Turkeys talking . . .
Tuesday, June 9, 2026. It's Tiw's day . . . Summer Solstice is still several weeks ahead, but you wouldn't know it in Green Country. Forecasts for TulseyTown indicate strong Southerlies, hot sun in the low 90's with heat indices near 100º
We do not have a privilege access to reality. So easily do we forget to really live our lives in the present moment, following a temptation to think ahead. – “Talking Turkey,” Nature, PBS.
Yesterday in 1789 James Madison proposed what would become our Constitutional Bill of Rights. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.
The Week Ahead – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse (posted late Sunday)
Don't break out the champaign-- Robert Reich, re: Friday's jobs report.
The first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Bertha von Suttner, was born on this day in 1843, Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire, now the Czech Republic.
Natalie Portman is 45 today The multi-laureate awarded actor was born in 1981, Jerusalem.
Johnny Depp is 63, born in 1963 Owensboro, Kentucky.
Michael Fox is 65, born in 1961, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Electric guitar master and inventor Les Paul was born today in 1915 Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Broadway musical composer Cole Porter was also born on this date, in 1891, Peru, Indiana.
The bread of all noble hearts . . .
Monday, June 8, 2026.
It's the Moon's day . . . Strong Southerlies are in the forecasts today. Mixed sun and clouds and a warn low 90's this afternoon in Green Country and TulseyTown.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook shares his “swan song” today at Noon CDT. The end of an era. View it on youtube (tim cook wwdc 2026 ).
Today's Apple keynote finally delivers the Siri promised back in 2024. The assistant becomes a full chatbot like ChatGPT, with its own app, chat history that syncs across devices and the power to control your apps. The catch? It’s still labeled “beta”, and you might face a wait list when iOS 27 lands in September. I asked Siri what IDK meant. She said she didn’t know. Checks out. – Kim Komando, The Current.
The creative master of American architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright was born on this day in1867 Richland Center, Wisconsin. His “Prairie style” became the basis of 20th-century residential design in the United States.
Today in 1949 British author George Orwell published his dystopian classic Nineteen Eighty-four.
Bread to all noble hearts: Tristan & Isolde : An introduction. – Sophie Strand, Make Me Good Soil. 6.7.26
… every poem carries some blessing, even if hidden. Which may be why poems are often said to be a form of prayer. Yet, it is our knowledge of death that makes us pray. Every path a child takes looks precarious to the parent's eye. And it is, and precarious is an old word that means “full of prayers.” – Michael Meade, Fathers' Prayers for Sons and Daughters, in the anthology The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart, Harper Collins. 1992,
… poetry at its best is found rather than written. Traditionally, and for many people even today, poems have been admired chiefly for their [mechanical] craftsmanship and musicality . . .I respect and enjoy that, but I would not have worked so long and hard at my poetry if it were primarily the production of well-made objects, just as I would not have sacrificed so much for love if love were mostly about pleasure. – Linda Gregg, “The Art of Finding” posted by the Academy of American Poets, 2006.
Why My “T” Sticks
He threw a
typewriter at me
from the upstairs
front window.
“Now use that
in a poem, you bitch.”
So I did.
– Pam Ward. Rattle, #91 Spring 2026.
Someone, somewhere, sometime . . .
Sunday, June 7, 2026. It's Sol's day . . . Forecasts for Green Country indicate a 60% chance for thunderstorms until around noon when chances begin to fall into the usual Summertime 20% range. Moderate Southerlies are to maintain cloudy skies over TulseyTown with mid 80's in the afternoon hours.
Beauty is the harvest of presence. – David Whyte.
The Buddha and Jesus were teachers, not saviors. Neither of them laid claim to that status penned to them by socio/cultural agents with agendas seeking to define them. The opportunity and methods to learn and practice were offered, but it is then up to us whether we utilize that opportunity with a clear mind. Building temples, pouring money into stained glass and parking lots was never remotely in their minds. Happiness and freedom from suffering for all beings was.
Addicted to definitions: “I do not need to define myself, and yet I have this allergy of definition.” – Thomas Merton, cited by Cassidy Hall in “Resisting Definition”, Mediations, The Center for Action and Contemplation. 6.3.26
Political parties try to earn your vote; authoritarian movements find ways to win without it. That’s precisely what Trump will do. He will try it in 2026 and more than likely again in 2028. We must match it with a commitment of our own: a commitment to voter registration, to voter education, to ensuring that everyone can vote no matter how difficult they try to make it, and to ensuring that every vote is counted. This is the ultimate fight ... a metaphoric gun-fight and Democrats cannot afford to bring a knife to it. Our right to vote, the right that unlocks all other rights, is on the table. It will be up to us to remain committed, passionate, and vocal in its defense – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse. 6.3.26
Heather Cox Richardson posted the second week of videos from the 250 to 250 Project that honors the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. – Letters From An American.
The coming revival of America. – Robert Reich, 6.7.26.
Prince, formerly known as The Artist, was born on this day in 1958, Minneapolis, Minnesota. among the most talented musicians of his generation.
Liam Neeson is 74 today, born in 1952, Ballymena, Northern Ireland. With a film career spanning more than forty years, Neeson is regarded as one of Ireland's greatest film actors and is the recipient of multiple award laureates.
Novelist and poet Louise Erdrich was born 71 years ago today in 1954 Little Falls, Minnesota, Her works champion native Americans.
It's the birthdate of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, born in 1917 Topeka, Kansas, and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Her works depicted the everyday life of urban African Americans and was the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.
And, one of the most popular entertainer/singers of the 20th Century, Dean Martin was born in 1917 Steubenville, Ohio.