Unzipping a silver lining . . .
Sunday, August 24, 2025. It's Sol's day … A cool start to a sunny day in TulseyTown. Easy Northerlies maintain upper 80's and bring clouds this afternoon ahead of a rainy tomorrow.
A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization. It is our first duty to serve society, and after we have done that, we may attend wholly to the salvation of our own souls. – Samuel Johnson
Like the wind, the Spirit blows where it will … Indigenous peoples had contemplative prayer long before we Franciscans ever appeared. – Fr. Richard Rohr, “An Open Christianity,” Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation.
The poet, essayist, and short-story writer Jorge Luis Borges was born today in 1899 Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a major influence on the novelist Paulo Coelho who turns 78 today. He was born on this same day as Borges but in 1947 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Art history majors are more in demand than computer scientists. And, no, that's neither a typo nor hyperbole. The data was documented and reported by the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Sharon Olds published a new poem this morning, proving once again that poets can find insight in anything…
Boxer Aria
When no one’s around, a man could go
all day, in the woods, and down by the lake,
and into the house and back out in the garden,
without zipping his pants.
[...]
the man is free
and unobserved, observing the land
and its creatures, each aware of him,
but not of his costume,
or the partial uncostume of his liberty …
– Sharon Olds. “Boxer Aria,” originally published in Poem-a-Day, by the Academy of American Poets, on August 24, 2025.
Dancing in the dark . . .
Saturday, August 23, 2025. It's the Satyr's day . . . Moderate Northerlies bring slight rain chances to TulseyTown today and tonight. Mornings in the 60's are now a regular morning feature as we ease into the Fall seasonal pattern. The weatherfeather indicates today to be the last 90º day of the year. Across the country, collegiate footballers return to the gridiron. And, The Black Moon rises.
Emptiness isn’t nothingness, it’s spaciousness. And spaciousness isn’t empty; it’s full of possibility.
Poet Edgar Lee Masters (Spoon River Anthology) was born on this day in Garnett, Kansas, in 1868.
And the writer Sophie Kerr was born in 1880 in Denton, Maryland. While her prolific writing never made her famous, she nonetheless initiated the Kerr endowment at Washington College for a promising writer. The writing program now draws many future writers and lectures from many current notables.
The dance of darkness and light. – Fr. Richard Rohr, Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation.
Mirabai Starr is writing a new book. Today she posted a personal note about starting out with intention on new adventures. Rather apt for all us creatives.
Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection.
Nothing Is Lost
...Before our world dissolves before our eyes
waiting for some small, intimate reminder,
a word, a tune, a known familiar scent
an echo from the past when, innocent
we looked upon the present with delight
and doubted not the future would be kinder
and never knew the loneliness of night.
– Noel Coward, “Nothing Is Lost,” from Collected Verse of Noel Coward. Graywolf Press, 2007.
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.