A single leaf of grass . . .

Friday, July 4, 2025. It's Frey's (Frigg's) day … and moderate Southerlies bring a few clouds to TulseyTown along with the seasonal 15% chance for a surprise thunder shower. Upper 80's are in store.

It's the 4th of July

The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States by the French in Paris.

...the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence — freedom and liberty, civil rights and democracy, self-determination and equality — are all under assault at this moment from the government itself...so, Celebrating the Fourth of July this year may feel a bit strange to some. - Joyce Vance, in The Contrarian: Democracy Index, 7.1.25

Essayist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau moved to his retreat at Walden Pond,

Walt Whitman first published Leaves of Grass.

A leaf of grass

is no less

than the journey work

of stars.

– Walt Whitman

Where's it all going to end?

Thursday, July 3, 2025. It's Thor's day . . . Thunderstorms are in the forecast for TulseyTown today, but only a 50/50 chance.

Playwright Tom Stoppard turns 88 today. The recipient of multiple lareates including the Oscar and several Tony awards.was born in 1937 Zlín, Czechoslovakia.

It's the birthdate of Franz Kafka, born in 1883 Prague.

David can still slay Goliath. If the government won't enforce the law – in this case environmental regulations – organize and “sue the bastards.”

So what’s the real, underlying reason for the Trump regime’s attack on education? Because the greatest obstacle to dictatorship is an educated populace. Ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny. That’s why slave owners prohibited enslaved people from learning to read, fascists burn books, and tyrants close universities.

In their quest to destroy democracy, Trump, Vance, and their cronies are intent on shutting the American mind. – Robert Reich, “Why they hate higher education,” online, 7.3.25.

The Supreme Court's Pandora box. – Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, 7.2.25.

A must read from Garrison Keillor. The beauty of democracy: it’s an art and not a science, and sometimes it speaks clearly. – “Bravo democracy. Up with the underdog.” The Column, 6.30.25.

Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end? – Tom Stoppard.

One: Not Two . . .

Wednesday, July 2, 2025. It's Odin's day … Moderate Southerlies bring cloud cover to TulseyTown this afternoon. Otherwise, forecasts indicate upper 80's.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~Anaïs Nin Cited by Maria Kleine on TinyBuddha online.

Today in 1937, Amelia Earhart was last heard from, somewhere over the Pacific.

Hermann Hesse was born on this date. The author of Siddhartha was born in 1877 Calw, Germany,

Folk singer-songwriter Greg Brown was born in 1949 Fairfield, Iowa.

And its the birthdate of Polish poet Wisława Szymborska. The Nobel Lareate was born in 1923 Bnin, Poland.

Nothing Twice

Even if there is no one dumber,
if you’re the planet’s biggest dunce,
you can’t repeat the class in summer:
this course is only offered once.

– Wislawa Szymborska , “Nothing Twice,” from Poems New and Collected: 1957–1997, Harper Collins. 200 0. Original: Harcourt Brace & Company. 1998.