Running on empty, running blind . . .
Wednesday, July 16, 2025. It's Odin's day . . . Forecasts indicate heat indices above 100º for TulseyTown. Real temps in the mid 90's with moderate Southerlies and a few clouds this afternoon.
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.
Suspect synchronistics at work today
Almost everything in life has been monetized. Where's the joy in such a world?
NPR and PBS telling the truth is one reason Trump is trying to destroy them. Red states are online to receive huge increases in energy costs all the way down to the homeowner, renter and apartment dweller.
If you are a Ford driver or supporter (“made in the U.S.A?), you might want to check this out: The “fix-or-repair-daily” mfg is setting re-call records.
The Trump wrecking ball is slamming through the U.S. medical system. Hospitals are shutting down, slashing programs, and laying off staff. And the worst parts of the spending law haven’t even hit yet.
St. Clare of Assisi was born today in 1194 Assisi, Italy (then part of the “Holy Roman Empire.”)
Tony Kushner turns 69 today. The playwright noted for “Angels in America” was born in 1956 New York City.
80 years ago today in 1945, the first atomic bomb exploded at 5:30 a.m., 120 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
And, The Catcher in the Rye was published on this date in 1951 by Little, Brown and Company. The novel by J.D. Salinger is considered among the 20th Century's best.
For half a year the alphabet blinded me to beauty.
– Jim Harrison, In Search of Small Gods, Copper Canyon Press. 2009
The veiled treasure . . .
Tuesday, July 15, 2025. It's Tiw's day . . . Easy Southerlies bring a warm Summer day to TulseyTown. Low 90's, a few afternoon clouds, and indices near 100º.
Arts and ideas are often threats perceived by a current Weltanschauung.
The same ancient psychology that once scaled up human cooperation now risks tearing our world apart, according to Oxford University anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse writing for The Institute of Art and Idea (online). 10 July 2025.
Dates:
Microbiologist Thomas Francis Jr. was born on this day in 1900 Gas City, Indiana. He xpanded the knowledge of viral vaccines, among them the flu vaccine, and designed research that led to Salk's polio vaccine,
Mythologist Thomas Bulfinch was born today in 1796 Newton, Massachusetts.
And it's the birth date of philosopher and novelist Dame Iris Murdoch. She was born in 1919 Dublin.
Today is the day in 1836 that transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered the Commencement Address to the Harvard Divinity School. Emerson had grown very critical of the then current practice of Christianity, which he made clear in his address. Harvard didn't invite him back for 30 years. Harvard eventually forgave him, awarding him an honorary LL.D. degree and electing him to the Board of Overseers in 1866. In 1870, he was invited to give a series of lectures on philosophy.
Harvard has a history of occasional narrow mindedness, in addition to Emerson. Richard Alpert, who would become Ram Dass, and Timothy Leary – researching the curative effects of psychoactive stubstances – had their tenures revoked and were fired in 1968. As of 2025 Harvard has resurrected research in the field which is now led by Johns Hopkins University.
Seeing is believing because we believe first, then see.
You are the treasure
and the veil hiding it.
— Rumi, in Water:Rumi, transl by Haleh Lza Gafori, New York Review Books, 2025
Streaking to the music . . .
Monday, July 14, 2025. It's the Moon's day . . . and it has begun to wane from hunting in the forests. Sun and clouds in TulseyTown this morning are forecasted to yield to clouds and a 30% chance of rain this afternoon. Light North and Easterly breezes. Temps in the upper 80's.
Joy is not in things. It is in us.
Today is Bastille Day in France. It wa on this day in 1789 an angry mob stormed the Bastille prison in Paris and launched the French Revolution.
"Woody" Guthrie was born on this day in 1912 Okemah, Oklahoma. On a guitar he found in the street, he wrote “this machine kills fascists.”
Playwright Arthur Laurents (West Side Story) was born today in 1917 Brooklyn.
And, its the birthdate of novelist and playwright Irving Stone (Lust for Life) born in 1903 San Francisco, California.
Robert Reich posted a personal note today for his regular and occasional readers.
Trump and the Epstein saga splitting up the MAGA crowd. The facts posted yesterday by Heather Cox Richardson in Letters From An American.
The Summer of 1969 was the peak of the counter-culture “revolution” in the U.S. Easy Rider hit the movie screen, the Woodstock Music Festival was held in Bethel, New York. And, speaking of Bethel, yurs trooley, drafted into graduate school, I entered in August with a two day old start on a beard that is still with me. There were “hippies” in San Francisco, and naked “streakers” – even on the OU campus – capturing the media's fascination. The Grateful Dead and The Beatles dominated the music charts along with an album oriented sound track for the era rising on FM radio.