Monthly Archives: May 2021

Exponential Obscurity Rectified*

Posted on May 30, 2021 by JMN

*Scruple dictates that I confess to having added to the fog of blather by blatantly erring in my attempt to run the numbers in the original post. A bright lad has shown me the light, and the revised numbers do … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged coronavirus, journalism, language, miscellaneous, personal | Leave a comment

Shows and Prose

Posted on May 28, 2021 by JMN

Along comes more NYTimes torqued and taut art talk of the sort that sweeps me up. … Several gorgeous self-portraits made toward the end of his life. Their precision is astonishing… It’s clear that what most interested Ellis about ink … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged art, criticism, drawing, journalism, language, painting, rhetoric, style, writing | Leave a comment

Sparring With Blushes

Posted on May 27, 2021 by JMN

“My English is chaste, and all licentious passages are left in the obscurity of a learned language.” (Edward Gibbon) In the Middle Ages, several women poets of Arab Spain (al-Andalus) were known for their erotic and satiric verses composed with … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged language, lexicon, literary criticism, literature, personal, semantics, translation | Leave a comment

‘A Fisherman Holds Up a Trout He Caught’

Posted on May 26, 2021 by JMN

El hijo de su madre has stumbled upon an El Dorado of found poetry in the “Outdoors” fishing column of a local newspaper. Bink Grimes’s lavish rundown of the piscatory scene pulses with staccato verve, inside lingo, and riptide granularity. … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged journalism, language, miscellaneous, poetry, rhetoric, style, Texas, writing | Leave a comment

E Pluribus Nihil

Posted on May 24, 2021 by JMN

Archaeologists of the far future sifting through America’s plastic ashes will peg the collapse of its civilization to two insidious language events: (1) When America dissolved “talking about problems” into “having conversations around issues.” (2) When America demoted “national” security … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged America, culture, jargon, language, miscellaneous, rhetoric, society | 2 Comments

Adverb Rebellion

Posted on May 23, 2021 by JMN

This passage from a fellow blogger (cap doff to) caught my eye: Reality? Well it starts to mock back at your face, you get surrounded by the clouds of regret, cry on the ashes of your pretentious bliss and feel … Continue reading →

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Semicolon Rebellion

Posted on May 22, 2021 by JMN

Use a semicolon to separate two independent clauses — i.e., two sentences that work on their own — which are closely sequential: “I finished a painting today; it went better than I thought it would.” Or in order to separate … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged grammar, language, miscellaneous, punctuation, style, syntax, writing | Leave a comment

Fanfare for the Arch and Monarchic Empyrean

Posted on May 21, 2021 by JMN

For fanfaronnish, pharaonic, peerlessly peeraged personnages kitted, kilted, severely coiffed and balconic in presence, shod and booted in besotted opulence, blackamoorian brooched, got up in splendid headgear, lorded lads and ladied dames garbed in emblazoned berobement, none… For sherlockian, sherwoodian, … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged Britannia, culture, humour, language, miscellaneous, personal, style | Leave a comment

‘Cowards’ by Miguel Hernández

Posted on May 20, 2021 by JMN

[Translator’s note: The blog of Andrés Cifuentes — Eco Social…Ojo Crítico (doff of cap to) led me to this poem by Miguel Hernández. It doesn’t soar as poetry, but it does register a raw and memorable cri de coeur. All … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged language, Miguel Hernández, poetry, Spanish-English, translation | Leave a comment

In Which the Paladin of the Long Face Gives Wise Counsel to His Squire

Posted on May 19, 2021 by JMN

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged Cervantes, Don Quixote, language, literature, personal | Leave a comment