Author Archives: JMN

Unknown's avatar

About JMN

I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.

Old English “Kennings”

Posted on January 5, 2019 by JMN

s3.amazonaws.com/libapps/accounts/35417/images/sutton_hoo_bigger.jpg There are ways of expressing feeling in the Old English kennings that do not exist in the formal English of today. Even if I were to dream up some delicious new portmanteau here — some melding of “history,” “poignant” … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Language and Music

Posted on January 4, 2019 by JMN

mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wvxu/files/styles/small/public/201810/otis_rush.cobra_cover.jpg THE SONG BEGINS with a great resonating shout of joy and pain that resolves into the word “Well,” swooping down from a soaring A flat to E flat. “I can’t quit you, baby,” the singer continues, the band entering … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Anal Linguist Rides Again

Posted on January 4, 2019 by JMN

Despite being sequenced, there are still many questions that remain unanswered about the 1918 strain, such as where it originated *from*. (Nicole Karlis, “The same flu virus that caused the 1918 pandemic is back this year,” Salon, 1-3-19) That “from” … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 4 Comments

Spot On

Posted on January 4, 2019 by JMN

i.pinimg.com/236x/af/0a/5e/af0a5e1f54ce7bd39bdacda274b78d97–iris-murdoch-irish-people.jpg Dame Iris Murdoch had been a philosophy don at Oxford before she became a novelist, and as far as I was concerned, her philosophy of life was spot on, as someone in a British novel might say. (Susan Scarf … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Good Guitar

Posted on January 2, 2019 by JMN

I bought this guitar new at a music store in Reus (Catalonia – Spain) for 260 euros. The brand is “Alhambra,” not one I was familiar with. Made in Spain. I must give it its due here and say that … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 2 Comments

Losing It

Posted on January 1, 2019 by JMN

“I completely understand — it’s the two greatest players of all time,” Mouratoglou said of the attention. “But I’m really focused on the singles, because my goal is that she [Williams] wins the Australian Open.” (Ben Rothenberg, “Serena Williams and … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 6 Comments

“Where Have All the Vowels Gone”?

Posted on December 31, 2018 by JMN

Time was that you had to be an experimental weirdo to ditch vowels. In “Finnegans Wake,” James Joyce used the word “disemvowelled” in a section that includes this exchange of crystal-clear dialogue: — Nnn ttt wrd? — Dmn ttt thg. Before we are all … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | Leave a comment

What We Have Here Is an Influencing Situation

Posted on December 28, 2018 by JMN

The Airprox board said this, combined with a lack of visual warning, had resulted in “a significant and largely unmitigated safety risk” and recommended that RAF Air Command uses a system to receive notification of commercial drone operations. (BBC News, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 16 Comments

Muriel Spark

Posted on December 21, 2018 by JMN

Perhaps it is that particular literary quality, her poet’s rigorous understanding of what another modernist, D. H. Lawrence, called “the jump of words along the line”—when set against the easy-to-read “Miss Jean Brodie,” with its mass-market appeal—that has confused her … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | Leave a comment

Taking (Fish) Stock From Bronchial Purgatory

Posted on December 20, 2018 by JMN

Coming off a debilitating relapse of bronchitis I can say the following: These are the days of Catalonia — a month’s worth plus well-lapsed a fortnight — in which I’ve had cockles (berberechos), mussels (almejas, mejillones) and a crustacean called … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | Leave a comment