Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

Once More Into the Breach, Dear Solons!

Posted on May 22, 2023 by JMN

The country is experiencing mass mental health incidents in front yards, parking lots, retail centers, worship and entertainment venues, schools, parks, clubs, sporting events, parties — wherever 4 or more targets like to congregate. State governments are circling around the … Continue reading →

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It’s About Being About Stuff

Posted on May 18, 2023 by JMN

It’s about God and Country. It’s about We the People. It’s about How the West Was Won. It’s about Living Off the Land. It’s about the Constitution. It’s about Good Policing. It’s about Secure Schools. It’s about Mental Health. It’s … Continue reading →

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El Nela. — Mi objetivo es luminoso

Posted on May 3, 2023 by JMN

Pequeños paraísos. El Nela. — Mi objetivo es luminoso

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Is Brain Rack Journey or Destination?

Posted on April 23, 2023 by JMN

Have you ever suspected people who “play devil’s advocate” are often expressing their actual opinions, but without having to take responsibility for them? I worked in the tech industry a while. I should be more interested in ChatGPT. Why am … Continue reading →

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Foobar to Fix ‘They’

Posted on April 12, 2023 by JMN

To automate Spanish verb conjugation with Java code I created variables to hold the gamut of subject pronouns available to English and Spanish. Here were the varieties of “you”: String youS = null; // “you” singular familiar = “tú”String YouS … Continue reading →

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If You Believe in ‘Random’ Words, Reconsider

Posted on April 8, 2023 by JMN

Programming code as I understand it is language that tells a computer what to do. It has customarily been written by humans. I’ve written it. Code has to be very literal and deliberate.The machine, traditionally, is clueless as a stump. … Continue reading →

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Teacher Gets Schooled

Posted on April 6, 2023 by JMN

I taught in a country high school in deep rural Texas. I was rubbish at it for 9 out of 10 years — mine is the discredit, I make no excuses. Teaching still gives me bad dreams: A roomful of … Continue reading →

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‘I Am on the Side of Tears’

Posted on March 31, 2023 by JMN

“All we can do now is pray.” Famous last words. Prayer is the recourse of the desperate when there’s no recourse. It’s the last croak from the isthmus of the fauces before humanity lies facedown in the mud. When you … Continue reading →

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‘La Ronde Enfantine’

Posted on March 29, 2023 by JMN

I savor the deep dark greeniness and people-dwarfing scale of the forest in this painting by Courbet. The syrupy light on the tree trunks is eyeball lickable. (Julia Jacobs, “He Lost a Courbet Fleeing the Nazis. His Heirs Are Getting … Continue reading →

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Pausing With Your Eyes

Posted on March 25, 2023 by JMN

I’ve looked into what the exaggerated gaps between words or phrases in lines of verse are all about, curious whether or not they should affect my reading and, if so, how. A writer named Emilia Phillips calls them visual caesuras … Continue reading →

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