Monthly Archives: December 2022

Saint Brevity, Patron of Blagueurs

Posted on December 16, 2022 by JMN

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” (Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon, 1971) Like a bird on a pole,Like a soul on the dole,I have tried all my waysTo be brief.(JMN, after Leonard Cohen) (Harold Simon is quoted by … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Uh, You, Hey, I’m Talking Here!

Posted on December 15, 2022 by JMN

ḥarfu-n-nidā’ — “the particle of calling out,” (exclaiming, direct address). It establishes a “vocative dependency” with the noun that follows. That noun, according to certain rules, will have either a nominative or an accusative case ending. I like to think … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Trills and Spills from ‘Gilgamesh’s Snake’

Posted on December 14, 2022 by JMN

Verses are from Ghareeb Iskander, Gilgamesh’s Snake and Other Poems, Bilingual Edition translated from the Arabic by John Glenday and Ghareeb Iskander, Syracuse University Press, 2016. Translations here are mine. (c) 2022 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

Posted in Anthology, Quotations | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Poetry PowerPoint, Crossdressing Wolf

Posted on December 11, 2022 by JMN

Cartoons can slay. Here are two that plaster a grin on my face for the connections they make. The first is from The New Yorker. The second is from Larson’s The Far Side Daily Dose website. (1) I once had … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Can We Be Over ‘So’?

Posted on December 10, 2022 by JMN

I think I’ll forfeit my fortitude when the next person who’s asked a question starts his answer with “So.” It’s like answering queries with “Therefore….” — Where are you from? — Therefore I was born in Poughkeepsie, but grew up … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Gone, Not Forgotten

Posted on December 9, 2022 by JMN

Greystoke, old dear, we hardly knew ya and you’ve broke our hearts. Purr in peace. (c) 2022 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | 5 Comments

A Dying Hero’s Own Thoughts and Prayers

Posted on December 8, 2022 by JMN

Vicky Phelan died of cervical cancer last month at age 48 in County Limerick, Ireland. She had been an advocate for fellow victims of botched Pap smears. Her ringing demand for freedom from callous, corrupt leadership has universal application. “I … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

‘We Were Limpid, So We Were Not Turbid’

Posted on December 5, 2022 by JMN

A verse of classical Arabic can be tightly packed. Besides immersion in grammar, what’s most useful to this student of the language is a highly Congruent (1) translation. It amounts to what’s called a “trot,” and is the least likely … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fellow’s Garrulous, But a Decent Painter

Posted on December 5, 2022 by JMN

He talks about a narrow, closed view of the world in which a contempt for America – the home of “degenerate” jazz for the Nazis, the capitalist enemy for the GDR – was a constant. “Until I was about 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Once Was Lost, But Now Is Found

Posted on December 1, 2022 by JMN

“We were flabbergasted. It has taken 100 years to rediscover Atlantic City.” [Petulant style note: Equally flabbergasting is British journalism’s insufferable convention of not setting off titles with quotes or italics. What two researchers rediscovered was not the coastal city … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | 2 Comments