Monthly Archives: April 2013

The Changing Philadelphia Accent

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Roger Walck

We are only aware of our Philadelphia accent because we take a lot of good-natured ribbing about it.  We sound normal to ourselves.  We drink wooder and coughee, eat lots of beggles, root for the Iggles, and walk on the … Continue reading →

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Colorizing Photos with Photoshop Elements

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Roger Walck

Already I have been asked how I colorize photos (see previous posting) so easily and with no artistic talent.  There are several ways, but this is how I do it:  Open a blank, transparent layer on top of the original … Continue reading →

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Punctum and Alice Belin

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Roger Walck

I came across the word “punctum” in a New Yorker article years ago to indicate the sense of an inaccessible past in faded, old black-and-white photographs.  The word also has an obscure physiological meaning, something in the structure of our … Continue reading →

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Depends on Your View

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Roger Walck

A recent forwarded email had a slideshow of about a dozen beautiful nature photos and ended with the line, “If God made earth so beautiful, think what heaven must be like!” to which I can only reply heaven must be … Continue reading →

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Siddhartha and Red Fox/Second Hanging

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Roger Walck

While in the bargain section of Barnes & Noble recently, I spotted the slim book Siddhartha that brought back memories from long ago.  It was back in the 1960s that Suzy, the slim and pretty red-haired daughter of friends, lent me … Continue reading →

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Arson Extensively Damages LAHS

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Roger Walck

Penn Wood High School, formerly Lansdowne-Aldan High School, was extensively damaged by an intentionally set fire during the early morning of April 18th as reported by the Daily Times of Delaware County. The fire was located in the front lobby … Continue reading →

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WordPress Hack

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Roger Walck

You may have read in the news of an attack on WordPress of a giant botnet.  As a reader, you have little to fear.  People like me who log into WordPress with a username and password have more concern, but … Continue reading →

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New Spam Techniques

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Roger Walck

One of my small pleasures in life is matching wits with the spammers.  It’s pretty even. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.  I recently lost to one that was so good I couldn’t help but admire it. I opened this … Continue reading →

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Writing An Obituary

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Roger Walck

In an obituary of a prominent woman scientist, the New York Times opened the first paragraph noting that she cooked a “mean beef stroganoff” in her role of wife and mother.  They were quickly criticized as sexist for mentioning this … Continue reading →

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Unliberal Liberal Arts

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Roger Walck

”The Golf Shot Heard Round the Academic World,” by David Feith, The Wall Street Journal, 4/6/2013. The incident began innocently one day when the president of Bowdoin College was having a friendly golf match with an important philanthropist, a potential … Continue reading →

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