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.

Don’t Let the Prefect Be the Enemy of the Gay

Posted on July 27, 2022 by JMN

Where I live, a powerful local official causes a contribution to be withheld from an organization planning a pride festival in the town square. The official does not wish the county’s name to be associated with a drag show, a … Continue reading →

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The ‘He-She—>They’ Transformation (1)

Posted on July 26, 2022 by JMN

In respect of gender, Arabic nouns are divisible into three classes; (a) those which are only masculine [muḏakkar-un]; (b) those which are only feminine [mu’annaṯ-un]; (c) those which are both masc. and fem., or, as it is usually phrased, of … Continue reading →

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Which One Is ‘They’? A Way Almost to Tell

Posted on July 24, 2022 by JMN

Let’s work together, good citizens: Go ahead and write they instead of he or she if you must, but keep the -s ending on the verb. It will result in phrases such as they wants. People will want to amend … Continue reading →

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Which One Is ‘They’? A Way Almost to Tell

Posted on July 24, 2022 by JMN

Let’s work together, good citizens: Go ahead and write they instead of he or she if you must, but keep the -s ending on the verb. It will result in phrases such as they wants. People will want to amend … Continue reading →

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Two Ghosts Between Covers

Posted on July 23, 2022 by JMN

I converse from time to time with a bibliophile. It inspires me to recount a bookish tale. On the skids from academia I kept either of two books near me as a talisman, carrying one even to bars. They didn’t … Continue reading →

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The Seer and the Seen

Posted on July 21, 2022 by JMN

The musketeer —> the musked; the buccaneer —> the bucked; the mountaineer —> the mounted; the privateer —> the deprived; the profiteer —> the profited; the marketeer —> the marketed; the brexiteer —> the exited; the rocketeer —> the rooked; … Continue reading →

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Texas Made Him. The New Yorker Claimed Him

Posted on July 20, 2022 by JMN

What would John Bennet do? He’d keep it brief. (Nick Paumgarten, “John Bennet, Enemy of the ‘Blah Blah Blah’,” The New Yorker, 7-14-22) That’s how Nick Paumgarten starts his tribute to John Bennet, a New Yorker editor, recently deceased, who … Continue reading →

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‘Crypto Casino’ and ‘Derp’

Posted on July 18, 2022 by JMN

The way I see it, crypto evolved into a sort of postmodern pyramid scheme. The industry lured investors in with a combination of technobabble and libertarian derp; it used some of that cash flow to buy the illusion of respectability, … Continue reading →

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‘Your Cheatin’ Heart Will Tell on You’

Posted on July 17, 2022 by JMN

… Is the best song ever written. It makes a start, goes somewhere you can follow, and has a wind-up. Hank Williams tells a story every man jack of us can relate to. This song and a few beers will … Continue reading →

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‘Blown Up’ by Gunfire

Posted on July 16, 2022 by JMN

An obstetrician who happened to be at the parade that day described the Highland Park massacre of July 4, 2022: The people killed were “blown up by that gunfire,” he said, “blown up. The horrific scene of some of the … Continue reading →

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