“Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings And designer love and empty things Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days” youtu.be/8wg1UTAfbpE?...

"It has forever been thus: So long as men write what they think, then all of the other freedoms--all of them--may remain intact. And it is then that writing becomes a weapon of truth, an article of faith, an act of courage." Rod Serling, born on this day in 1924

“Art still has truth. Take refuge there.” Matthew Arnold, born on this day in 1822

"To sit in solitude, to think in solitude with only the music of the stream and the cedar to break the flow of silence, there lies the value of wilderness." John Muir Mr. Muir nailed it.

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” John Muir, who died on this day in 1914

On this day in 1921, President Warren G. Harding, commuted the prison sentence to time served (effective on Christmas Day) of Hoosier labor leader Eugene V. Debs rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-...

Believe it or not, one Associated Press bureau (Saigon) produced three Pulitzer Prize winners: Malcolm Browne, Peter Arnett, and Horst Faas. rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...

"There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard." Madam C. J. Walker, born on this day in 1867

“I wish to God it had never been invented!” Wayne Guthrie, Operation Crossroads, and the Atomic Bomb outrider.org/.../articles...

“I wanted to do not an article, crammed with demographers’ statistics, but, rather, a story about a man.” rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2023/05/no-p...

“Christmas time! That man must be a misanthrope indeed, in whose breast something like a jovial feeling is not roused—in whose mind some pleasant associations are not awakened—by the recurrence of Christmas.” Charles Dickens

"I had learned that the last enemy is destroyed, in that he can destroy neither being nor identity, nor continuity of relationship.” rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2020/04/may-...

War correspondent Richard Tregaskis, flew on B-29 missions over Japan in WWII and later, from 1959-60, followed the development of North American Aviation's X-15 rocket plane. Top speed of B-29: 365 mph. X-15 top speed: 4,520 mph.

It's time for the outstanding Glengarry Glen Ross SNL Christmas sketch ... #HATM www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_vS...

"Bad handwriting sometimes leads to new ideas; And a careless god—who refuses to let people Eat from the Tree of Knowledge—can lead To books, and eventually to us. We write Poems with lies in them, but they help a little.” Robert Bly, born on this day in 1926

A tip from a real journalist, Malcolm Browne, to Bari Weiss: "In a free society the duty of all newsmen is to tell all of the people all of the truth all of the time. The newsman is obliged to fight forces that interfere with this vital process."

"I have one message for young musicians around the world. Stay true to your heart, believe in yourself, and work hard." Joe Cocker, who died on this day in 2014 www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQEC...

Who is this Wallace Terry I've been talking about the past year as I complete his biography? Here's a sneak peak about his astonishing life in journalism that I examine in full for my bio set for publication by @unmpress.bsky.social October 2026. rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2024/05/wall...

"A long December and there's reason to believe Maybe this year will be better than the last I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leaving Now the days go by so fast" www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNaw...

“I write from the actual documents. It’s clumsy, it’s awkward, it’s slow—it takes a lot of time—but you don’t make many mistakes this way. And that’s the whole purpose.” rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-...

"In the star-filled dark we cook Our macaroni and eat By lantern light. Stars cluster Around our table like fireflies." Kenneth Rexroth

"I'll write until I drop. That's one of the nice things about retiring, if you're a writer--you can go on writing. You may not know what you are saying, but you can keep on writing." John Bartlow Martin

A newspaper romance ended in marriage between Isaac Strouse and Juliet Humphries on this day in 1881. Juliet Strauss (she refused to use the Americanized version) became one of the most popular writers of the 19th century, rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2020/12/a-co...

"I write for one and only one purpose, to overcome the invincible ignorance of the traduced heart. My poems are acts of force and violence directed against the evil which murders us all." Kenneth Rexroth

“The mature man lives quietly, does good privately, assumes personal responsibility for his actions, treats others with friendliness and courtesy, finds mischief boring and keeps out of it.” Kenneth Rexroth, born on this day in 1905 in South Bend, Indiana

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better." Samuel Beckett, who died on this day in 1989

"I have an abiding faith in the ability of a good writer to make a living by simply being able to communicate facts, whether in magazines, books, TV, or elsewhere. The writer serves truth. He is needed." John Bartlow Martin rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2024/05/john...

"Writing is a combination of intangible creative fantasy and appallingly hard work." Anthony Powell, born on this day in 1905

“True solitude is a din of birdsong, seething leaves, whirling colors, or a clamor of tracks in the snow.” Edward Hoagland

“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, who died on this day in 1940

"A writer's work is to witness things." Edward Hoagland, born on this day in 1932

"Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs." Rebecca West, born on this day in 1892

"The writer comes first. The editor must remain in the background, insignificant. Take enormous care, and never be cavalier with copy. Don't inadvertently edit in mistakes. The best editing is the least editing. Change no more than has to be.” rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2024/06/will...

“The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty.” John Steinbeck

“Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.” John Steinbeck

On this day in 1881, Branch Rickey, the American baseball executive famous for creating the farm team system and hiring the first black players, was born. Rickey is the gentleman responsible for one of my favorite observations: "Luck is the residue of design."

"The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true." John Steinbeck, who died on this day in 1968

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth.” Carl Sagan, who died on this day in 1996

"When evil acts in the world it always manages to find instruments who believe that what they do is not evil but honorable." Max Lerner, born on this day in 1902

Wordle 1,645 2/6 🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

"This is going to be a long, hard struggle, and it’s time people got used to the idea.” rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-...

If you have a chance, check out director Thomas D. Herman's outstanding documentary "Dateline-Saigon," featuring Malcolm Browne, Peter Arnett, Horst Faas, Neil Sheehan, and David Halberstam covering America's early involvement in the Vietnam War. tv.apple.com/.../umc.cmc....

What to do when a pilot refuses to land a plane during a coup? If you are Peter Arnett, don't take no for an answer. rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2024/10/cove...

“If we behave like those on the other side, then we are the other side. Instead of changing the world, all we'll achieve is a reflection of the one we want to destroy.” Jean Genet, born on this day in 1910

"The fortunes of the entire world may well ride on the ability of young Americans to face the responsibilities of an old America gone mad." Phil Ochs youtu.be/N93OCCBXGXc?...

"If you want a symbolic gesture, don't burn the flag, wash it." Norman Thomas

“I am not the champion of lost causes, but the champion of causes not yet won.” Norman Thomas, who died on this day in 1968

“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” Carter G. Woodson, born on this day in 1875

Holiday mood.

“The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's life.” Phil Ochs, born on this day in 1940 youtu.be/1rVTBCtYjoY