Category Archives: Quotations

Things people said.

Yo-Yo Ma, America’s Cellist

Posted on September 28, 2018 by JMN

And what Mr. Ma plays at moments like those [i.e. historic occasions], to make us cry and then soothe us, is, more often than not, a selection from the Bach cello suites. These six works are the Everest of his … Continue reading →

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William Faulkner Loved Mysteries

Posted on September 25, 2018 by JMN

Faulkner rarely discussed his love of mysteries, perhaps considering them lowbrow, but he seemed to understand their importance to his writing. A friend recalled visiting a library with him, so Faulkner could “exchange a stack of mystery stories for a … Continue reading →

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Cecily Brown: Saying More Than One Thing at Once

Posted on September 24, 2018 by JMN

“I wanted to make the painting that New York deserves right now,” she said. “It’s such a bloody awful time in so many ways. At the same time, New York is having one of its richest moments in history for … Continue reading →

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Getting Recognition

Posted on September 24, 2018 by JMN

Once, when asked about discrimination against female artists, the Abstract Expressionist Lee Krasner said the bias was as old as Judeo-Christian history. Brushing aside the weight of that realization, she added, “There’s nothing I can do about those 5,000 years.” … Continue reading →

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How It Goes

Posted on September 23, 2018 by JMN

Governor Nimati said that disaster in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district was averted last week only after the American military sent Special Forces troops to fight alongside Afghan commandos, backed up by airstrikes. But as soon as the Americans and the commandos … Continue reading →

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Women Declared To Be ‘Persons’!

Posted on September 21, 2018 by JMN

“We believe that a very large number of women do not desire to vote. They shrink from having to go to the polling booths on election days. They would much prefer staying at home and attending to their household duties.” … Continue reading →

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The View from the Middle Ground

Posted on September 18, 2018 by JMN

[Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones founded the New York Times in 1851. The quote by Raymond is from the first edition.] During a time when sensationalist journalism was commonplace in media, The Times vowed to avoid such tactics in … Continue reading →

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The Proof

Posted on September 18, 2018 by JMN

The proof that we live in a plutocracy is not that the wealthy get most of the prizes in our society, but that majorities think that is how it should be. (Gary Wills) [Copyright (c) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All … Continue reading →

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Decline and Fall? Informed Worry

Posted on September 18, 2018 by JMN

[Jill Lepore, Harvard professor, has just published “These Truths,” a new history of the United States.] If “These Truths” ends on a note of “Gibbonesque foreboding,” as she put it, she hopes it will take us out of the frenzy … Continue reading →

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Lost in jazz ecstasy

Posted on September 16, 2018 by JMN

This flash-back is from The Guardian. I have a vague memory of when Elvis invaded the airways, and my grandmother commenting, “I can’t imagine anyone can find that music pretty.” Photographer Michael Peto and writer Anthony Samson visited the cinemas … Continue reading →

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