“I’m willing to tell you. I’m wanting to tell you. I’m waiting to tell you.”
George Bernard Shaw,
Pygmalion

  • When Did Kids Get So Smart?

    When Did Kids Get So Smart?

    We adults think we know everything but our perspective isn’t always as perceptive as we think.

  • It’s a Mariah Christmas: Why We Love to Meme During the Holidays

    It’s a Mariah Christmas: Why We Love to Meme During the Holidays

    Mariah Carey’s tenacious cameos in memes across the internet speak to a widespread cultural gloom lying just beneath Christmas cheer. Step aside conventional conviviality, Mariah has thawed.

  • Ohio’s Issue 1: Ballot Language 

    Ohio’s Issue 1: Ballot Language 

    On November 7th Ohio citizens have the chance to make a decision about abortion rights but are we being misled?

  • Ohio Abortion Bill – Explained

    Ohio Abortion Bill – Explained

    I recently got a propaganda flier in the mail that boldly asks “have you seen the language?” and invites us to look at their markup of the full text of Issue 1. And I took the bait! So, let’s do some informal linguistic analysis and check out both the language of the proposed amendment and…

  • She’s Too Cool for Him

    She’s Too Cool for Him

    This meme makes use of double meaning and pop-culture references. Let’s get under the hood and see why this bad boy is funny.

Wherever there are people there is communication. Whether it’s through speech, gestures, or actions – everyone expresses. Language is a complex performance that can’t help but say more than we mean – yet remain Inadequate. If we’re willing, wanting, and waiting, why are our words, and their meaning so hard to pin down?

More Small Words

To view all Small Words posts check out the Library Page!

  • Starstruck for Mamdani – Trump is Smitten

    It’s time for another Analyze the Meme on Small Words! Today, we’re going to look at why NYC mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani and President Trump’s meeting at the White House delighted the internet.

  • Death Becomes Her: A Review

    Join me in roasting this raunchy 1992 dark comedy starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis!

  • You Are What You Read

    Dan speed-read over 3,000 books during his life and meticulously recorded every one of them. Now he’s a social media star.

  • Let’s Talk About SEX and Libraries

    If you didn’t read “SEX” in a funny voice, then you don’t know me at all. Libraries are taking the heat for having explicit material on the shelves. So let’s talk about SEX, libraries, and…

  • Lonely Tokyo

    Tokyo… A liminal place full of quiet spaces?