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
Politics
I really should end this hiatus from political blogging. There are just too many important things out there that beg to be commented on. There is the Defense Authorization Bill. A thorough post on that will come along at some … Continue reading
Question of the day.
Do Tim-Tams from Australia actually taste better than the ones made in the U.S. by Pepperidge Farm?* Discuss amongst yourselves. *We’re talking regular Tim-Tams, which are great, but not Mint Tim-Tams which are the world’s best mass-produced cookie** (filling the … Continue reading
That’s a good question.
The Red-Headed Menace, upon listening to Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”: “What inspired that? What sort of a bad day had he had?”
Tuna Jerky: Yuck. Tuna Jerky Souffle: Yum.
Elizabeth Falkner is a very nice woman who makes really kick-ass souffles. I have just returned from spending the evening at Orson, her restaurant (which right now is only being used as an event space), where she was hosting a … Continue reading
My current fave show
I have come to love Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef. The first season it struck me as gimmicky, and I was severely disappointed that my favorite chef, John Besch, didn’t win. (In fact, the second season my favorite chef, … Continue reading
How to tell if a piece of legislation may be important…
No the only way, of course, but… When your college-junior son texts you to ask if you are as “genuinely terrified” (his words, not mine) about the defense authorization bill as he is, the bill in question really is significant. … Continue reading
Orcs and Ents and Elves, oh my!
The Red-Headed Menace, Railfan and I were watching The Two Towers earlier, which led to some comments: “Do you guys have a LARP* today?” “No, we’re fulfilling our LARP duties by watching this movie.” “The Orcs had a legitimate grievance. … Continue reading
You can’t always get what you want.
It’s Sunday afternoon. I am sitting in my favorite Starbucks so that I do not inflict violence on any one member — or any multiple members for that matter — of my household. There is a party going on that … Continue reading
Um, sorry. Aka: everything’s okay. Really.
I am noticing that I got something on the order of 40 hits for my post titled “Phew” in three hours. Assuming these are not all ad-spam, I am wondering if people were concerned that something bad had happened, rather … Continue reading
Christmas fun
Hurrah! Time for Christmas jollity! First are my two favorite secular Christmas songs: “Elf’s Lament” by the Barenaked Ladies, and “Fifty Kilowatt Tree” by the Bobs. For something a little more thought provoking, there is “The Christians and the Pagans” … Continue reading
Phew.
I never use Google Map street view. Never. Quite frankly, it creeps me out a bit. Today, however, it came in very handy. Remember how I said I was panicking about having missed a reason that a parking space was … Continue reading
The smell of learning
I am at the California Academy of Sciences today, having driven the Red-Headed Menace and a classmate into the City for a leadership training conference by the Alliance for Climate Education. I have a lovely seat on the balcony outside … Continue reading
That kid is *strange*, er, creative.
The Red-Headed Menace’s idea for a movie he wants to see made: A live-action Pokemon movie…. Starring Samuel L. Jackson as the old man in Veridian City…. Directed by… [deep breath…] Quentin Tarentino.
Mahna Mahna
In spite of being tired, after resting for much of the day, I went to see The Muppets with the Rocket Scientist. I am not going to give a full review, but I do just want to say… I will … Continue reading
"The river is deep and the river is wide…." Not really, actually.
PPL Montana, LLC v. Montana is it. My favorite case pending before the Supreme Court this term. It has nothing to do with the AEDPA or zombie copyrights or the Stolen Valor Act. It is about… Navigable waters. Oh, boy.* … Continue reading
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