Most established religions miss something pure and measurable and meaningful about the solstices and equinoxes. If heeding the science makes me a pagan, so be it. I don't worship those days; I just celebrate what they mean. It's a significance that better-known holidays lack.

Barry Blitt

I have dear friends who lost a son to addiction. The son had also been occasionally homeless as a teen, and in and out of rehabs. His parents had sacrificed so much to get him the help he needed. They still couldn't prevent his OD. It hadn't hit me until now, that the outcome could have been worse.

Good to see a positive outcome for a change. #free #gift #unlocked www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/w...

going into 2026 like ...

One of the biggest moments of my career: USCIS canceled my client’s naturalization oath ceremony. We filed a lawsuit, went to trial, and the judge swore him in right there in the courtroom!

I rationalized having another beer because I was able to solve some long-vexing tech issues today. But I know it's really because there are so many new tragedies to grieve.

Hollywood has to wake up tomorrow and just go back to work like nothing fucking happened. I don't know that there's a person in the industry who hasn't been influenced by Reiner's work. Tomorrow is an industry day of mourning, pure and simple. It's all any of us are going to be talking about.

"Billionaires used to pour money into politics “without the rest of us even having a clue,” Michael Hirschorn writes. “Today, billionaires are still flooding politics with their money and still reaping the benefits, but they won’t stop yapping about it.” #free #gift www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/o...

To the gardeners: I started a wildflower patch near my small vegetable garden in southern PA but it's overgrown by Bermuda grass that spread from a neighbor's property. I'm about to have two maples cut down, though. They're closer to the house, and because there are other trees (1/2)

If you ever watched "The Uncle Floyd Show," you know what a treasure and stalwart friend Scott Gordon is. He could use a bit of help to get some dental work done. Help if you can, even if it's just sharing the link. gofund.me/96635c4c4

The sooner that we middle-class folk realize this, the better. We have much more in common with the poor than with the rich -- and the rich see both the poor and the middle-class as losers to be exploited.

Sci-fi take: "The Monolith Monsters" and "Day of the Triffids" are telling the same story. I like them both, but "The Monolith Monsters" tells the story better.

12/12/2025- Pirate of the Caribbean www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/de...

The Georgia State House 121 Special Election has been called for the Democrat, Eric Gisler. That's a 14-point swing from last November's Harris/Trump results, per The DownBallot. It's more evidence that historic double-digit margins don't mean "safe GOP."

You'll also find yourself working alongside other people willing to give up a bit of time and physical effort to help others (i.e., kindred spirits).

"Don't he never sleep?"

If you're seeking a communal activity that doesn't involve deity worship but does involve physical movement and helping others, I highly recommend volunteering at your local food bank.

I have a theory that late-diagnosed near-sightedness can change your life for the better. Near-sighted kids can't see far, but we can see books; we can hold them close. We suck at team sports because we can't see balls or pucks or shuttlecocks coming at us. So we read; nerds by default. (1/3)

Wormtongue is to Theoden as Miller is to Trump ... If not for the fact that Trump would happily say the same hateful things on his own, but likes that Miller spares him the trouble of doing so.

Incremental change is still change. From the NYTimes, about Tennessee's vote tonight:

#machineknitting #knitting BlueSky doesn't allow enough characters for me to go into depth. If you have a question, please ask. In short, it was a 'wing it' attempt at Fair Isle for a gift for a relative. I extended the background color to the sides, then seamed the center and edge-stitched.

Some small pubs still have live music with ambient noise (including crashing bottles). I find it less distracting, than a reminder that these scenes still exist and have their own value. youtu.be/QeR-a0Wyg8U?...

If you're craving chocolate and haven't been buying any ... ... it's okay to snack on some of those Toll House morsels in the cooler drawer from last year.

Beacon of the world by @deAdder open.substack.com/pub/deadder/...

“Regretting my third wish”

Tonight I ordered myself that lifetime senior pass to the national parks of the USA, that I'd been thinking of getting. Not only will it be an incentive to visit more national parks ... it shouldn't have Trump's face on it yet.

I've finally found the secret to a laid-back Thanksgiving: Working my butt off the day before. (Spatchcocking a 20-lb. turkey is an ugly task.)

Without prejudice -- but who would be the one to re-file?

How to hold a cat.

Word for the day: BRUMATION. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/b...

I don't think Mamdani is role-playing. No one can hold a cat's rump that confidently unless they know how. I think he genuinely likes NYC and the people in it. I think it's that confidence in himself that Trump reacted to. Trump has bravado, not confidence in himself, and he was in awe. (1/2)

11-23 is Fibonacci Day & I always fall into a spiral

You should want everyone on the planet to lead a happy life unless they've done something unforgivable. Weird low-level offenses, like overstaying in a country they weren't born in, aren't crimes worthy of scorn. If you can't meet this basic standard, fuck you.

I had read of the back story already. Photos don't always tell the whole story. #free #gift #unlocked www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/o...

Alexander Hamilton, the Reynolds Pamphlet: "I didn't embezzle gov't funds! I merely paid another man's wife for sex!" Comey prosecutors: "We didn't proceed without a transcriptionist! We skipped the second vote altogether, no jury business to transcribe!" (both statements paraphrased, of course)

Comey indictment - how many fronts for defense? - DA improperly appointed - Malicious prosecution - Multiple flaws in indictment process It may turn out to be a "Aha, gotcha!" but not the way Trump envisioned. It's reassuring those who'd defy him, rather than deterring them.

#free #gift #unlocked This is a far more insightful essay than I had expected, focusing not on Trump but on the history of pharma addictions in the USA, and what tactics have proven to be successful in addressing them. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/o...

We have the end of the shutdown. We also are on the brink of another shutdown, as the current one has the nation staggering by until Jan. 30. That's 79 days away; not even twice the length of the shutdown itself. Don't kid yourselves that this resolves anything (though it did get Grijalva in).

This is the Boscov's in the Berkshire Mall (Wyomissing, PA). The Boscov's is staying, but it will be a rare survivor. I don't think much of the essay, but it's odd to see a familiar site become the 'face' of a nationwide trend. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/m...

If you're not following Heather Cox Richardson, you should. She frames current events in relevant historical context. There is little drama, but there's room for some humor. An excerpt from a recent 'Politics Chat:'

If you need a pick-me-up after tonight's 'leadership' debacle, take heart in the margin differences noted in the chart below in recent races. Dem candidates are doing fine. Dem priorities match what voters want. The party bureaucracy is another matter. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

I find myself thinking of this scene from "Notorious." "We are protected by the enormity of your stupidity, for a time."

This is getting beyond comic-book evil. Trump can't pretend it's about protecting limited federal resources if he wants to punish states trying to help those in need. I'd love to know his justification for this but I haven't seen any. #free #gift #unlocked www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/b...

If you’re wondering how I’d look with a dueling scar

2016. Remember how Bernie Sanders reacted when someone near him fainted? youtu.be/Ju6Wb7t4pMY?...

So much time and taxpayer money wasted ... and all to make themselves look like fools. This will make a great short play someday, though. The script is already written. (Headline from NYTImes)

Something I’ve noticed is there seems to be a sort of pervasive assumption that the status quo has gravity. That there’s a natural, comfortable way things should be and that deviations from the normal state of the world will correct themselves in time. But as a paleontologist, I know this is false.

Good to see. "It may not seem like much to flip 7 percent of Mr. Trump’s backers, but consider: When a voter flips, it adds one voter to one party and also deducts one from the other, making it twice as significant as turning out a new voter." #free #gift #unlocked www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...

As others have noted, the mainstream press made a huge deal out of the Tea Party protests in 2009, tiny and 'manufactured' as they were. The No Kings protests, massive grass-roots rallies, were given only cursory coverage -- but they meant something. Election Night drove that point home.