, but in completely different ways, and has its own code of honor.



Then there's the recent movie Northmen: A Viking Saga , which I found scenic an...