Coming and going with It . . .
Friday, February 20, 2026. It's Frigg's (Freya's) day . . . and a reminiscence of Winter is in the TulseyTown forecasts. Moderate Northerlies are to push wind chills into the 30's this afternoon, notwithstanding sunny skies.
Whatever experience that comes is It. And whatever comes, goes. Even if it is the dark night of the soul, It comes and then it goes.
Filmmaker Robert Altman was born this day in 1925 Kansas City, Missouri.
It's also the birthdate of Ansel Adams, born in 1902, San Francisco, California. An American photographer, he was one of the most important landscape photographers of the 20th century.
The MET: The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened on this day in 1872. It is the largest and most comprehensive art in New York City and one of the foremost in the world.
Prince Andrew, Trump, Epstein, Yoon Suk Yeol. Heather Cox Richardson weaves the thread in Letters From An American, posted yesterday.
Joyce Vance provided her own perspective on the Andrew/Trump legal implications in yesterday's Civil Discourse.
Andrew arrested. Why not Trump? If no one is above the law, then no one is above the law. – Robert Reich.
A windchime has paused in its harmonious clang
like a moment of justice in an Eternity of Libran balance,
as have those two mockingbirds who've been chattering incessantly
with my neighbor's guitar which has also gone silent.
The world is struck dumb by beauty.
– jab, from “Windchime and Mockingbird Guitar”
Still standing . . .
Thursday, February 19, 2026. It's Thor's day . . . Strong, gusty Westerlies are forecasted to bring a much cooler day to TulseyTown. Sunny skies, a few clouds and 60s, moving toward a weekend reminder of Winter.
Grant, without grasping, The Way.
Two matters regarding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor today. First, it's his 66th birthday. The former Prince, was born in 1960, London, England. And, perhaps more memorable, he was arrested this morning in London and is in custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with the Epstein saga unfolding in the U.S. Apparently the Brits aren’t afraid of taking action on Epstein’s former associates. A reminder that our elders are often our better role models.
Other birthdates
Copernicus was born on this day in 1473, Toruń, Royal Prussia, Poland.
The novelist and poet Stephen Dobyns turns 85 today. He was born in 1941 Orange, New Jersey.
And, Siri Hustvedt is 70. The poet, novelist and essayist was born today in 1955 Northfield, Minnesota.
The real wealth of America has now concentrated in the richest one-tenth of 1 percent. And the bottom 90 percent are barely holding on. – Robert Reich, What Worries Me Most, online 2.19.26
Why taxing the rich makes enormous sense, beyond raising revenue. – Robert Reich, A Memo to Gavin Newsom and Kathy Hochul.
The idea that you aren’t worthy unless you are producing results has seeped like insidious black mold into every facet of our modern lives. We are pressured to always be making goals, going somewhere, or achieving something. Doing “no-thing” is decried or at the least misperceived. But the truth is that the most meaningful things that happen to us in life have no clear point and usuall arrive in “present” moments for which we have no referent, since such moments have no-thing to do with the past or the future. It's about granting the moment rather than grasping it.
What's that quacking sound?
Wednesday, February 18, 2026. It's Odin's day . . . and record high temperatures are in the TulseyTown forecasts with upper 70's, moderate to strong Southerlies and bright afternoon sun.
This morning's mailbox was near bursting at its seams with flotsam and jetsam from the eddies of the stream.
Jesse Jackson died yesterday.
Today is the birthday of Toni Morrison. One of the greatest contemporary American novelists, and Nobel Laureate, she was born on this date in 1931 Lorain, Ohio.
A nine time nominee for the Nobel Prize in literature, Nikos Kazantzakis was born in 1883 Heraklion in what is now Greece. He is most famous as the author of Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ.
Yoko Ono turns 92 today. born in 1933, Tokyo, Japan.
The Hindu mystic Ramakrishna was born on this day in 1836, Hugli, Bengal state, India. His teachings unifies all the world's religions and was responsible for the spread of Vedanta throughout the world.
CBS didn't allow Colbert to broadcast his interview with Texas Representative James Talarico. So … Colbert delivered a broadside on his broadcast calling out CBS and the FCC, and then posted the interview on youtube. It’s worth the watch.
Cobert isn't just creating a kerfuffle for fun. Borrowing from Talarico in his Colbert interview: “The problem we face isn't left vs. right, blue vs. red … it's about the top vs. the bottom.” No wonder Trump and his minions are afraid of people like Colbert and Talarico. They dare to speak truth to power.
Another speaker of truth to power, Anderson Cooper, has decided not renew his contract with CBS's 60 Minutes, marking the show's first major on-air change since conservative Bari Weiss took over as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
The word in Munich over the weekend was that Europe needs to emancipate itself from the U.S. as fast as possible. Canada is moving in the same direction. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.
If it walks like a lame duck . . .
Trump continues to try to gain control over state elections. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse.
And, he's threatening war against Iran... again. – Robert Reich, Why Is He Threatening Iran Again?, online 2.18.26
He can't have that. – Greg Brown