balletomane (noun)

A balletomane (bah-LET-uh-mane) is a ballet enthusiast. Example from A Feather on the Breath of Godby Sigrid Nunez: “Balletomanes tend to be critical, their hates are as strong as their loves, and at intermission, listen: You’re as likely to hear them tearing a dancer down as praising her.”

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“The Star-Spangled Banner” was originally a patriotic poem written by Frances Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry by the British during the War of 1812. It was set to the tune of an English drinking song and officially became our national anthem in 1931.

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An email from RK:

Dear Mark,

It is so nice to find your blog! I have followed your writing since around 2005. ETR was always my first read in the morning. [Your] writing captures my imagination like few others…. I thank you for sharing your timeless wisdom.

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