I ‘ve decided I don’t want to label my newsletter as anything specific, because I don’t like to be tied down to one subject. Also, I’ve realized I don’t have the experience, education or patience to be able to go very deep on anything that really matters in the physical, scientific or political spheres. (What I mean is, look at The Forgotten Side of Medicine, by A Midwestern Doctor. That’s a level of information quality I can’t reach on anything others would care about.) But I really enjoy writing and putting my thoughts down. If others want to read them and even comment, I’ll be honored.
So, I’m changing the name. Until now, it has been, “1A Magazine.”
From now on, it’s just going to be:
Ex Animo
It’s Latin, and means (depending on context, I suppose) from my mind or from my heart.
I know, it could have been in English, but I decided to make it fancy.
So, there it is.
I started my first Substack a little over a year ago. I thought I could handle big subjects, but I’ve finally realized, “A man’s got to know his limitations,” to quote Clint Eastwood in Magnum Force. So, now I’ll handle smaller subjects, things I’ve encountered myself, things I think I can understand and examine.
Recently, I’ve been thinking how those of us who write our opinions, and expect others to give a whit, have a brazen quality of mind. You know, cheeky, saucy, impudent, … all those. Who are we to expect others to care what we think? (If you think I’m sounding a bit like Andy Rooney, thank you for that compliment. His way of putting things was self-deprecating and in your face at the same time, and he always added a smidge of humor. I always enjoyed how he phrased his pointed views.)
This Is Me
So, just in case you’re curious … I’m working on getting old. I’m up to seventy-six and still counting. I’ve never accomplished much, really, at least not in the usually accepted sense of being “successful,” etc. But I have my thoughts, and I’m one of those brazen people who thinks they’re worth sharing with others. I’ve had a lot of jobs and learned a lot of things. I’ve made money but not had the wisdom to keep or invest it. I was raised by a single mom who was a school teacher, and I had a dishonest and abusive older brother I wish I could forget. I dropped out of college to join a soft rock band that was bad enough to accept me. I learned photography, and to write and create layouts, and published a wedding magazine in California—the one commercial success of my life, so far. I escaped California and made it to Colorado three-plus decades ago. Now, I have neat little family, spread hither and yon. I have a wife whom I love and who loves me back. We are not well off, but we are not poor. We still work every day. Like others, we understand that things could easily get worse, but we’re hoping they won’t, so we’re doing what we can to keep our lives on an even keel and to ignore the folly of our huge guvmint. We believe in God and follow His Son and try to live and act in a way that won’t reflect badly on Either of Them. We do not like many things happening in our country, and we are hoping for a major sea change this November. If things don’t change, and our nation continues to falter under the guidance of self-serving _____s1, we will still persevere and hope the World and our Nation can regain a bit sanity and balance so our kids and grandkids might have the same opportunities we’ve had.
So, want to read my thoughts on stuff? Subscribe to Ex Animo! (It’s free.)
I hope you might enjoy just a few of the things I say as time goes on. If not, that’s okay. To each his own, or as they said in ancient Greece, ad invicem.
From the American English Thesaurus: (Pluralize for context) noun 1 fool. idiot, halfwit, nincompoop, blockhead, buffoon, dunce, dolt, ignoramus,
cretin, imbecile, dullard, moron, simpleton, clod; informal dope, ninny, chump, dimwit,
nitwit, goon, dumbo, dummy, dumdum, dumbbell, loon, jackass, bonehead, fathead,
numbskull, dunderhead, chucklehead, knucklehead, muttonhead, puddinghead,
thickhead, woodenhead, airhead, pinhead, lamebrain, peabrain, birdbrain, zombie,
jerk, nerd, dipstick, donkey, noodle;
British/English informal nit, numpty, twit, clot, ass, goat, plonker, berk, prat, pillock,
wally, git, wazzock, divvy, nerk, twerp, charlie, mug, muppet;
Scottish English informal nyaff, balloon, sumph, gowk;
Irish English informal gobdaw;
NorthAmericanEnglish informal schmuck, bozo, boob, lamer, turkey, schlepper,
chowderhead, dumbhead, dumbass, goofball, goof, goofus, galoot, dork, lummox, klutz, putz, schlemiel, sap, meatball, gink, cluck, clunk, dingdong, dingbat, wiener, weeny,
dip, simp, spud, coot, palooka, poop, squarehead, yo-yo, dingleberry;
US English informal wing nut; Australian and New Zealand English informal drongo, dill, alec, galah, nong, bogan, poon, boofhead; South African English informal mompara; archaic tomfool, noddy, clodpole, loggerhead,
spoony, mooncalf. … etc.
It's a funny world. I could swear I checked to see if anyone had a newsletter named "Ex Animo." But you know what? I thought I did, but I didn't. So, my newsletter is not named Ex Animo. It's named "Et Ex Animo," which just means "AND from my mind." Mistakes happen. Enjoy!