Beastly sanity . . .
Friday, May 29, 2026. It's Freya's day . . . A cloudy start to the day. There is a 50/50 chance for thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Winds are to be Southerly, moderate, but gusty in any stray storm. Upper 80’s are forecasted for TulseyTown and Green Country.
Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way. – Yasunari Kawabata
Now treating the nation’s capital as his property, Trump appears to be leaning on his past role as a real estate developer as a solution in Iran remains elusive, inflation in the U.S. climbs, and his popularity drops. – Heather Cox Richardson, in today's Letters From An American.
Trump and E. Jean Carroll. Trump’s vengeance is totally unhinged. – Robert Reich, 5.29.26
Is E. Jean Carroll being “investigated,” or not? – Joyce Vance, in today's Civil Discourse.
Igor Stravinsky's ballet Le Sacre du Printemps — The Rite of Spring — premiered tonight in 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Rumor has it there was a riot. The rumor became a highly successful marketing meme.
President John F. Kennedy was born on this day in 1917, Brookline, Massachusetts.
The brilliant orator and a major figure of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry, was born in 1736, Studley, Virginia.
Today is also the birthdate of Bob Hope. The British-born American comedian was born in 1903 Eltham, near London, England. Inaddition to his famous comedic skills, he was also an actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years with achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, starring in 54,
And G.K. Chesterton was born today in 1874, London, England. He was a sharp-witted English critic and author of verse, essays, novels, and short stories. He made his points with wit and paradox, and in such a large body of work, there is no shortage of quotable material. If you don't know him, you ought.
The sane man knows that he has a touch of the beast, a touch of the devil, a touch of the saint, a touch of the citizen. Nay, the really sane man knows that he has a touch of the madman. But the materialist’s world is quite simple and solid, just as the madman is quite sure he is sane. – G.K. Chesterston, Orthodoxy, Ignatius Press. 1908.
Remembering Miss Moneypenney . . .
Thursday, May 28, 2026. It's Thor's day . . . Moderate Southerlies and rain chances are in the forecasts for Green Country and TulseyTown today. A cooler afternoon upper 70's to near 80º.
Comfort provides a floor but also a ceiling. – Trever Noah
The man who built his political career on silencing inconvenient witnesses just proposed a government-wide gag order on two million federal workers. – Miles Taylor, Defiance, 5.27.26.
Republicans can look forward in Texas to dumping another $250 million into trying to get Paxton elected, running against James Talarico, money that they needed to flip Democratic seats elsewhere. Republicans are increasingly relying on a playbook from the 1800's. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American posted for today.
Glory Days. – Joyce Vance, in today's Civil Discourse. To the point: Support James Talarico in Texas.
One of the most accomplished all-around athletes in history, Jim Thorpe, was born today in 1888 Prague, Oklahoma.
Today is also the birthdate of Ian Fleming. Born in 1908, London, England, the suspense-fiction novelist gave us the character James Bond – the stylish, high-living British secret service agent 007.
Sonny Rollins, whose forceful and imaginative approach to the tenor saxophone made him one of the dominant jazz musicians of the post-World War II era, died at his home in Woodstock, N.Y., on Monday. He was 95.
And, the poet May Swenson was born on this day in 1913 Logan, Utah.
A party isn’t a party unless people dance.
My baby’s a Democrat / But when I wear a top hat / And carry a cane, I engage her, / She forgets I’m an English major. /
Yes, I’m a bibliophile / And I’m old but I’ve got style. / When I’m in a subjunctive mood, / I don’t sit in the dark and brood, /
I let the music fill my senses / And conjugate my tenses. / A gentleman of grace and glamour / Who can dance with perfect grammar, /
I like to practice seduction / By elegant sentence construction.
Garrison Keillor, “The Man at the Typewiter,” The Column. 5.27.26
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain . . .
Wednesday, May 27, 2026. It's Odin's day . . . Forecasts for Green Country indicate thunderstorms in TulseyTown beginning in the afternoon with rain chances possibly overnight into tomorrow morning. Cooler, upper 70’s. Moderate Easterlies are to become Northerly overnight.
Because there is no separation between self and other, the power-beyond-ourselves sustains our entire existence. We are entirely dependent on an impermanent undefinable: A rapidly changing dark matter universe.
Pope Leo XIV (a mathematician by education) has called for regulation of Ai, outlined in an encyclical – Magnifica Humanitas – focusing on "the safeguarding of the human person in the time of artificial intelligence." The encyclical is more than just a message to tech companies and the Catholic Church. For Catholics and non-Catholics alike, Magnifica Humanitas presents ideas for people across the globe to rally around as AI becomes an ever-increasing presence in our lives. – CNET, 5.25.26
Anthropic's atheist co-founder stood onstage at the Vatican alongside two cardinals as Pope Leo signed his encyclical. It was on the 135th anniversary of the last papal letter addressing a world-changing technology. That one tackled the Industrial Revolution. This one's about your soul. --Kim Komando, The Current, 2.26.26
Friday, after Trump's last declaration of a “near deal” with Iran, Iran’s state media immediately posted that Trump’s claims that the strait would reopen as it was before the war was “not true,” adding that “it should be noted that American officials have acknowledged in multiple messages to Iran that Trump’s tweets are primarily for promotional purposes and media consumption within the United States, and they have recommended that no attention be paid to these statements.” – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American, 5.26.26
Analysts are warning about a market crash, and it stands to be bleaker than anything we’ve seen since 1929. – Miles Taylor, Defiance, 5.26.26
Today is the birthdate of Rachel Carson. The environmentalist author of The Silent Spring. was born in 1907 Springdale, Pennsylvania.
Vincent Price was born today in 1911 St. Louis, Missouri. Price’s menacing screen presence was in direct contrast to his offscreen reputation for kindness and generosity, his art collection and cookbooks.
Another famous film villain, Christopher Lee, was born in 1922 Belgravia, London, England.
It's also John Cheever's birthday. The multi awarded short story writer was born on this day in 1912 Quincy, Massachusetts.
And, it's Linda Pastan's birthdate. The poet laureate was born in the 1932 Bronx, New York City.
How can a people who do not mean to understand death hope to understand love.
And who will sound the alarm? — John Cheever, The Stories of John Cheever (1978), Vintage. 2000.