Toes for target practice . . .
Thursday, November 20, 2025. It's Thor's day . . . He's hunting for his hammer ahead of possible thunderstorms today. Forecasts for TulseyTown indicate showers for the afternoon and evening with moderate Southerlies and upper 60's.
Let’s revisit the ancient Greeks’ understanding that we are all born with a daimon: a guiding spirit who whispers help and counsel, especially if we stay alert for its assistance. Typically, the messages are subtle, even half-disguised. Our daimons don’t usually shout. Your personal daimon can be extra talkative and forthcoming, but likely quiet. So be vigilant for unexpected support, epiphanies and breakthrough revelations. Pay attention to the book that falls open to a page that has an oracular hint just for you. Take notice of a song that repeats or a sudden urge to change direction on your walk. – from Rob Brezsney, Free Will Astrology, week of November 20.
Birthdays: President Joe Biden is 83 today; It's the 100th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy — brother of President John Kennedy — RFK was born in 1925 Brookline, Massachusetts; and, astronomer Edwin Hubble was born on this day in 1889 Marshfield, Missouri
In 1971 a ban was finally placed on the use of the popular pesticide DDT. Public knowledge of DDT and its environmental dangers was in large part due to Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring published 10 years earlier.
The Epstein files are not Trump's only headache this morning. – Heather Cox Richardson in Letters From An American, 11.20.25
Pay no attention to Trump’s personal insults. By now they’re expected features of Trump’s childish responses to criticism. But pay a great deal of attention to his threats to the profits of media corporations. – Robert Reich, The Real Danger to Press Freedom, online, 11.20.25
Mine-Field
“The mob within the heart” – Emily Dickenson
Love, care, anxiety, resentment, tenderness, attachment,
hurt, upset, frustration, bored, restless, lonely,
apprehensive, belligerent, revengent,
calm, peaceful, joyous, compassionate.
Potshots at our own feet the ego takes
in singularly advantageous moments
all the way to all at the same time:
leaving us with no toes
trying to navigate a boat with no rudder
with our feet.
Hands-like-clouds, feet like clouds,
thoughts like clouds.
Who knew?
Good to know.
– jab
Celebrating Miss Piggy . . .
Wednesday, November 19, 2025. It's Odin's day . . . Forecasts indicate a cloudy day for TulseyTown with light and variable Easterlies and a slight chance for rain. The chances increase to 50/50 this evening with thunderstorms likely tomorrow.
On a foggy, cold morning on this day in 1863 Abraham Lincoln got up in front of about 15,000 people and delivered the Gettysburg Address. Most of them weren't aware he had spoken.
Heather Cox Richardson reflected on the Gettysburg event in her Letters From An American.
Honor and shame in the era of Trump. – Robert Reich, online,11.19.25
“Quiet, Piggy.” All you need to know about Trump's view of women and his sensitivity to the Epstein files. It’s time to emulate the great Miss Piggy, who has never stayed quiet in the face of those who don’t respect her. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse. 11.19.25
In a major blow to Trump and his GOP minions, a Federal court on Tuesday blocked Texas from using a new congressional gerrymander in 2026 midterms.
Numbing may help us cope with the soul-crushing, power-greedy machine of modernity, but it prevents us from true intimacy with ourselves and the world. Whatever our addictions are, they prevent us from meeting our most authentic, empowered self.
It's not all Mickey Mouse . . .
Tuesday, November 18, 2025. It's Tiw's day . . . Moderate Westerlies are in the forecasts for TulseyTown today, mixing sun and clouds, along with an unseasonably warm upper 70's. Rain is indicated likely Thursday.
Margaret Atwood is 86 today. The novelist and poet author of The Handmaids Tale was born in 1939 Ottawa, Ontario.
Does Trump really want to release the Epstein files? If not, what’s Trump REALLY trying to hide? Regardless of what he says, he could release the files himself rather than direct Justice to release them, which they might well not. – – Robert Reich, Office Hours, 11.18.25.
Misconduct in the Comey case? What happens when the Feds lose their credibility? – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse. 11.18.25.
Channel your inner Lorax: Speak up for the trees and rivers.
“Mickey Mouse” has become a standard write-in name on U.S. election ballots as a protest vote. Mickey has been a contender in nearly all the American presidential elections since his birth, which as it turns out, was on today's date.
At the River Clarion
. . . I was sitting in the river named Clarion, on a water splashed stone
and all afternoon I listened to the voices of the river talking.
Whenever the water struck a stone it had something to say,
and the water itself, and even the mosses trailing under the water.
. . .
– – Mary Oliver, “At the River Clarion” from Evidence: Poems , Beacon Press. 2009