Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

‘Free Speech Is Hard Work’

Posted on September 7, 2023 by JMN

One stumbles upon insight gold. Here’s a line from the title poem of Egyptian poet Iman Mersal’s book The Threshold: One long-serving intellectual screamed at his friend / When I’m talking about democracy / you shut the hell up. It’s … Continue reading →

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Poderoso Caballero Es Don Besuquero — ¿O Ya No?

Posted on August 30, 2023 by JMN

*”A sturdy caballero is Master Hotlips — Or no longer?” (pace Quevedo). Mr. Rubiales was shown on video after the World Cup final in Sydney on Aug. 20 kissing one of the team’s star players, Jennifer Hermoso. Although he apologized … Continue reading →

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The Hyper-Groomed Gnomechuck Is Back

Posted on August 23, 2023 by JMN

I’m keeping an eye on the confected pixel pixie spawned by a whoring AI chatbot that we met not long ago here in EthicalDative. The entity has morphed from this nugatory skidmark… … into this spavined dreamboat: This particular ad … Continue reading →

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OCCD

Posted on August 13, 2023 by JMN

Some persons, of whom I may be one, are beset by the brevity demon. Obsessive-Compulsive Concision Disorder is an aggressive form of self-effacement, a weaponized modesty that clamors furtively for slivers of bandwidth under cover of a solicitous compunction over … Continue reading →

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‘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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