Build a lover from a wicker basket . . .
Monday, August 24, 2026
It's the Moon's day . . . Cooler conditions are in the forecasts for Green Country today. After welcome morning rains, moderate Southeasterlies are to maintain cloudy skies for TulseyTown's afternoon. Mid 90's with an index in the low 100's.
Today in 79 C.E. Italy’s Mount Vesuvius is traditionally believed to have erupted destroying the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The nation of Ukraine is celebrating its Independence today.
Trump’s game plan is to control a giant media monopoly — including CBS News, CNN, Comedy Central (home to Jon Stewart), HBO (John Oliver), and even TikTok (where 1 out of 5 Americans now get their news) — to silence criticism of Trump. – Robert Reich, The Monopoly Deal. On substack today.
The Week Ahead. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse.
Trump's killings have resumed. – Miles Taylor, Defiance, posted today.
Build a lover from a wicker basket. – Sophie Strand, in Make Me Good Soil, posted today.
Summer Grass
Summer grass aches and whispers.
It wants something; it calls and sings; it pours
out wishes to the overhead stars.
The rain hears; the rain answers; the rain is slow
coming; the rain wets the face of the grass.
– Carl Sandburg, “Summer Grass,” Good Morning, America, Harcourt, Brace in 1928. This poem is in the public domain.
Take a spoon to the writing river.
Sunday, August 23, 2026. It's Sol's day . . . a cool walk to the mailbox this morning. As of 8:20a.m. forecasts for Green Country are for cooler conditions today and much of tomorrow. Easterlies are indicated with upper 80's to low 90's in the afternoon with an index at 100º.
There are two kinds of writers: Those who need and benefit from writer's groups, and those who don't.
If we are willing to look deeper into the mundane activities of everyday life, what reveals itself is the spiritual nature inherent to all things.
Today is the birthdate of Edgar Lee Masters The author of The Spoon River Anthology, was born on this date in 1868 Garnett, Kansas.
It’s also the birthdate of Will Cuppy. The self proclaimed hermit with a humor writing gift was born in 1884 Auburn, Indiana.
“A hermit is simply a person to whom civilization has failed to adjust itself.” — Will Cuppy
The monastic flight from the world [what Father Richard calls ‘the system’] into the desert is not a mere refusal to know anything about the world, but a total rejection of all standards of judgment which imply attachment to a history of delusion and egoism… a definitive refusal to participate in those activities which have no other fruit than to prolong the reign of untruth, greed, cruelty and arrogance…. – Fr. Richard Rohr, Reflecting on Merton's influences on his meditative path, “Thomas Merton: A Monk in Action,” Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation.
On writing – from Mirabai Starr (in an email).
Greetings from the writing cave. The cave is a gorgeous little casita a hundred steps from the house I share with Ganga Das. I call it “my studio” because it is here that I create. My medium is language. My studio has ochre walls and birch floors, a mini fridge and a tiled shower, a sofa bed and a collection of Talavera pottery, floor to ceiling bookcases and an interspiritual altar. I could live here. But I'd rather go home every night to my beloved and our dogs.
Editing is not for the faint of heart. I mean, I love it. When I work with a manuscript I have already labored over, weaving in input from another set of eyes, the angels in the marble that Michelangelo spoke of start to emerge and it's thrilling. But wow, the process is intense. It takes everything. The effort, combined with the nature of the content—in this case grief—kicks my ass, I won't lie. But a year from now you should be able to hold this angel of a book in your hands and the pages will flow.
My PhD degree was awarded by The University of Oklahoma which has decided to float a proposal for a three-year bachelor's degree. .Most bachelor degree programs – the infamous B.A. – across the nation average about 126 credit hours. OU's new program will be 90 hours. First up: Regents will consider new programs in social work and cybersecurity. What 36 hours are going to be cut? They haven't said. Hide and watch: It'll be liberal arts and elective freedom, of course That said, tBhe new program won't be a replacement for the entire curriculum. The motive is economic: a cheaper and less time consuming degree certifying the recipient as job-force ready. Makes me wonder about the future quality of the job market. In my career, I've interviewed and been told, more than once, by several respected corporate execs “I can train a junior highschooler to flip a switch or read a bullet list outloud. What I want is a mature individual who can think their way out of a box.” Face it: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow – cheap is cheap. Bring on the humanities educated Uber driver.
The moon can be a vicious circle . . .
Saturday, August 22, 2026. It's the Satyr's day at 9:15 a.m. . . . a somewhat cooler day is in the forecasts for Green Country. A slight Summertime chance for a shower, so says the weatherfeather. Morning Northerlies are to turn Easterly with mid 90's afternoon and 80's by sundown.
It is one sacred universe, and we are all a part of it. – Fr. Richard Rohr, Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation.
Vote next this coming Tuesday. Consider: State question 846 should be an automatic NO. This state already requires proof of identity to vote. That makes this question completely unnecessary and would allow the legislature to tinker with identity verification, a dream of Trump. Proof of identity is described in current Oklahoma state law as a document issued by the US government, the state of Oklahoma, or a federally recognized Native American tribe that includes a voter's name, photo and an expiration date in the future. 846 would create problems where none exist. So, NO.
The now, present, health and health insurance crisis. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters from An American.
I’m going to say this as clearly as I can: Trump’s mind has gone. – Robert Reich, This Proves It,on substack today.
Good, well, better anyways, news: Scientists have found a more sustainable lithium-ion replacement. Now in development. Could be a revolution afoot. Definitely a “stay tuned for developments” item.
The Pulitzer Prize author of The Shipping News, and Brokeback Mountain, Annie Proulx is 91 today. born August 22, 1935, Norwich, Connecticut
Ray Bradbury was born on this date in 1920 Waukegan, Illinois. A Pulitzer Prize author and screenwriter, he gave us Fahrenheit 451.
The French photographer whose humane, spontaneous photographs helped establish photojournalism as an art form, Henri Cartier-Bresson was born today in 1908, Chanteloup, France.
Today is the birth date of Dorothy Parker, born in 1893 West End, near Long Beach, New Jersey. A short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and critic known for her witty—and often acerbic—remarks. She was one of the founders of the Algonquin Round Table
“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” ―Dorothy Parker
And, French composer Claude Debussy, a seminal force in the music of the 20th century, was born in 1862 Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
The moon can clearly be blue.