Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

‘The Tongue Has No Bones.’ Yeah!

Posted on August 6, 2023 by JMN

There’s no mistaking a language which can uncork a grave accent, an acute accent, a circumflex accent and a dieresis, all in the space of a single written utterance, as not-French. As I coax these diacritic delicacies from my keyboard … Continue reading →

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A Light Meditation

Posted on August 2, 2023 by JMN

Que la lumière soit! Et la lumière fut.¡Que la luz sea! Y la luz fue. (Que haya luz. Y hubo luz.)Let light BE! And light WAS. I realize God’s literal words were, “Let there be light.” Thinking about religion grammatically … Continue reading →

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Who Was the Poet That Said…

Posted on August 1, 2023 by JMN

… Something like: The bird-of-paradise that’s flying up your ass is also flying up mine? You know how, now and then, you simply need a particular poem in order to carry on? “Marvin” something? I’ve tried to track down the … Continue reading →

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The Pollution of Advertising

Posted on July 31, 2023 by JMN

There will always be too much to do, no matter what you do. But the ironic upside of this seemingly dispiriting fact is that you needn’t beat yourself up for failing to do it all… Instead, you can pour your … Continue reading →

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‘Shouldn’t Be Hard’ But IS

Posted on July 30, 2023 by JMN

It shouldn’t be hard to agree that the highest purpose of the First Amendment is to protect speech we like the least — speech we are sure is pernicious, bigoted, obscene or potentially harmful to health. Thus spaketh Bret Stephens, … Continue reading →

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A Drumbeat

Posted on July 28, 2023 by JMN

I can’t remember the journalist’s name (Jon Pareles?), but several years ago I read an article about James Brown’s “Funky Drummer.” In the recording, Brown puts the spotlight on his drummer Clyde Stubblefield, who plays a brief but memorable drum … Continue reading →

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Accent and Affect

Posted on July 27, 2023 by JMN

I heard a Nebraska state legislator say, “I’m extremely from Nebraska.” The adverb was novel. I’m from Texas, but not “extremely.” If I’d been raised in Terre Haute I’d be a Hoosier (but not extremely). What arrests me more than … Continue reading →

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The ‘Weird Causality’ of Passive Voice

Posted on July 20, 2023 by JMN

“Mistakes were made.” (Politicians from Nixon forward) Jamelle Bouie cites a passage from Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in America by the historians Karen and Barbara Fields: Consider the statement “black Southerners were segregated because of their skin color”— a … Continue reading →

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A Compelling Rationale for Taking Up Versifying

Posted on June 13, 2023 by JMN

Monet grew up in East New York in Brooklyn and started writing poetry when she was 8 because she was “fascinated by typewriters and people who would sit at typewriters,” she said. Monet fondly recalls her former college adviser: “I … Continue reading →

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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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