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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Category Archives: Culture (popular and otherwise)
An open letter to Lawrence O’Donnell.
Dear Mr. O’Donnell: I have waited a few days before writing this letter, hoping that I would become more eloquent or the words you spoke on Tuesday less upsetting. Neither has happened. Although I do not watch your show all … Continue reading
Dunkirk. No spoilers.
I saw Dunkirk last night. Part of me wishes I hadn’t. Dunkirk falls into the “important movies that I think everyone should see and I am very glad I saw but I never want to see again” category, much like … Continue reading
Who?
I have not been a Dr. Who fan all my life. I first saw the series during the beginning of the Fourth Doctor, when the Rocket Scientist and I would go to his parents for Sunday dinner (they would give … Continue reading
If you had told me a couple of years ago I would be listening to rap music, I would have told you you were crazy. Rap was okay, but it wasn’t music, was it? That was before Hamilton (which at … Continue reading
Gaudi.
Every so often there comes an artist who changes how you think about art, about the world, about life. Artists whose works were beloved when they were alive and artists who were only appreciated after they were dead. Leonardo, Cervantes, … Continue reading
Catharsis.
The kids are all, for the most part, gone. One is home, but working. One is at school. One, God help me, teaches English… in Seoul, South Korea. [Yet another reason the Trump presidency has been bad for my blood … Continue reading
Sometimes, I just need to cry. For those times when reading the front page of the Washington Post won’t cut it (news inspires more fear than grief), I have The Playlist. As of Monday, I have a new addition to the … Continue reading
Movie review: Beauty and the Beast (Spoiler free)
I saw movie Beauty and the Beast tonight, and some observations forthwith: In the battle of the singing Emmas, it’s Watson 1, Stone 0. And hey, Dan Stevens is pretty good, too! When existing musicals add new songs (to get … Continue reading
“What do you call that hairstyle?” “Arthur.”
February: not a fan. I’m ambivalent about Valentine’s Day, and since my kids are grown and we don’t have ski week to go on outings, President’s Day holds only mild promise. The weather has been miserable for the most part: … Continue reading
Seen any good movies, lately?
I have been seeing a lot of movies over the last couple of months. I haven’t written reviews for any of them. (Admittedly, after the election I didn’t feel up to writing anything….) So herewith are my reviews, even though … Continue reading
My soundtrack.
I can’t write about politics today. I know for whom I am going to vote, and many, many others are writing far better than I could about the dangers of electing a narcissistic, xenophobic, ignorant bully to the most powerful … Continue reading
Now for something completely different….
I needed a short break from reading political news and stressing about the state of our Republic, so I am re-reading various Terry Pratchett books. It was either Pratchett or Pride and Prejudice, and I don’t even have the emotional … Continue reading
I just heard a cover of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Songs” by Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer. Wow. Yes, I know, there are major cultural appropriation issues. Bob Marley lived in a particular social and political context, and his music is a … Continue reading
Love is love is love is…
For the past few years, I have tried to refrain from posting copyright-protected material. I am making an exception here. If you did not see the Tony Awards on June 12, you missed Lin-Manuel Miranda’s beautiful acceptance sonnet. Please Google … Continue reading
Captain America: Civil War
Comments about the movie (which I loved): There is no film, no matter how good (and this one was), that Martin Freeman does not make better by simply being in it, no matter how small the role. There is no … Continue reading
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