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: Music
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
I went to a Straight No Chaser concert last Saturday. A trip on to iTunes to pick up some of their music (no, I didn’t buy all their CDs at the concert — just Under the Influence, the latest) also … Continue reading
Tonight as I was driving back from trivia* the music ran as follows: “For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her,” Simon & Garfunkel “Shotgun Down the Avalanche,” Shawn Colvin “Save The People,” Godspell “Hallelujah,” Rufus Wainwright “Roll Away Your Stone,” … Continue reading
Play on.
“If music be the food of love, play on!” Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 1. William Shakespeare I started to make a list yesterday of of “Music I can’t live without” and it turned out to be “Music I really … Continue reading
Musically speaking, I tend to be well behind the curve. I was late to the party that was gangnam style — I still don’t get it — but I love this parody: NASA-Johnson Style.
Les Miserables: A Review.
I have never been a fan of Les Miz on stage.* It’s bombastic, overblown, and repetitive. I originally had no desire to see the movie when it came out, even though I generally go see every movie musical that arrives … Continue reading
R.I.P., Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck died last week. He was one of America’s treasures. I do not believe that music is intrinsically better than sex*, but I have a list of musical pieces that, if I had to choose between them and physical … Continue reading
I, along with many people — most people, perhaps — view Handel’s Messiah as a Christmas piece. It’s not: it covers the foretelling of Jesus, his birth, death, resurrection and return. In fact, the “Hallelujah Chorus” occurs in Part II, … Continue reading
Hasa Diga Eebowai.
I just saw The Book of Mormon with my friend Sarah. I don’t know when the last time was that I laughed so much and so loudly, sometimes thinking “I can’t believe I’m laughing at this.” I was so loud — … Continue reading
Sing we Noel.
It’s that time of year again. Mind you, if it were up to me, I would play holiday music in July. Wherever I am in “my journey of faith” (and right now, that would be at the “I’m not sure … Continue reading
While the Judy Garland version is definitive, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” as done by Twisted Sister has a lot to commend it.
Rorschach.
I used to sing in the car all the time. Somewhere over the past year I stopped, turning instead to the dulcet tones of NPR, letting my right brain slumber undisturbed. But recently I started again. I have always had … Continue reading
Music memories.
Today was Day 2 of the Hardly Bluegrass Music Festival in Golden Gate Park. I was there and it was wonderful. There were all sort of people: young hippies with long hair wearing tank tops and straw hats with rolled … Continue reading
Randomness.
It is amazing how small things can change my opinion of people. The man at the next table in Starbucks who was loudly (if intelligently and emphatically) correcting a colleague (or more likely a subordinate) just looked over and smiled … Continue reading
Playlist for today…
“Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On,” Jimmy Buffett*“Closer to Fine,” Indigo Girls“End of the Line,” The Traveling Wilburys“Corner Of The Sky,” John Rubinstein (from Pippin)**“Happiness,” Anthony Rapp, B.D. Wong, Ilana Levine, Kristin Chenoweth, Roger Bart and Stanley Wayne Mathis (from the revival of You’re … Continue reading
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