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.

“When did you stop beating your wife?”

Posted on June 20, 2018 by JMN

“Through his mysterious and appealing lectures, they were guided away from the cold sobriety of genuine knowledge into the picturesque realms of pseudoscience….” (Grete de Francesco, “The Power of the Charlatan,” quoted by John Ganz in an opinion piece in … Continue reading →

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“A Modest Proposal”

Posted on June 20, 2018 by JMN

Jonathan Swift wrote that the babies of the poor should be spitted, roasted, and consumed. The quotation, in Latin, crowns the main gate to Baldershanks, Sir Alistair Chichester’s estate in Chichesterton-Upon-Hogg. Many have dismissed the Swiftian proposition as merely a mischievous … Continue reading →

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“Dancing Tango…”

Posted on June 19, 2018 by JMN

“But what we fail to do in politics — harness our shared humanity — we do so easily in dance. We embrace the other. We take into account another person’s comfort, how our pace and pressure feel. We compromise to … Continue reading →

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This just in!

Posted on June 19, 2018 by JMN

The restaurant in the UK House of Parliament has changed the name of a classic British dessert known as “spotted dick”; henceforth it will be called “spotted richard.” (Eater, June 18, 2018) Spotted dick was featured in the cozy supper … Continue reading →

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“The Rape of Dinah” (Genesis)

Posted on June 18, 2018 by JMN

“If I were preaching the story of Dinah, I might simply ask, “How do you think she felt?” It’s a question that some men have never considered. Though some abusers are beyond the reach of compassion, I have in my … Continue reading →

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“Morning Norther”

Posted on June 17, 2018 by JMN

The wind trees up, driving a pile of mischief, rousing leaf rabble and a scramble of squirrels. Pelting rain drop-kicks the sink window pane. Water’s kettled, coffee’s ground, but it’s a storm that’s brewing. God’s baby Jesus rattle claps, His … Continue reading →

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“What the poem says…”

Posted on June 17, 2018 by JMN

“What the poem says, it does.” (Alain Badiou) “I alone create a product that society does not want.” (Mallarmé) ” ‘Poets, Mallarmé wrote, must take back what is ours. They must sing of heroes with no name — the Figure … Continue reading →

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“For Her”

Posted on June 14, 2018 by JMN

(1) You are the Pole I turn around, My needle’s North, the shade I seek On a hot day. You are the ground I grow in, stamina I lack. Remember snow that caked the “Roost”? The box of bubbly you … Continue reading →

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“What Philip Roth Didn’t Know…”

Posted on June 13, 2018 by JMN

Dara Horn states that Roth’s caricature of women reveals a lack of empathy, and deems it a literary failure, made more egregious by a lack of curiosity. (“What Philip Roth Didn’t Know About Women Could Fill a Book,” NYTimes) Definitions … Continue reading →

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Fun With Glue Gun

Posted on June 13, 2018 by JMN

[From the Manual] “Prohibited in flammable and explosive occasions.” “Do not touch the glue gun and glue bar when working.” “It is forbidden to pull the glue strip out of the tail of the glue gun.” “The glue gun is … Continue reading →

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