One thing that I found frustrating when learning French was having to type a bunch of accents on the keyboard. Using the international keyboard is really not too hard, and after a while you can easily commit the keys to memory. But at first, it was très difficile so I created a cheat sheet. Here it is, along with some advice about using the international keyboard and a refresher on French accents.

It's a likable notion that learning a foreign language might help stave off cognitive decline and dementia in our senior years. But is it true? Studies suggest positive benefits to bilingualism in old age but are generally small and inconclusive. Still, there are intrinsic benefits to learning a second language.

Want a (relatively) cheap "vintage" front room/library room? Here's mine. We gave our daughter and her friend the go-ahead to decorate our front foom however they liked. This is the outcome.

Even if you're not an avid furniture painter, getting a secondhand electric fireplace and chalk painting it yourself to get a sort-of-French-country look isn't too difficult.

Did you know that, though some people see getting a cat as a possible solution to a rodent problem, sometimes they can be the cause of the problem? When a mouse popped out of our toaster, we knew we had an issue. The culprit? Our cat!

Amazon Prime's original series, "The Boys," follows (in part) a group of dysfunctional superheroes. Remind you of anything? The series returns for its second season on September 4. Here's more about the series and why we're eagerly awaiting its return.

Audible recently released a voice-acted audio version of Neil Gaiman's popular and acclaimed graphic novel series The Sandman. Should you listen to it? Even if you've never read the graphic novels, if you like Neil Gaiman, "dark fantasy," or horror, you'll probably love it. If that doesn't describe you this audiobook, like the graphic novels, is probably not for you.

Avatar: The Last Airbender has had a recent surge in popularity lately with its rerelease on Netflix. A live-action series is in the making which can only be better than M. Night Shayamalan's flop. But do we really need live-action remakes of animated shows and movies that were already great?

Star Trek: Lower Decks is a new animated series that steams on CBS: All Access on August 6. Will it become a valued addition to the Star Trek Universe or will it be a cringe-inducing experience for the trekkie?

They may not prevent COVID, but perhaps they'll get you through the pandemic with their combination of morbid and cute!

Reflections on a Joss Whedon quote about food and laughter.

Reflections on "It's Never too Late to Be What You Might Have Been," a quote attributed to Victorian-era novelist George Eliot.

This is part of a post I wrote years ago that was saved to another website that I'm reclaiming and re-finishing. It's a little reflection on how we can be thrown off by various "holes" in our lives and how we can climb back out of them.

We've all experienced loss recently, in one form or another. Even if you are among the more fortunate, making yourself feel guilty for feeling your feelings is, ultimately, unhelpful.

This is a cartoon that I drew back in about 2011 or 2012, I think. Thank you WQ for saving it for me! Here's what inspired it.

Zafus, or round meditation cushions, are easy to find commercially now. But if you like to sew and want to make your own, here's a pattern that I dredged up out of my archives. It's old, but it remains a good instruction sheet to sew your own.

One of my favorite podcasts on the subjects of Zen, Buddhism, or Meditation is The Zen Studies Podcast. Here's my review.