Category Archives: Anthology

My collected writings and those of family members.

Gurning Expressions and Good Craic

Posted on March 17, 2019 by JMN

I’ve recently locked into “Derry Girls” on Netflix, of which I’ve just encountered this enthusiastic review in The Guardian. For me, a dialect wonk, the series is a bracing dip into Irish brogue, besides good entertainment. The world is ready … Continue reading →

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“A Girl From Somewhere Else”

Posted on March 17, 2019 by JMN

I take myself too seriously, probably because I’m a human being. With our big brains and our bigger egos, we can’t help building the case to ourselves and others that we are very important creatures, when really we’re ludicrous. To … Continue reading →

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High Cotton in Language Land

Posted on March 14, 2019 by JMN

[Confession: I hesitate to register enjoyment of language that happens to come from a debate whose seriousness I readily acknowledge. Brexit is beyond my purview, but I hope whatever solution is reached benefits the UK and its citizens. With that … Continue reading →

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Defamation Nation

Posted on March 7, 2019 by JMN

  How Australia Became the Defamation Capital of the World A court ruling in favor of a billionaire businessman against The Sydney Morning Herald illustrates the sorry state of the country’s defamation laws. By Louisa Lim Ms. Lim is a … Continue reading →

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Crossed Out

Posted on March 7, 2019 by JMN

[The Brant Foundation Art Study Center in the East Village, New York City, opens with an exhibition of nearly 70 works by Jean-Michel Basquiat created from 1980 to 1987.] Other paintings pay homage to jazz greats like Miles Davis and … Continue reading →

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Titans in Natty Attire

Posted on March 7, 2019 by JMN

Joni Mitchell describes herself as a “painter derailed by circumstance.” (“Joni Mitchell,” Wikipedia) (Photo from Guy Trebay, “Of David Hockney and Joni Mitchell Holding Hands,” NYTimes, 2-28- 19) (c) 2019 JMN.

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Proto Trudeau?

Posted on March 7, 2019 by JMN

[“Sir John Soane’s Museum [London] will announce this week that it is to stage Hogarth: Place and Progress, an exhibition of 50 or so works in which Hogarth observed the morals of contemporary life, conveying the comedy and tragedy of … Continue reading →

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The “Immortals” Budge

Posted on March 4, 2019 by JMN

Decades after other French-speaking countries adopted feminine names for professions, the official guardians of the language in France have also backed the change. The Académie française, whose members are known as “immortals”, has said it has no obstacle in principle … Continue reading →

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Correct Me If I’m Wrong

Posted on March 4, 2019 by JMN

People often say that our problem in America today is incivility or intolerance. This is incorrect… You might be tempted to say we need to find ways to disagree less, but that is incorrect… This might sound like a call … Continue reading →

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How Rembrandt Worked

Posted on March 1, 2019 by JMN

I liked the detail quoted below of how Rembrandt painted lace — the “hieroglyphic jumble” that coheres from afar– as well as the notion that a painted copy of a repetitive pattern actually looks artificial. This is helpful to a … Continue reading →

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