Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

Move Fast and Fix Things

Posted on April 19, 2020 by JMN

In late January Kara Swisher paid tribute to Clay Christensen, who died that month at age 67. Christensen was a Harvard professor of management whose seminal book “The Innovator’s Dilemma” appeared in 1997. His ideas on “disruptive” technologies influenced the … Continue reading →

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The Latest Thump

Posted on April 19, 2020 by JMN

This article by David Quammen appeared on January 28, 2020, in the NYTimes. That seems a long time ago in light of what has transpired in February, March, and half of April; however, the article has aged well. Quammen is … Continue reading →

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What Winning Looks Like

Posted on April 16, 2020 by JMN

South Korea is steadily dropping in the rankings of countries worst-hit by the pandemic. Once second only to China (population: about 1.4 billion), South Korea (population: 51.6 million) is now recording fewer total cases than Ireland (population: 4.9 million) and … Continue reading →

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“Forebode”? Verboten!

Posted on April 14, 2020 by JMN

But some religious authorities, too, have acted with anti-adaptive zeal. In my own Catholicism, the diocese of Raleigh, N.C., didn’t just cancel Masses and close churches; it forebode [my bolding] its priests to attempt experiments like drive-through confessions that might … Continue reading →

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Plaited Thorns

Posted on April 13, 2020 by JMN

Before reading the article I scanned this painting as a king and courtier munching a corona-bat monster that has been spitted and roasted. The courtier picks his teeth and licks his fingers while the king gnaws a bone ruminatively and … Continue reading →

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Aerosolized Precarity

Posted on April 10, 2020 by JMN

Having been involved with languages, both natural and programming, for a time, I always experience a moment of pleasurable surprise when I meet a word I feel I should have met before. Today’s new friend is “precariat.” It comes to … Continue reading →

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¡Viva el pinche Franglaisismo!

Posted on April 9, 2020 by JMN

Mixing English and French with artistic abandon “irks some purists.” The irking of purists is always and never a good sign for those who straddle irkdom. FouKi, a popular Quebec rapper whose real name is Léo Fougères, observed that Franglais … Continue reading →

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A Sober Voice

Posted on April 9, 2020 by JMN

“And that man’s a doctor!” as the endearing old refrain of the vouching Jewish mother goes. A recurring thread in recent news is how in a decapitated republic certain U.S. governors are stepping up to provide badly needed leadership in … Continue reading →

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Africa Felt Better

Posted on April 8, 2020 by JMN

With the United States now leading the world in Covid-19 cases, the health care system fraying and the economy faltering, some American citizens — especially those living abroad — are starting to see their country in a new, unsettling light. … Continue reading →

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Poisonous Language Travels (Like a Virus)

Posted on April 8, 2020 by JMN

As news filtered from the Joaquín Rosillo nursing home on the outskirts of Seville that a few residents had tested positive for coronavirus, worried families scrambled for information. But amid a nationwide lockdown, with their movements limited, there were no … Continue reading →

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