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.

I don’t follow “football,” but…

“When football club directors are in a bind all they want is someone to lie to them offering a version of events that is optimistic and irrefutable, based on “scientific” evidence. (Speech marks are vitally important every time the word … Continue reading

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Otiose Maundering

Dead cat bounce Catch a falling knife Bum luck Egypt Seven large going spare Bespoke zoots Pasta puttanesca War and Peas Puckish truculence Warp speak Aloe, Vera! Circular humanism Caveat empty Flag elation Mass turbation Con stir nation Absolute shun … Continue reading

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Spot and Bess

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“It’s not just writers…”

“It’s not just writers. It’s everyone. The writer is just an extreme case of something everyone struggles with. ‘On the one hand, to function well, you have to believe in yourself and your abilities and summon enormous confidence from somewhere. … Continue reading

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Save the Queen from what?

The Windsors are richer than Croesus and cosseted in  indescribably privileged circumstances, lavished with lifetime stipends for performing ceremonial chores, kowtowed to and fawned over by legions of adoring subjects who may or may not have a recently purchased pair … Continue reading

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Jerry had a sweet tooth

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Stud Bird

I’ve spent some of my life working with (for?) adolescents. We were told their behavior and dress, especially the parts adults liked to fret about, were attributable to hormones. I don’t know. Hormones weren’t my field. However, I think of … Continue reading

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“Carnage”

If I were a movie critic I’d be chronically behind the times. I shy away from movies that are popular. I don’t think I’ll ever see “Avatar” or anything labeled “Shrek.” It took me years to get to “Titanic.” Too … Continue reading

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“Monk was the reason…”

Monk was the reason I went to work for Barker Tools, what was it, sixty-nine, seventy? He was district manager working out of Kingsville. Hired me as a field rep. You bumped into some squirrely sons-of-britches in the oil patch, … Continue reading

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The Northernness

“If you’re full of beauty and positive things it’s harder for stuff to get to you. Joy is not a luxury that you can tack on when you’ve sorted everything out, joy is how you will sort out your problems… … Continue reading

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