My hurdy-gurdy is out of tune . . .
Friday, October 9, 2026. It's Freya's day . . . Forecasts for GreenCountry and TulseyTown indicate the last of unseasonably warm afternoons for the next five days. Sunny, moderate Southeasterlies and low 90's.
[Trump] is out of control as the election looms. He will try to interfere with the votes we cast. He will try to discredit the press. He does not care if American citizens get harmed in the process. It is all one story. It’s the story we must pay attention to. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse today.
Is Trump to blame for this, too? – Robert Reich, Results of a crippled DFA.
SpaceX wants to compete with land based phone service. The FCC has approved it.
Concertina for Hurdy Gurdy and Broken Banjo
I am not a part of a circle. I have no 'gang' to blame
or hit up for lunch money. But, in the fog-mist-
emotional-fringe of a town that celebrates honky-tonk
while struggling as a wannabe-a-city in the middle of nowhere,
frightened of its possibilities, I am not alone.
Writing is the only thing some of us can do with the insane gifts
bequeathed by the cosmos to keep us sane.
The “art scene” here is fragmented like the busted concrete
streets that join the lowest income sectors
to the gentrified high end bars.
Competition is the underlying spirit
of the multiple (and failed) attempts at unification.
Chaos brings the best out of a few of us
who, nonetheless, have no idea
where most of us live.
– james allen bethel 4.16.25 edited 4.2.25 10.8.26
Certainly uncertain . . .
Thursday, October 8, 2026. It's Thor's day . . . at 9 a.m. on The Way back from the mailbox at 60º you might never look forward to today's forecast of a 90º afternoon. But, there you have it: A bright sunny afternoon with easy Southeasterlies across GreenCountry and into TulseyTown.
[T]he truth is that we can never avoid uncertainty. This not knowing is part of the adventure, it’s also what makes us afraid, and it's at the core of what Buddha called “beginner's mind.”
The uncertainty has Trump panicking – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.
The republic revisited: A preview of a coming attraction (some of which will no doubt appear on these pages). – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse.
Pema Khandro, Women in Buddhism, The Lenz Foundation. Worthy, insightful.
YoYo's and swans . . .
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 . It's Odin's day . . . a warm week is in the GreenContry forecasts. Afternoons in TulseyTown are to feature easy Southerlies, bright sunshine and upper 80’s. At this 9 o'clock hour, a full mailbox.
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. – Thich Nhat Hanh
So many of our Catholic saints are examples of heroic martyrdom; the message they give is, “If I am perfect, then God will love me.” Because I was so programmed to think that way, I really needed to be released from that pursuit of perfection. Thank God both Thérèse and Francis of Assisi did that for me. – Fr. Richard Rohr, “A Visit from Thérèse,” Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation. 10.2.26
Allen Ginsberg read his poem “Howl” at the Six Gallery in San Francisco on this date in 1955. The event gave birth to what has come to be known as “the beat generation.”
Poet and author Diane Ackerman is 78 today, born in 1948 Waukegan, Illinois. Among my faves, a great read in any genre.
It's also the birthdate of Nobel Prize laureate physicist Niels Bohr, born in 1885 Copenhagen.
Vladimir Putin is 74 today, born in 1952, Leningrad, Russia, U.S.S.R. [now St. Petersburg, Russia] .
Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu was born on this day in 1931 Klerksdorp, South Africa .
A message for men:
[The coming elections] also happen to be a test of whether we believe what we say when we tell folks to “stand up for women.”. . . Our sons are watching what men get away with. And our daughters are watching to see whether anyone stops them. Does our country actually stand up for women? They’re right to wonder. – Miles Taylor, Defiance.
R.D. Laing born in 1927 Glasgow, Scotland. The British psychiatrist was noted for his alternative approach to the treatment of schizophrenia incorporating existential philosophy. His writings were significant influences in interdisciplinary academia, yers trooly among them.
“Truth is literally that which is without secrecy, what discloses itself without a veil. ” – R.D. Laing
And, the French-born American cellist Yo-Yo Ma is 71 today, born in 1955, Paris, France.