Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

Three Rules With Tolerances

Posted on January 26, 2026 by JMN

RULE OF GOLDTreat others like you want to be treated. RULE OF IRONBelieve in Me or else. RULE OF THUMBSteer into the skid. TOLERANCES“Every trade works to different tolerances. Steel workers aim to be accurate within half an inch; carpenters … Continue reading →

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And That’s Okay, But Don’t Worry, It’s Under Control’

Posted on January 13, 2026 by JMN

Remarks by podcaster Jason Staples have led me to ponder the notion of “original” language relative to scriptures widely known via translation. My attention was drawn to Staples’s comment that the Book of Revelations “has mixed metaphors all over the … Continue reading →

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Nostalgia, or Afterglow Foretold

Posted on January 4, 2026 by JMN

Greetings, Heart of Loia! Brylcreem, a little dab’ll do ya,Brylcreem, ya’ll look so debonair.Brylcreem, the gals will pursue ya.Just rub a little of it in yer hair! Breaking the 4th Wall for a MomentIn my experience, being followed (subscribed) here … Continue reading →

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Revolutionary January: No-Shots-Fired

Posted on January 1, 2026 by JMN

“As U.S. Guns Pour Into Canada, the Bodies Pile Up” (New York Times headline on Dec. 21, 2025) Can’t remember where, but recently I read that a functioning state must have a “monopoly on violence.” At first I found it … Continue reading →

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Of the 40 ‘Best’ Illustrations, 4 Are Good

Posted on December 29, 2025 by JMN

Sadly, many of the New York Times’s “best” Illustrations of 2025 are animated, removing them from consideration. Many others are merely garish, or negligible in diverse ways. Not a good year for illustration, but for the craver of artful graphics … Continue reading →

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‘Earrings for a Giraffe’

Posted on December 24, 2025 by JMN

In 1948, American artist Ruth Asawa (d. 2013, age 87) took classes at Black Mountain College in North Carolina with the dancer Merce Cunningham. Her mentor there was the architect Buckminster Fuller. … Such works were described dismissively by one … Continue reading →

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Writing Not Sterling, But Some Nice Painting

Posted on December 22, 2025 by JMN

Reflection on an article about painter Aubrey Williams that could use some editing. The article is informative about circumstances of Williams’s life, but light on useful appraisal of his art. Continue reading →

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‘Beginnings Are the Most Difficult’

Posted on December 20, 2025 by JMN

James Grashow uses cardboard as a prime material for creating his sculptures. Continue reading →

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Beauford Delaney: ‘A Yearning for Ornament’

Posted on December 18, 2025 by JMN

It leaves more room to follow what’s actually happening on the paper. … Though he drew them with confidence and care, you can see him yearning to ornament and exalt his subjects rather than just transcribe them. … The pulsing … Continue reading →

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Marlon Mullen Talks With Paint

Posted on December 17, 2025 by JMN

“I think he feels understood through his painting, and that gives him a way to talk to the world.” (The artist’s sister) I feel an uncanny affinity with Marlon Mullen’s ceremony of preparation! A colleague and I have lately ruminated … Continue reading →

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