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.
mistery … (Eliot) “In the figure of the monster from outer space, the freakish, the ugly and the predatory all converge — and provide a fantasy target for righteous bellicosity to discharge itself, and for the aesthetic enjoyment of suffering … Continue reading →
Posted in Anthology
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Tagged journal, personal
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This gallery contains 1 photo.
In trying to render emotion in faces, I find it interesting how similar smiling is to weeping. The difference seems to lie in the eyes more than in the mouth.
“For me, poetry proliferates and flourishes in the intellect’s blind spot. But you have to have the intellect first; you can’t skip that step. I find intelligence to be most interesting when it’s tested — not when it’s challenged, but … Continue reading →
Posted in Quotations
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Tagged poetry
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“Dover Beach,” poem by Matthew Arnold, https://www.poetryfoundation.org Penned by a Victorian on his honeymoon! This is hardly a celebratory poem, but I get from it what the French call a “morne plaisir,” a gloomy satisfaction. Its somber music moves me, … Continue reading →
I learned touch typing in high school and have used it intensively all my life. My dream is to enable my fingers to find the notes they need on the fretboard as automatically and unconsciously as they find the letters … Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary
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Tagged music, personal
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Carlis McElroy was captain of our Lady Stags softball team her senior year. She had to stop pitching when she injured her rotator cuff. Bobbi Gail thinks that’s when she got pregnant with Mardel Spelvin. Mardel’s taking classes in Kinesiology … Continue reading →
Posted in Anthology
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Tagged personal, writing
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Eighteen minutes into Giles’s and Trevor’s trip for high tea with Felicity and Nigella at the Chancery Buttery near Vauxhall Mews, a lorry blocks their way for seven minutes in order to unload its bangers and kidneys at the Fox … Continue reading →
Posted in Anthology
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Tagged personal, writing
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King Mswati III of Swaziland proclaims that his country shall henceforth be called eSwatini. It means “land of the Swati” in the siSwati language that predominates in the southern African kingdom. The king has reigned for 32 years over one … Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary
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Tagged language
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The Little Comet That Could Note: “Kreutz” is pronounced “Kroits.” Lovejoy, a Kreutz sungrazer, has just done A death-defying feat, and kissed the Sun. Stargazers shook their heads: “He won’t make it!” Lovejoy said to himself: “I can take it!” … Continue reading →
MANED EXETER (Sontag, 219) Maned Exeter, beleaguered metalunan victor or the victim. The success of such spectacles indicates that most people identify with the victor; they are immortal. I identify with the victim. Screen violence is horrible because I am … Continue reading →
Posted in Anthology
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Tagged journal, personal
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EthicalDative 
Why Learn the Fretboard? (6-23-2012)
I learned touch typing in high school and have used it intensively all my life. My dream is to enable my fingers to find the notes they need on the fretboard as automatically and unconsciously as they find the letters … Continue reading →