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.

There’s So Much to Be Said for Saying Less

Posted on December 8, 2023 by JMN

Quoth the raven, “Never mind.” (pace Poe) Afterword I’m copious and so are you. (From Cowpunk by Diane Seuss in Poetry, December 2023) (c) 2023 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

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A Defense of Women Via Sarcastic Tirade Meaning the Opposite of What It Purports to Affirm

Posted on December 2, 2023 by JMN

[Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice ironic bloviation. The message buried in a made-up rant full of ludicrous rhetoric (posted previously) is that the assertion “It never happened,” or that an encounter was “consensual,” implies … Continue reading →

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The Deep-Rooted Mendacity of the Weaker Sex

Posted on November 29, 2023 by JMN

Swaggart. Trump. Weinstein. Epstein. Windsor. Brand. Rose… the list goes on. When will such men be spared the allegations of conniving women? It’s the one time the word “liaress,” feminine of “liar,” would be a useful addition to the language. … Continue reading →

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‘Truth’ Is Straight-Up Naked, Dude

Posted on November 25, 2023 by JMN

“You have said the actual truth.” (Musk) (Michelle Goldberg, “Why on Earth Are Jewish Leaders Praising Elon Musk?” New York Times, 11-20-23) UNSTABLE GENIUSES, THEY GO AND COMEThe dude bogarts a joint and jinxes X,hocks the truth with loogies of … Continue reading →

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‘Cuando Me Vaya’ by Javier Sánchez

Posted on November 20, 2023 by JMN

The Spanish text I translate to English here is from Las palabras de Javier (November 16, 2023). In reading poetry of the day I brace for being left in the lurch, for being denied more than a cerebral engagement, at … Continue reading →

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Love the Beasts

Posted on November 17, 2023 by JMN

“Fauve painting is not everything,… but it is the foundation of everything.” (Matisse) I have an affinity for the stripe of painting perpetrated by the Fauves. Their manic attack with brush and pigment gestures offhandedly toward trees, water and sky. … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 6 Comments

Please, Your Majesty. Say, ‘We Are Not Amused’

Posted on November 14, 2023 by JMN

… A consummation devoutly to be wished.”(Shakespeare) Evangelical euphemisms like “Grab ‘em by the prissy” and “Kiss my aft” have hopped from bully rally to pulpit rave in American discourse thanks to the God lobby. But, Britannia, oh dear! “Fuckpigs,” … Continue reading →

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Badonkadonks, Ta-Tas and Bunga Bunga

Posted on November 10, 2023 by JMN

Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni is in the news for rinsing her hands of longtime, live-in boyfriend Andrea Giambruno, caught prospecting for group sex. Reportage has reached again for bunga bunga, which keeps this reliable trope of male-hormonal culture merrily … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Quotations | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Backside

Posted on November 7, 2023 by JMN

“The whole secret of politics is knowing who hates who.” (Kevin Phillips) “MY pronoun,” said Cruz, “is ‘kiss my ass.’”On Ted’s form of address I’ll take a pass.A smooch bestowed on the croup of this solonis honor paid to the … Continue reading →

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‘After the Music, We Want Meaning’

Posted on November 4, 2023 by JMN

“We love the balance and control of rhyme even if it unbalances us, but, after the music, we want meaning.” (Adam Gopnik) When Adam Gopnik writes, “No prosody can immunize poetry against the test of experience… What’s always at stake … Continue reading →

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