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.

Ouch!

“I don’t like country music, but I don’t denigrate people who do. And for people who like it, ‘denigrate’ means ‘put down.’ ” (Bob Newhart) (Copyright 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.)

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The Painted Word

In my twenties I fantasized an artistic project called “The Painted Word” — standing language on its head by meticulously brushing it on canvas. (I didn’t know until later that Tom Wolfe had used the phrase for the title of … Continue reading

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“They are female.”

“Maybe our leaders, who seem so quick to threaten violence or shut down the government, should spend some time with dairy cows. They are ponderous ships of milk. There are infinite births to attend. They slow time. They are female.” … Continue reading

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Dominoes

The powers that be have signed the contract that assures Hurricane Harvey (2017) will have robust progeny in my neck of the planet into what future is foreseeable. In a forlorn holding action against storms to come I’m having a … Continue reading

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How a bespoke Suit works

“A Savile Row suit ‘rarely looks new in the conventional sense.’ Its magic ‘is that it enhances your real self into heightened fantasy, then presents this fantasy as your real self.’ “ (Lance Richardson, “House of Nutter,” reviewed by Matthew … Continue reading

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Likability

“As far as likability, I don’t think that I have more than most people but I try not to be rude. I like when people are polite and kind to other people. I just think life is so hard, why … Continue reading

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Anne Tyler on Eudora Welty and endurance

[Tyler discovered Welty’s “A Curtain of Green and Other Stories” at age 14.] “I was just flabbergasted. I said, she’s writing my life, people I know, and it’s not Shakespearean English… Later I even got to know her. She was … Continue reading

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… And a partridge in a pear tree

“…The Cave Rescue Organization, the oldest cave-rescue group in Britain, says it has responded to 2,927 episodes since its founding in 1935. Of those, 745 were in caves; the rest were on mountains and in disused mines or other locations. … Continue reading

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“Dinosaur Feathers!”

Dinosaur Feathers! A dinosaur with feathers? Well I’m sure! The spectacle’s more than I can endure. Next, mules are born with earrings, snakes have knees, And furry goldfish populate the seas. I can just as well believe those things As … Continue reading

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“Epistemic Skepticism”

“As an attitude…, epistemic skepticism consists in always second-guessing your own judgments — about yourself, other people and situations; always monitoring those judgments to make sure you’re seeing clearly, have the facts right, aren’t making any unfounded inferences or deceiving … Continue reading

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