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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Author Archives: Pat Greene
There is so much to write about… Capital punishment and the botched execution in Oklahoma. A school shooting that did not happen because gun control laws worked the way they should. Vincent and Frank, a tale of two Mustangs. But… … Continue reading
How to know you’re sick.
…when you are excited (for some value thereof) that your temperature has been less than 101 all day (for the first time in five days) and that you actually got a shower. It was a bad cold which morphed into … Continue reading
Happy Birthday to me.
New hair! Yesterday was my birthday. I have a lot of thoughts on the matter, so what am I writing about? Hair. I have been coloring my hair the past few months. Last year I was prescribed a medicine … Continue reading
Apropos that last post, I just wanted to mention that Raiders of the Lost Ark has one of my favorite movie quotes ever. When Marian comments that Indiana Jones is not the man she knew ten years before, he replies … Continue reading
Saving for what?
A couple of weeks ago, I went to the last movie showing at the Century 21 theater in San Jose. The Century 21, which dates from 1964, was a wonderful place to see movies: one of the last widescreen theaters … Continue reading
Lazy meanderings.
I am working again now. It’s a temporary, part-time job. I actually like temporary assignments: I like the goal oriented nature of the work. And besides, it’s good to be useful. Longer term work with more hours would be good, … Continue reading
Okay, I just need to whine some here.
Living with a chronic pain condition is hard. Being unemployed with a chronic pain condition is harder. That seems counterintuitive, I know. When you go to bed crying from the intense aching in your muscles that won’t respond to painkillers … Continue reading
One of those days. Which once again brings up the question of how much you have to buy at a Starbucks to make your presence there for (at this point, 3.5.) hours ethically supportable. Thus far, it has been two … Continue reading
I’m okay. Sorry to scare anyone.
I just got a very concerned call. It turns out that since my posts are cross-posted to both Twitter and Facebook, there was a tweet from me which said “We’re being held hostage. At gunpoint.” Um, no, I am not … Continue reading
As a follow-up to “We’re being held hostage. At gunpoint.” I would like to pass along a couple of links from the New York Times about “impulsive suicide.” Making the means of suicide more difficult to get to reduces these. … Continue reading
I’m a few days late on these things…
1) I hope you have a lovely spring. For any of you who live in the Northeast or Midwest, I hope that means that spring actually comes in soon. Here’s hoping for no more snow. 2) I have not commented … Continue reading
Yay! Trivia!
I have found a new place to play trivia: The Freewheel Brewing Company in Redwood City, California. They have a trivia game every Monday night, hosted by a very lovely British woman whose name I can’t remember right now. Unlike … Continue reading
QOTD
From the Nerdist podcast he did, Tom Hanks on Hollywood: “It’s high school with ashtrays.” (I love Tom Hanks.)
We’re being held hostage. At gunpoint.
Obama nominated a very worthy candidate for Surgeon General. Dr. Vivek Murthy has degrees from Harvard and Yale, teaches medicine at Harvard, and is an attending physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is involved in medical nonprofits and a … Continue reading
I have been doing a lot of reading of blogs and other online media lately. (Yes, I know, instead of writing my own online content.) There is a lot of good material out there, usually in my case linked to … Continue reading
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