All Purls. No Swine.
Mostly a reposting, from last year. Time marches on, but the message (if you're sane) doesn't change: My maternal Great Granny was a fearsome old bat. She was born in 1869, just four short years after the US Civil War ended and Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. She died a few months before Neil Armstrong walked… Continue reading Easter 2025: On Silk Purses, Sow’s Ears, and Horse’s Asses
So long ago. My last post has me reminiscing about a movie which purported to highlight the early life of one of my adored childhood authors, a person who was--later in my life--one of my heroines: Beatrix Potter, feminist icon. (No, that's a bit of a stretch. But boy, howdy what a girl!) Here's a… Continue reading Quote of the Day: “Once Upon A Time”
I've used this phrase, which is Latin for "the history of [my] calamities," facetiously before, in a post which describes a turbulent period in my life--some forty years ago now Today, though, I reference the work by twelfth century scholar Peter Abelard, who died 882 years ago, on April 21, 1142. Although a brilliant scholar… Continue reading Historia Calamitatum–Remembering Peter Abelard
My maternal Great Granny was a fearsome old bat. She was born in 1869, just four short years after the US Civil War ended and (only five days subsequently) Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. She died a few months before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. What a lifespan. I was fourteen when she died, and… Continue reading Easter 2024: On Silk Purses, Sow’s Ears, and Horse’s Asses
Good grief. Not sure what's wrong with the US military retired, all the way from Generals down to Field Grade Officers. I think it's pretty safe to say that the grunts--the enlisted--the sad sacks, the jarheads, the squids, etc. don't suffer from this foolish nonsense, but honestly! LTC Vindman. General Mark (I'm in China's Corner)… Continue reading Lloyd Austin–For Fuck’s Sake, Don’t Be A Jerk
Revisiting a post from exactly three years ago here. (In the midst of Covid misery.) I was reminded of it by a couple of recent posts on Ricochet. Please subscribe if you have not already. You won't regret it. While I often re-post stuff I've written on Ricochet on this site, as a backup, if… Continue reading Responsible Men, and the Women Who Love Them: A Reminder for Us All
Yes, I thought about Geoffrey Chaucer one week ago today, on October 25, 2023. I know perfectly well that that was the 623rd anniversary of his death, which occurred on October 25, 1400. But I was otherwise occupied at the time, and I didn't get around to commemorating it. Herewith, an echo from well over… Continue reading A Lapse in Deed, if not in Thought: Celebrating Geoffrey Chaucer
Well, here's an oldie but goodie. I was reminded of it by a recent post on Ricochet about Euripides's play, Medea (speaking of oldies but goodies). That post has to do with the retelling of the story of the figure with her roots firmly in Greek mythology who marries Jason of Golden Fleece and Argonauts… Continue reading Revisiting “Patient Griselda,” 2023: Was She a Perfect Wife, or a Credulous Fool?
Yesterday (August 9, 2023) was the thirteenth anniversary of the day I discovered ricochet.com. I've written before about how much that site, and its members, have meant to me over the years, but here's the post from yesterday, the date itself. I urge those of you with a Centerish and Rightwards political bent to take… Continue reading Proudly Declaring My Preferred Pronoun Since 2010!
I think she first crossed my radar in 1971 (or so) when she appeared on Masterpiece Theatre in the United States, in the six-part (or so) program Elizabeth R. It was glorious. So was she. I was excessively irritated today on GBNews when some clown or other asserted (if you insist on making me look… Continue reading Ave Atque Vale: Glenda Jackson