I’m becoming a big fan of Japanese Whiskey. I was just thinking this morning that I should quit drinking, not even an hour has passed and I’m having second thoughts. One glass occasionally can’t hurt, right?
A war with Iran (a war with any country under the current Administration) would jeopardize American Democracy. The Administration would use such an event as a tool to restrict the freedoms of Americans. They are likely looking for ways to do that even without using war as an excuse.
The six Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) for humans… we needn’t go into that yet since I’m still managing those on my own… But that got me thinking, what are my cat’s six ADLs? Clearly this is a matter of some importance since my cat owns the house and by virtue of that owns me. Were it necessary to put him into assisted living I would have to move in with him and I’m not yet ready to make a cat assisted living home my place of residence…
Well, here they are, I am monitoring all of these very closely:
I’m not complaining, I’m just not looking forward to spending my golden years in an assisted living home full of cats because I have a feeling I’d probably end up at the beck and call of the entire house.
What’s Wrong With American News Media?
I remember when I was a kid growing up, I thought the news was dry and boring. That’s because basically it was. The news was brought to us without opinion and we were allowed to draw our own conclusions. The news today is another matter, not only do we get reporting (sometimes fact based, often not) we are also told what to think about it as we are receiving it.
Kale, Blueberries, Banana, all good stuff and good for you. I’ll skip the beef tallow, I’m not a big RFK fan.
We are always standing at a fork in the road. The thing that dictates which path we choose is our attitude. Our perception is more deeply impacted by our thoughts than by our experiences. Experiences are wonderful things and they can lead to lasting memories, but what determines the type of day we’re having is our thoughts. Celebrate the moment you’re in and try and make it as positive as possible.
Crater Lake Rock-n-Rye and Crater Lake American Straight Rye, mixed one-to-one. Cheers!
There are days when I have to wear sunglasses to hide the tears. There’s nothing wrong with me, other than the fact that I see people being misused and I feel powerless to help them directly. So how do you help? One way is to remind people that there is a better way to deal with differences than with anger and hatred.
There’s room on the porch for everyone. If you don’t see that, you lack love and compassion.
I love books. I love holding them in my hands. I love bending them so they are easy to hold, but the thing I love most are the words on the pages. One after another. Each word fashioning a string that takes me on a journey to a new place. A place I couldn’t go unless the book took me there.
Don’t delude yourself, Trump is not defending democracy overseas. He is behaving like a dictator both at home and abroad. Taking a cynical view of his actions abroad (some might argue realistic view) one would conclude that his reason for seeking peace by dropping bombs in the Middle East is so he can build luxury hotels in Gaza. Hotels you and I could never afford to stay at, nor the people that live there. His Republican benefactors certainly could.
My strength is I let people be themselves. My weakness is I let people be themselves.
If the toilet is still flushing when someone walks out of the bathroom, don’t shake hands with them. I think that probably qualifies as practical advice.
The more I drink, the mellower I get. That’s a good thing. I try not to drink to the point where I do stupid things.. But, stupid is relative, and I’ve been known to fail that test.
What follows is a list of incidents when the National Guard was deployed to maintain peace on city streets. These deployments were done with the consent of local authorities. Any deployment not explicitly authorized by local authorities is a violation of a state’s sovereignty.
1929 after the stock market crash under President Herbert Hoover.
1967 in the Detroit riots.
1967 during the Newark riots.
1968 during the riots following the assignation of Dr Martin. Luther King.
1992 during riots in Los Angeles sparked by the beating of Rodney King.
There is a long history in America of identifying tyrants as those leaders that use their military against citizens to stifle and suppress political dissent. American Presidents have avoided the use of military against citizens… until now. The current President has no compunction against using this deplorable tactic. When a President stoops to this level they place themselves precisely in the category of tyrant. In so doing, they give up the right to represent the people of America.
If Boomers could find a way to talk to GenX and GenZ then maybe Republicans and Democrats could find a way to talk to one another? I’m an optimist I suppose.
I think I’ve had enough bad news for one night. This is happening with greater frequency than ever since, oh, November of ’24… Our country is going insane and the news media is not doing it’s job reporting how tragic all of the decisions coming out of the Administration and the Supreme Court actually are and where all of this is leading us.
I’m sitting on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Well, to be precise, I’m sitting in my overland trailer after a magnificent day and magnificent sunset. It wasn’t easy getting out here. There are three of us. Two well equipped Tacomas and a stock Ram Winnebago (a rental). We were going to go to go a bit further out, but, since our friend in the Winnebago is driving a rental, this is going to have to do. That said, this place if amazing. I mean, it’s hard to describe just how spectacular this is. Where am I going with this? Let me answer by saying: When you are with friends there is no place to remote, too beautiful, to difficult to get to that that does not provide a reward any better than this.
(Update 7/16: The Grand Lodge on the North Rim burned to the ground this last weekend. It was caught in a huge wildfire that unexpectedly grew out of control last Friday. I’m so happy I got to visit the lodge on this trip)
I have a new favorite author… Fredrik Backman. He’s wirtten nine fiction titles and one nonfiction title. I plan to read them all.
I read Beartown first. I enjoyed it enough to go for round two. I’m now on My Friends. I’m blown away. I can think of a few authors in my life that have thrilled me. Frank Herbert, Ayn Rand, Douglas Adams, Haruki Murakami, to name a few. What Backman is doing for me is different. He is making me feel emotions. In the book My Friends I feel like I am on a journey with the characters in the book. I don’t know exactly how Backman does it, I think in a large part, it’s his use of dialogue. The narrative is “dialogue heavy,” by that I mean: Through the character’s dialogue, both spoken and internal, he makes me feel like I am experiencing what they are experiencing. He is also very quippy. I normally don’t go in for work that leans on that technique, but Backman integrates this beautifully with his dialogue heavy approach. He uses writing in the third person to help the reader better understand the characters thoughts, what is happening to them and how they are feeling. The way he uses the combination of all three is very enjoyable.
Yes, when you read good fiction you are supposed to feel like you are part of the story. That hasn’t always been the case for me, but Backman is able to make that happen for me.
A few days ago I wrote about the Department of Justice and the rule of law in America. (You can read that here).
That entry sounded a bit somber, I’ll admit (although I think it is largely spot-on). What I failed to mention on the positive side is the fact that the lower Federal Courts, District Courts in particular, are doing a very good job of upholding the constitutional order. While there are justices on the Supreme Court, one in particular, that think they are the only body that can properly interpret the Constitution they are sadly mistaken. Without the jurisprudence and precedent of cases at the District level, the Constitution would rest on the whims of a small handful of men and women, when in fact it should rest in the hands of many justices with a multitude of backgrounds and viewpoints. It’s called precedent and consensus.
Decisions coming out of our Federal District Courts right now give me great optimism about our eventual return to the rule of law, and in particular respect for the Constitutional powers our founders cherished and worked hard to establish for us, first and foremost, separation of powers.
There isn’t a whole lot to say. She is the love of my life. That’s a bold statement I know. In addition to the woman I speak of, I also have three beautiful daughters that I love with all my heart… I’m lucky no matter which way you look at it.
When I can no longer put words on paper, it will be a sad day. Don’t let that discourage you. It doesn’t discourage me. Let what is left of this work remain as my testimony to who I loved, what I loved and how I lived. With luck, I have a lot more words left in me.
I love my fucking cat. He is bonded to me as closely as a different species can be. Yes, dogs are man’s best friend, but that is because they have an inbred need to please humans. Cats do not. If you have a cat like mine that follows you everywhere, eats when you eat, sleeps when you sleep and begs for attention when you are just hanging-out, you know you have an animal friend that loves you.
It’s a beautiful 70 degrees at 7pm here in Central Oregon. I took the RE out and I’m cruising. The city is alive tonight. I’m at WRB watching the Mariners and the Astros. The Mariners are playing well…
I miss you Baby. Don’t hold it against me… I can’t wait for you to get back here so I can hold you in my arms and tell you how much I love you.
The nice thing about having a website that no one reads is that you can say nice things and no one is the wiser.
For the next 365 days, I will be presenting here a Stoic Thought of the Day. All of the entries are inspired by the book “The Daily Stoic,” by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. I can in no way take credit for these thoughts, for that you have to look to these two authors and the Stoics themselves. What I can take credit for (nominally) is the presentation. I have tried to shape each entry in my own words, and with an eye towards that portion of the author’s work the speaks to me personally.
This website is not my journal. I can’t let you into my journal because to do so would be to expose myself in a way that would be uncomfortable for both of us. That said, the entries in my journal usually end up here in some shape or form, altered as much as possible to protect the innocent, that includes both of us.