News from home about my nephew:

The boy during schoolwork:

Me: “OK, spell ‘here.’”

Boy: “Give me a minute.”

Me: “OK.”

Boy: “I’m trying to picture it in my head.”

long pause, face tightened with effort

Boy: “Nope. There’s nothing in my head but dark.”

and

More interesting notes about the boy, this one regarding how bright he is.

We’re driving to Tae Kwon Do yesterday and I’ve got The Pogues–they’re an Irish band, Mom–on the radio. There’s a moment of silence where he listens to the singer and he says, “That guy isn’t American, is he?”

Big props.

I second that!

Last week, I sent my brother a link to the now-viral College Humor video, “We Didn’t Start the Flame War”, which we both found to be horrifyingly accurate and therefore hysterical. Then a few days ago, he sent me this email:

I am reading Gorgias and this quote reminded me of the Flame War video you sent along the other day.

Socrates: I suppose Gorgias, that like me you must have been present at many arguments, and have observed how difficult the parties find it to define exactly what the subject is which they have taken in hand and to come away from their discussion mutually enlightened; what usually happens is that, as soon as they disagree and one declares the other to be mistaken or obscure in what he says, they lose their temper and accuse one another of speaking from motives of personal spite and in an endeavour to score a victory rather than to investigate the question at issue; and sometimes they part on the worst possible terms, after such an exchange of abuse that the bystanders feel vexed on their own account that they ever thought it worth their while to listen to such people.

And that in 405 BCE, eh?

Mr. Portokalos was right, everything can be traced back to the Greeks.