Monthly Archives: June 2018

“Homecoming went well…”

Posted on June 20, 2018 by JMN

Homecoming went well this year. The Stags played the Mott Mohicans here and won 49-7. Stoop Harcourt pulled the “Sensation of the Stag Nation” float in the Saturday parade with that old Allis Chalmers tractor of his. His daughter Lirick … Continue reading →

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“Tough Rocks”

Posted on June 20, 2018 by JMN

Tough Rocks “Two exoplanets proven hard to kill!” A headline like that promises a thrill. “The two survived their dying star’s last gasp,” It says, but this is difficult to grasp. The parent star turned red, puffed up, and died. … Continue reading →

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“When did you stop beating your wife?”

Posted on June 20, 2018 by JMN

“Through his mysterious and appealing lectures, they were guided away from the cold sobriety of genuine knowledge into the picturesque realms of pseudoscience….” (Grete de Francesco, “The Power of the Charlatan,” quoted by John Ganz in an opinion piece in … Continue reading →

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“A Modest Proposal”

Posted on June 20, 2018 by JMN

Jonathan Swift wrote that the babies of the poor should be spitted, roasted, and consumed. The quotation, in Latin, crowns the main gate to Baldershanks, Sir Alistair Chichester’s estate in Chichesterton-Upon-Hogg. Many have dismissed the Swiftian proposition as merely a mischievous … Continue reading →

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“Dancing Tango…”

Posted on June 19, 2018 by JMN

“But what we fail to do in politics — harness our shared humanity — we do so easily in dance. We embrace the other. We take into account another person’s comfort, how our pace and pressure feel. We compromise to … Continue reading →

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This just in!

Posted on June 19, 2018 by JMN

The restaurant in the UK House of Parliament has changed the name of a classic British dessert known as “spotted dick”; henceforth it will be called “spotted richard.” (Eater, June 18, 2018) Spotted dick was featured in the cozy supper … Continue reading →

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“The Rape of Dinah” (Genesis)

Posted on June 18, 2018 by JMN

“If I were preaching the story of Dinah, I might simply ask, “How do you think she felt?” It’s a question that some men have never considered. Though some abusers are beyond the reach of compassion, I have in my … Continue reading →

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“Morning Norther”

Posted on June 17, 2018 by JMN

The wind trees up, driving a pile of mischief, rousing leaf rabble and a scramble of squirrels. Pelting rain drop-kicks the sink window pane. Water’s kettled, coffee’s ground, but it’s a storm that’s brewing. God’s baby Jesus rattle claps, His … Continue reading →

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“What the poem says…”

Posted on June 17, 2018 by JMN

“What the poem says, it does.” (Alain Badiou) “I alone create a product that society does not want.” (Mallarmé) ” ‘Poets, Mallarmé wrote, must take back what is ours. They must sing of heroes with no name — the Figure … Continue reading →

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“For Her”

Posted on June 14, 2018 by JMN

(1) You are the Pole I turn around, My needle’s North, the shade I seek On a hot day. You are the ground I grow in, stamina I lack. Remember snow that caked the “Roost”? The box of bubbly you … Continue reading →

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