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Tag: Language

When the Journey IS the Journey

October 12, 2025October 12, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 4 Comments

In the course of writing my whale-sized whaling novel, I've accumulated a long shelf's worth of books on whaling, and whales, and wooden sailing ships, and navigation---because for a nerd-brain like mine, at least half the fun is in the research and the details. the whaling "research library" For a nerd-brain like mine, having gone … Continue reading When the Journey IS the Journey

On Hobbits & Hobbit-Holes

a marine-themed study
October 11, 2025October 11, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 4 Comments

One of my favorite coffee mugs was a gift from my sister, covered all over with "famous first lines" of novels. I have a degree in English literature, and I still had to look a few of them up---I guess they can't all be "Call me Ishmael." But I do think there's one first line … Continue reading On Hobbits & Hobbit-Holes

“8 Things About Lists”?

ancient Egyptian abecedary
October 3, 2025October 3, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ Leave a comment

I could be said (with some amount of understatement) to have a penchant for list-making. I came by it honestly, if there's a gene for that---my dad actually kept a list of all his lists. (A meta-list?) I'm sorry now that I never asked him what his List List was for. Were there lists he … Continue reading “8 Things About Lists”?

Where There’s (NOT) a Will

Emilia Bassano Lanier holding a mask of Shakespeare's face in front of her
September 28, 2025September 28, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 4 Comments

I have a bone to pick with Professor Williams. In an entire college semester of a class devoted exclusively to Shakespeare's work, he never once mentioned that there was any question about who had actually written those works. That feels to me like a massive omission. The omission itself tells me Professor Williams's stance in … Continue reading Where There’s (NOT) a Will

Between the Covers

December 11, 2020December 11, 2020 ~ Kana Smith ~ 7 Comments

Hey, take your mind out of the gutter! BOOK covers. I'm between the BOOK-covers of one of the hilarious social commentaries novels penned by Charles Dickens---and this particular copy of this particular book has me thinking... I really do love the heft and the presence of a real paper book. BUT. Because I don't have … Continue reading Between the Covers

“Hello My Name Is”

May 20, 2020November 3, 2020 ~ Kana Smith ~ 2 Comments

This morning a customer didn't bother to tell me his name, just went straight to spelling it. Yeah, it was one of THOSE names. Not as confounding as some, but definitely not one I would have gotten right without having him spell it out. "My sister and I grew up with a maiden name we … Continue reading “Hello My Name Is”

Radio-Speak (Do You Copy?)

June 4, 2017 ~ Kana Smith ~ 2 Comments

My first sailing trips were under the tutelage of my uncle, who's a stickler for doing things properly. (Best training ever! Sailing with Uncle Dick made my later "official" training a breeze. Even when the "breeze" was 18 knots!) Uncle Dick's pet peeve regarding the radio is when someone signs off with "Over and Out." … Continue reading Radio-Speak (Do You Copy?)

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"As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts."

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

  1. yusefasabiyah's avatar
    yusefasabiyah on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetFebruary 16, 2026

    Owning the boat was associated with beautiful dreams of romance and adventure. If you sell the boat, you'll have a…

  2. judy thompson's avatar
    judy thompson on The Accidental Cat LadyFebruary 3, 2026

    I suspect we have a magic 'hobo' sign on our mailbox, for forty + years cats have wandered up our…

  3. Metal Odyssey's avatar
    Metal Odyssey on What is WRONG With People?January 31, 2026

    After reading this, all I can say is you have a soul of gold to put up with such Neanderthal…

  4. Jimena's avatar
    Jimena on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetJanuary 29, 2026

    It looks good on you ;) In my case, it"s not like it has completely disappeared from my belongings... Once…

  5. Kana Smith's avatar
    Kana Smith on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetJanuary 29, 2026

    My "teal phase" has lasted four decades, and shows no sign of waning. ;)

"It is not down on any map; true places never are"

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

What is WRONG With People? A Pain in the Neck If the Present is a Gift, so is the Past Cow Physiology 101 The “Year in Books” On the Palm Tree as an Antidepressant Untitled Dragon Biography The Christmas-Tree Trade-In
  • When you Assume... you make an ASS out of U & ME
  • Hunting for Answers in Pink Camo: Why is it...
  • Marginalia & Time-Travel
  • Mythbusters Edition: "Depression is Just in Your Head"
  • Looking for YA Reading Recommendations
  • On the Ethics of Storytelling, and the Art of Making Shit Up
  • One of My Very Bad Habits
  • History of a Helm-Hog
  • Pushed Over the Edge?
  • Burning the Script

"Not all those who wander are lost."

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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