ㅁ The solstice is past. It's a good thing, don't you think? The world's too tilted.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Links #115
Here are some links I found interesting- with minimal comment.
- Philosophy with gpt
- Being imprisoned makes minorites and women more Republican (Yikes!). A new reason to lock everyone up.
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“The end is nigh. In fact, the nighness of the end is really quite undeniable.” – JL Jones
Caveat: Poem #3061 “Small town gift shop”
ㅁ These last few days, there's lots of sales, procrastinators rule the town: they come out now, with cries and wails. These last few days, there's lots of sales, their shopping plans were made by snails... they grimly throw their money down. These last few days, there's lots of sales, procrastinators rule the town.
– a triolet, summarizing life working in retail this time of year.
Caveat: Poem #3060 “Planning ahead”
ㅁ When I lose my mind, I will be quite unhappy. I will cuss at things.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Links #114
Here are some links I found interesting- with minimal comment.
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“I once almost choked to death while eating food. I did my own research and discovered that I am not alone. Thousands of people choke every year while eating, and hundreds of those people die. That’s why I don’t feed my kids. Its dangerous. Now plenty of people will point out that food supposedly “prevents starvation,” and that might be true, but Its not fair to completely ignore all the dangers food poses, like choking, allergies, gingivitis, and garlic breath. I’m just saying, do your own research and decide what you think is best for your kids. If you choose to give your kids potentially deadly food, that’s your problem, but as a parent, I don’t think the government has any right to tell me that I need to feed my kids.” – Gordon Scott
Caveat: Poem #3059 “End-of-day observations”
ㅁ At some point in life, we become just our habits. That's all that is left.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Poem #3058 “A new beginning”
ㅁ I opened an eye. My consciousness verified, I lay still a while.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Links #113
Here are some links I found interesting- with minimal comment.
- Cup runneth over
- Substack is horrible. I already knew this. Just to be clear – I sporadically read 100s of blogs on the substack platform. Because that’s where many of the good blogs are, these days. But you will never see me give a dollar to anyone through the substack platform. If I really like someone who publishes on substack, and want to donate to support them, I find alternate pathways to donate.
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“Remember, if you’re ever feeling down, free will means you can just eat a whole block of cheese anytime you want.”
A stray thought.
I feel like most people believe very strange things about sleeping surfaces. I sleep on the actual floor – the hard floor, with just a blanket under me – and I have no issues with it. It works fine. Humans didn’t evolve to sleep on mattresses. ‘Big Mattress’ has everyone hoodwinked. Is this a conspiracy theory?
Caveat: Poem #3057 “Eighty-second stanza”
ㅁ Kiamon pondered the point of the game. Seemingly, all of the turns were the same. First she'd get caught, after which she'd escape. Villains would chase, like a repeating tape.
– a quatrain in dactylic tetrameter. Part of the continuing chaotic snapshots from life of the fictional being, Kiamon.
Caveat: Poem #3056 “Things the stars can see”
ㅁ Stars stare down at the sea at moonlit hills at swathes of trees arrayed against the cold.
– a tetractys.
Caveat: Links #112
Here are some links I found interesting- with minimal comment.
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“By saying mostly insane nonsense, I can imbue the few meaningful nuggets that I utter with more significance.”
Caveat: Poem #3055 “The premonition”
ㅁ I start awake to a sudden sound. Well, rather, the sound's memory... the sound was a dreamed event. Still, it made me sit up. Awake, in moonlight. What kind of sound? A plonking. Unknown cause.
– a nonnet.
Caveat: Poem #3054 “Surrender”
ㅁ Unmotivated. So much so that all the words decomplexify.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Links #111
Here are some links I found interesting- with minimal comment.
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“The kids might still do yoga and say namaste, and they still think there’s a universal consciousness that’s ultimately identical with their own self—but they’re no longer interested in renouncing desire or achieving union with the divine. They don’t want to escape the material world. They don’t want enlightenment. They are driving their bodies like cars, and they have no interest in getting out.” – Sam Kriss
Caveat: Poem #3053 “Leave them”
ㅁ The stones are unturned: you really can't go looking under each of them.
– a pseudo-haiku.
5
Caveat: Poem #3052 “Conversations that must be had”
ㅁ We need to discuss the roadside grass, that grows beside my daily drive. The grass seems unimportant: green, perhaps non-native. But as winter comes, with heavy rains, it turns gold, flaxen, pale.
– a nonnet.
Caveat: Links #110
Here are some links I found interesting- with minimal comment.
- Yeah, that’ll work out, for sure (Syria)
- Excellent long read on history, urbanism and fertility in South Korea
- McDonalds will teach you what you need to know about America
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent.” – Issac Asimov
Caveat: Poem #3051 “Automatic fail”
ㅁ I don't want to be that old guy who's complaining... wait, that's a complaint.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Poem #3050 “Treeless”
ㅁ "Where have the trees gone?" They told me they missed the trees that I used to blog.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Links #109
Here are some links I found interesting – with minimal comment.
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“Si Luigi Mangione mató a ese CEO, imaginense de lo que Waluigi Mangione sería capaz.” – Sergio
Caveat: Poem #3049 “Not necessarily accurate, though”
ㅁ cool weather predicted giant snowflakes on my phone's little weather report thing
– a tetractys.
Caveat: Wut
I’m overwhelmed and close to burn out.
I’m feeling very gloomy at the moment.
Caveat: Poem #3048 “Growth mindset”
ㅁ The economy can keep growing, even if we run out of stuff. Like a currency unit in, e.g., Zimbabwe, it is unbounded. Reality a canvas for our hopes.
– a nonnet.
Caveat: Poem #3047 “A declaration of intent”
ㅁ I shall prefer to take a rest. I'm stressed, from working far too hard. I think a day of nothing's best. I shall prefer to take a rest. I'll sit and meditate, depressed. I'll watch the ravens in the yard. I shall prefer to take a rest. I'm stressed, from working far too hard.
– a triolet.
Caveat: Santaized
Santa came to the gift store. Unfortunately he was a bit early this year (he had scheduling conflicts), so he wasn’t the big hit he’d been last year. Anyway we still had a fairly decent sales day. Christmas season is in full swing. What life choices did I make such that at age 59 I run a gift store in Alaska that plays Christmas music all day long? I look like a mentally unstable elf.
Caveat: Poem #3046 “Just so many random ghosts”
ㅁ Really I'm just an alien here. The people gathered around me are remote, unknowable. But they all feel the same. At least, I guess so. They, too, wonder: what is this? Why here? Now?
– a nonnet.
Caveat: Links #108
Here are some links I found interesting- with minimal comment.
- The Nobot
- Tiny steps to building state capacity in Chicago
- Too much effort was expended in producing this, no matter how much effort that was
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“어째서 사람이 이 모양인가” – South Korean Conference of Catholic Priests, in response to the recent failed auto-golpe by president Yoon [“How can a person be like this”]
Caveat: Poem #3045 “What to say…”
ㅁ i called my mother not actually easy so much bitterness
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Amnesty
This crazy thought occurred to me, as I think about the brouhaha over the Hunter Biden pardon, in the news currently.
Per that linked blog post, Biden should pardon everyone who is potentially subject to DJTs retribution. But! Biden should also pardon DJT and all of his crime-adjacent-friends. Wait, really? Yes. DJT and his crime-adjacent-friends are going to get away with it all anyway, right? That’s somewhat of a given, at this point. So if Biden preemptively pardons them, up to and including the emperor himself, it rather takes the wind out of their sails as far as accusing Biden of illegitimately deploying pardons to benefit his own “team”, and bypasses all the inevitable both-sidesing in the media. We could call it a blanket amnesty on the whole giant Red-Blue culture war. DJT gets to start with a “clean slate” – we can see how long that lasts. He’ll make a mess of his clean slate on day one, is my guess.
Caveat: Poem #3044 “The winter solstice only 2 weeks off”
ㅁ A rainy morning emerged like Aphrodite from the purple clouds.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Links #107
Here are some links I found interesting- with minimal comment.
- Gonzo at the failed Korean auto-golpe
- Handwriting over typing
- “Either we embrace the value of life, of nature, or we do not. Not to do so is monstrous, a philosophy suited to absurd killer sci-fi robots and mad Cthulthoid gods.” – Eugene Earnshaw
An illustration from the internet.
A quote.
“Craig, Alaska: Where everything is a little bit half-assed!” – G. Klein, a local booster in my town.
Caveat: Poem #3043 “Take it or leave it”
ㅁ not worth dying for, this life of tribulations; but that's the set up.
– a pseudo-haiku.
Caveat: Poem #3042 “Above the clouds on the evening flight from Seattle to Ketchikan”
ㅁ the world appeared curved the horizon a red gash then the airplane turned
– a pseudo-haiku.