Monthly Archives: February 2020

Balanced Learning

Posted on February 17, 2020 by JMN

The “science of reading” approach is based on phonics, which sounds out the letters of words: Bit. Buh! Ih! Tuh! The “balanced literacy” approach believes “exposing students to the likes of Dr. Seuss and Maya Angelou is more important than … Continue reading →

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World War Gucci

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

[Subheading] Whether designers acknowledge it or not, World War II still shapes their collections. Even at Gucci.(Guy Trebay, “At Milan Men’s Week, the War Lives On,” NYTimes, 1-15-20) I can’t resist marveling at the look of this Gucci lineup and … Continue reading →

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“Tiepolo Meets Mad Magazine”

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

The 61 works in this exhibition… span the career of an American painter whose art has, for more than half a century, both diagnosed national maladies and been shaped by them. The result is work that’s virtuosically bizarre in style … Continue reading →

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On Listening

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

I got a speeding ticket once, and took the option of sitting through a driver’s training refresher class in lieu of paying a fine. The instructor led off with a question: “How do you know when you’re completely stopped at … Continue reading →

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Flavorcide

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

I’m impaled by a witticism that wants outing.  My dad died in an old folks’ home as he was foot-scooting himself to breakfast in his wheelchair one morning. Everyone foot-scooted, no one got pushed. It was promoted as therapeutic exercise.  … Continue reading →

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Non Sequitur Clickbait

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

“This 26-year-old became a small-town California mayor. Then a jet dumped fuel on her snakebit city.”  (Headline from the Los Angeles Times, latimes.com, 2-11-20) In other news: “A cook in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana over-salted his boudin. Then it rained in … Continue reading →

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Firehose of Rage

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

I hope that none are offended when I say that I am nonplussed at Ross Douthat’s use of “conterminous” in his column. Here are two scenes from the same drama. The first scene takes place in California, where the state’s … Continue reading →

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De Gustibus…

Posted on February 9, 2020 by JMN

I try to envisage EthicalDative as a safe space for saying that I like certain art. Tolerating tastes, especially other people’s, doesn’t come easily to our species. Persons with cultivated eye, especially, may compare it to defending people’s right to … Continue reading →

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Artie Shaw on Glenn Miller

Posted on February 7, 2020 by JMN

I transcribed this snippet from the Ken Burns documentary about jazz. It inspires me to make mistakes at what I’m doing. [Glenn Miller]… was sort of the Lawrence Welk of jazz. It was one of the reasons he was so … Continue reading →

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What Stuff Is About

Posted on February 6, 2020 by JMN

http://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/science/quadratic-equations-algebra.html “Math is not about memorizing formulas without meaning, but rather about learning how to reason logically through precise statements,” Dr. Loh said. (Kenneth Chang and Jonathan Corum, “This Professor’s ‘Amazing’ Trick Makes Quadratic Equations Easier,” NYTimes, 2-5-20) Dr. Loh’s … Continue reading →

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