Utterly stupid, morally wrong . . .

Friday, May 22, 2026. It's Frigg's day . . . at 9:30 a.m. light Easterlies brought rain showers to TulseyTown, ending before Noon. Forecasts for Green Country indicate clouds and sun in the afternoon with upper 70's. Sun, clouds and 20% rain chances extend through the weekend to Wednesday when the rains are to return.

If every goal you set came true, you’d be trapped living the dreams of someone who no longer exists. Set goals. But treat them as experiments, not destiny. The point isn’t to achieve your goals. The point is to outgrow them. – Mark Mason

Four who outgrew their birthdays: Multi-laureate British actor Laurence Olivier was born in 1907 Dorking, Surrey, England; the author/creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, was born in 1859 Edinburgh, Scotland; impressionist painter Mary Cassatt was born in 1844, Allegheny City [now part of Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania; and the composer Richard Wagner was born in 1813, Leipzig, Germany.

“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong—Take your pick.” – Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in Heather Cox Richardson's Letters From An American, 5.22.26

Blanche says we support Trump's slush fund. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse, 5.22.26

Corruptonomics. – Robert Reich, A Memo To Democratic candidates, 5.22.26

Wagner summarized disaster in Götterdämmerung

Beyond avant garde . . .

Thursday, May 21, 2026. It's Thor's day . . . He's celebrating with thunderstorms in Green Country today. Forecasts indicate Easterlies bringing rains to TulseyTown on/off throughout the day and overnight into early tomorrow morning.

"How do I drop down into the authenticity of being present in the gift and miracle of my daily life?" – Dr. James Finley

“Is it possible you could live your whole life and die without ever having met the person that lived your life?” – Fr.Thomas Merton

A PTSD nation? – Robert Reich, Have We Given Up? 5.21.26

At Google I/O 2026 earlier this week the tech giant was obsessed with talking to itself. From the outside, it felt remorseless and exhausting. – Tyler Lacoma at AiAtlas, posted to CNET.

The book Truth in the Age of A.I. contains quotes made up by A.I. The NY Times took a close look at the book and found more than a half-dozen misattributed or completely made-up quotes concocted by A.I. Among them a quote attributed to Kara Swisher, a prominent technology journalist, was refuted by her: “I never said that...“I sound like I have a stick up my butt, according to ChatGPT,”

NPR News is making major layoffs after public funding cuts.

Mark your calendar: JUNE 4 is Protect My Public Media Day ...Take action: Contact your members of Congress and urge them to restore federal funding for local public media stations. Oklahoma's OETA is America's most-watched Public Broadcasting Service network. Funding for OETA is under threat from not only federal action but state legislature ignorance as well. OETA broadast's TV throughout all 77 counties in the state. Radio broadcasters KWGS in Tulsa, KOSU in Stillwater, and KGOU in Norman are NPR affiliates.

Today is the birth date of the French post-Impressionist painter Henri Rousseau, born in 1844, Laval, France. His imagery exerted an extensive influence on several generations of avant-garde artists.

By far, the most brazen act of presidential corruption in American history is happening right now while we watch. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.

The calendar begins to say summer . . .

Wednesday, May 20, 2026. It's Odin's day . . . Rain and clouds are in the forecasts for the next ten days for Green Country and TulseyTown. Storm chances range from 20 to 30%. The sun appears to have taken a holiday until July 4th.

Thank You, Stephen Colbert. – Robert Reich

A nationwide coalition of district attorneys has come together to protect polling places from federal agents sent to carry out voter intimidation. – Miles Taylor, at Defiance 5.19.26

Almost as good as a pardon. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse.

Yesterday was the 8th wedding anniversary of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Just As The Calendar Began To Say Summer

I went out of the schoolhouse fast

and through the gardens and the wood,

and spent all summer forgetting what I'd been taught --

two times two, and diligence,

and so forth,

how to be modest and useful, and how to succeed

and so forth.

By fall I had healed somewhat, but was summoned back

to the chalky rooms and the desks, to sit and remember

the way the river kept rolling its pebbles,

the way the wild wrens sang though they hadn't a penny

in the bank,

the way the flowers were dressed in nothing but light.

– Mary Oliver, “Just As The Calendar Began To Say Summer,” from Devotions, Penguin Books 2020.