Cloud pointing . . .
Friday, January 23, 2026. It's Frigg's (Freya's) day . . . The forecasted major Winter Storm has begun. At this 8 a.m. hour of this composition, the wind chill from gusty – 20 -30 mph – Northerlies is 13º. Snow is indicated in the forecasts to begin in TulseyTown later tonight. Wind chill tomorrow morning is predicted at -5 below. 6-10 inches of heavy snow are likely before the storm moves out of the area mid-day Monday. This major storm is forecasted to impact some 230 million of us before it eases up. That will include my besties in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Massachusettes, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
“A finger points at the moon.” It's easy to confuse the teachings or texts that guide us toward awakening with awakening itself. Don’t confuse the finger for the moon. There is no substitute for direct experience. You want peace: Be peace.
For quite some time now, Trump has been embarrassing and growing extremely dangerous. No mores than during his speech at Davos. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.
We’re in a far more dangerous and violent stage of Trump’s regime. What should we do to stop it? – Robert Reich, The fascist loose in America,
The Fourth Amendment doesn’t change just because ICE says so. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse.
Musk's Starlink system has NASA AND ESP up at night envisioning nightmare scenarios There are currently about 40,000 objects in space tracked by space surveillance networks like NASA and the European Space Agency, and many more aren’t tracked. The number of objects in space capable of causing “catastrophic damage” is estimated to be over 1.2 million.
Today is the birthdate of Django Reinhardt. The gypsy guitar master was born in 1910, Liberchies, Belgium.
Also born on this date was the French painter Édouard Manet. He was born in 1832, Paris, France.
Tombs and Wombs
The hills gather like a body
that has tried and failed
. . .
even the clouds pass
without leaving anything behind. . .
– Alicia Cook, “Tombs and Wombs,” in Rattle's Ekphrastic Challenge.
Long time coming . . .
Thursday, January 22, 2026. It's Thor's day . . . Moderate Easterlies and mid 50's are in the forecasts for TulseyTown with increasing clouds in the after noon hours. All that changes around Midnight tonight as the leading edge of a Winter storm arrives with Northerlies. Tomorrow, cloudcover and falling temperatures. Heavy snow and bitter cold is in the forecasts beginning tomorrow night, all day Saturday and extends through Sunday. The low Monday morning is forecasted as -3º below zero with temperatures remaining in the low 30's in spite of a return of sunny skies.
Walk the pathless path. We are, you are, I am – “non local.” This is good news. – Thich Nhat Hahn, Tricycle.
Today in 1973 the Supreme Court issued its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.
The philosopher, essayist and statesman Francis Bacon was born on this day in 1561 London. (His main contribution to philosophy was his application of the inductive method of modern science. Induction deduction. What's the diff?
Today is the birthdate of the poet Lord Byron. He was born in 1788 London.
The film director/screenwriter Jim Jarmusch is 73 today. The Cannes Grand Prix laureate was born in 1953 Akron, Ohio.
And it's also Sam Cooke's birth date. The singular singer/songwriter was born in 1931, Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Change takes a long time . . .
Pandora Station
Sad the song set not to music.
Odd the rhyme fixed
not in time of some kind.
Chaos has a harmony all its own.
— jab
It's about time . . .
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
It's Odin's day . . . forecasts for TulseyTown indicate moderate Northerlies and a mild afternoon in the 50's. A Winter storm watch goes into effect beginning at Friday Noon extending into Sunday morning.
Lots of birthday notices in the mailbox this morning . . .
Yesterday: Film director and screenwriter David Lynch was born 1946, Missoula, Montana. He died this past week. Another film director/screenwriter, Federico Fellini, was born in 1920, Rimini, Italy; and Astronaut Buzz Aldrin turned 96, born in 1930 Montclair, New Jersey.
Born on today’s date...
Plácido Domingo is 85 today. The Spanish-born singer, conductor, and opera administrator was born 1941 Madrid, Spain.
The French designer Christian Dior was born in 1905, Granville, France.
And, blues singer and songwriter Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter was born on or around this day in 1888 Mooringsport, Louisiana.
Researchers at Harvard University and the University of Virginia have answered a perplexing question: Why do most people reflexively reach for their phones during any moment of downtime? Turns out they can't abide being alone with their thoughts. Some, mainly men, would rather give themselves electric shocks. – Science.
( Understatement: Those who can't stand being alone with their thoughts probably are not readers of this blog. )
Has time always been a line? Turns out: Not always. – Emily Thomas (Professor of Philosophy at Durham University, UK), writing in Aeon.
The Thing About Time
Time is a word, a symbol
standing in the place of an experience
at best ephemeral.
The same holds for the place name,
for that of “space.” Yet we insist
our illusions constitute a quality
we have named “thing.”
“Aye,” there's Hamlet's rub:
naming.
Naming fixes the named with status.
Manana is not the same “thing” as
10:45 a.m. tomorrow, yet
for millions of peoples and years
was a quite adequate name for time,
as was and were the experiences
of sunrise, sunset, and phases of the moon
and seasons, all independent of their names
some with no referent for yesterday,
nor tomorrow. This morning I sent
birthday anniversary greetings to my
long-time friend Sallie. A return email
“thanks” noted I was a whole 7-day week
early and it acknowledged “James...we've never been
tied to linear time.”
Her sign was followed by
an x and an o.
Twice. -- jab