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
I’m illiterate in classical music, remember?
I just asked the people in the room (Railfan and The Red-Headed Menace) if they would mind me playing music.* Since I knew they would not be happy with me playing my standards playlist (see yesterday’s post), I asked if … Continue reading
Would this make Elrond a rook?
Railfan just described a game he was playing as “a cross between chess and Lord of the Rings.” Maybe it’s just me, but I am having a lot of trouble visualizing this.
Yesterday, I met with my job coach. She is a wonderful woman, full of warmth and encouragement. We talked about my edited resume and my hobbies, and I told her about the Paris Powerpoint project (which at this point qualifies … Continue reading
Who needs Xanax?
Today’s playlist consists of standards sung by Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and more contemporary singers such as Diana Krall, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublè.* I am turning into my parents, clearly. (I also slipped in … Continue reading
Good questions.
How do you keep the music playing?How do you make it last?How do keep the song from fading too fast?“How Do You Keep The Music Playing?” Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman The Rocket Scientist and I were married in … Continue reading
Understanding Vincent.
My friend Cathy is in town. On Sunday, we went to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. Fortuitously, we arrived shortly before sunset, and were able to watch the sun sink into the west over the horizon. It was … Continue reading
Entitled. Or maybe not.
I used to never put titles on my posts. It seemed too much bother. However, I have been trying to do better about this, because it seems to make the pages easier to read. There is a post I am … Continue reading
Punishment.
Today’s musical playlist is comedy. I’ve been listening to enough depressing ballads lately, I decided to refrain from inflicting them on everyone else here. I am sitting in the dining/living room, the Red-Headed Menace is on the sofa, and the … Continue reading
Just another sign of the times.
Listening to Weird Al’s “One More Minute” (the best breakup song ever, and the reason Weird Al deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), I had to explain to the Red-Headed Menace what a Rolodex was. … Continue reading
Why I love Barney Frank.
From a New York Times interview with the representative for the 4th District of Massachusetts: You’ve long argued for the decriminalization of marijuana. Do you smoke weed? No. Why not? Why do you ask a question, then act surprised when I … Continue reading
Take meeeee home…oh muddah faddah…
The problem with going to sleep listening to the “Dance of the Hours” segment of Fantasia is that you wake up with your brain stuck on Allan Sherman’s “Hello Muddah Hello Faddah.” “And the head coach wants no sissies, so … Continue reading
I suppose it depends upon your definition of "fun."
A little over a year ago, I took a class on the newest iteration of MS Office. During class, I made an eight-slide presentation that had thirty-six animations in it. Just imagine what I can do with fifty to sixty … Continue reading
Wow. That must be a pain.
The guy who just sat down next to me in Starbucks brought his computer. Not a laptop, but a full-size iMac G5 with a tower and everything. Guess he’s planning to be here quite a while. Which reminds me, I … Continue reading
Tuesday, during a discussion about the State of the Union address on Fox News, Stephen Moore, usually a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, said “This idea of all the members, Republicans and Democrats sitting next to each other, that’s … Continue reading
Restless.
The nonprofit I volunteer at is planning their Spring Gala, which is our major fundraiser for the year. This year’s theme is “April In Paris.” At our planning meeting, someone suggested that it would be cool to have movies about … Continue reading
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