Stand Up or Stare at the Table?
Saturday, June 13, 2026. It's the Satyr's day . . . Thunderstorms are in the forecasts for Green Country. Morning rains are to give way to some sun for most of the day with the storms returning overnight and into tomorrow morning. Strong Southerlies and a high in the low 90's are anticipated for TulseyTown.
. . . how surreal it is that we live in a time in which this is so routine — that the leader of the country uses the powers of his office to ensure his opponents are charged with crimes as punishment for having exercised their First Amendment rights — that such updates arrive almost casually. Like sports scores. – Miles Taylor, Stand Up or Stare at the Table? Defiance, 6.12.26
Standing up:
The Washington National Opera is suing for its endowment.
The artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were both born on this day in 1935, in Bulgaria and Morocco, respectively.
Irish poet William Butler Yeats was born today in 1865, Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland. One of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century as well as dramatist, and prose writer, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
One of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, David Hockney died Thursday, at the age of eighty-eight, after a seven-decade career that included painting, digital drawings, photography, theatre-staging, etchings, collage.
There’s no reason even to consider reducing Social Security benefits or raising the age of eligibility. The logical and necessary response is simply to raise the cap, Mike Johnson and other Republican shills for the oligarchs to the contrary notwithstanding. – Robert Reich, the REAL reason Social Security is in trouble, substack 6.12.26
Following up. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse
Down By The Salley Gardens
Down by the salley gardens
my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens
with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy,
as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish,
with her would not agree.
In a field by the river
my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder
she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy,
as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish,
and now am full of tears.
– William Butler Yeats.
Ahead of time . . .
Friday, June 12, 2026. It's Freya's day . . . Moderate Easterlies with mid 80's and a mix of sun and clouds are in the forecasts for the day in Green Country and TulseyTown.
The Truth About Time That Most of Us Avoid Facing. Excellent advice from Tiny Buddha.
On my 40th birthday – egad, 44 years ago this past March – living romantically on Peaks Island, Maine, I ventured to the island Landing bar to toast myself. It was mid afternoon. Larry Lushbaugh (no kidding) greeted me from behind the bar and then excused himself to go do or get what ever. Contemplating my Warsteiner pilsner draft, I felt a strong tap on the back of my right shoulder. It was not gentle, but a clearly purposeful, attention assertion. In the mood for any someone with whom to share my moment, I turned. There was no one there.
True eternity lies not behind either/or but ahead of it. – Søren Kierkegaard, “Beyond Either/Or,” in The Marginalian, 6.120.26 (reposted from the archive).
Today is the birthdate of Chick Corea. The classically trained jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader was born in 1941 Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Today is also the birthdate of Anne Frank, born in 1929 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
“. . .in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart . . . I can feel the sufferings of millions, and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.” Anne Frank, from her Diary.
To live with a courageous heart is to be a steward of the evolution of consciousness.
Compassion for the extra-terrestrial . . .
Thursday, June 11, 2026. It's Thors day . . . A 50/50% chance for thunderstorms is in TulseyTown's forecast for this afternoon. Strong Southerlies, low 90's, and 60% chances are indicated for later in the day into the evening throughout Green Country.
Ambition is a word without ambition . . .
No matter the self-conceited importance of our labours we are all compost for worlds we cannot yet imagine. Ambition takes us toward that horizon, but not over it...A true vocation always metamorphoses both ambition and failure into compassion and understanding for others. – David Whyte, “Ambition,” substack 6.10.26
The FIFA Men’s World Cup gets underway today with a lot of soccer. Over 100 games in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
Today is the birthdate of Jacques Cousteau, born in 1910, Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France. The ocean explorer, and co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung, was known for his extensive underseas investigations.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released today in 1982, directed by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg's latest exploration of human-alien contact will be theatrically released in the United States tomorrow, on June 12, titled Disclosure Day,
The multi laureate actor and comedian, Gene Wilder, was born on this day in 1933 Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Controversial novelist William Styron was born on this day in 1925 Newport News, Virginia.
And, today is the birthdate of German composer Richard Strauss. Born in 1864 Munich, his symphonic poems and operas remain an indispensable feature of the standard repertoire.