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.
- Follow The Wild Winds of Fortune on WordPress.com
Wild Winds of Fortune Feed
Search this blog
Archives
March 2026 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 
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.
- Art Beadwork Blogging Books Culture (popular and otherwise) Family Feminism Food God faith and theology Health History Justice KIds Kids in all their glory Miscellany Music My life and times nothing special Personal Relationships Politics Science SCOTUS Social Issues Sports The Internet and its perils The World Travel (real or imaginary) Who I am Work! Writing
Tags
- abortion
- Antarctica
- anti-vaxxers
- architecture
- Art
- baseball
- blogging
- Books
- Broadway!
- Capital punishment
- chinchilla races
- computer
- elections
- Everybody talks about the weather
- Feminism
- first
- first-world problems
- Florida
- football
- Gamergate
- Geeks! Geeks! Geeks!
- Get your red hot links here!
- GMOs
- God faith and theology
- Gratitude
- guns
- hehehe
- hehehehe
- History
- LGBT rights and issues
- life
- life sucks sometimes
- Look what I made!
- mental health
- Mindfulness
- Mom
- Moooom!!!!!
- movies
- Music
- My friends are the coolest people
- NASA
- neil-gaiman
- news
- notes to self
- People worth listening to
- poetry
- Politics
- privacy
- Profundities
- Railfan
- really cool things
- recipes
- Reprehensible people
- Space
- technology
- television
- The Interminable Job Search
- The Not-So-Little Drummer Boy
- The NSLDB
- The Red-Headed Menace strikes again
- The Rocket Scientist. the field season
- the search for truth
- The Voice
- The wonderful Penwiper
- things I believe
- torture
- Tragedy
- Trivia
- Unions
- Voting
- What did I do now?
- What I like
- writing
- you have *got* to be freaking kidding me
-
Join 303 other subscribers
Contact info:
Email me at wwf@lithic.net
Author Archives: Pat Greene
A rant. With footnotes.
I spent a lot of mental energy for a couple of days this week composing a rant. The rant isn’t aimed at many of my friends who support Bernie Sanders, but at quite a number of people I’ve had interactions … Continue reading
Today in voting news….
Today the Supreme Court handed down their opinion in Evenwel v. Abbott, a voting case out of Texas, which, in addition to being important on the merits, provides a fascinating walk through Constitutional history. Appellants had argued that Texas’ use … Continue reading
A world of Hermiones.
Scene: early 70s classroom. Actors: Mr. Lindsay, my beloved seventh grade civics teacher, the first person to take me seriously; me. Mr. Lindsay: Okay, when we’re discussing mountains, Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. Me, raising hand: … Continue reading
Today’s post about culture.
…not the “culture wars,” which are a different thing altogether, but actual culture. (Not yogurt, either.) It’s kind of a throwaway post — I seem to be a bear of little brain this week. ********* I adore the Kenneth Branagh … Continue reading
[Downton Abbey spoilers, just so you know.] What with one thing and another, I was sick for a about ten days straight (including a charming six-hour stint in the ER for intravenous fluids). Reading my computer was hard (although I did re-read … Continue reading
Dear Senator Sanders…
(Or Bernie. You prefer Bernie, right?) I saw your interview on Rachel Maddow’s show last night. Good interview, very informative. About halfway through you said (after much pushing by your interviewer to get a clear answer, I might add) that … Continue reading
Life is what happens when you’re not expecting it.
Starbug has bit the dust. Starbug was a 1996 Mazda Protege that my family bought for $600 in 2010. It was the kids’ car — and when they weren’t using it, I did. It easily paid for itself in gas … Continue reading
Life is messy. Be an adult.
Apparently, according to what I read, a sizable chunk (over %10) of Democratic voters will sit out the general election if Hillary Clinton is the nominee. Why, a while ago* I read a Huffington Post piece on why the author … Continue reading
One nation.
I have been watching far too much political coverage lately. The networks have been ramping up far earlier than they ever have: instead of a day before and a day after a primary, the coverage seems to be nonstop. A … Continue reading
To quote Hillary Clinton, “The hair is mine; the color’s not.” To be honest, the color is closer to mine than any I’ve had in a few years. And just look at that Elizabethan forehead. I need to start wearing … Continue reading
Dear Universe: You don’t owe me anything. You don’t owe anyone anything, but especially me. I know that, all things considered, I have a pretty good life. I have a home, even if right now it needs some paint and for the grass … Continue reading
“Your country is on fire, and your leaders are whittling sticks for their marshmallows.”
Vote Canada for President!
Sometimes you find hope in the oddest places.
I often fight despair about the state of the American public’s critical thinking skills. I worry that, my friends and I aside, the country is sinking into an anti-intellectual abyss. And then, today, I ran across a call to action, … Continue reading
Look, it’s the green M & Ms!!!*
Years ago, the Rocket Science, curious as to whether anyone would read the computer code that was the main appendix at the end of his doctoral thesis, added a comment halfway through to the effect that he would give a … Continue reading
Everyone needs affirmation like this.
Railfan is learning driving, and today was his “short road trip.” We went to Casa de Fruta, which is a wonderful drive this time of year, although neither he nor I could look much at the scenery. The traffic was … Continue reading
The Wild Winds of Fortune 