Monthly Archives: September 2022

The Nays of Texas Are Upon It

Posted on September 30, 2022 by JMN

“Knowing truth is important. Right and wrong are truth, not feelings. And they are the same for everyone. Our creator is the source of the rules for right and wrong and they come from his character.” (Member of the public … Continue reading →

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Breaking: Poetry in the Air?

Posted on September 28, 2022 by JMN

Working head of state one day, gone the next. Sic transit gloria. An adoring contingent of Great Britain has lately felt its feelings in splendid public fashion for a queen whose reign exceeded average life expectancy in most of the … Continue reading →

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What He Simply Tries to Do

Posted on September 22, 2022 by JMN

“In his view, painting and drawing are exactly the same difficulty and take roughly as long as each other.” (William Feaver, art critic and one of Auerbach’s regular sitters) Asked whether he has learned something new about his face, [Auerbach] … Continue reading →

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One Good Pareidolia Deserves Another

Posted on September 19, 2022 by JMN

Rocky debate swirls around a squiggle on the “fingerlike menhir” at the entrance to the Dolmen of Guadalperal in Spain. (See https://ethicaldative.com/2022/09/17/the-dolmen-tells-the-wind-hard-weather-ahead/). Opposite a vaguely anthropomorphic shape etched on the menhir’s side lies the squiggle. Angel Castaño, a philologist, believes … Continue reading →

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The Dolmen Tells the Wind, ‘Hard Weather Ahead’

Posted on September 17, 2022 by JMN

A megalithic archaeological site has been exposed by drought in Spain. Some 2,000 years older than Stonehenge, the Bronze Age sepulcher was deliberately flooded in 1963 as part of a rural development project. Like the skeleton of an extinct sea … Continue reading →

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Wipe It Off, Gray Lady

Posted on September 13, 2022 by JMN

Free expression isn’t just a feature of democracy; it is a necessary prerequisite. (Editorial Board, “Censorship Is the Refuge of the Weak,” New York Times, 9-10-22) No big deal. Just a nicety of style, a peccadillo none but the persnickety … Continue reading →

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Tohu Bohu in the Land of Steak Frites

Posted on September 12, 2022 by JMN

“We have to change our mentality so that eating a barbecued entrecôte is no longer a symbol of virility… If you want to resolve the climate crisis, you have to reduce meat consumption, and that’s not going to happen so … Continue reading →

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Asked and Answered

Posted on September 10, 2022 by JMN

“The American press is infatuated to the point of intoxication with ‘democracy,’ ” [Buchanan] wrote in 1991. To make his point, he compared the Marine Corps and corporations like IBM to the federal government. “Only the last is run on … Continue reading →

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Chasing Command: The Kicker

Posted on September 9, 2022 by JMN

Statistic: Forty-nine of the 50 highest-scoring players in American football history are kickers. “And the first ball comes off my foot like a rocket, and then the next one and the next,” he says. “I just felt like I had … Continue reading →

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Romancing ‘Gilgamesh’s Snake’

Posted on September 7, 2022 by JMN

The transliterations bracketed below are mine. In them, tā’ marbūṭa is ẗ, and I show the lām of the article as assimilated to a following solar letter. For example: [‘ayyuhā-s-sayyidu] instead of [‘ayyuhā-l-sayyidu]. My character set, contrived to avoid digraphs, … Continue reading →

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