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
We are what we watch.
Yesterday, I saw a fascinating documentary on Netflix called These Amazing Shadows, about the Library of Congress National Film Registry. I would highly recommend it to anyone. The Registry is not the AFI list of best films. Thankfully. Yes, there … Continue reading
I had planned to spend a lot of time writing this evening, and this month in general. Friday was the first day of NaNoWriMo, and while I have not participated in years (I have neither the attention span nor the … Continue reading
Today is fired.
You ever tell something about yourself, to someone you think is a friend, and have them react in consternation and disapproval? I feel … ashamed. As though there is something intrinsically wrong with who I am. I want to crawl … Continue reading
Before on this blog, I have commented how troubling I found the lyrics that Stephen Sondheim wrote to “America” for the stage version of West Side Story. I was reminded of this when I was watching the his birthday concert … Continue reading
If February 15 is National Half-Off Chocolate in Red Heart-Shaped Boxes Day, November 1st is the $1 White Pumpkins from Safeway Day. (Usually, I haul myself to Half Moon Bay (sort of a tradition) for white pumpkins, but the van … Continue reading
Artists in residence.
I have left the Borg… for another Borg. The Droid 2 is now a paperweight. I have left the Android universe, and am back in the Apple fold. The iPhone4 is now up and running. In keeping with the naming … Continue reading
Thumpa…thumpa… thumpa
I have something of a bad history of Halloween accidents. I have had more than one ER visit from cutting myself while making jack-o-lanterns. (Not recently, thank God.) Just this evening, I sliced my finger with one of those kid-safe … Continue reading
Boredom on a Sunday afternoon: love songs and other drugs.
This afternoon, I was listening to some new music — “Lego House,” by Ed Sheeran — and I got to thinking about love songs. Being an incurable romantic (is there any other kind? romanticism is a chronic condition), every so … Continue reading
That’s my boy.
I talked to The Red-Headed Menace’s English teacher this evening. She showed me the first paper he turned in this fall, based on Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise. The paper’s title? “Dilemma Me from Evil.” Ah, yes. We … Continue reading
How to know you have spent far too much time thinking about the BART strike…
When you listen to the song “Wonderwall,” and instead of “All the lights that light the way are blinding,” your mind hears “And all the arbitration there is binding…”
Dear members of the Boston Red Sox (as well as other major leaguers — you know who you are): You are not Mennonite farmers from 1872. Shave, already. Or at least trim the beard, ‘kay? Sincerely, A fan with sensibilities.
Musings on music.
I often write about my tastes in music. This morning, I was listening to my favorite Glenn Frey song (okay, the only Glenn Frey song I like since the Eagles broke up), “Smuggler’s Blues.” It occurred to me that although … Continue reading
Miscellany
Just a few random thoughts on this Monday? Tuesday? It gets hard to keep track of what day it is. Since my work week starts on Sunday, this is technically Monday, but functionally Tuesday. Looking at the back of the … Continue reading
How did we become this?
It is day 15 of the shutdown. All because Tea Partiers hate Obama and what to destroy the ACA. I read the news. (Less and less, I do admit.) I worry about how we’re going to make it if this … Continue reading
Phrase of the day
Habla Inglese? Oh. No habla español. Le llamaremos en español después. Bueno noches. (“Speak English? Oh. I do not speak Spanish. Someone will call you in Spanish later. Good Night.” Of course, I may have misread or misheard what the … Continue reading
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