Chet Raymo, “Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright…”

“Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright…”

by Chet Raymo

“Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet.” You may recall these words from Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.” There is nothing intrinsically cheerful about the world, she says. To live is to die; it’s all part of the bargain. Stars destroy themselves to make the atoms of our bodies. Every creature lives to eat and be eaten. And into this incomprehensible, unfathomable, apparently stochastic melee stumbles… You and I. With qualities that we have - so far - seen nowhere else. Hope. Humor. A sense of justice. A sense of beauty. Gratitude. But also: Anger. Hurt. Despair. Strangers in a strange land. 

Galaxies by the billions turn like St. Catherine Wheels, throwing off sparks of exploding stars. Atoms eddy and flow, blowing hot and cold, groping and promiscuous. A wind of neutrinos gusts through our bodies, Energy billows and swells. A myriad of microorganisms nibble at our flesh.

We have a sense that something purposeful is going on, something that involves us. Something secret, holy and fleet. But we haven’t a clue what it is. We make up stories. Stories in which we are the point of it all. We tell the stories over and over. To our children. To ourselves. And the stories fill up the space of our ignorance. Until they don’t. And then the great yawning spaces open again. And time clangs down on our heads like a pummeling rain, like the collapsing ceiling of the sky. Dazed, stunned, we stagger like giddy topers towards our own swift dissolution. Inexplicably praising. Admiring. Wondering. Giving thanks.”

- http://blog.sciencemusings.com/

o

“The Tyger”

“Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art.

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,

And watered heaven with their tears,

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?”

- William Blake

The Daily "Near You?"

East Dubuque, Illinois, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"If Something Cannot Go On Forever, It Will Stop" (Excerpt)

"If Something Cannot Go On Forever, It Will Stop"

So let's try to figure out what "stop" might mean in the real world.

by Bill Quick

Excerpt: "Herb Stein created his famous “law” as a useful analytical tool for approaching potentially harmful long-running economic trends, primarily to make the point that government intervention might not be necessary since, if a particular trend is not supported by existing realities, it will eventually collapse on its own. In a way, it is an economics version of the Oliver Wendell Holmes’ tale of the "One Hoss Shay."

"The parson was working his Sunday's text,-

Had got to fifthly, and stopped perplexed

At what the - Moses - was coming next.

All at once the horse stood still,

Close by the meet'n'-house on the hill.

First a shiver, and then a thrill,

Then something decidedly like a spill, - 

And the parson was sitting upon a rock,

At half-past nine by the meet'n'-house-clock, -

Just the hour of the Earthquake-shock!

What do you think the parson found,

When he got up and stared around?

The poor old chaise in a heap or mound,

As if it had been to the mill and ground!

You see, of course, if you're not a dunce,

How it went to pieces all at once, -

All at once, and nothing first, -

Just as bubbles do when they burst.

End of the wonderful one-hoss shay."

Logic is logic. That's all I say. This “shay” had been built throughout with the finest materials available, and each part lasted just as long as the others…until they all turned to dust at the same moment, leaving the man who depended upon the shay flat-assed on the ground, wondering what had happened.

Keep all this in mind while we consider a seemingly unrelated subject. I am an aficionado of cyclical theories of history, many of which are discussed in this excellent piece by Alexander Macris, "The Wisdom of Naram-Sim." Let’s concentrate on just one of them for the moment, because it is currently serving as my own map through todays confusing and perilous times:

A more recent cyclical theory of history is Strauss-Howe generational theory. According to Strauss and Howe, historical events occur in 80-year cycles, each marked by four turnings of a generation (20 years). Strauss-Howe theory has given rise to the oft-discussed concept of the Fourth Turning. Strauss-Howe theory is based on the idea that each generation of human beings predictably differs from the prior generation based on the conditions of its upbringing. Put bluntly, a new crisis occurs when the generation that remembered the last crisis dies off and a new generation that has known only good times take the wheel of the ship of state.

The concept is often summarized using the famous quote by author G. Michael Hopf in his book "Those Who Remain:"

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times.

Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times.”

Full, most highly recommended article is here:

- https://billquick.substack.com/

"These Will Be Half Off"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 4/30/23

"These Will Be Half Off"

"It is absolutely unbelievable to think about how the economy has fallen so far. I have talked about boats being half off and cars being half off. The next thing that will follow this pattern will be motorcycles."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"It's Not the End of the World"

"It's Not the End of the World"

by Jeff Thomas

"Periodically, I’ll encounter someone who has read one of my essays and has decided not to pursue them further, stating, "You’re one of those ‘End of the world’ guys. I can’t be bothered reading the writings of someone who thinks we’re all doomed. I have a more positive outlook than that." In actual fact, I agree entirely with his latter two comments. I can’t be bothered reading the thoughts of a writer who says we’re all doomed, either. I, too, have a more positive outlook than that.

My one discrepancy with such comments is that I don’t by any means think that the present state of events will lead to the end of the world, as he assumes. But then, neither am I naïve enough to think that if I just hope for the best, the powers that be will cease to be parasitical and predatory out of sympathy for me. They will not.

For any serious student of history, one of the great realizations that occurs at some point is that governments are inherently controlling by nature. The more control they have, the more they desire and the more they pursue. After all, governments actually produce nothing. They exist solely upon what they can extract from the people they rule over. Therefore, their personal success is not measured by how well they serve their people, it’s measured by how much they can extract from the people. And so, it’s a given that all governments will pursue ever-greater levels of power over their minions up to and including the point of total dominance.

It should be said that, on rare occasions, a people will rise up and create a governmental system in which the rights of the individual are paramount. This was true in the creation of the Athenian Republic and the American Constitution, and even the British Magna Carta. However, these events are quite rare in history and, worse, as soon as they take place, those who gain power do their best to diminish the newly-gained freedoms. Such freedoms can almost never be destroyed quickly, but, over time and "by slow operations," as Thomas Jefferson was fond of saying, governments can be counted on to eventually destroy all freedoms.

We’re passing through a period in history in which the process of removing freedoms is nearing completion in many of the world’s foremost jurisdictions. The EU and US, in particular, are leading the way in this effort. Consequently, it shouldn’t be surprising that some predict "the end of the world." But, they couldn’t be more incorrect.

Surely, in 1789, the more productive people of France may have felt that the developing French Revolution would culminate in Armageddon. Similarly, in 1917, those who created prosperity in Russia may well have wanted to throw up their hands as the Bolsheviks seized power from the Romanovs.

Whenever a deterioration in rule is underway, as it is once again now, the observer has three choices:

Declare the End of the World: There are many people, worldwide, but particularly in the centers of the present deterioration – the EU and US – who feel that, since the situation in their home country is nearing collapse, the entire world must also be falling apart. This is not only a very myopic viewpoint, it’s also quite inaccurate. At any point in civilization in the past 2000 years or more, there have always been empires that were collapsing due to intolerable governmental dominance and there have always concurrently been alternative jurisdictions where the level of freedom was greater. In ancient Rome, when Diocletian devalued the currency, raised taxes, increased warfare and set price controls, those people who actually created the economy on a daily basis found themselves in the same boat as Europeans and Americans are finding themselves in, in the 21st century.

It may have seemed like the end of the world, but it was not. Enough producers left Rome and started over again in other locations. Those other locations eventually thrived as a result of the influx of productive people, while Rome atrophied.

Turn a Blind Eye: This is less dreary than the above approach, but it is nevertheless just as fruitless. It is, in fact, the most common of reactions – to just "hope for the best." It’s tempting to imagine that maybe the government will realize that they’re the only ones benefitting from the destruction of freedom and prosperity and they’ll feel bad and reverse the process. But this clearly will not happen. It’s also tempting to imagine that maybe it won’t get a whole lot worse and that life, although not all that good at present, might remain tolerable. Again, this is wishful thinking and the odds of it playing out in a positive way are slim indeed.

Accept the Truth, But Do Something About It: This, of course, is the hard one. Begin by recognizing the truth. If that truth is not palatable, study the situation carefully and, when a reasonably clear understanding has been reached, create an alternative. When governments enter the final decline stage, an alternative is not always easy to accept. It’s a bit like having a tooth pulled. You want to put it off, but the pain will only get worse if you delay. And so, you trundle off to the dentist unhappily, but, a few weeks after the extraction, you find yourself asking, "Why didn’t I do this sooner?"

To be sure, those who investigate and analyze the present socio-economic-political deterioration do indeed espouse a great deal of gloom, but this should not be confused with doom. In actual fact, the whole point of shining a light into the gloom is to avoid having it end in doom.

It should be said here that remaining in a country that is tumbling downhill socially, economically and politically is also not the end of the world. It is, however, true that the end result will not exactly be a happy one. If history repeats once again, it’s likely to be quite a miserable one.

Those who undertake the study of the present deterioration must, admittedly, address some pretty depressing eventualities and it would be far easier to just curl up on the sofa with a six-pack and watch the game, but the fact remains: unless the coming problems are investigated and an alternative found, those who sit on the sofa will become the victims of their own lethargy.

Sadly, we live in a period in history in which some of the nations that once held the greatest promise for the world are well on their way to becoming the most tyrannical. If by recognizing that fact, we can pursue better alternatives elsewhere on the globe, as people have done in previous eras. We may actually find that the field of daisies in the image above is still very much in existence, it’s just a bit further afield than it was in years gone by. And it is absolutely worthy of pursuit."

- internationalman.com

"On These Faces..."

“The barbarian hopes, and that is the mark of him, that he can have his cake and eat it too. He will consume what civilization has slowly produced after generations of selection and effort, but he will not be at pains to replace such goods, nor indeed has he a comprehension of the virtue that has brought them into being. We sit by and watch the barbarian. We tolerate him in the long stretches of peace, we are not afraid. We are tickled by his irreverence; his comic inversion of our old certitudes; we laugh. But as we laugh we are watched by large and awful faces from beyond, and on these faces there are no smiles.“

- Hilaire Belloco

"Twilight of the European Peoples"

"Twilight of the European Peoples"

by Fred Reed

"Living in Latin America, and having spent much of my working life in Asia, as well as many years in the Potomac Rome, I now watch with considerable care the portentous and rapid currents of change in the world. I suppose the news business is an addiction. Perhaps there should be a twelve-step program. Yet there is much to watch. We are seeing the end of the age of European dominion. It is quite a show.

Europe and its overweening child, America, had quite a run, of about five centuries. Britain eventually conquered most of the world with the lesser Eurocountries grabbing the rest in lesser predation. The British collapsed consequent to the European habit of constant warfare, and now America, moribund but unaware, waits to drown under the rising Asian tide.

Yet Washington, or much of it, seems not to notice. It breathes, as it has for decades, a curious imperial self-assurance, a calm certitude that the sun can never set on the best of all possible countries. We are born to rule, the attitude says, smug, parental, impenetrably condescending and hubristic. Yet the sky darkens. The Euro-Americans again eat themselves, this time with Americans using Europeans and Ukrainians to attack Russia. NATO girds its loins for war with China, Washington threatens invasion of Mexico. This will not end well, but it will end soon.

Few in the enchanted city seem to take this seriously, or seriously enough. Asia awakes. Not just China, but Asia – lands with many times the population, many times the educable brains, and economies surging as if someone had pushed a button. Yet in the Sacred City, provincial lawyers posing as congressmen evince the class sense of superiority, the same belief in their divine right to instruct, to command, to rule.

A wag once described Washington as a federal conclave surrounded on all sides by reality. In this there is much truth. It is a city isolated from what it doesn’t want to know, wallowing in its supposed indispensability and unaware of how much of the world wants, and intends, to dispense with it.

The dispensing-with goes apace, mortal but not spectacular. From David P. Goldman of Asia Times: “Central Asian countries increased imports from China in March by 55% over the year-earlier month, beating the 35% jump in Chinese shipments to Southeast Asia reported previously. There’s another geopolitical consequence of China’s export prowess in Central and Southeast Asia: China’s exports to the Global South and BRICS countries in March reached a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $1.6 trillion a year. That’s nearly four times China’s exports to the United States and more than the combined total of China’s exports to the US, Europe and Japan. That represents a geopolitical point of no return of sorts, the moment when China’s economic dependence on the United States in particular and developed markets in general slipped behind its economic standing in the developing world.”

The European show is over, the curtain beginning to fall, and people get up to leave the theater. Yet in Washington they still talk of America as a shining city on a hill, not an Anglo favela. The center of gravity of economy, technology, science, and finance moves eastward

Why this quietly demented confidence? Many of those in power are now long in the tooth, as am I. We grew up in an age not now easily imagined, but one that still shapes the behavior of many. When we were children, America had just won the war. The country was supreme. As we were relentlessly told, it was the strongest, most free, good, fair, and scientifically potent country the world had ever seen. Much of this was true. Much wasn’t. In school every morning we recited the pledge of allegiance and the Lord’s Prayer. Prosperity reigned. When Superman jumped from a window with a great whooshing, he was described as, “A strange visitor from another planet, fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” which we were encouraged to regard as coextensive.

I am not being cute, not parodying. We believed it, deeply and without examination. We were not fools. The evidence was there. Airliners, moon landings, hydrogen bombs, automotive supremacy, the greatest economy. Other countries existed, at the edges of consciousness, but didn’t amount to much. Europe was quaint, a place for the rich to visit. The Chinese were funny little yellow people who made pencils and toys and talked funny, but weren’t good for much else. Mexicans? "Oh Cisco! Oh Pancho!" There was no crime. You could leave your bike anywhere and it would be there when you came back. Sanity was rampant. No massacres in school. We thought we were on to something. And were. Then, yes, but now is not then.

That is how Biden, Bolton, Pompeo, Bush II, Buchanan, and recent forerunners grew up. It proved fertile ground for the belief that America is exceptional, invincible, immortal, and should rule the world. Americans did not doubt, and largely do not doubt, our moral superiority and thus our duty to instruct others on proper international behavior, on a democracy we do not have, and on managing their economies in a manner beneficial to us. This, believe me, is doctrine in much of Washington.

Another source of belief in America’s godlike powers is that the country has not been in a war dangerous to itself since 1865. To Americans, war is something we do to strange little countries on the other side of the world where US forces bomb defenseless peasants. The military is in fact not very good, but that is another and long subject. Nothing bad ever happens to the homeland. Thus military leaders blandly say that in a war with China, America would conduct deep strikes on command centers far within China. We are allowed to bomb them, but not vice versa. Of course China has submarine-launched cruise missiles that could make scrap of the Pentagon and carrion of most of those in it. We are not used to this, enemies who can hit back. Nor can Washington imagine, say, a shattering Tsushima Strait naval defeat near Taiwan. And so Pentagon generals blandly speak of war with China in 1925, as if it were a minor house-cleaning with an assured outcome.

And so in a decade or two the European Epoch comes to a close, whether with bang or whimper, who knows, but it ends. America will accelerate its decline by spending furiously on the military while allowing the country to fail internally. As sometimes happens in imperial demise, both the US and the Old Continent suffer heavy immigration from populations of other civilizations. The economies approach collapse. That entrancing sound in the distance? It’s the Fat Lady singing."

- https://fredoneverything.org/

"How It Really Is"

 

Greg Hunter, "CV19 Bioweapon Vax is Not Genocide, It’s Extinction"

"CV19 Bioweapon Vax is Not Genocide, It’s Extinction"

by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"Karen Kingston is a biotech analyst and former Pfizer employee who understands complicated medical and biological contracts. Kingston also understands what it takes to make or defend a legal case against Big Pharma. She has years of experience on multiple levels. Kingston contends you do not need new laws to stop the CV19 mRNA technology. Everybody simply needs to understand the CV19 vax and the mRNA technology are proven bioweapons. The data shows millions have been disabled or murdered by the CV19 bioweapon/vax so far. Is it going to get worse? Kingston says, “Unfortunately, it is going to get worse. The worst is yet to come. The FDA did have to prove that these were safe. Based on the information that they had in October and November of 2020, they should have never moved forward with the trials. So, they broke the law. They knew it would cause all these disabilities and deaths. I predicted a 25% myocarditis rate in July of 2021. I have heard experts say we may be looking at 100% if they got two or three shots. So, it’s going to get bad.”

Big Pharma and government are allowing mRNA technology (the same deadly bioweapon in the CV19 injections) to be put into the entire food supply. Kingston contends this is to turn humans into trans-humans in something called “Directed Evolution.” Kingston explains, “Directed Evolution is forcing the evolution of humans to merge with DNA from reptiles, insects and artificial intelligence. It’s the bio-digital merger. This is what this is, and there are multi-trillion dollar industries around this. There is a whole bio-data division in DARPA in the U.S. military. It is about merging the bio-digital with humans.”

Many have been calling the CV19 bioweapon/vax that features technology poison such as graphene as a genocide. Kingston contends it is far more than that. Kingston says, “This is not for the benefit of humanity. This is going to lead to our extinction. I just do not know why people do not understand that.”

Kingston demonstrates the electromagnetic properties of mRNA on a beef steak. The quarter she uses sticks to a part of the meat where the mRNA had assembled because the mRNA creates a magnetic field. (All patents Kingston has reviewed prove, without a doubt, mRNA is an electromagnetic device.) Kingston says there is no need to pass new laws to stop evil Big Pharma, government and food producers from putting this in our food. mRNA is a bioweapon, and it is illegal to put this in anyone’s food. Kingston says, “It’s not that you want informed consent about mRNA technology in your food, every state has laws on the books where weapons of biowarfare cannot contaminate the food supply. I think what is most important is that we seize these mRNA injections. Once we seize the shots and we get legal custody of that to show American citizens and global citizens what the technology is in the shots, then we can start shutting it down around the globe. Not just in the ‘vaccine’ market, but show this is what is being put into our food supply and why all of this needs to stop.”

Kingston contends the FDA and CDC knew early on mRNA CV19 bioweapon injections were going to cause a long list of serious debilitating and deadly diseases. They continue to push the mRNA bioweapon on every aspect of our lives with no end in sight. Kingston predicts by 2030, there will be 200 million disabled or murdered Americans by mRNA and CV19 bioweapon/vax injections.” There is much more in the 1-hour and 4-minute interview.

- https://usawatchdog.com/

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he goes One-on-One with renowned biotech analyst Karen Kingston as she gives an update on the bioweapon mRNA injections and why they need to be stopped. 

- https://rumble.com/

To look at some of the data and documents on the CV19 bioweapon/vax containing deadly mRNA that proves it is a bioweapon and a psyop released on an unsuspecting public, go to the kingstonreport@substack.com.

God have mercy on you if you've taken this shot...

"US Just Sent Nuclear Response Team; Apocalyptic Scene In Crimea; Poland Ejects Russia"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 4/29/23

"US Just Sent Nuclear Response Team;

 Apocalyptic Scene In Crimea; Poland Ejects Russia"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Yanni, “The Storm”

Full screen recommended.

Yanni, “The Storm”

"A Look to the Heavens"

“While drifting through the cosmos, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud became sculpted by stellar winds and radiation to assume a recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is embedded in the vast and complex Orion Nebula (M42). A potentially rewarding but difficult object to view personally with a small telescope, the above gorgeously detailed image was recently taken in infrared light by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope in honor of the 23rd anniversary of Hubble's launch.

The dark molecular cloud, roughly 1,500 light years distant, is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is seen above primarily because it is backlit by the nearby massive star Sigma Orionis. The Horsehead Nebula will slowly shift its apparent shape over the next few million years and will eventually be destroyed by the high energy starlight.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130422.html

"We Do Choose..."

"All men and women are born, live suffer and die; what distinguishes us one from another is our dreams, whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things, and what we do to make them come about... We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live."

- Joseph Epstein

○

"George Harrison knew something most of us didn't and still don't: there is a reality beyond the material world and what we do here and how we treat others affects us eternally. As he sings in "Rising Sun":

"But in the rising sun you can feel your life begin,

Universe at play inside your DNA.

You're a billion years old today.

Oh the rising sun and the place it's coming from

Is inside of you and now your payment's overdue."

Lyrics here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

○

"Death twitches my ear. 'Live," he says, 'I am coming.'"

~Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro)

The Poet: David Whyte, "Sweet Darkness"

"Sweet Darkness"

"When your eyes are tired the world is tired also.

When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you.

Time to go into the dark where the night has eyes

to recognize its own.

There you can be sure you are not beyond love.

The dark will be your womb tonight.

The night will give you a horizon further than you can see.

You must learn one thing: the world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness

to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you."

- David Whyte,

"House of Belonging"

Chet Raymo, “Into The Night”

“Into The Night”

by Chet Raymo

“I first became intimate with the night sky on the sleeping porch of my grandmother’s house on Ninth Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee, during the early 1940s. A screened sleeping porch might be found attached to any southern home of a certain vintage and substance, usually on the second story at the back. On sultry summer nights you could move a cot or daybed onto the porch and take advantage of whatever breezes stirred the air. I slept there when I visited because it was the only place to find a spare bed. I was usually alone in that big spooky space, with only a thin wire mesh separating me from the many mysteries of the night.

Far off in the house I could hear the muffled voice of the big Stromberg-Carlson radio in the parlor, where grown-ups listened to news of the war or the boogie-woogie tunes of the Hit Parade. Outside was another kind of music, nearer, louder, pressing against the screen, which seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, a million scratchy fiddles, out-of-key woodwinds, discordant timpani. These were the cicadas, crickets and tree frogs of the southern summer night, but to me at that time they were the sounds of the night itself, as if darkness had an audible element.

Some nights the distant horizon would be lit with a silent, winking illumination called “heat lightnin’.” And closer, against the dark grass of the badminton court, the scintillations of fireflies- “lightnin’ bugs”- splashed into brightness.

The constellations of fireflies were answered in the sky by stars, which on those evenings when the city’s lights were blacked out for air-raid drills, multiplied alarmingly. I would lie in my cot, eyes glued to the spangled darkness, waiting to hear the drone of enemy aircraft or see the flash of ack-ack. No aircraft appeared, no ack-ack tracers pierced the night, but soon the stars took on their own fierce reality, like vast squadrons of alien rocket ships moving against the inky dark of Flash Gordon space.

In time I came to recognize patterns, although I did not yet know their names: the Scorpion creeping westward, dragging its stinger along the horizon; the teapot of Sagittarius afloat in the white river of the Milky Way; Vega at the zenith; the kite of Cygnus. As the hours passed, the Big Dipper clocked around the Pole. And sometimes, in late summer, I would wake in the predawn hour to find Orion sneaking into the eastern sky, pursuing the teacup of the Pleiades.

One memorable Christmas of my childhood, my father received a star book as a gift: “A Primer for Star-Gazers” by Henry Neely. As he used the book to learn the stars and constellations, he included me in his activities. The book was Santa’s gift to him. The night sky was his gift to me.

That book, now long out of print, is still in my possession. A glance takes me back half a century to evenings on the badminton court in the back yard of our own new home in the Chattanooga suburbs, gazing upwards with my father to a drapery of brilliant stars flung across the gap between tall dark pines. He told me stories of the constellations as he learned them. Of Orion and the Scorpion. Of the lovers Andromeda and Perseus, and the monster Cetus. Of the wood nymph Callisto and her son Arcas, placed by Zeus in the heavens as the Big and Little Bears. No child ever had a better storybook than the ever-changing page of night above our badminton court. My father also taught me the names of stars: Sirius, Arcturus, Polaris, Betelgeuse, and other, stranger names, Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, the claws of the Scorpion. The words on his tongue were like incantations that opened the enchanted cave of night.

He was a man of insatiable curiosity. His stories of the stars were more than “connect the dots.” He wove into his lessons what he knew of history, science, poetry and myth. And, of course, religion. For my father, the stars were infused with unfathomable mystery, their contemplation a sort of prayer.

That Christmas book of long ago was a satisfactory guide to star lore, but as I look at it today I see that it conveyed little of the intimacy I felt as I stood with my father under the bright canopy of stars. Nor do any of the other more recent star guides that I have seen quite capture the feeling I had as a child of standing at the door of an enchanted universe, speaking incantations. What made the childhood experience so memorable was a total immersion in the mystery of the night- the singing of cicadas, the whisper of the wind in the pines, and, of course, my father’s storehouse of knowledge with which he embellished the stars. He taught me what to see; he also taught me what to imagine.”

- http://www.sciencemusings.com/

"One Day..."

 

The Daily "Near You?"kkok

Amherst, Virginia, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Life, Eh?"

"We said together, wistfully, 'Life, eh?' It says everything without having to say anything: that we all experience moments of joyful or painful reflection, sometimes alone, sometimes sharing laughs and tears with others; that we all know and appreciate that however wonderful and precious life is, it can equally be a terribly confusing and mysterious beast. 'Life, eh?"

- Miranda Hart

"So, You Look Around..."

So, you look around in horrified astonishment at how totally insane it all really is, how the never ending bad news is everywhere you look, how truly hopeless it really is, and know there's nothing at all you can do about any of it, can't save anyone, can't even save yourself. So you remember what they said and how you need to be, and carry on...

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, 

but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”

- Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"

“That millions of people share the same forms of 

mental pathology does not make these people sane.”

- Erich Fromm, "The Sane Society"

“Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing

 yourself when things are bad. That and vodka.”

- Jim Butcher, "Changes"

And yet, sometimes, at the end of another long day,

your defenses are just worn out and it feels like you're losing your mind,

and you lose control and it feels like this...

Until tomorrow, when you do it all over again...

And so it is, lol...

"We've Hit An Iceberg"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 4/29/23

"We've Hit An Iceberg"

"The global economy is definitely taking on water. The ship is sinking. We’ve hit an iceberg. A governor from the Bank of England told us that people in England need to get used to being poor. What a degenerate."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

And Yet, Sometimes..."

So, you look around in horrified astonishment at how totally insane it all really is, how the never ending bad news is everywhere you look, how truly hopeless it really is, and know there's nothing at all you can do about it, can't save anyone, can't even save yourself. So you remember what they said and how you need to be, and carry on...

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority,

but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”

- Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"

“That millions of people share the same forms of

mental pathology does not make these people sane.”

- Erich Fromm, "The Sane Society"

“Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing

yourself when things are bad. That and vodka.”

- Jim Butcher, "Changes"

And yet, sometimes, at the end of another long day,

your defenses are just worn out and it feels like you're losing your mind,

and you lose control and feel like this...

Full screen recommended.

The Trashmen, "Surfin Bird - Bird is the Word," 1963

Until tomorrow, when you do it all over again...

And so it is, lol...

"How It Very Sadly Really Is"

 

Greg Hunter, "Weekly News Wrap-Up, 4/28/23"

"Weekly News Wrap-Up, 4/28/23"

by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"Media icon Tucker Carlson was fired from FOX this week, and it looks like we can all see what FOX has turned into. Tucker didn’t so much get fired for what he said, but for what he might say in the future. Tucker was the number one show on FOX, and he did nothing wrong except tell as much truth as his overlords would allow. The country should be eternally grateful for him having the balls to air the video of the so-called J6 insurrection that proved it was another frame job by the FBI and totally false. It was a protest about a stolen election, and you can’t talk about any of it if you have a job on the Lying Legacy Media (LLM).

It is sure looking like another big bank failure is coming. First Republic Bank is in deep trouble and is trying to stop the hemorrhaging of cash withdrawals. The bank stock plunged more than 60% in a few days and is looking for help, but none is showing up. Is the FDIC going to step in again after the second and third largest bank defaults in America’s history that happened just a few weeks ago? Are more bank runs coming? In short, yes.

Vice President Biden has promised South Korea that if North Korea attacks, Nukes from the U.S. arsenal will be used. The Biden Administration is promising a so-called “nuclear umbrella” to protect the Korean peninsula. Are they going to promise they can stop the nuclear fallout too? This is new and dangerous." There is much more in the 46-minute newscast.

- https://usawatchdog.com/

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he talks about these 

stories and more in the Weekly News Wrap-Up for 4/28/23:

- https://rumble.com/

"Zelensky Is Finished And Biden Knows It"

Redacted, 4/29/23

"Zelensky Is Finished And Biden Knows It"

"President Biden is preparing for the eventuality that Ukraine’s “spring counteroffensive” is not the victory they’ve sold to the American people. This was the plan to re-take land that is now part of Russia, namely Crimea and the Donbass region. The President has been telling the American people that continued financial support in Ukraine is necessary for Ukraine to “win” but recently leaked documents show that the administration knows that this is all smoke. They are lying about the extent of U.S. involvement and they are selling us a failed storybook ending, according to Politico. Will this help or hurt his re-election ambitions? We look at how Libya was not the quick win that Hillary Clinton had hoped it would be for her 2016 election."

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"Outrageous Prices At Kroger! This Is Terrible! What Now?"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 4/29/23

"Outrageous Prices At Kroger! 

This Is Terrible! What Now?"

"In today's vlog we are Kroger, and are noticing grocery prices are starting to skyrocket! We travel around to try and find whatever deals we can, but even the sales are getting expensive!"

Comments here:

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"Food Shortage Update! Be Prepared! This Is Not Good!"

Adventures With Danno, PM 4/28/23

"Food Shortage Update! 

Be Prepared! This Is Not Good!"

"We are starting to notice more and more food shortages across the country, and around the world. We go over many missing grocery items in stores, and answer questions that our viewers have been talking about in the comment section."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Harley-Davidson Repo Crisis; Full Blown Demolition Of US Economy"

Jeremiah Babe, 4/28/23

"Harley-Davidson Repo Crisis;

 Full Blown Demolition Of US Economy"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"15 Biggest Chains In America That Will Disappear In The Months Ahead"

Full screen recommended.

"15 Biggest Chains In America That 

Will Disappear In The Months Ahead"

by Epic Economist

"If you have a favorite store, you should probably visit it soon since some of the biggest, most popular retail chains in the U.S. are rapidly decaying, and many locations are being shuttered in this very moment. According to UBS, over 50,000 stores are on retailers' chopping block, and that could completely change America's economic landscape. Never before in history, conditions have been so turbulent for companies, and even big names like Rite Aid, Amazon Fresh and Big Lots! are taking extreme measures to try to keep their business alive. However, retail experts seriously doubt the ability of some of these chains to survive the imminent retail collapse.

For example, Best Buy has been hanging by a thread over the past few years and quietly closing more stores each year. Since 2019, over 80 Best Buy locations have disappeared from sight. And earlier this year, the chain announced plans "to close a higher number of stores." The company did not reveal the total number of closings. Media reports suggest that at least 600 locations are in financial distress. That is over half of the retailer’s footprint in the U.S. In a BizJournals.com article, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry predicted that supply chain issues, rising labor costs, and continued economic challenges could lead to a major manufacturing slowdown that could ripple through the markets, she said. Best Buy executives said they expected business to continue to taper. Right now, they’re putting their best strategies forward in an attempt to keep the business alive, or at least, part of it.

Similarly, Dollar General is rapidly disappearing from U.S. cities. The discount retailer recently confirmed that it is closing several locations in California, Colorado, Indiana, and Ohio. And the reason may also be the catalyst that drives the entire chain into bankruptcy. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Dollar General continues to expose workers to unsafe conditions. The U.S. Department inspected a large number of locations and cataloged many serious health safety violations Dollar General has refused to correct. Since 2017, OSHA has issued more than $15 million in fines and cited Dollar General in more than 180 inspections nationwide for numerous “willful, repeat and alarming workplace safety violations related to unsafe conditions”: “Exposing employees and others to these hazards can be dangerous, especially in an emergency,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta. “Dollar General is well aware of federal requirements, but they continue to ignore their legal responsibilities to protect their employees at stores throughout the nation.” The struggling company is now facing another millionaire lawsuit – one that can literally push it over the edge.

At this point, retailers must prove their worth to U.S. customers and show why they deserve a spot in this increasingly competitive industry. Only the best-positioned brands will be able to navigate through the crisis that is developing across the sector, and many will likely die out before the year ends. The stakes are incredibly high, and no one knows what may happen next in the industry, so take the opportunity to go to your favorite store before a black swan event occurs, drastically changing the scenario from bad to completely disastrous. That's why in today's video, we compiled a series of retail stores that are at risk of going dark for good in the coming weeks and months, and some that are already liquidating all of their assets and saying farewell for their customers."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Putin Warns Nato: 'We Haven't Even Started Yet'"

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 4/28/23

"Putin Warns Nato: 'We Haven't Even Started Yet'"

"Ukraine launched massive attacks in the Donbass region this weekend. The mainstream media doesn't seem to care. Meanwhile Ukraine has changed its goals from "survival" to "victory." What does victory mean? More money and weapons from the west. President Putin says that if Ukraine wants to escalate on the battlefield, Russia is ready."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Return To Freedom"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "Return To Freedom"

Beautiful...