Morning Stories

Love is flighty, most of all in its opening stage. Every now and then it remembers itself and goes flighty again. The flutter of butterflies in the belly. The flutter of knees. The fluttery liability of shared birth control.

Those are two separate word parts, aren't they? Uni and Versity struck a deal — and in doing so, made quite a contribution to education. Oh wonder of wonders, this concept too comes straight out of the old Latins' kitchen. “Universitas” stood for “totality” or “community.” Oha — academics are accessible to the totality of citizens? Well, how marvellous.

"So, Eve, how are you doing?" "Oh, thanks for asking. I think I'm doing well." "Eve — were you even asked?"

What exactly does this norm look like — the one that every person in a community is supposed to be, look like, and behave according to? The norm, or rather normality, is a chameleon in both meaning and effect. Come again?

Some words are so loaded with emotion that they practically hum when you speak them. Barely have the first two letters appeared around the corner, and entire worlds of feelings are already in turmoil. Associations, it seems, have a power of their own — wild, uncontrollable, and often irrational.

Old Shakespeare really has very little to do with this sentence. William, in this case, is entirely innocent. So much for the facts.

“Wanted: a dynamic, focused individual to lead…” Dynamic and individual? What exactly is this company hiring? Dynamism sounds energetic, powerful – something’s clearly moving. But what, exactly, is moving?