Cornucopia …

 … Hitting The Links: 5/19/24.

Screwez vous …

… Robert Kennedy Jr.: We need laws to 'punish global warming skeptics' - Washington Times..

There are actually sound reason for being skeptical of global warming, not the least of which is that we have only a couple of centuries worth of accurate thermometer data. Also, try reading the First Amendment asshole.

Once upon a time …

… A Tale of Two Composers | The Hudson Review. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

This is a brilliant piece. Do listen to the music. Why woukdn't one want to hear Leontyne Price? And Cheryl Studer is also wonderful. I’m from the generation that watched Amahl and the Night Visitors every Christmas..

In the tradition of. Robert Frost …

… Taking the Road Less Traveled | The Russell Kirk Center. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Another word …

… Apollonian | Word Genius.

Light those candles …

 … New England’s Dark Day in 1780.

A word for today …

… Heuristic - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower —Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Something to think on …

I wish to live because life has within it that which is good, that which is beautiful, and that which is love.

— Lorraine Hansberry, botn on this date in 1940

God bless her …

… This Fox News personality just explained why she chose life as a pregnant teenager - Pro Life Press.

“An example to all” …

 ^ Celebrating the birthday of a great American singer.

Blogging note …

 My friend Katherine is here helping me to get ready for my move. So blogging will again be delayed.

Quite a tale …

… Zealotry of Guerin: Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin: The Bewitched Groom: A Dramatic Monologue (Hans Baldung Grien).

Sometthing. to think on …

Anything you can do, I can do meta

— Rudolf Carnap, born on this date in 1891

A poem for today …

 … “Water Becomes Water,” Zheng Xiaoqiong.

A word for today …

… Limn - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

 … tothe Little Flower … Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Haiku …

     

Tiresome winter

Gave way to lackluster spring,

Now tepid summer

Vignette …

 He is eighty-two.  And lately wonders how he became who it is he happens to be. It occurs to him how that’s just the sort of thing one of his all-time favorite writers did. That would be Michel de Montaigne, father of the essay. 

Now plenty of autobiographical discourses had been written before Montaigne wrote his essays. What make his essays different is their focus. They amount to  a phenomenology of himself. There’s nothing especially egotistical about it. He simply records his observations of himself as if he were watching pears ripen on a window sill.

RIP …

… Dabney Coleman, best known for villainous '9 to 5' and 'Tootsie' roles, dead at 92.

Take your pck …

 … VFYW: Passing Gogh.

In praise of formal poetry …

… The Nature of Things Fragile: A Review - Ad Fontes. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Almost all of the poems in The Nature of Things Fragile are metrical, and most of them also use rhyme. His diction usually lacks the ornamentation of Auden and Hecht; his style seems closer to the plain language of Robert Frost. His book demonstrates mastery of most of the major received forms, but his most inventive work may be in his epigrams.

To hell with the NFL …

 … Time for the Bud Light Treatment: NFL Denounces Player for Advocating Traditional Values.

He was speaking at a Catholic college. I’m not proud to be straight. I had nothing to do with it. It’s just the way I happen to be. The NFL clowns should take a look at the First Amendment. And I’ve had plenty of gay friends. In fact I shared power of attorney for a gay couple.

Just so you know …

 … Benjamin Franklin Was The Nation’s First Newsman.

The adventure begins …

 … Following the yellow brick road for first time in 1900.

Blogging note …

 Uncharacteristically, I overslept this morning. So I am behind schedule. I must take my morning walk and run some errands. Blogging will resume this afternoon.

A word for today …

… Kismet | Word Genius.

Something to think on …

The woman from the depths of her rags, a waif, a martyr — smiled. She must have a divine heart to be so tired and yet smile.

— Henri Barbusse, born on this date in 1873

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Where we are …

(18) Harrison Butker, Harbinger? - by Glenn Harlan Reynolds.

The point is that the population collapse that I was writing about nearly 20 years ago, and that Philip Longman was writing about in Foreign Affairs even before that, has now become obvious to everyone.  We’re headed for the biggest global population drop since the Black Death, and that’s going to produce dramatic social changes.  (As indeed did the Black Death.)

Appalling …

… (18) In life and in death, how the D.A.'s office betrayed Gladys Coriano.

A history lesson …

… for latterday ignoramuses: (18) Two Unlikely National Liberation Collaborators: Ho Chi Minh and David Ben-Gurion.

In case you wondered …

… (18) Why Physical Culture? - by William F. Vallicella.

The lure of the skies …

 … Gazing at the eclipse in Walt Whitman's perfect silence. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to think on …

More and more we are into communications; and less and less into communication.

— Studs Terkel, born on this date in 1912

A poem …

… Approaching Zero | The Hudson Review. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A word for today …

… Auspice - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Haiku

 

• The one you think you know
• Was never really you.
• You are still at large

They should sue …

… Atheist complaint forces Florida elementary school to shut down Christian club | Fox News.

They will win. Here’s what the first amendment says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Incredible …

 … USN’s silent service story of death, rescue, and renewal.

Something to think on …

I write of love and death. What other subjects are there?

— Arthur Schnitzler,, born on this date on in 1862

Sounds interesting …

 … Buried But Not Quite Dead: Forgotten Writers of Père Lachaise. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to look forward to …

… Edward Feser: Immortal Souls. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem …

 … Today’s Poem: Clerihews. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A word for today …

… Adduce | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Appreciation …

 … Remembering Alice Munro. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

This ia very worrisome …

… The Backdoor to Control the Internet | Mind Matters.

Thankfully, this was discovered before it had major impacts. Nobody knows who Jia Tan is, and we are probably never going to find out. But this does put software developers on alert to the fact that bad actors, whether individuals or part of a state organization, are willing to play the long game to get malicious software installed on everything.

Not good …

 … Wisconsin high court’s ruling marks a dark day for religious freedom.

Yet another strange case in Salem …

 … The 1878 witchcraft trial that involved Christian Scientists.

A word for today …

… Prepossessing | Word Genius.

Something to think on …

The most dangerous tendency of the modern world is the way in which bogus theories are given the force of dogma.

— Jean Daniélou, born on this date in 1905

Our town …

… Paul Davis On Crime: Cleanup On Kensington Avenue.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower …Miraculous Invocation to St. Therése.

A Poem …

Hindsight

Being old proves a mystery.

So much time spent watching 

Reruns, listening to the music helped

Shape his being, reminded of paintings

He had sat before over and over.

Hmm …

… Giant Structure Lurking in Deep Space Challenges Our Understanding of The Universe : ScienceAlert.

Yes it does …

… Protesters, colleges are about to find out that, yes, the law DOES apply to them, too.

Writers at dinner …

 … How Evelyn Waugh’s ‘cantankerous’ Catholicism clashed with America’s literary scene at a dinner party in Florence. (Hat tip, Dave. Lull.)

One example of his appalling rudeness will be more than sufficient. A friendly American told him how much she had enjoyed his novel Brideshead Revisited, whereupon he rolled his eyes and replied: “I thought it was good myself, but now I know that a vulgar, common American woman like you admires it, I’m not so sure.”

Beyond words …

 … Saying the Unsayable, and Listening to Silence: Jon Fosse on How Writing Plays Transformed His Craft. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

… when I wrote plays, I could use silent speech—I could use silence—in a completely different way. All I had to do was write ‘pause’ and the silent speech was right there. This word ‘pause’ is without a doubt the most important word in my plays, and the one I use the most often: “long pause,” “short pause,” or just “pause.”

Sounds like a must-read …

… Jeremy Clarke, Low Life review: laughing in the face of death. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Seeing is believing …

 … Life-threatening illness and visions of Jesus in England.

Something to think on …

Writing every book is like a purge; at the end of it one is empty ... like a dry shell on the beach, waiting for the tide to come in again

— Daphne du Maurier, born on this date in 1997

A poem …

 … Today’s Poem: The River-Merchant’s Wife. (Hat tip, Dave. Lull.)

Good to know …

 … Classical Music Alters the Brain–Here’s How.

A word for today …

… Accede - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower —  Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Our town …

… Paul Davis On Crime: Mother's Day: Another Philadelphia First.

The work of a lifetime …

 … London Grip Poetry Review — Fleur Adcock. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

In case you wondered …

 … From Austen to Larkin: Why Writers Could Be More Prone to Hypochondria. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden,)

Lovely …

… Wildpeace by Yehuda Amichai | Poetry Foundation. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

Amichai would have turned 100 on May 3.

More money than brains …

 … Climate-Change NOB Openly Calling for Virus to Cull Human Population FLIPS OUT When X Drags TF Out of Him.

Author and inspiration …

 … Lolita is Nabokov: On the Parallel Histories of the Writer and His Most Famous Character. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Good for them …

 … Custodians’ union to sue Columbia, says didn’t protect staff from ‘bratty,’ ‘privileged’ protesters.

A fresh look at S.J. Perelman …

… A Review of Crazy Like a Fox and Cloudland Revisited - Believer Magazine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Words beget words, syllepsis begets syllepsis: the Julian calendar turns into an old acquaintance named Julian Callender, the evening’s violet hush turns into a seductive companion named (what else?) Violet Hush, and walking past rows of female film extras turns into a stroll down Mammary Lane.

Our feeble media …

… CNN, Media Freak When Rep. Scott Perry Accurately Ties KKK History To Democrats.

A poem …

… Our Daughter Beside the Sea: Blue Hill, Maine by Ben Myers | Articles | First Things. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Haiku …

 The aging woman

Touches bleeding hearts in bloom. 

Her heart feels the same.

Jennifer Knox

Special day …

 …  Anna Jarvis would be even more furious in 2024.

Something to think on …

The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.

— Dante Gabriel Rossetti, born on this date in 1828

… Sachet | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

 … rto the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

In case you wondered …

…How Netflix's A Man in Full changed the book's ending. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

I met Tom Wolfe once — at the White House of all places. He seemed very nice.

The greatest search …

… The Quest for the True Cross - Crisis Magazine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

That seems a bit harsh …

 … Critics called this closed-couple dance “disgusting”.

Our town …

… Paul Davis On Crime: A Look Back At South Philly's Oregon Avenue.

Blogging note …

 I have some errands to run this morning. So I won’t be blogging until this afternoon.

A word for today …

… Paragon | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Something to think on …

Intuition is the whisper of the soul.

— Jiddu Krishnamurti, born on this date in 1895

Getting the jump on Mothers Day …

 … Remembering famous writer’s mother.

Boating with Lewis Carroll…

 …  A poem about life, dreaming, and Alice Pleasance Liddell.

Magnificent one of seven …

 …  You probably know just one of the seven.

Singular fellow to be in the spotlight …

 … Haiku about what is coming soon at Zibaldone.

Haze Gray and Underway …

 … What is the oldest aircraft carrier that remains in service?

Preview …

 … Poetry Stories: Adjustments.

Making matters plain …

…  The pernicious fallacy of AI understanding and creativity ~ Bernardo Kastrup, PhD, PhD. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to think on …

To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.

— Karl Barth, born on this date in 1886

Word for today …

… Fulcrum | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower —  Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Watch the conversation with Google …

… it’s pretty appalling — (1) The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) / X

Q&A …

… Evelyn Waugh | American Enterprise Institute - AEI. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

The first American …

 … Highly recommended biography by H. W. Brands.

Interference with nature …

 … Hmm… another part of Margaret Sanger’s legacy.

A word for today …

… Sedulous | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Something to think on …

With morality we correct the mistakes of our instincts, and with love we correct the mistakes of our morals.

— José Ortega y Gasset, born on this date in 1883

I don’t know why …

… First Circuit unsure if Boston can keep the devil at bay | Courthouse News Service.

It seems to me the First Amendment covers people who worship Satan. I was at a Satanist gathering many years ago. I had to keep myself from laughing, and failed at least once. But it’s their choice.

Blogging note …

 I have had much to do around the house today. Blogging will resume when I have time. Maybe later tonight.

Maybe sometime tomorrow.

Hmm …

… Most Dementia Patients 'Return' Before Death And It's Unclear Why : ScienceAlert:.

Perhaps it’s this: Terminal lucidity.

Distinguished American …

 … Son of a farmer begins journey to White House.

We all know him …

 … Today’s Poem: Mr. Nobody. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to think on …

It's impossible to lose your footing when you're on your knees.

— Fulton Sheen, born on this date in 1895

The adventure of collective nouns …

… Playing the Venereal Game | George Weigel | First Things. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

The book’s title, an “exaltation of larks,” may be as good as the venereal game gets. But let’s not leave the animal kingdom without noting the appositeness of a “pod of seals,” a “murder of crows,” a “rafter of turkeys,” a “skulk of foxes,” a “colony of penguins,” a “parliament of owls,” an “ostentation of peacocks,” and a “bouquet of pheasants.”

A word for today …

… Prescient | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Sure does …

… (18) Pushback Works - by Glenn Harlan Reynolds.

Arising from WW2 ashes of defeat …

 … It all began with an electric rice cooker in 1946.

Both magical and familiar …

… Half Moon, Small Cloud.. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

There is a zoom option at the bottom of the page.

By one of favorite poets …

 … Today’s Poem: The Pool. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to think on …

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?

— Robert Browning, born on this date in 1812 

Encouraging news …

 … Here’s the Latest Proof of the ‘Exciting Rebirth’ of Catholic Poetry in the US. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Wilson labors to make poetry more accessible to the reading public. He eschews deliberately obscure or ambiguous verse in favor of clarity of message. At the same time, Wilson is a strong supporter of rhyme and meter, the pleasing arrangement of wording in rhythmic verse

A word for today …

… Frangible - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

And the winners are …

 … Here are this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners.  (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Final scene for famous funny man …

 … Slapstick comic suffered stroke on final day of filming.

Mind your own business …

…. Jagger and Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry trade barbs | Blaze Media.

Hey Mick, you’re not an American citizen. So who gives a damn what you think?

Something to think on …

The flood of money that gushes into politics today is a pollution of democracy.

— Theodore White, born on this date in 1915

A word for today …

… Exoplanet - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Our town …

… Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: Officer Mack.

Seems like yesterday …

 …. Remembering the first time (it lasted 15 minutes) in 1961.

Best laid plans…

 …  Making time for the flood and eleven other subjects.

Listen in …

 …and more —  Hitting The Links: 5/5/24.

Exaggerated rhetoric …

 …  Diane Montagna Interviews Edward Feser on ‘Dignitas infinita’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for today …

 … . Gregerson — Slaters’ Measure

Not your usual book gathering …

… Readers Take Denver likened to 'Fyre Festival of books.

In-depth portrait …

 … Orwell's Arresting Ambiguities. (Hat tip,Dave Lull)

The fact that Orwell was not all of a piece and contained contradictions within himself is what lends depth to his work. There may be better books about Orwell than this, but if so I do not know them. 

Enjoy …

… (18) TSDK No. 49. Massive Luxury Overdose.

Precedence …

 … They’re very close to us, the dead.

A word for today …

… Précis —Daily.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower —= Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Something to think on …

The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.

— Søren Kierkegaard, born on this date in 1813

Drifting toward another world …

 … Sleep is a drug; dreams its succor.

Path between the seas …

 … Altering world trade and the Central American landscape.

Sleep and death …

… Zealotry of Guerin: Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin: On a Dreamed Report of Death.

Something to think on …

Self-interest, be it enlightened, works indirectly for the public good.

— William H. Prescott, born on this date in 1796

The way things were …

… The Lamp Magazine | Contours of a Spiritual Universe. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

The spirit that guided those wonderful old Yankees was a marvelous blend of their religious beliefs and the ethos of neighborly accommodation that pervaded the almost-lost world of small New England townships.

A word for today …

… Complaisant | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little. Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Haiku …

 Wilting peonies

Like voluptuous women

Sliding towards ruin

Jennifer Knox

Quite a trio …

…Paul Davis On Crime: My Washington Times 'On Crime' Column On Wild West Bank Robbers, A Notorious Traitor, And A Movie Star & Her Gangster Lover.

The General and the President …

 … Senate begins hearings into notorious “clash of the titans”

Between walls …

 … The broken pieces of a green bottle.

Something to think on …

Religion is a way of walking, not a way of talking

— William Inge, born on this date in 1913

A word for today …

… Benison | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

 …. To the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

RIP …

…  Leading poetry critic Marjorie Perloff has died at 92: “Her passion was brilliant.”

Anarchy …

 … Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.

Questions count as well …

 … Novelist Willa Cather’s great questions were deeper than science could answer.

Language does matter …

… (18) On Climate 'Theology' - by William F. Vallicella.

In case you wondered …

… What Do We Get Wrong About the Byzantine Empire? | History Today.

May Reviews at North of Oxford …

 … Ugh by Carl Kaucher.

… The Heavy Lifting Companion, Bookwork by Felicia Rice, Poems by Theresa Whitehill.

… Another Saturday Night in Jukebox Hell by Alan Catlin.

… Late Epistle by Anne Myles.

… Peony Vertigo by Jan Conn.

… Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell.

Let us pray …

… Lincoln's Prayer for America on This National Day of Prayer - HillFaith.

About those protestors …

… Paul Davis On Crime: Radical Student Protestors From The 1960s To Today.

The enigmatic Baker Street sleuth Inbox …

 … Laurie King’s confessions about Sherlock Holmes.

Take a look at these …

… Photographer Explores the Abstract Beauty of Iceland's Rivers. (Hat tip, Rus. Bowden.) 

Something to think on …

Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.

— Novalis, born on this date in 1772

To Sleep …

 … Seal the hushed casket of my soul.

Very interesting …

 … Plato’s final hours recounted in scroll found in Vesuvius ash. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for today …

 … Bill Knott — Lesson.

A word for today …

… Cartomancy - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

RIP

 … “One of the most successful instrumentalists in rock history”: Duane Eddy, rock guitar pioneer, dies at 86.

Baker Street News …

 … “Well, I’ve just written a new Sherlock Holmes adventure!”

Something to think on…

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

— Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, born on this date in 1882

Today’s poem …

 … Confused about the Ivy League. (Hat tip, Dave. Lull.)

This site has no industrial crane …

 … Getting out of bed after surgery.

A word for today …

… Basilisk - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

 … to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.