Relishing freedom . . .
Friday, August 22, 2025. It's Freya's day . . . Easy Northerlies continue into TulseyTown. Sunny, low 90's are in the forecasts. The Moon is new.
People think far too much about techniques and not enough about seeing. — Henri Cartier-Bresson,
Henri Cartier-Bresson was born on this day in 1908, Chanteloup, France. He was the photographer of extraordinary clarity-in-a-moment, and championed photojournalism as an art form.
Dorothy Parker, was born today in 1893, West End, near Long Beach, New Jersey. The poet, critic and master of wit was one of the founders of the Algonquin Round Table.
Writer Annie Proulx was born in 1935 Norwich, Connecticut, on this day.
It’s also Ray Bradbury’s birth date. The science fiction and fantasy writer was born in 1920 Waukegan, Illinois.
Texans relish their freedoms. They don’t want to be controlled by Washington. They don’t want to live in a dictatorship. The spirit of Ann Richards lives on. – Robert Reich, “Trumps Plot,” online 8.22.25.
And, French composer Claude Debussy, a seminal force in the music of the 20th century, was born on this day in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. His moons never grew old.
Count on it, once anyway . . .
Thursday, August 21, 2025. It's Thor's day . . . Moderate Northerlies bring the cooling trend to TulseyTown we've been holding our breath for. The 100's have gone for the season according to the weatherfeather. It's still August with mid 90's today.
Three birthdates: Count Basie was born in 1904, Red Bank, New Jersey; Christopher Robin Milne, the inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh, was born in today in 1920 London, England, the son of the children's writer A.A. Milne; and novelist Robert Stone was born on this day in 1937 Brooklyn, New York.
We carry very ancient wounds that come not from original sin but from a misunderstanding so old that we can no longer see it...We get stuck in patterns of grasping and fixating which cause the same thoughts and reactions to occur again and again and again. In this way we project our world. When we see that, even if it’s only for one second every three weeks, then we’ll naturally discover the knack of reversing this process of making things solid, the knack of stopping the claustrophobic world as we know it, putting down our centuries of baggage, and stepping into new territory. – Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart, Shambhala, 2016.
Our inherent nature is pure. All we have to do is rediscover who we really are, and that’s what the path is for. It’s that simple – Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, “Necessary Doubt,” Tricycle,
When you learn to mind your mind, you begin by allowing your thoughts and feelings to shout or cry, to throw a tantrum and have a meltdown. – Brian McLaren, “Mind Your Mind,” Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation,
Some are fortunate enough to have a local community to practice and study with. Many others walk the path alone. Lion’s Roar’s rich archive of open and non-sectarian teachings can help show the path and provide a guide to The Way. If this is of interest, do explore Lion's Roar.
Using words as spies . . .
Wednesday, August 20, 2025. It's Odin's day . . . and forecasts for TulseyTown indicate real temperatures cooling, if you can call it that, in the 90's, with indices of 100º+ this afternoon.
Dualistic thinking is at the root of our illusions of human perfection. – Richard Rohr, The Center for Action and Contemplation, 7.31.25
MSNBC is changing its name later this year, separating from NBC affiliation.
There may be Spyware in your kid's school syllabus. If student safety software had a dark side, this is it. AI, risk scores and alerts to law enforcement, what could possibly go wrong? – Kim Komando, The Current, online 8.20.25
Heather McHugh turns 76 today. The Pacific coast inventive poet was born in 1948 San Diego, California
The influential author H. P. Lovecraft was born on this day in 1890 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Amd. today's the birthday of Eero Saarinen. The architect was born in 1910, Kirkkonummi, Finland.
Language Lesson 1976
When Americans say a man
takes liberties, they mean
he’s gone too far. In Philadelphia today I saw
a kid on a leash look mom-ward
and announce his fondest wish: one
bicentennial burger, hold
the relish. Hold is forget,
in American.
On the courts of Philadelphia
the rich prepare
to serve, to fault. The language is a game as well,
in which love can mean nothing,
doubletalk means lie. I’m saying
doubletalk with me. I’m saying
go so far the customs are untold.
Make nothing without words,
and let me be
the one you never hold.
– Heather McHugh, “Language Lesson 1976” from Hinge & Sign: Poems, 1968-1993. Wesleyan University Press, 1994.