Jan Freeman
@janfreeman.bsky.social
Mostly retired editor/writer/Boston Globe language columnist; author of centenary edition of Ambrose Bierce's "Write It Right" (Walker, 2009), whose subtitle is too long for this space. Not the Massachusetts poet who shares my name.
Last night's sunset illuminating the trees (and still-stormy skies) to the east. Wow.
April 16, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Last night's sunset illuminating the trees (and still-stormy skies) to the east. Wow.
A month ago, this foggy morning view would have been depressing. But now I can see the pink of the maple buds getting ready to pop, which changes everything.
(OK, not everything. But it helps.)
(OK, not everything. But it helps.)
March 31, 2025 at 7:04 PM
A month ago, this foggy morning view would have been depressing. But now I can see the pink of the maple buds getting ready to pop, which changes everything.
(OK, not everything. But it helps.)
(OK, not everything. But it helps.)
Witch hazel isn't the most adorable spring bloom, but it's so enthusiastic! And most important, I can enjoy ours through the window, without braving wind or mud.
March 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Witch hazel isn't the most adorable spring bloom, but it's so enthusiastic! And most important, I can enjoy ours through the window, without braving wind or mud.
Google AI elbowing aside actual sources to contradict the info that's in its own calendar (and everyone else's):
March 17, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Google AI elbowing aside actual sources to contradict the info that's in its own calendar (and everyone else's):
This should have run yesterday, National Grammar Day, but better (a little) late than never.
March 5, 2025 at 7:50 PM
This should have run yesterday, National Grammar Day, but better (a little) late than never.
This is what I need to see first thing every day, just to keep my spirits up.
January 27, 2025 at 6:38 PM
This is what I need to see first thing every day, just to keep my spirits up.
A rare sight: Once upon a time, there was skating every winter on this little bit of the Charles River (and on longer sections of the river, too, according to local lore). But in the 20 years we've lived in the neighborhood, the number of skateable days has steadily dwindled.
January 12, 2025 at 9:59 PM
A rare sight: Once upon a time, there was skating every winter on this little bit of the Charles River (and on longer sections of the river, too, according to local lore). But in the 20 years we've lived in the neighborhood, the number of skateable days has steadily dwindled.
As I once said back at the other place:
January 1, 2025 at 8:37 PM
As I once said back at the other place:
From today's comics, a good prompt for an editorial New Year's resolution: Don't fall for the notion that you have to use "fewer" (instead of "less") any time you spot a number in the neighborhood. It depends on what the number is doing there, and "10 items or less" is perfectly good English.
January 1, 2025 at 8:35 PM
From today's comics, a good prompt for an editorial New Year's resolution: Don't fall for the notion that you have to use "fewer" (instead of "less") any time you spot a number in the neighborhood. It depends on what the number is doing there, and "10 items or less" is perfectly good English.
Our little neighborhood lights up every winter, and most people leave the lights up for a couple of months — it really helps. (And it's worth driving through if you're not far away: Islington Peninsula, Auburndale [Newton], Mass.)
January 1, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Our little neighborhood lights up every winter, and most people leave the lights up for a couple of months — it really helps. (And it's worth driving through if you're not far away: Islington Peninsula, Auburndale [Newton], Mass.)
"Covering about two-thirds of the ring makes an asymmetrical wreath look modern, not unfinished."
🤨
🤨
December 20, 2024 at 7:17 PM
"Covering about two-thirds of the ring makes an asymmetrical wreath look modern, not unfinished."
🤨
🤨
OK I must now post this bit from "Master and Commander," to which my first response was "Jane Austen never told us about this!"
December 20, 2024 at 7:04 PM
OK I must now post this bit from "Master and Commander," to which my first response was "Jane Austen never told us about this!"
Here's my favorite Klee angel, because if an angel shows up in my house I definitely want it bringing me breakfast in bed, and not, say, telling me I'm pregnant with some world-historical embryo.
December 18, 2024 at 7:10 PM
Here's my favorite Klee angel, because if an angel shows up in my house I definitely want it bringing me breakfast in bed, and not, say, telling me I'm pregnant with some world-historical embryo.
Flambards!
To be fair, it WAS a long time ago.
To be fair, it WAS a long time ago.
November 20, 2024 at 1:00 AM
Flambards!
To be fair, it WAS a long time ago.
To be fair, it WAS a long time ago.
Hey this reminds me, I have an idea for how you could take the winter break you said you need. It's kind of amazing how many of the old strips are totally current; why not pull a Doonesbury and run a month of historic highlights? Like this one from 30 years ago (sorry abt the glare on photo):
November 16, 2024 at 7:42 PM
Hey this reminds me, I have an idea for how you could take the winter break you said you need. It's kind of amazing how many of the old strips are totally current; why not pull a Doonesbury and run a month of historic highlights? Like this one from 30 years ago (sorry abt the glare on photo):
Here's a nice Borgward Isabella coupé, and yes, my fellow editors, the accent aigu is right there on the car.
November 15, 2024 at 2:01 PM
Here's a nice Borgward Isabella coupé, and yes, my fellow editors, the accent aigu is right there on the car.
This monster bug is visiting and I wonder if it might have been the design inspiration for the Cybertruck.
November 2, 2024 at 12:02 PM
This monster bug is visiting and I wonder if it might have been the design inspiration for the Cybertruck.
Just a tiny peeve: The phrase "till death us do part" (or "do us part," if you prefer) has been around in wedding vows for more than 400 years. Apparently that's not long enough to convince some editors that the pronoun really should remain objective case, even in your clever variation.
October 31, 2024 at 7:51 PM
Just a tiny peeve: The phrase "till death us do part" (or "do us part," if you prefer) has been around in wedding vows for more than 400 years. Apparently that's not long enough to convince some editors that the pronoun really should remain objective case, even in your clever variation.
It was the only closeup the hippos would allow.
October 30, 2024 at 8:55 PM
It was the only closeup the hippos would allow.
Here's a Boston Globe story I definitely won't be reading:
October 30, 2024 at 8:39 PM
Here's a Boston Globe story I definitely won't be reading:
Some other nice distractions this week: The Morandi show in NYC, and afterward, lunch at Piccola Cucina Uptown, where they make (very tasty) individual servings of tiramisu at tableside.
October 26, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Some other nice distractions this week: The Morandi show in NYC, and afterward, lunch at Piccola Cucina Uptown, where they make (very tasty) individual servings of tiramisu at tableside.
Such a beautiful fall we're having in the Northeast. I hope I'll look back at my photos when the background vibe is no longer this pervasive anxiety about the election (and has returned to the normal pervasive anxiety about war and climate change).
October 26, 2024 at 5:19 PM
Such a beautiful fall we're having in the Northeast. I hope I'll look back at my photos when the background vibe is no longer this pervasive anxiety about the election (and has returned to the normal pervasive anxiety about war and climate change).
Then there's "crispy": I was editing food stories (among other things) when "crispy" began its rise in the 80s/90s. Looks like "crisp" has also increased its reach since then, but "crispy" remains ubiquitous in the food world, in both BrE and AmE.
October 26, 2024 at 4:06 PM
Then there's "crispy": I was editing food stories (among other things) when "crispy" began its rise in the 80s/90s. Looks like "crisp" has also increased its reach since then, but "crispy" remains ubiquitous in the food world, in both BrE and AmE.
In northern Ohio, two parties on one tree lawn.*
*Or devil strip, tree strip, curb, parkway, terrace, swale, tree belt, depending on where you live.
*Or devil strip, tree strip, curb, parkway, terrace, swale, tree belt, depending on where you live.
October 17, 2024 at 6:04 PM
In northern Ohio, two parties on one tree lawn.*
*Or devil strip, tree strip, curb, parkway, terrace, swale, tree belt, depending on where you live.
*Or devil strip, tree strip, curb, parkway, terrace, swale, tree belt, depending on where you live.