A poem …

 … Colourscape. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Southern roots?

 … Samuel Clemens and the Civil War.

A modern masterpiece …

… Zealotry of Guerin: Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin: The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), by Marcel Duchamp.

Just so everyone knows +…

 …. I’m really not feeling well.

These days …

… (20) Out: Soccer Moms and Security Moms. In: Health Moms.

Congratulations …

… Marianna Suleymanova Awarded 2024 Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators - Words Without Borders.

A word for today …

… Cavort | Word Genius.

Turning off the lights at Blogger …

 … Accepting reality.

This is sad news. Let us keep Tim in our prayers.

Something to think on …

One big vice in a man is apt to keep out a great many smaller ones.

— Bret Harte, born on this date 1836

Let us pray.…

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

Something to think on …

To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.

— Max Beerbohm, borh on this date in 1872

Something from Mark Twain …

 … Warm Summer Sun.

Love story …

…Zealotry of Guerin: Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin: Rondeau for Ruth

Wisdom…

… (19) Philosophy and Christianity - by William F. Vallicella.

Nice to know …

… Shroud of Turin dates from time of Christ, scientists reveal - Catholic Herald.

To all of my readers …

 … I am unwell. I willget back to you when I can.

Using Greek model as inspiration …

 … He wanted to write a novel about growing up in small farming towns, but he didn’t know where to start.

Something to think on …

The finder of his theme will be at no loss for words.

— J. V. Cunningham, born on this date in 1911

Let us pray …

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

Mismanagement case study …

 … Poor planning leads to failure on Staten Island

British Invasion …

 … The Redcoats are coming! (to Long Island and NYC).

Good for him …

… Former Phillies draft pick comes full circle after call-up to bullpen.

Let us pray …

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

A word for today …

… Repetend | Word Genius.

Down the worn path of earth …

 … Four old men in shirtsleeves pitching horseshoes.

Appalling …

 … Andy Beshear Hopes Somebody Rapes J.D. Vance's Wife or Daughter.

Read and enjoy …

 … Today’s Poem: When Earth’s Last Picture Is Painted, (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Perspective …

 … Explore nearly four centuries of Harvard’s history

Something to think on …

Yes, there's one thing I do want. I want to be aware of the minutes and the seconds, and to make each one count.

Jacqueline Susann, born in this date in 1918

A word for today …

… Astern | Word Genius

Sleuthing …

 …  The Baker Street Reader’s Guide

Let us pray …

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

Strange encounters in space …

 … Mark Twain and Star Trek?

Readers’ great expectations …

 … The Essentials: Charles Dickens.

Together at last …

 … Bob Newhart, Comedy, and Augustine’s ‘Confessions’ (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to think on …

There is a famous Russian cartoon in which a hippopotamus, in the bush, points out a zebra to another hippopotamus: 'You see,' he says, 'now that’s formalism.

— Alain Robbe-Grillet, born on this date in 1922

A word for today …

… Visceral | Word Genius.

Unsolved mystery …

 … Remembering Virginia.

Let us pray …

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

Nice to know …

… James Webb Telescope May Have Finally Solved the Crisis in Cosmology.

For your reading pleasure …

… New Verse Review Issue 1.1: Summer 2024. (Hat tip, Dave lull.)

Something to think on …

The progress of any writer is marked by those moments when he manages to outwit his own inner police system.

— Ted Hughes, born on this date in 1930

I lived on Lake Michigan once …

… Zealotry of Guerin: Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin: Sestina: The Lake Michigan Shore.

A word for today …

…Approbate | Word Genius.

Looking back at life on the farm …

 … Loss of equality, freedom, and happiness in 1945

Let us pray …

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

Still reading the same books …

 … No more moping but much more reading

Animated amphibian …

 … Flip the Frog debuts in first color sound cartoon

A poem …

 … Today’s Poem: The Road Not Taken. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.’

A word for today

… Firth | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

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

The great unknowing …

… A Great Fog Over the Past. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A word for today …

… Napery - Word Daily.

Wow …

 … Strong radio signal detected coming from Sagittarius.

Let us pray …

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

Remembering …

 … Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and George Buchanan’s skull.

Cause for hope …

… Return of religion can only be good news for literature.

Revisiting The Lost World …

 … Visiting the bookmobile 68 years ago

Read and listen …

 … Secret Library

America’s past without the distortions

 … Recommended Reading.

Rodent relocation …

 … Celebrating the anniversary of the Idaho Beaver Drop.

Doctors don’t make house calls …

 … Hospital gowns always flap open.

Let us pray …

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

A word for today …

… Infrangible | Word Genius.

Let us pray …

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

Shy, quiet boy in the spotlight …

 … I’m not against the police; I’m just afraid of them.

A must-read …

… Harris, Walz lies prove it's a working-class election.

I have a college degree, but my mother and grandmother, who raised my brother and me, were factory workers. (My father was cop. But he didn’t live with us. I’m a love child. My brother’s father never got in touch with him after he moved back to Canada with his girl fried. My brother loved my father. So did I, of course.)

I didn’t think he was forgotten …

… Remembering a Forgotten Poet - Crisis Magazine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.

I certainly haven’t forgotten him.

Latter-day nonsense we have to put up with

… (19) Signposts on the Way to the Insane Asylum.

Looking into the past …

 …  Sue, large and complete, was 28 at the time of death.

Let us pray …

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

Cause for hope …

… Memory problems in old age linked to a key enzyme, study in mice finds.

Trouble with water …

… Deluge.

Appreciation …

 … “Cleaning the Well”: On Poems by Fred Chappell and Paul Ruffin. (Ht tip, Dave Lull.)

Moving forward …

 …. Running out of gas but starting again anyway

Read and listen …

 … Hitting The Links: 8/11/24.

Another word …

… Kinesis | Word Genius.

A word for today …

… Matutinal - Word Daily.

Memorable moment …

 … Warning: “We begin bombing in five minutes.”

Let us pray …

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

Acceptance …

 … Now let the night be dark for all of me.

One of my favorites in the 50s …

… One of TV’s best begins its long run in 1948.

The holy triangle …

 … Miro’s “The Farm”

Not surprising …

 … Study claims harms of COVID-19 vaccines 'profoundly outweighed' benefits; calls for moratorium on mRNA shots

Both were known to cause cardiomopathy. My wonderful cardiologist, Andrea Jones, advised me not to take it (statistically, I am almost certain to die of a heart attack). Well something’s got to get you.

A masterful essayist …

 … on A Word or Two Before I Go,  (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)or Two Before I Go:

The love of books

… Paul Davis On Crime: National Book Lovers Day.

This is certainly worrisome …

 …  Biden Administration Let Iranian Assassin Into Country 

Once the world was perfect …

 … There we were, right back where it had started.

The miracle of handwriting ~

… Anne Carson � Gloves on! (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Let us pray …

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

Something to think on …

Originality is being different from oneself, not others.

— Philip Larkin, born on this date in 1922

Just wondering …

 I don’t know who’s running the Drudge Report these days — it used to be a 

favorite of mine — but now it seems more partisan and less interesting.

Rekindled via Drood …

 …  Returning to a great 19th century novelist.

A poem …

… Poem-a-Day | Academy of American Poets.

Beginning …

 … First installment in my Arthur Conan Doyle series.

A word for today …

… Hibernian | Word Genius.

Questionable organization …

 … Presidential decision that many Americans will regret.

Departed …

… All, all are gone, the old familiar faces

Let us pray …

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

Something to think on …

 

I do not understand how anyone can live without some small place of enchantment to turn to.

— Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, born on this date in 1896

True silence …

 … Self-conscious and alone.

A word for today …

… Welkin - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

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

Something to think on …

If you want to get an idea across, wrap it up in a person.

— Ralph Bunche, born on this date in 1905

Definitely watch this …

 … Felix Giordano painter.

Felix is a dear friend of mine and quite an original.p painter.

I used to spend a lot of time in these places …

… Books Sold Here. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Remembrance of things past …

 …  Delegates, debates, and my retreat into the past

Just so you know …

… JD Vance shows the future of Christianity. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to think on …

Truth has nothing to do with the number of people it convinces.

— Paul Claudel, born on this date in 1868

Another poem …

 … and it’s a great one, Morning Song of Senlin (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for today …

 … Timothy Liu Rest Stop, Highway 91,

Let us pray ….

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

A word for today …

… Coloratura | Word Genius

News bulletin from western Pennsylvania …

 It began in my own neighborhood on August 5, 1763

A poem …

 I'm Beautiful in the Dark

I'm beautiful in the dark, my love.

What is not velvet is silk. My skin. My hair.

Feel and squeeze my citrus fruits. And smell.

Listen to my heart and know my love is there.

I'm beautiful in the dark, my love.

Each bloom in the room is from you to me:

The wallpaper, the coverlet, your bouquet -

Black as they are now -  all underscore love.

I'm beautiful in the dark, my love.

Your bouquet takes its petals off when hugged.

And I take my petals off when hugged.

It's a pretty picture in the mind's eye.

Everything is black, my love, my heart is black.

You'll deal with it, I expect, because of my night-beauty

Jennifer Knox

A poem for today …

 … Every Day Poems Prompt: My Heart.

Something to think on …

There is only one good thing in life, and that is love.

— Guy de Maupassant, born on this date in 1850

Dancing and music on the small screen …

 … Once upon a time on television from Philadelphia.

A word for today …

… Pleach - Word Daily.

Sitting together on the porch …

 … What each one knows the other knows

Let us pray …

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

Look and listen …

 … Hitting The Links: 8/4/24.

Have some smiles and chuckles …

… Fun with Wodehouse - Crisis Magazine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A word for today …

… Exemplum | Word Genius.

Poet’s birthday …

 … Chameleons feed on light and air, but poets feed on…

Let us pray …

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

Something to think on …

Not the fruit of experience, but experience itself, is the end.

— Walter Pater, norn on this date in 1839

“Tumbling toward the End”…

 … I can feel myself slipping away, fading away…

Intense …

… Zealotry of Guerin: Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin: The Scream.

Appreciation …

 … Material Witness: Remembering an Abiding Debt to Timothy Murphy. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something to think on …

The ability of a person to atone has always been the most remarkable of human features

— Leon Uris, born on this date in 1924

A word for today …

… Auricular - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

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

RIP …

 … Edna O’Brien obituary.

Just so you know. …

 … How One ’60s Movie Changed Hollywood Forever.

RIP …

… (19) Lewis Lapham, Individual Genius, and More.

Saying grace …

 … I write poems to untie myself.

In case you wondered …

…. How Henry James viewed his own fiction | Book review | Michael Gorra. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A word for today …

… Circumfluent | Word Genius. 

Let us pray …

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

Something to think on …

We are responsible for the world in which we find ourselves, if only because we are the only sentient force which can change it.

— James Baldwin, born on this date in 1924

And it grows, the vain summer …

 … Even for us with our bright green sins.

The best one written by Charles Dickens …

 … Mysteries are everywhere, and everyone’s a detective.

Our town …

… Paul Davis On Crime: Broken Windows.

Appalling …

 … Massachusetts Bill Removes 'Mother' and 'Father' From Birth Certificates.

Just so you know …

 … Men need to see that novels aren’t for losers. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Words of wisdom …

…. Siris: Theoretic Vision. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

To praise the loyalty of a vase of flowers …

 …They haven't once dreamed of going anywhere.

A word for today

… Nimbus - Word Daily.

Let us pray …

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

Hannah Arendt...

...and the idea of self 

Something to think on …

To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.

— Herman Melville, born on this date in 1819