a thing i've been doing of late is going to live storytelling events. about 7 minutes, no notes. here's a recording from the last one i did, it's about my garden. i've written this a few different times but telling a story to a live room is a whole 'nother experience.

Algerian fans chanting THANK YOU LAWRENCE

I tell ya, KCK and KC MO are great Midwest cities in the BEST of what that means.

Happy 100th birthday to Cpl Melvin Kaminsky aka Mel Brooks - the Mensch of Mensches When speaking of his service with the 78th Infantry Division in WWII, he reportedly said, “I was a combat engineer. Isn’t that ridiculous? The two things I hate most in the world are combat and engineering.”

We are hitting another milestone in clearing out my Mom & Dad's house; getting the post-estate-sale remaining books sorted & culled to go to the local library Thrift Store. I love you Mom, but the paperback Ibsen & James Joyce stuff from your 1960s lit classes are DONE.

My not-so-hot take is that what Mamdani is doing *IS* incrementalism, and the bar is so deeply in hell that a politician just doing *anything* good consistently is a total anomaly for people. And I think for now that is good and fine, because it is restoring people’s faith that better is possible.

Set yourself up for a perfect Austin, Texas morning - a pancake flight breakfast at Snooze, art at Umlauf Sculpture Garden, and a walk with peacocks in Mayfield Park: perceptivetravel.com/blog/2026/03...

BBC's long wave service, which went on air in 1934, is in its final hours. www.bbc.com/news/article...

KitchenFest🎶🎻 is on! now through 4 July. Music, community, creativity, hospitality all across 🍁 #CapeBreton Story at @perceptivetravel.bsky.social #NovaScotia #travel perceptivetravel.com/blog/2026/04...

The term fly-in restaurants doesn't mean you need a pilot's license to eat there. It just means great places to dine at smaller airports. Here are 3 examples in College Station TX, Tulsa OK, and Hutchinson KS, in my latest for @perceptivetravel.bsky.social perceptivetravel.com/blog/2026/06...

For lots of variety, explore the food hall at the Pearl in San Antonio TX, and the extensive culinary delights at Pullman Market nearby. On @perceptivetravel.bsky.social perceptivetravel.com/blog/2025/12...

As I point out in this newsletter, it is tempting to describe this administration wide conduct as North Korean. that is however unfair as North Korean officials generally have markedly superior message discipline.

The Great American State Fair crowd listening to Trump sounds bored, like they’re wishing they were at their own state fairs waiting for Cheap Trick to take the stage.

If you look beyond Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende, you can live almost anywhere in interior Mexico for half or less what you spend on bills in the USA or Canada. https://www.rfr.bz/be91e80e2

*you're

Capturing the sprawling American immigrant story is no small feat, but New York City's Tenement Museum makes decades of Orchard Street residents come alive. On @perceptivetravel.bsky.social perceptivetravel.com/blog/2025/06... #TravelTuesday #TravelSky #WhatsGoodNYC

There are lots of opinions about the best Chicago deep dish pizza, but I vote for Lou Malnati's. Get ready for a very filling meal and homey atmosphere: perceptivetravel.com/blog/2025/09...

Learn about extraordinary feats of wartime communications with pigeons, diverse breeds and the sport of racing pigeons at this fun Oklahoma City museum. My latest for @perceptivetravel.bsky.social perceptivetravel.com/blog/2026/06...

This is a wonderful read. "It might not take a village to raise a young man, but in my case, maybe it took just a small committee." ❤️

"only about 40% of recruits opted to get vaccinated" 😮 I, perhaps stupidly, expected a far smaller refusal rate after Hegseth made vaccination optional. Not good. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The current SECDEF is not just an unqualified idiot. His stupid views are a national security risk. "Recruits live in four mammoth Airman Training Complexes: high-rise dorms that house 1,248 trainees each."

The Vanishing American (1925) was one of the first Hollywood movies to be filmed in Monument Valley, more than a decade before John Ford first filmed there

Visitors to the Acropolis can now view the Parthenon's western side in a more complete form after restorers installed two new marble blocks in long-empty gaps on the ancient temple.

Mamdani's speech at the Knicks parade was easily the best I've ever heard at an event of that sort. I posted the whole thing on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. Highly recommended.

A downtown boutique hotel, fun local public art in an alley, a hearty down-home breakfast, and the Choctaw Cultural Center, all in Durant, Oklahoma. On @perceptivetravel.bsky.social perceptivetravel.com/blog/2025/09...

We dealt with check fraud like this a few years back, after thieves got into our dentist's unlocked mailbox and stole a payment check. Now I see that I definitely need to come up with a different plan: wapo.st/4vjQFpk

Some of the best places to see in north central Florida: Gainesville, Micanopy, clear freshwater springs, restaurants, nature preserves, and more! On @perceptivetravel.bsky.social perceptivetravel.com/blog/2025/06...

Every day feels like we’re unwilling participants in a cautionary tale that future generations will study in disbelief.

Good.

Per Josh Marshall, there's now little question that the U.S.-Iran War of 2026 has decisively accelerated the transition to renewables like wind and solar, as well as nuclear energy.

I will never understand why republican voters believe that Republicans are not the monsters they tell us they are with their every breath? www.texastribune.org/2026/06/15/t...

Ticketmaster like game recognize game

“Scots discovering tailgating” could be a real Prometheus stealing fire moment

The few. The proud. The dirt bike jump ramp security guys.

The rook meets the vet 🤝 Miles is fresh off being awarded Western Conference Player of the Week and is averaging 6.3 APG, while Gray is coming off a WNBA record-tying 9 three-pointers against the Fire. 📺 8pm/ET on CBS and Paramount+ 2026 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup | coinbase

If there's a saving grace from the bedlam that is about to ensue in New York City on Saturday, with the Knicks on the verge of a championship and Brazil taking on Morocco in the World Cup, it is that Game 5 of the NBA Finals is on the road.

I'm old enough to remember John McEnroe as one of the BIGGEST shit-talkers in tennis 🎾 and a general bad boy (Hi, Tatum O'Neal) so it's fun to watch Johnny Mac as a Knicks fan elder statesman. 😊 "You CANNOT be serious!"

“Congress's top bathroom sheriff Nancy Mace is on the ballot, and while not all of the votes have been counted yet, she is in a respectful fifth place,” Sarah McBride just said. “I don't like punching down and I believe in the politics of grace. So all I will say is happy Pride, Nancy.”

Take a moment to see the YOW / @en.ottawa.ca airport waterfall, canal, and river depicted in the design of the airport's Ottawa Waterways public art. On @perceptivetravel.bsky.social perceptivetravel.com/blog/2025/12... #TravelTuesday #TravelSky

"Mr. Musk could well believe his own projections. What’s harder to understand is why so many investors do, given his recent track record of missed deadlines, abandoned products and failed business predictions." 🤷‍♀️ www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/o...

It's like I wrote here about arts and music: "The right understands that the arts and music are powerful, but by and large, they don’t understand why." When dominance and submission are all you understand, most of society is indecipherable to you. www.salon.com/2026/06/03/m...

Protocol violation: The U.S. Flag Code (36 U.S. Code § 301) states that during the national anthem, “individuals in uniform should give the military salute,” while “all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart” Trump is a dipshit

You should ask yourself why all of the people who are screeching about election fraud on social media are always unwilling to repeat these claims under oath. Let me help you: it’s because they know they’re full of shit. The entire purpose is to keep people angry.

This is precisely my issue with video. I'm a fast reader. Video is slower and full of "throat-clearing" that a good writer or editor would chop out of well-written text. Video IS ideal for how-to, however, although I'd still rather read a description, THEN watch.

whenever people get into arguments about bluesky versus twitter I just come back to the fact that I don’t want to spend time on a platform where the biggest voices are the worst people on the planet

It's funny how the pitch for SpaceX is domination of the global AI business but the company's primary business (~60% of revenue going forward) is leasing its GPUs to Anthropic and Google at a discount because nobody wants to use Musk's MechaHitler AI.

This weekend, June 6, marks the anniversary of D-Day. Images from the U.S. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information photo collection at the Library of Congress show scenes from New York City as Americans learned the news in various ways, including from a news ticker in Times Square.

This is why they’re so full of shit when they say CA is rigged. Our votes are tracked like Amazon packages. We get texts and emails when they are mailed to us, reminders if we haven’t voted yet, then texts and emails when our ballots are received and counted.

Hey Maine Dems, you do understand that Gov. Mills is still on the ballot, and you can avoid the Platner dumpster fire that's only getting worse?