Monthly Archives: August 2018

Dear Mother… As I’ve been traveling

Posted on August 8, 2018 by JMN

As I’ve been traveling more, again, I’ve gotten so tired of seeing dead animals on the road. It’s begun to sicken me. Everywhere you go you see little carcasses and mauled remains. Some are not so little; I’ve seen several … Continue reading →

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Dear Mother… I’m keeping

Posted on August 7, 2018 by JMN

I’m keeping a fairly close record on my office computer of how I spend my time at work. I feel overworked in the sense that I’m letting myself be subjected to more demands than I can reasonably satisfy, as well … Continue reading →

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Tip of the Day

Posted on August 6, 2018 by JMN

http://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/magazine/how-to-have-sex-in-a-canoe.html “Three words: center of gravity….”

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The Gallego

Posted on August 6, 2018 by JMN

The Gallego, or native of Galicia, is by nature very reserved. For example, if you meet a Gallego in the stairwell, you will not know whether he’s going up or going down. [Copyright (c) James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.]

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“Sock Hop Bop Flop”

Posted on August 4, 2018 by JMN

Sock Hop Bop Flop An Admonitory Fable for Tragedies Averted (To all my students who made it through graduation) Bee-Bop-A-Ree-Bop, A lockdown jam, A lockjawed ham, Good golly, Miss Molly, Lookin’ hot damn! Bee-Bop-A-Ree-Bop, A hounddog dude, Blue suede shoe’d, … Continue reading →

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Poetaster

Posted on August 4, 2018 by JMN

More joy courtesy of Blake Gopnik, “In His Films, Brancusi Takes Flight,” NYTimes. Given all the chestnuts in this show, the challenge is to see if we can still find a way to be astonished by them, as we were … Continue reading →

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Jolly Comeuppance

Posted on August 4, 2018 by JMN

I was a retentive student. I would remember being exposed to the political geography of the kingdom across the English Channel from Europe. I was not exposed to that geography. Yesterday I learned that “Great Britain” consists of England, Scotland … Continue reading →

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“Toot Toot Tutu Toodle-oo.”

Posted on August 2, 2018 by JMN

New words encountered! Courtesy of Roberta Smith, “Painting: An (Incomplete) Survey of the State of the Art,” NYTimes. “gamin” — Ms. Hearne was a gamin performance artist turned art dealer with an audacious eye… [I knew this word from French … Continue reading →

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A Prayer of Sorts

Posted on August 1, 2018 by JMN

I pay more attention than I’d like, for personal reasons, to news coming from a region of ceaseless conflict. Recently, three men attacked a secure place. One breached the gate by killing himself with explosives so that the other two … Continue reading →

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Sigh… but I’d love to be surprised.

Posted on August 1, 2018 by JMN

If he’s proven to have not told the whole truth about the fact that campaigns look for dirt, and if someone offers it, you listen to them, nobody’s going to be surprised. There are some things in politics that you … Continue reading →

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