Words, Words, Words

British teacher flawlessly translates everyday sayings into Victorian English, and people are hooked

“‘My faculties have been exhausted by perpetual toil’ goes hard.”

A British teacher is showing how to speak in Victorian English, and people are loving it. – Photo credit: Abram Elenin/Facebook

It’s hard to believe now, but communicating via the written word used to be a gigantic deal. Long before texting, social media, quick emails, or even short postcards, one of the only ways people could communicate across space and time was by writing long letters.

The 18th century is considered by some to be the peak of the Golden Age of letter writing. It was a key element of education for people wealthy enough to receive one, and it was incredibly important: business was conducted via handwritten letters, love was declared, and new introductions were made.

It was crucial, then, to choose your words extremely carefully. This was especially true in and around the Victorian Era in England, roughly between 1820 and 1914.

Victorian-era translations of everyday sayings

An English teacher from the United Kingdom has been delighting followers with Victorian-era translations of everyday sayings.

Abram Elenin runs Berber English, where he says, “I help professionals master British English… and communicate more effectively.”

He also likes to have a little fun with his work as a linguistics expert and accent coach. In a wildly popular series of Instagram Reels, he performs “tiered” translations of common phrases, transforming them into increasingly formal variations. Victorian English is usually the final resting point and comedic punchline.

In one popular video, “I’m burnt out” becomes “I’m entirely depleted” in formal English, and “I have been worked to the very marrow” in gentlemanly English.

But Victorian English, the age of beautiful if long-winded novels like Great Expectations and Jane Eyre, takes the cake: “Where to begin, for my faculties have been exhausted by perpetual toil, and incessant application has so stripped me of vitality that I am scarcely able to summon the strength requisite for the smallest effort.”

(The Instagram post, below. You don’t have to log in to see/hear.)

View this post on Instagram

In another Reel, “I’m poor” becomes “I find myself in a precarious financial position,” and finally:

“It is with no small measure of affliction that I acknowledge my fortunes to be sadly diminished, my purse exhausted, and my station reduced to one of grievous penury, such that I find myself abandoned to the stern tutelage of want, the harshest master to which mankind is ever subject.”

It just sounds so much better that way. Can’t you just hear Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek saying that? (snip-a little MORE, with another little video)

In Further Observance Of Trans Day Of Visibility

From It Gets Better:

Transgender (Trans)

[ˌtranzˈjendər]

(Gender Identity)

Adjective.

Someone whose gender identity differs from the one that was assigned to them at birth.

Many transgender people identify as either male or female, while others may see transgender as an umbrella term and identify as gender nonconforming or queer. How transgender people choose to express their gender is individualistic, as is their transition.

(NOTE: Avoid using transgender as a noun, as in “a transgender,” or with an extraneous -ed on the end, as in “transgendered.”)

“For me, being transgender is going through a journey to find yourself. Cis people know who they are from the moment they are born but transitioning is a journey to that same point. Like any journey, there are many different ways to get there. Even the outcome might not be the same or it might change. You never stop transitioning as your gender expression will change. I would advice other youth to do this journey how they want. To take how long or short they want. To explore or just go for what they want. Do not let anybody pressure you to take a different path.”
– Kiki, 14 years old, New Jersey
Youth Voices, Class of 2022

‘A Run for More’ shows us what it’s like to be a transgender candidate in Texas politics

It’s a story of hope, self and fighting for your seat at the table.

By Sa’iyda Shabazz

Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe is the subject of the documentary, “A Run for More.” – Photo credit: A Run for More

When we think about elections, so many of us focus on presidential elections and forget about congressional, statewide or even smaller, local elections. The documentary film, “A Run for More,” focuses on Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe as she runs for one of those local positions—city council member in San Antonio, Texas. Focusing on Gonzales-Wolfe as the first openly transgender woman to run for such office, the film shows how the campaign gave Gonzales-Wolfe a deeper sense of self. I was lucky enough to chat with her and the film’s director, Ray Whitehouse, about their friendship, the campaign, making the film and Frankie’s future political plans. (snip-MORE)

A 2021 Trailblazer:

Canadian soccer player is about to become the first openly trans, non-binary Olympic medalist

As Canada’s women’s soccer team prepares for its gold medal match against Sweden this week in Tokyo, it also prepares to make history as the first Olympic team to have an openly transgender, non-binary athlete win a medal at the games. Quinn, the 25-year-old midfielder, announced their non-binary identity on social media last September, adopting…

By Annie Reneau

Quinn, the 25-year-old midfielder, announced their non-binary identity on social media last September, adopting they/them pronouns and a singular name. Quinn said they’d been living openly as a transgender person with their loved ones, but this was their first time coming out publicly.

“I want to be visible to queer folks who don’t see people like them on their feed. I know it saved my life years ago,” they wrote. “I want to challenge cis folks ( if you don’t know what cis means, that’s probably you!!!) to be better allies.” (snip-MORE)

Important Words From Rev. William Barber

Rev. William Barber: Why the Midterm Election is So Important

Rev. Barber: We have to start teaching people that when we talk about politics, there is not an aspect of your life—from your birth to your death—that is not impacted.

By Rev. William Barber II

Published March 30, 2026

When we look at the midterm elections, we have to start with the basics. We are electing every member of the United States House of Representatives and one-third of the United States Senate. In most places, we are electing their entire state general assemblies, and many are electing governors, attorney generals, and so forth. We are electing the very people who impact every aspect of our lives. These elections determine whether we will have people in office who want to ensure everyone has health care or who want to take health care away; whether we want people in office who will vote to make sure everyone is paid a living wage versus just giving more money to corporations; whether they will care about poor and low-wage voters and the resources for people to afford a basic life, or whether all they will care about is giving more wealth to the already wealthy. That is what’s on the line.

Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign speaks at the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival Rally at the US Supreme Court on October 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Repairers Of The Breach)

What is at stake is whether or not you have a Congress that will demand that the President, whoever that President is, cannot just act unilaterally, but must get congressional approval for war; whether or not we have a budget; whether or not TSA agents are paid; whether or not government employees are paid; whether or not we have a Congress that will stand up and not just be a rubber stamp to what an authoritarian President wants to do or will just “go along to get along.”

We have to start teaching people that when we talk about politics, there is not an aspect of your life—from your birth to your death—that is not impacted. You’re not officially recognized without a birth certificate, which is the result of a political decision. You can’t guarantee your Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security without political decisions. Even as you die, people must understand that politics is not just about personality; it’s about people being put in place and the kinds of policies and vision they will enact.

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, is a Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy and Founding Director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. He serves as President and Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign

Snips & Toons & The King

Trump’s rat

Senator Lindsey Graham is spotted enjoying Disney World

Ann Telnaes Mar 30, 2026

Trump’s war cheerleader chows down breakfast at Chef Mickey’s.

He was arrested while repainting Dallas’ rainbow crosswalks. He’d do it all again

Before he was detained, Mason Whiteside, 25, said he spray-painted more than a dozen crosswalks.

By Jamie Landers

Mason Whiteside of Carrollton poses for a photo in front of the Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Dallas. Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer

It was already dark when Mason Whiteside finished his workday at a Deep Ellum brewery. By the time he was done cleaning and closing up, it was nearing midnight, but there was another job to do.

Whiteside, 25, called a Waymo to take him to Oak Lawn, where he’d lugged a backpack full of chalk and spray paint: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

“Does anyone want to color with me?” Whiteside asked as people walked by.

No one stopped. He didn’t need them to.

Over the course of three and a half hours, Whiteside alone repainted more than a dozen crosswalks, what he considered a vibrant act of defiance less than 24 hours after the city began stripping the roads of their color. Dallas is among several Texas cities complying with a state directive to remove “political ideologies” from public roadways.

“I wasn’t hurting anybody,” Whiteside, who is queer, told The Dallas Morning News Tuesday. “I didn’t damage anything. I literally just put back the same things that had been there.” (snip-a bit MORE; click the title)

Idris and Sabrina Elba are on a mission to transform an entire West African island

Off the coast of Sierra Leone, the actor and model are fighting against tourists traps with their own vision: a tropical “eco-city” of the future.

Sherbro Island, a tropical outpost of farmers and fishermen nestled in the crook of Sierra Leone’s arcing Atlantic coastline, is about the size of Chicago, but its population of 40,000 wouldn’t even fill Wrigley Field. Electrical power and wireless internet are scarce. Fishermen can’t refrigerate their catches long enough to sell them on the mainland, and farmers often lack the expertise and equipment to harvest much more than they need to survive. But Sherbro Island has some enviable resources, including miles of unblemished beaches and lagoons, as well as an abundance of replenishable fresh water.

One other invaluable asset: the support of Golden Globe–winning British actor Idris Elba and his wife, Canadian model Sabrina Elba. The couple see an opportunity there to marry ecological sustainability with economic growth in a way they hope can be a template for development projects across Africa—and perhaps help rewrite a whole continent’s narrative. Idris’s father is from Sierra Leone, Sabrina’s mother is from Somalia, and growing up, Sabrina says, “there were particular stigmas attached with being African.” She remembers seeing ads that seemed to show abject people waiting for a handout. “We wanted to see Africa represented the way that we knew it to be,” she says. “We wanted to change the storytelling.”

Her husband—known for the baritone potency he brings to prestige TV dramas like Luther and The Wire, along with films like last year’s critically acclaimed thriller A House of Dynamite—first heard about Sherbro Island years ago. A close family friend had tried to convince him it could become a world-class holiday destination. “At that juncture, I was just like, Oh, OK, that sounds interesting,” says Idris, 53, who co-owns a wine bar in London’s King’s Cross neighborhood. “Like, maybe I’ll build a nightclub, maybe build some tourism.” He made a mental note to visit someday.

He got the opportunity in 2019, while he and Sabrina, now 37, were in Sierra Leone touring small family farms as part of their ambassadorial roles with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). It was during that trip, Idris says, that he had something of an epiphany. He’d been venturing into philanthropy as his celebrity grew: supporting childhood education and hunger-relief programs in Africa, as well as campaigning on behalf of at-risk youths in the United Kingdom (work for which he was recently knighted). But on that trip, the Elbas saw an opportunity to build something more enduring and meaningful than a fancy vacation spot—and “to reframe the conversation,” Sabrina says, “[from] one of aid to one of investment.” (snip-a little more on the page; click through on the title, please)

Wrong Island

Everyone’s talking about Kharg Island, but there’s another island we should not forget about.

Clay Jones

(Clay Jones writes commentary with his comics; click through on the title to read this one)

(My ophthalmologist referred me to this site one time, because I always have a dog. It’s a hoot most of the time on its own, but recalling that an ophthalmologist subscribes makes it kinda funnier!)

A Few Current Event-Related & Other Funny Short Vids

Gah-this one won’t embed, and it’s hilarious!! It’s about POTUS’s failed businesses. Do click; it’s great!

https://youtube.com/shorts/Kcol2OLmmko?si=jbo2a_Rarb8s-rsO

A Quick Women’s History Month Post

from Nancy Beiman! It’s about women in animation work. It’s rare to hear of them.

My Ears are Burning

they were already a little floppy

Nancy Beiman

This review appeared on Facebook yesterday. I do not know Mr. Highson, but I read his columns.

My blushes, Watson.

Mr. Highson posts the cover of the first edition of Animated Performance on the Facebook post. The second edition, an essentially ‘new’ book, is available from Bloomsbury Press.

https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/animated-performance-9781501376672/

It’s nice of him to speak of me during Women’s History Month. Now let’s hear about the other female animators. One of my students, Ami Thompson, appears on the first page of this site. There are many others.

https://greatwomenanimators.com/

Animation really does let you ‘play’ any character; your sex, age, ethnic group do not matter. It allows you to act without anyone staring at you; there are many introverts in this profession!

that’s all for today, folks.

Note To Scottie re Emails:

I read and responded to the emails. Just so you know. Maybe they won’t be so hard to find if you get there pretty quick?

Just Some Stuff

A Couple Of The Bloggess’s Substacks

Leave room for yourself

Jenny Lawson (thebloggess)

Dear friend,

This week I’ve been struggling a little with the fact that I can’t do all of the things that I want to. My book comes out next week (you’re in it!) and I feel so excited and lucky but also terrified and filled with dread. I worry people won’t like it…that no one will show up to the book tour…that I’m failing my publisher because I can’t do some of the things that most authors would jump at because I just don’t have the energy or mental strength to say yes to everything without making myself sick. I even felt a little bad about drawing this week when I probably should be doing author stuff.

But then I reminded myself that I need this quiet drawing time (is it considered “quiet” when I’m doing it while binging Dexter? I say yes.) to keep myself sane and to replenish my energy and to remind myself that I am more than just my work, and that it’s okay to not work yourself to exhaustion even if it’s for something you love.

I suspect we all struggle with this. Perhaps as parents or partners or in our career…the urge to try to be more than our bodies and minds allow, but not being able to because you are…human. It’s so easy to put ourselves last when it’s for something else that you care about.

“There is a fine line between beautiful and suffocating. Don’t forget to leave room for yourself.”

So this is a reminder from me to you to make time for yourself if you can. To rest. To create. To refill your cup. There is so much beauty in what we do for others, for our work and for our passions…but there is also a necessary beauty in what we do for ourselves…a beauty we often forget.

Sending love (and quiet moments of calm repose even when watching serial killer shows)

~me

From the road

Jenny Lawson (thebloggess)

This morning I was in New York filming the Today Show where I managed to talk about explosive diarrhea, fears of my foot falling off, apologized for using my hands too much, sat on them, promptly pulled my hands back out bc I can’t talk without them and then made all the anchors put pencils in their mouths…all within about 4 minutes. By this afternoon I was in Amish country in Pennsylvania where I met some very nice “fancy Amish” people (this is a real thing) and did not pet a horse even though I really wanted to. Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be in Lancaster for my first tour stop and signing even though technically my book doesn’t officially come out until Tuesday. Then it’s back to NYC, and then a stop in New Hampshire for another reading and signing and then I get to go home for a week to rest for the next round. I’m feeling tired, happy, lucky, scared, excited, embarrassed…all of the things. Oh, and did I mention my first book got banned from a Texas high school after a senate bill deemed it obscene and profane? It’s been a busy week. I would link to everything but I can’t figure out how to do this with my phone

I should have written all this before I left but i was overwhelmed with packing all the wrong things and so instead I’m writing this tonight, on the eve of my first new book event in over half a decade, to distract myself from the fear and from the incredibly loud but very happy drunken wedding taking place two rooms down from mine. It feels like you’re here, in a weird way. I know that’s strange, but it’s comforting.

I’ve drawn in planes and cars and green rooms to keep my hands and mind busy but it’s a jerky mess so instead I’m sharing a drawing from my new book, because it seems fitting while I’m traveling so much in spite of the fact that I never know where I am. It’s an adventure, after all, if I look at it with the right kind of eyes.

I super crazy love you,

Jenny

The Birds Must Be Heard & Seen

Just click through on the birds’s names to see more and hear their songs.

Anna’s Hummingbird

Calypte anna

Colibrí Cabeza Roja (Spanish)

Anna's Hummingbird. Photo by Nick Athana.

About

The Anna’s Hummingbird is a characteristic and charismatic species of coastal Central, Southern, and Baja California, although this species has expanded its range northward along the Pacific Coast and eastward into the Desert Southwest. Like the Rufous Hummingbird, Anna’s is well known for its aggressive territorial behavior. Males fiercely defend feeding areas, where they chase away other male hummingbirds and even large insects such as bumblebees and hawk moths that try to feed there.

Although the Anna’s Hummingbird readily feeds from non-native plants, wild plants are still crucial to these birds — and the birds are just as critical to these native plants. Anna’s Hummingbirds are important pollinators of the chaparral flora of coastal California. Many of these plants flower in the winter months, coinciding with California’s wet season. To take advantage of this boon of nectar, Anna’s Hummingbirds in coastal California breed in what is the nonbreeding season for most North American species, nesting as early as mid-December. After the rains end, many hummingbirds will move up into the mountains to take advantage of blooms at higher elevations.

The Anna’s Hummingbird is a highly vocal species, especially for a hummingbird. Males sing a complex, scratchy-sounding song while perched and during their high-flying courtship spectacles. The male performs this diving display by first ascending to 100 feet or higher, then swooping toward the ground. At the bottom of his dive, he will be moving at about 60 miles per hour, just overhead of a female (or intruding male). At the last minute, he banks upward and flares his tail, causing his modified tail feathers to produce an explosive, high-pitched chirp. The gravitational force (“G-force”) caused by this maneuver would cause a human pilot to lose consciousness, but these little hummingbirds do it again and again, up to about 40 times back to back, when trying to impress a female. He also orients his dives to maximize the reflectance of his beautiful gorget — the gem-like patch of tiny iridescent purple-pink feathers on his throat. According to researchers Christopher Clark and Stephen Russell, from the perspective of a female, he looks like a “tiny, glowing magenta comet” plummeting towards her. (Snip-More on the page. Actually hear a hummingbird!)

=====

Emerald Tanager

Tangara florida

About

The Emerald Tanager is truly a gem of the forest, roaming through the canopy in search of fruiting trees in the humid montane forests of Central and northern South America. Although primarily a fruit-eater, this species is also adept at hunting insects and other invertebrates on tree branches, deftly manipulating mosses with its bill in search of prey. This behavior sets it apart from other tanager species it often flocks with, but outside of the Emerald Tanager’s range, other specialized tanager species may fill this niche.

The Emerald Tanager’s relationship with moss extends beyond its foraging habits. Though their breeding biology is largely undescribed in peer-reviewed literature, the nests that have been observed have either been made of moss entirely or thoroughly covered in it. This, of course, provides good camouflage on the mossy branches where these tanagers build their nests. (Snip; MORE, and hear the Emerald Tanager)