Who I am…
I am a lawyer, former mother of teenagers, and a quixotic seeker after and champion of factual truth.
I make the best damn brownies you have ever had that are not regulated by the federal government.
I love movies, Broadway, and intelligent conversation.
I think in song lyrics and movie and television quotes.
I believe in the use of proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar even in text messages. I am willing to debate the use of the Oxford comma, if you know what the Oxford comma is. It also makes me very happy if people use the subjunctive mood when appropriate.
I have been told I intimidate people. I am really just a fluffy-centered teddy bear. Really.
- It's all my fault. No, really. The views expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone and in no way whatsoever represent the views of anyone else, including any past, present, or future employer.
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Words to live by ….
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8.
“Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living.” Mary Harris (“Mother Jones”).
“Don’t boo. Vote.” Barack Obama.
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” Reinhold Niebuhr.
“No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things.” Sir Terry Pratchett.
“Damning facts are still facts.” Steven C. Holtzman.
“If you don’t stick to your values when they’re tested, they’re not values — they’re hobbies.” Jon Stewart.
“Darkness never sustains, even though it sometimes seems it will.” Doctor Who.
“Writing is a form of mischief.” Stephen Sondheim.
“An idea is not responsible for the people who believe it.” Don Marquis.
“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” Joseph Campbell.
“Truth is our strongest ally, our biggest weapon, and our best defense.” Me.
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” Stephen Colbert.
“The opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation.” Jonathan Larson.
“We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger.
We rise and fall, and light from dying embers
Remembrances that hope and love last longer.
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love;
Cannot be killed or swept aside.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda.“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” Emma Goldman.
“No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett.
“I believe that the God who made (among other things) light, and space, and number, and time, and the spiral curve of Fibonacci numbers, must be acknowledged to understand more than I do about why there’s pain in the world.” Teresa Neilsen Hayden.
“No, it’s not fair. You’re in the wrong universe for fair.” John Scalzi.
“Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, ‘Liberal,’ as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won’t work, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor.” Lawrence O’Donnell
“So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin’ ass and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.” Molly Ivins.
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Monthly Archives: December 2012
Yet one more reason to love Stephen Colbert.
In September, Colbert (who is devoutly Catholic) appeared at Fordham University along with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. A question was raised from the audience about how to maintain joy while many Christians spread hatred of others, especially gays. … Continue reading
This is so completely true of me.
“I am not a morning person in the same way that the stars are not fruit-bats.” Neil Gaiman.
I love you.
Rachel Kay Albers on why she never plays hard to get. I agree with her completely, and I do as she does, with one notable exception: with romantic partners, unless I was very sure that I knew how they felt about … Continue reading
DIckens Fair.
I spent Sunday before last at the Dickens Fair. It required a great suspension of disbelief on my part. Like its brother, Ren Fair, Dickens Fair is a venue where adults can go to pretend that they are back in … Continue reading
I, along with many people — most people, perhaps — view Handel’s Messiah as a Christmas piece. It’s not: it covers the foretelling of Jesus, his birth, death, resurrection and return. In fact, the “Hallelujah Chorus” occurs in Part II, … Continue reading
I found all of these links amusing… thought others might as well: Newbie lawyer forecloses on BofA. (This was originally reported on in 2011, but I missed it at the time.) The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence crash Arizona … Continue reading
Endearments.
I call The Rocket Scientist “dear.” I call the kids “hon” (individually — as a group they are “you guys”), usually with my eyes shut and my hand rubbing the bridge of my nose in exasperation*: “Hon, just because the … Continue reading
Well of course, silly. She’s a *cat*.
Penwiper strolls through the living room into the dining room, where I am sitting. Me: Good morning, sweetheart.The Rocket Scientist, from the kitchen: I assume you were talking to the cat, not me.Me: That’s right — how did you know?RS: … Continue reading
[Insert own post here.]
Calming down, I’ve decided that, while I am still quite angry over the Senate refusing to ratify the UN Disabilities Treaty, calling people names is not productive and is in fact in violation of my values of respecting other people … Continue reading
Today’s words of wisdom from the Red-Headed Menace: “I looked at the Intro to Calculus section at the back of my Trig book. It was so cool! Calculus is the Fantasy Football of mathematics!”* “Santa is really creepy. He’s like … Continue reading
This is for Sarah…
Because I promised my friend Sarah… Josh Groban (aka Neil Gaiman’s* younger lookalike) sings Kanye West Tweets. For a long time, perhaps because of the sort of music he generally sings, I just assumed that Josh Groban would be a … Continue reading
My name is Pat, and I am powerless over…
I have just spent time reading over all my “Gratitude Posts.” (See sidebar.) I feel pretty good. I write acceptably well, but there tends to be a lot of overlap in the lists. This is not surprising, since I wrote … Continue reading
Unimaginable.
There are things in this world which I admit are fully beyond my imagination. I was reminded of them yesterday when talking to my friend Sarah about her trip to Uganda and Rwanda this summer. In The Book of Mormon, … Continue reading
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