Tag Archives: language

Opportunities to Panic

Posted on November 10, 2020 by JMN

Ben Ehrenreich writes: The current pandemic has already given many of us a taste of what happens when a society fails to meet the challenges that face it… The climate crisis, as it continues to unfold, will give us additional … Continue reading →

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Tom, Dick, and Harry

Posted on November 9, 2020 by JMN

There was a fun question in my daily Spanish Quora: ¿Existe en inglés el equivalente a “fulano, mengano y zutano”? The consensus in the answer thread was that “Tom, Dick and Harry” was the closest equivalent. I’m reminded of my … Continue reading →

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The Squat

Posted on November 6, 2020 by JMN

I learned the term “typosquatting” today. Shortly after 2:30 a.m. on October 30, 2020, Twump tweeted the hashtag “#BidenCrimeFamiily” with no other context or link. That extra “i” circumvented Twitter’s efforts to hide the hashtag in search results. Called #typosquatting, … Continue reading →

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Michelangelo Pistoletto

Posted on October 29, 2020 by JMN

This article introduces me to Arte Povera (poor or plain art), a movement whose heyday ended in the 70s, known for it use of humble materials such as rags and newspaper. A major exponent, Michelangelo Pistoletto, has said, “Art is … Continue reading →

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‘Uninvited Guests’

Posted on October 23, 2020 by JMN

Carlos G. Navarro, curator of “Uninvited Guests,” the Prado’s first post-lockdown exhibition, says it’s “partly an act of self-criticism” for the museum’s complicity in neglect of 19th-century female artists. Of 130 works displayed, 60 are by women. One wonders why … Continue reading →

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Backages & Shortlogs

Posted on October 22, 2020 by JMN

The Guardian reports a crisis fermenting in South Korea: cabbage for making kimchi has run short. Its link to the intrepid cowpoke fleshing street-level USA will not be obvious, but an old snatch from Finnegans Wake helps connect the dots: … Continue reading →

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Lightning Gauge

Posted on October 21, 2020 by JMN

More than one Texas rancher weathering a drought has shrugged off a passing storm saying he got about an inch-and-a-half of lightning from it. Language note: as an adjective, “Texan” is not heard much in Texas cities. (c) 2020 JMN

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The Kiss

Posted on October 20, 2020 by JMN

“I feel so powerful. I’ll walk into that audience. I’ll walk in there, I’ll kiss everyone in that audience. I’ll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and… everybody. I’ll just give you a big fat kiss.”— At October 2020 … Continue reading →

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The ‘Tintanic’ Runs on Octopower

Posted on October 19, 2020 by JMN

I have a fictitious acquaintance with the Chichester locale via Sir Alistair Chichester of Chichesterton-upon-Hogg. There’ll always be a Britain in my fancies. (c) 2020 JMN

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Slackoff from Windbaggage

Posted on October 17, 2020 by JMN

Art Spiegelman’s comment below, encountered on the fly as if on zoom wings, has helped me realize that this latest painting is just wrong: grotesque in subject, torpid in execution, and the end of a line. Fury and disgust can … Continue reading →

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