Topics

Aug

When a Mexican Cartoonist Speaks Your Language

by Eva Boynton on August 29, 2016

A cartoon showing the female symbol as a cross on a tombstone, drawn by Cintia Bolio, a Mexican cartoonist fighting gender stereotypes. (image © Cintia Bolio).

Ni una más (Not One More) speaks out on violence against women.
© Cintia Bolio

Cintia Bolio Fights Gender Stereotypes

At a desk, pen and sketchbook ready, I waited with 50 other people for our teacher to arrive. In walks Cintia Bolio, with black hair wrapped around her shoulders, big hoop earrings, and a giant smile spread across her face.

She was here at the Museum of Memory and Tolerance in Mexico City to teach a course that revealed, through piercing words and pictures, the woman’s role in Mexican culture. The course had an intriguing title: Political Comic and Gender Perspectives. Read more...

Eva Boynton 7 Comments

Language & Culture/Mexico

Aug

Wordplay: Wit and Wisdom in Public Spaces

by Joyce McGreevy on August 16, 2016

A hair salon in Glasgow, Scotland typifies the wit and wordplay of signage in public spaces. Image © Joyce McGreevy

Hair-salon puns, like this one in Glasgow, Scotland, are permanent highlights of signage.
© Joyce McGreevy

Reading the Language of Signs Worldwide

Maybe it’s a sign, you think. You mean that literally. It’s Day 1 in Sofia, Bulgaria, and you’re staring at a wall of words that may signify the name of the street. Or a local ordinance. Or the route to Romania.

You know this much: it’s definitely in Cyrillic. Suddenly, you’re back in the pre-literacy of early childhood, experiencing the world as a dense forest of language whose mysteries you’re not yet able to penetrate.

Oh, I see: Signs are an indispensable element of our public spaces. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy 9 Comments

Art of Travel/Wordplay/Worldwide Sites

Jun

Bookmarking the British Library

by Joyce McGreevy on June 20, 2016

The carved lettering of the British Library's main gate, an artifact of English cultural heritage designed by David Kindersley, (Image C.G.P. Grey)

As designer of the iconic main gates, David Kindersley was truly a man of letters.
By C. G. P. Grey – C. G. P. Grey’s Photography, CC BY 2.0

Online Treasure Hunt of the World’s Cultural Heritage

Search engines—including some that rhyme with kugel, king, and kazoo—are the world’s “auxiliary brain,” the one we count on to have all the answers, all the time. But when it comes to repositories of cultural heritage, literary artifacts, and linguistic wisdom, all search engines lead to London. There you’ll find the ultimate must-know for all who must know: The British Library. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/England/Language & Culture

World Views: