Tag Archives: writing

Boosler, Eisenberg, Cage, Aznavour, Hockney

Posted on October 3, 2018 by JMN

Men, she sighs, expect her to cook breakfast the morning after sex. “They want things like toast,” she says, exasperated. “I don’t have these recipes.” (Jason Zinoman, “The Comedy Master Who Hasn’t Gotten Her Due: Elayne Boosler,” NYTimes, 10-1-18) “I … Continue reading →

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A Pause to Reflect About Blogging

Posted on September 25, 2018 by JMN

In several postings I’ve tapped a vein of old correspondence to my mother that describes events I forgot ever happened and thoughts I forgot I ever had. It’s a bit like clinically examining an earlier version of yourself preserved in … 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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Family Treesome, Stag Country

Posted on September 20, 2018 by JMN

When Angel Boorschagle’s momma died, her daddy Otto Pavlicheck married a Subaville girl half his age named Madaleen Pope. Madaleen had their baby Travis the same week Angel’s son Wade was born. Otto got backed over by the stock trailer … Continue reading →

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Feelings and Imagination

Posted on September 19, 2018 by JMN

I once authored a proto-blog in the BI (Before Internet) epoch, an ante-deluvian moment on the cyber-scale of time. I was based in a rambling bayou city situated in a large, hidebound, arrière-garde, rump-facing state of the sector of the … 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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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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Darrien and Derrick Were Twins

Posted on September 11, 2018 by JMN

Darrien and Derrick Wortham were twins. They looked as much alike as any two children could look. Played varsity ball together under Spunk McGruder. Spunk replaced Moon Wattles after Moon had that little problem in the locker room. Nice boys. … Continue reading →

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The Power of Writing

Posted on September 7, 2018 by JMN

It’s so much easier to teach public policy to people who already know how to write than teach writing to public policy experts. (Barry Lynn, quoted by David Streitfeld, “Amazon’s Antitrust Antagonist Has a Breakthrough Idea,” NYTimes, 9-7-18) [Copyright (c) … Continue reading →

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“Swimming in Words”

Posted on August 31, 2018 by JMN

“The most we can do is to write — intelligently, creatively, critically, evocatively — about what it is like living in the world at this time.” (Oliver Sacks, quoted by Bill Hayes, “Swimming in Words With Oliver Sacks,” NYTimes, 8-30-18) … Continue reading →

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