Some Nice Phrases

--"evoke the power and mystery of divine love" (Library Journal)

--the "violent repression of dissent" (Dan Collyns)

--"it has an oversupply of broken promises" (Mary McGrory"

"nuzzled into her specialty niche" (John Bardinelli)

--"a well-read, clever romantic who is also a bit of a cad" (The Economist)

--the "exuberant expertise" (Michael Dirda)

--"curmudgeonly in opinion, Olympian in pronouncement" (M. Dirda)

--"I wanted there to be hidden clues and auguries of things to come." (Mitch Hurwitz)

--"over-the-top penchant for double-entendres" (Patrick McGeehan)

--"a flim-flam man" (David Remnick)

--"her own ingrown instinct for suspicion" (David Remnick)

--"a journey of Dantesque visionary power" (Michael Dirda)

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More Quotes

 --Compassion for myself is the most powerful healer of them all.  Theodore Isaac Rubin

--Patience is a bitter plant but it has sweet fruit.  Old proverb

--The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.  Hubert Humphrey

--The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.  James Russell Lowell

--The essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything.  Aldous Huxley

--Laws, like the spider's web, catch the fly and let the hawk go free.  Spanish proverb

--Comedy is tragedy--plus time.  Carol Burnett

--Hope is the poor man's bread.  George Herbert

--History is a vast early warning system.  Norman Cousins

--Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly.  Plutarch

--Do not be too timid or squeamish about your actions. All life is an experience.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Some Quotes

 --Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion.   Arthur Koestler

--Speed provides the one genuinely modern pleasure.    Aldous Huxley

--A solemn funeral is inconceivable to the Chinese mind.    Lin Yutang

--And from the discontent of man/ The world's best progress springs.   Ella Wheeler Wilcox

--Civilization is just a slow process of learning to be kind.  Charles L. Lucas

--Every dogma has its day.  Abraham Rotstein

--Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.  Henry Adams

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Some Nice Writing

I thought I would post some snippets of good writing.

--"I'll have what she's having, basically, that was my thought."    Catherine Baab

--"puts you at the apex of originality"     Lee Siegel

--"the constant stream of Trumpian reality".    A.S. Hamrah

--"an Olympian disdain for pedestrian matters".   Me

--"the homelessness of the human spirit".     Nathan A. Scott Jr.

--"in the cafes of the Parisian Latin Quarter".   Nathan A. Scott Jr.

--"tiny events that burgeon into national alarums".    Herman Wouk

--"grouse that they face an uncertain retirement".   (The Economist)

--"And one way to climb the social ziggarat.".  Charlie Campbell

--"nature is seen as a hiding place for dread secrets".  Roger Ebert

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Quotes

Here are some interesting quotes:

--It is not true that life is one damn thing after another--it is one damn thing over and over.   Edna St. Vincent Millay

--Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.    Carl Jung

--The real gift of love is self-disclosure. John Powell

--Time discovers truth.   Latin proverb

--Within our dreams and aspirations we fund our opportunities. Sue Atchley Ebaugh

--We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us...      Marcel Proust

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Social Media

I have been listening to and reading material from the reporter and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Ressa.

She has talked about the strong negative effects of social media on society. And not just how it effects young people. She says studies have shown that social media is tilted to stress things that cause fear and anger in people and that this material has a much more pronounced effect on people than neutral or positive information would have.

I sense, way down the road, social media will be viewed as negatively as smoking is now.

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Still Struggling, with Writing

Indeed, the writing has not gone well, yet I can say I did learn something recently. For me, writing nonfiction has to be done slowly and cognitively. I've tried the common method of writing your first draft fast. It usually comes out a mess.

I'll take my own path and report back.

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Trying to Write

I'm still struggling to write essays. I want to but something seems to pull me in the other direction. I do find myself getting closer to doing it.

I think what I have to do is just start with a thought or memory that intrigues me or puzzles me. I love quoting others and using euphonic phrases that I come across. So there might be lots of that.

No doubt I'll start with short essays. It's my natural bent.

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About Mr. Trump, Again

The president has made a bold move. He dropped massive bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities. The outcome, if Iraq and Afghanistan are remembered, will not likely be good.

When I first heard the news, I sensed a threshold had been crossed for our nation in this era. I guess in the back of my mind I am remembering the gist of what Dr. Bandy Lee has been saying for about 10 years, that Donald Trump has shown himself to have such severe characterological difficulties that him having control of the U.S. could be catastrophic. 

Her prophecy, especially this second term, appears to be becoming more true each day.

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How Democracies Die

In How Democracies Die, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt say there are four key indicators of authoritarian behavior.

Here are the four:

1. Rejection of (or weak commitment to) democratic rules of the game.

2. Denial of the legitimacy of political opponents.

3. Toleration or encouragement of violence.

4. Readiness to curtail civil liberties of opponents, including media.

They also say, "With the exception of Richard Nixon, no major-party presidential candidate met even one of these four criteria over the last century...Donald Trump [during his first presidential run] met them all."

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About Trump, Again

I'm glad I'm not the only person who is somewhat obsessed with the untoward doings of Trump. As I look on Bluesky I see tons of people are alarmed (an understatement) by Trump. I do think even a swatch of conservatives are getting antsy.

I was thinking about Trump's first term and how nothing overtly catastrophic happened early on, but then, three years into his presidency, COVID hit. Indeed, Trump didn't cause it, but his earlier actions paved the way to a shocking number of deaths.

This second term, I believe, augurs even worse.

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Language Stuff

Just feel like posting some nice phrases or sentences I've come across:

--"large-language generative intelligence" (Paul J. Griffiths)

--we "are [all] members of the Linnaean species Homo sapiens" (Paul J. Griffiths)

--"puts you at the apex of originality" (Lee Siegel)

--"censorious sanctimony" (Sean Wilentz)

--"garish displays of next season's decorations" (Mitch Therieau)

--"while swimming in a warm bath of muted musical intensity" ("  ")

--"Pumpkin spice is back at Starbucks." (Heidi Lux)

--"It's not that I'm lazy. It's that I just don't care." (Office Space)

Mark

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On Trump

I thought I would revisit the topic of President Trump. I am looking forward to watching tomorrow an online forum on Mr. Trump and his tariff policies at MoveOn.

I know little about tariffs, so I hope I learn a lot.

It doesn't appear tariffs have done much good for Mr. Trump in the polls. We will see.

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Nice Phrases

Time for another installment of my euphonic phrases.

--"I want things whole but I love things broken." (Ellen Dore Watson)

--"lest I be left behind" (Pat Schneider)

--"enticements toward experimentation" (Pat Schneider)

--"What a long, strange trip it's been..." (Jerry Garcia)

--"shorewashed shells" (June Jordon)

--"too deep to name and too fearsome to face" (Joanna Macy)

--"the seemingly endless anguish of depression" (John E. Nelson)

--"a friend whose ministrations I sought daily" (William Styron)

--an "unfettered descent into the abyss of despair" (Linda S. Leonard)

--"the hollowness of our self-created identity" (John Welwood)

--"existential despair giving way to self-murder" (Michael Washburn)

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Random Thoughts

Nothing in particular to write, but thinking about the Pulitzer Prizes that are starting to be announced today. I always enjoy looking through the names and especially the names related to opinion writing and other categories tied to newspapers.

If there ever was a time when we could use good nonfiction writing, especially about politics, I can't immediately envision a better one.

As I have been saying, the downfall of Trump will be big and most of us will feel some hellish collateral damage when it occurs.

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A Simple Observation

My prediction is that in maybe ten to fifteen years what is happening in Gaza will be clearly seen as genocide.

I think there are too many other things going on nationally and globally, for this to be brought into bold relief. 

Though it should be.

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Seeing My Son

I am in Houston watching my son compete in a world robotics tournament. His team from Jesuit didn't do as well as hoped, but my son appeared to greatly enjoy it.

It's hard to be that.

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Just Words

I just felt like posting some interesting words and their definitions.

--decamp v. (dih-KAMP) To depart quickly or secretly.

--estimable adj. (ES-tuh-muh-buhl) Worthy of esteem.

--pettifogging adj. (PET-ee-fog-ing) Insignificant; petty.

--haboob n. (huh-BOOB) A strong desert sandstorm.

--inveigh v. (in-VEY) To speak or write about something with great hostility; to rail against.

--pejorism n. (PEJ-oh-riz-uhm) The belief that the world is getting worse.

--thread adj. (THRED-ee) (of sound, the voice, etc.) Lacking fullness; weak; feeble.

Thanks.

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Somewhat Alarming

Recently I read that two scholars who have written about authoritarianism are leaving the US and moving to Canada--Timothy Snyder and Jason Stanley. I think this sends a message--or should send a message --to American society. 

In other words, they are reading the tea leaves, and the tea contains arsenic.

To think that we are only two months into President Trump's second term, and this is happening. At least, though, there is some real pushback. The few Republicans holding town hall meetings are getting sliced and diced because of Trump and Musk's actions.

Maybe it's not too late.

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Some Nice Phrases

I just felt like posting snippets of writing (mainly phrases) that I found euphonic:

--"to advertise the reader's own urbanity and sophistication" (Ed Simon)

--"denizens of this remote hamlet" (Ed Simon)

--"skin-crawlingly uncomfortable" (Ed Simon)

--"considering the cutthroat capriciousness"  (Ed Simon)

--"a culture-wide attention deficit disorder" (Derek King)

--"and shakes her from self-absorption" (Derek King)

--"someone who delights in the demolition of norms and normalcy" (Ben Tarnoff)

--"ruthless enough to inflict the remedy" (Ben Tarnoff)

--"But beneath the buffoonery is something deadly serious." (Ben Tarnoff)

--"the mendacity and moral depravity" (Ben Tarnoff)

--"An empire in decline is a dangerous animal." (Ben Tarnoff)

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President Trump

Well, it appears the president is causing more debacles and causing them with even more rapidity than usual. He appears even to be nudging up to a constitutional crisis. By seemingly defying a court order, he is pushing into new territory.

It will be interesting, and scary, to see how far he will go before many of his supporters realize they have been snookered by one of the greatest salesman ever.

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On Freewriting, Again

I think I have used freewriting about two times in the past week and I found it helpful. It did seem to loosen my activity of writing and I felt a sense of accomplishment when it was over. Even though little from the freewriting is typically used.

I will use it again today in writing an op-ed I'm trying to get published. I think it will help.

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Freewriting

I've been considering using the technique of freewriting to help me get started on some opinion pieces. Freewriting is where you write for a period of time, say, five or ten minutes, and you don't stop to think, to correct a misspelling, or to change anything you've written.

I have used it in the past and I've found it somewhat helpful in loosening my mind up so I am more free to write down things that don't readily come to mind.

I think it will help me.

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Some Problems

It looks like President Trump and his Republican minions are getting pushback on the heavy-handed firing of government workers. I think a lot of Trump's constituents are starting to get nervous as the blade cuts deeper into government programs.

A lot of MAGA politicians have been awfully quiet lately. I wonder how long that can continue?

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On a Different Topic

Lately I've been doing research on a seemingly unusual topic--boredom. It is a malady all have experienced and it seems to be more common nowadays. 

I surmise it has much to do with the plethora of technologies available to all of us.

Related to this topic, it would be shocking to see anyone who is not a senior citizen sitting outside just looking around doing nothing. It would be rare, say, thirty years ago, but now it might appear positively alien.

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President Trump

Our new president has definitely made a splash in his first two weeks in office. What I predicted, as did many others, seems to be coming to fruition. That is, chaos writ large.

I think many of the people who devoutly supported Trump will be in for an uber-rude awakening. There will be a, to take from the title of a book, reaping of the whirlwind.

Some of our best guides during this tumultuous time will be people who have gone through autocratic regimes, such as Masha Gessen, of The New York Times. They know the lay of the land.

Buckle up, the ride will be something for the record books.

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Good Information

I'm listening to a great interview at The New York Times. The interviewee is Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist who works at Stanford University's Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic.

The interview is dated February 1st and is titled, "Digital Drugs Have Us Hooked. Dr. Anna Lembke Sees a Way Out."

I may write another post after I finish the podcast.

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Some Good Phrases

I'm back with some short, good writing. Mainly phrases.

--"An accident isn't necessarily ever over."   Diane Williams 

--"Despite the disdain..."       Colleen J. Shogan

--"a glass lifted to lips for a sip of water"      Victoria Redel

--"creating a kind of kaleidoscopic interiority".    Annie DeWitt

--"We learn by going where we have to go."    Theodore Roethke

--"On a scale of safe-looking to scary-looking, Egg Roll Hut is Ron Perlman."   A. Laussade

--"I was totally unprepared for the expanse of time it left behind."     Jenny Allen

--"The iniquity of oblivion."     W.G. Sebald

--"On every new thing there lies already the shadow of annihilation."    W.G. Sebald

--"and possesses ample upper-body upholstery"     Donna Britt

--her "physical presence is what struck me"   Donna Britt

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New President

We have a new president. And I do believe what Robert Reich recently said is true--that Trump's second time as president will finally open the eyes of the American people on how far the government has come from serving the people.

At the end of Trump's four years, the government and our society will be in shambles. It may take hitting bottom before we as a country become committed to a new direction.

One quick example of something that does not bode well for our future is a list of companies and individuals who gave over $1million toward Trump's inaugural committee:

--Ripple    $5 million

--Amazon    $2 million

--Sam Altman (OpenAI)    $1 million

--Tim Cook (Apple)    $1 million

--Ford Motor    $1 million

--Google    $1 million

--Intuit    $1 million

--Dara Khrosroushahi (Uber)    $1 million

--Meta    $1 million

--Microsoft     $1 million

--Toyota     $1 million

--Uber    $1 million

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Trump Again

Soon President-elect Trump will be President Trump. I have been wrong before, but I predict the floodgates of chaos will be unleashed. He will be less constrained this time around, and it will show, and it will show in the lives of average Americans.

American politics were quite horrid until recently, but I think Trump will take us to a new level of horrible. 

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About Trump

Recently MAGA experienced the beginning of what could be a civil war within its camp. It may just be a tempest in a modern-day teapot, but I don't think so.

It involves a battle between the traditional MAGA supporters and the newer Trump supporters, the tech titans. The latter is for immigration for those technically-skilled and the former see these new supporters caring only about their tech businesses, not legitimate die-hard immigration foes.

Well, Trump has tried to referee these two squabbling factions. Trump said he sides with the tech bros. I will keep an eye on this brewing brouhaha and report back.

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