A Word About Next Week's Vacation Posts

Some readers may have noticed that over the past two or three weeks there have been few if any of my (I hope trademark) posts on obscure historical, cultural, or linguistic issues. The reason is, I've been "saving them 'in the can'" until I go on vacation next week. A post on, say, 19th Century Egypt will not be overtaken by events.  I do this out of a desire to keep my loyal readers coming here every day, lest you spend too much time playing Angry Birds or watching cats playing the piano on YouTube, and abandon me forever. I do not claim the wisdom of the ancients or the perspicacity of Thomas Aquinas, but I do want to keep you reading me instead of devoting your day to lolcats. There will be at least one post a day here, most of them rather lengthy and educational (but I hope in an entertaining, not a pedantic, way); some days may have more than one and I do not rule out a live post if the region gets really tense.

I won't say more about the subjects of the posts, to retain the element of surprise and keep you coming back even if you find it more boring than cats playing the piano. My dachshund is much more fun to watch, but I haven't yet made a video of him.

Of course, if something big happens, I'll check in with a comment.

Enjoy.