Author Archives: JMN

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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.

Reading ‘Reading Ulysses in Montana’ in Texas

Posted on May 15, 2025 by JMN

Delving Yardbarker is the nom de guerre of the creator of “Reading Ulysses in Montana.” As with Luvgood Carp, it gives me pleasure each time I say “Delving Yardbarker.” Sonorous, compressed, quirky, inventive, mischievous, literate, subversive, diverting, intriguing, outrageous, prolific, … Continue reading →

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

A Good Illustrator With a Modest Streak

Posted on May 14, 2025 by JMN

… Mr. Moore remained steadfast in avoiding lofty posturing as a fine artist. “If someone wants a picture of a horse to illustrate their new range of lasagna,” he said in the Agency Partners interview, “then I follow the brief … Continue reading →

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‘Machismo’ Cuts the Cheese Over Yonder

Posted on May 13, 2025 by JMN

Fun fact: In Great Britain they pronounce it mah-KIZ-mo. On the shores of the Gulf of Mexico America Mar-a-Lago we say mah-CHEESE-mo. (c) 2025 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 2 Comments

You Shall Not Crucify Mankind on a Cross of… Crypto

Posted on May 11, 2025 by JMN

With apologies to William Jennings Bryan, it’s called a “rug pull”: A celebrity touts a new digital coin, prices soar and then insiders who own most of the coins pull the rug: They sell their stakes for a big profit … Continue reading →

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‘Modest, Solitary Buildings Were Often Her Subject Matter’: Gretchen Dow Simpson (1939-2025)

Posted on May 10, 2025 by JMN

While modest, solitary buildings were often her subject matter, Ms. Simpson’s work was not purely representational. A former commercial photographer, she applied a telephoto approach to many of her paintings, zooming in on windows, doorways or rooftops to emphasize the … Continue reading →

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Pippa Garner (1942-2024): Setting an Example

Posted on May 10, 2025 by JMN

“I tried to set an example that nobody else can follow.” (Pippa Garner) A one-off slogan printed on her T-shirt series called “Shirtstorm” was “These Are My Remains.” (Will Heinrich, “Pippa Garner, Conceptual Artist With a Satirical Streak, Dies at … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 4 Comments

Which of These Dialogs Features a So-and-So?

Posted on May 3, 2025 by JMN

Dramatis Personae: Niamh, a lass. Oisín, a lad. Niamh: Have you had supper?Oisín: So I ate before leaving the house. Oisín: What was Waterloo?Niamh: So Wellington defeated Napoleon there. Niamh: How many capitals has Mongolia?Oisín: So I’m aware of only … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Dervish Is in the Detail

Posted on April 30, 2025 by JMN

Bret Stephens, conservative columnist for the New York Times, Jew raised in Mexico, fluent Spanish speaker, quotes (from memory) a poem called “God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manley Hopkins at the end of The Conversation with Gail Collins.  In my reading … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

The Few. The Proud. The Marooned

Posted on April 27, 2025 by JMN

I do solitary battle with poetry. Yes, battle. I challenge the poem, it challenges me. Me and the poem, the two of us in mental combat. From the former Gulf of MexicoTo the shores of Zuiderzee,I have pondered verses bad … Continue reading →

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‘The Choice to Limit Our Exposure to the Virtual’

Posted on April 24, 2025 by JMN

“But how much survives will depend on our own deliberate choices — the choice to date and love and marry and procreate, the choice to fight for particular nations and traditions and art forms and worldviews, the choice to limit … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 5 Comments