Condensed from my seven months reading 50 books about the birth of America, here are my favorite 15. https://theicarian.substack.com/p/15-cool-books-about-the-revolutionary?r=1cnb9h

The List Of The 50 Books I Read After Watching "The American Revolution" Documentary https://theicarian.substack.com/p/the-list-of-the-50-books-i-read-after?

In November 2025, after viewing Ken Burns & Co.’s six-episode, 12-hour documentary, The American Revolution, I realized I didn’t know as much as I would like about the violent conflict and the events that gave birth to the United States. I decided to take the list of historians interviewed in […]

Ten Things I Learned From 50 Books About The American Revolutionary War — #8 Eight: If it were not for aid from France, and to a somewhat lesser extent, Spain, The United States would not exist. No question about it. Siège de Yorktown, a c. 1836 painting by […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

While a diplomat in France during the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin obtained the recipe for making tofu. He sent the recipe and some beans to a friend back in the not-yet united states. The beans grew great, Franklin’s friend reported, but the tofu didn’t work out. Franklin had confused […]

A map of the Thirteen Colonies in 1770, showing number of slaves in each colony and percentage of colony's total population held as slaves. Numbers = numbers of slaves (1770), colors = percentage of population enslaved. Source: Generations of Captivity: A […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

No. 1 and 2 of the 10 things I learned from reading 50 books about he founding of the USA: One and Two: There are two co-joined and consistent truths. Number one and two are the twin original sins of not abolishing slavery and the genocide of America’s indigenous peoples. These two factors are […]

No. 4 on the list of 10 things I learned from reading 50 books abnout founding of the USA: Four: The concept of giving women the vote was only thought about from the perspective of that would be a bad thing to do. https://open.substack.com/pub/theicarian/p/the-50-books-i-read-after-watching

I’m a history geek. In November 2025, after viewing Ken Burns & Co.’s six-episode, 12-hour documentary, The American Revolution, I realized I didn’t know as much as I would like about the violent conflict and events that gave birth to the United States. I kind of chain-smoked books about the […]

The story of Harry Partch is coincidentally a Pride Month story. Partch was gay and realized it from an early age. As far as I can tell he never hid his sexuality. But his sexuality is probably the least interesting thing about him. Today is his 125th birthday and this story is a little […]

Harry Partch – The Outsider Who Refused To Come In “This is my trinity: sound-magic, visual beauty, experience-ritual.” Harry Partch, American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments, was one of these iconoclastic individuals. Today, 24 June 2026, would have been […]

It is in this nursing home chain hellscape that I find myself (and, this is one of the better places). Emerging from this lengthy medical affair, I’m revving up for more life. Upping my “stim quotient” is a big piece of care and feeding, as it speeds up recovery in all domains. Some recent faves […]

Have you heard about NDEs? It means Near Death Experience, in which a person experiences “the other side” in some capacity. https://open.substack.com/pub/theicarian/p/that-nde-near-death-experience-and #neardeathexperience #health #healthcare

Have you heard about NDEs? It means Near Death Experience, in which a person experiences “the other side” in some capacity. Prior to my unfortunate incarceration in Ye Olde Nursing Home I had several, and am ready to share the most impactful one now. For several years after, I could not speak […]

America Getting Screwed By The Screwworm Human Flesh Isn’t Being Eaten – Yet Thanks MAGA! The flesh-eating New World screwworm only matters if you eat beef and don’t want to pay high prices for the privilege. Or if you’re cattle rancher in North America. Or a cow in North America. And that’s […]

Sometimes life moves in dizzying, impossible-to-predict zigzag lines. Turns out, healing unfolds in much the same way.. Before my medical crash and burn, I thought I had everything set up for a comfortable retirement – https://theicarian.substack.com/p/medical-crash-and-burn-chapter-three […]

THE NURSING HOME CONFESSIONAL Day-to-day nursing home reality is alien territory for most folks. The early days “on the inside” are a particularly disjointed time. The new “resident” has just come through a medical crisis that spit them out into this strange new land. The psychological vertigo […]

Emotional Support Chickens, Theft! Cluck Yeah, A NURSING HOME TALE https://theicarian.substack.com/p/emotional-support-chickens-theft #knitting #nursinghome #healthcare

Meet Shannon, a feisty resident. Shannon doesn’t speak much, other than to holler “Bitch! Whore! Nooo! I hate you!” I figured, she could probably use an emotional support chicken, right? .Little did I anticipate the drama to ensue. Close your eyes, Shannon, we have a present for you!” “Fuck […]

Emotional Support Chickens, Theft! Cluck Yeah, A NURSING HOME TALE Meet Shannon, a feisty resident. Shannon doesn’t speak much, other than to holler “Bitch! Whore! Nooo! I hate you!” I figured, she could probably use an emotional support chicken, right? Made her one in her favorite color – […]

Navajo culture – aka Diné – is rich, sophisticated, robust, ancient. As a lily-white woman from northern New Jersey, this nursing home, with its many Navajo employees from the nearby reservation, is the closest I’ve ever been to the Diné world. It’s been an honor and a privilege. The Diné […]

I suppose it was inevitable. The enshittification of the streaming video devices my household has used is now complete. Today, 15 June 2026, I awoke to the news that Fox is buying Roku for $22 billion. Our household has two Rokus. One for each TV. We bought our first in about 2010 to augment […]

Matt and Anthony Today we talk about being naked. Matt and Anthony, two very young students training to become nurse’s aides (CNAs), are assigned to put on an “adult brief” (as it’s euphemistically called) on me, a transitional tool needed since graduating from a bladder foley […]

14 June 2026 Otay Mesa Detention Center, San Diego https://youtu.be/WdSnM2LxjQ8

Nursing homes are a patchwork system, based on models from the last century, run almost entirely by investment bankers – the same people running our prisons, and with many similarities. Lastly, this life experience has evolved into a spiritual journey, as well as a medical one. What has my […]

I want to share with you what life is really like in a nursing home. One out of four of you will be clocking some time here, after all. Yet most know little or nothing about it. Life can be hysterically funny, moving, inspirational, and yes, often horrifying. You will need some mad skills to […]

Each night, Betsy is required to share the bed with her grandmother. With regularity, the grandfather climbs in, raping first the grandmother, then Betsy. This goes on for over a year. It reminds me of a perverse variation of “droit du seigneur,” in which a lord held sexual rights over his […]

THE NURSING HOME CONFESSIONAL Betsy, an 85 year old Anglo lady, begins to speak. I know what is coming, and settle in. Betsy’s tale is one of triumph over soul-crushing extreme poverty in the early 20th century. She was born into a dirt poor rural […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Day-to-day nursing home reality is alien territory for most folks. The early days “on the inside” are a particularly disjointed time. The new “resident” has just come through a medical crisis that spit them out into this strange new land. The psychological […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

World Cup: “Oh man I’m having so much fun!! It’d be more fun if we weren’t supporting Saudi Aramco though.” On June 21, the Sierra Club is organizing “Protest Fossil Fuel Sportswashing” actions at various stadiums across the U.S., calling on FIFA World Cup and other teams to drop fossil fuel […]

The FIFA World Cup is brought to you by Saudi oil. These fans and players want to stop it As rising temperatures put players at risk, advocates say FIFA must cut ties with fossil fuel https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whatonearth/fifa-world-cup-aramco-9.7224085

This petition is aimed at demanding human rights for immigrants detained at the CoreCivic detention center on Otay Mesa in San Diego County. Please read the demands and sign. An ongoing protest has been taking place outside the detention facility […]

Part 6 - The Karen Strickholm story, TWO YEARS LATER… After surviving brain surgery, post-surgical complications and COVID, Karen disappears into the American healthcare system for two years. Thus begins the next phase of her TALES FROM THE NURSING HOME. It’s been a beat since you’ve heard from […]

@KarenStrickholm Part 5 - The Karen Strickholm story “The COVID ran through here like wildfire.” So says Nurse Kim. Thirty four residents at this small facility (a specialty wound care hospital in El Paso, (Texas) died in December. “We gave them morphine for the pain, and Ativan to keep them […]

More from Karen's story... Contracted Covid-19. Bad. Sent to isolation COVID ward in El Paso (Texas) hospital, during that city’s peak pandemic moment - you may remember it in the national news. Spent one month in COVID acute care on 15 liters oxygen, mobile tractor trailer morgues out back […]

COVID-19 In El Paso, The Plague 08/02/20 Part 2 - The Karen Strickholm story, isolation COVID ward in El Paso https://open.substack.com/pub/theicarian/p/covid-19-in-el-paso-the-plague-080220true Non-Substack link https://theicarian.com/karen/covid-19-in-el-paso-08-02-20/

See this woman? See the big pole she's holding? Today, in San Diego County, this woman used that pole to assault a peaceful protestor. This is where MAGA is headed. Get ready.

I wrote about George Santos. Then he made a violent threat and lied about it https://www.npr.org/2026/06/04/nx-s1-5846966/george-santos-kalshi-threats?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Folk singer at coffee house lures fish.

This is what usually happens when you stand up for your principles in journalism, It has always been thus. Scott Pelley, star of 60 Minutes, stood up for his principles and lost his job While his bosses look (to varying degrees) like bumblers, cowards or corporate tools, Pelley will be […]

DEP allows coal company to operate strip mining complex, including impacts to national forest, without first obtaining necessary approvals Mining imperils pristine trout streams and endangered candy darter June 1, 2026 https://appvoices.org/2026/06/01/dep-southfork-transfer/

Think the POTUS being incapacitated, or even dead, can’t be covered up? Think again. It’s been done before. Wikipedia’s entry, edited here, on Woodrow Wilson lays it out: On October 2, 1919, Woodrow Wilson suffered a serious stroke, leaving him paralyzed on his left side, and with only partial […]

Christine Jorgensen was described as direct and witty. She advocated for transgender people when it was even less safe to do so than it is today. She gave lectures at colleges and universities, especially during 1970s and 80s, on the topics of “transsexuality,” although she disliked that term […]

Another cosmic discussion.