LKL’s Blog

Why is it that some people get all of the talent? I think Jared Leto is a phenomenal actor (and not bad looking, either) – did anyone see Requiem for a Dream? Just incredible. Then I find out that Jared Leto is in a band called 30 Seconds to Mars, and some of the songs [...]

If you’re subscribed to my French newsletter, you know that I didn’t leave for France on Thursday as I’d planned. Why? Because my visa was turned down. Why? No reason given (!) but they said I could appeal. So I wrote a long letter of appeal, but you can imagine how tricky that is when [...]

There are all kinds of reasons to learn a foreign language in general, and French in particular: communication, cultural understanding, better test scores… Why learn French?

I love being able to read the news online. When our power was out last week, I actually bought a newspaper for the first time in years, and it seemed very odd. I particularly like Google News, which aggregates headlines from papers all over the world. I have it customized an emphasis on world news, [...]

Here’s an interesting addition to your photo editing options: Tourist Remover edits out moving distractions like tourists and cars in front of whatever monument you’re actually taking a picture of. I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds amazing, and it’s free.

The English words either and neither can cause some problems for native and non-native speakers of English. Sometimes you can use either one and sometimes you have to choose either one or the other, but neither one is very difficult: Either and Neither

If your head spins when people start talking about even basic grammar (the way mine does when I hear talk of engines and power tools), this very basic lesson on sentences, including sentence parts and the four different types of sentences, will help. It’s on my French site, but it’s written in English and the [...]

Just got back online after 72 hours without power. Fortunately, we live near a creek, so had clean (albeit icy cold) water to bathe in, wash dishes, etc. We have a gas stove, so were able to do simple cooking, and we don’t need AC, because the stone barn we live in is always cool, [...]

Whatever your passion might be – language, computers, quilting, golf – there are probably dozens of people living near you who feel the same way. How can you get to know them? Check out Meetup – a hub for thousands of conversation clubs on more than 4,000 topics all over the world. Just type your [...]

I saw a wonderful play last night at our local theater: “The Foreigner,” by Larry Shue. It’s about an English guy who goes to Georgia and is so shy that he pretends not to speak any English. The people around him then proceed to confide in him, say horrible things to him, and even “teach” [...]