Crescent, Oregon LoC Continue reading

We need to correct some misinformation floating around campus. We didn’t take power away from the faculty senate. They never had any power. — Associate Deans (@ass_deans) March 19, 2024 Continue reading

“The story so far: In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” —Douglas Adams Continue reading

Originally published at One-Page Schoolhouse Edgar Allan Poe Daguerreotype probably taken in June 1849 in Lowell, Massachusetts I suspect there is an uptick of web searches on Edgar Allan Poe around Halloween. That is too bad because this fascinating and misunderstood man should be better known for other things. I think people today think of him as an early days Stephen King, but he was a poet, critic and mystery writer too. I am really surprised that no one has ever made a major movie biography about him. His death would be one of several mysterious parts of his story. That might be appropriate for someone considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He was the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, though he was hardly financially stable as a result. Poe (age 26) obtained a license in 1835 to marry his cousin Virginia Clemm (age 13). That seems "wrong" today. In his time it was unusual but not rare. They were married for 11 years until her death. She certainly inspired some of his writing. “Deep in earth my love is lying And I must weep alone.” On September 3, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found unconscious outside a tavern in Baltimore reportedly “in great distress and … in need of immediate assistance,” according to the man who found him. We know that Poe had been traveling from Richmond to Philadelphia on a business trip. he made a stop in Baltimore on September 28 for an unknown reason. He was found on Lombard Street, outside Ryan’s Tavern, dressed in dirty and ill-fitting clothing. He was taken to Washington College Hospital, where he lapsed in and out of a coma until he died four days later on Sunday, October 7, 1849. Unfortunately, he was... Continue reading

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IN THE LAST MINUTE OF THE WORLD a daylily is opening beside tomorrow’s bud. A robin tends her two hungry nestlings. The sun emerges from behind a cloud. Peppermint, thyme, and sage lose their perfume. People outside, hugging, holding hands, and crying. by Kenneth Ronkowitz Continue reading

My podcasts of the poems on WRITING THE DAY are now in their third season (though season one was just a short time in 2021). The number of plays, followers, and streaming was all up in 2022, but that is not so impressive to me because I know that I only started the podcast in 2021 and the numbers were very low at the start. Spotify tells me that the three most popular podcasted poems this year were This Garden of Earthly Delights, In the Last Minute of the World, and Napping in the Multiverse. I wish I could figure out why a poem rises to the top. The ones that do are usually not personal favorites. The most streams were from September 4-10. Spotify is the place most listeners go to though episodes are available on other platforms. 2023 is season 3 of podcasts but “season 10” of poems here since I began as a daily practice in 2014. Continue reading

Approach of Winter by William Carlos Williams The half-stripped trees struck by a wind together, bending all, the leaves flutter drily and refuse to let go or driven like hail stream bitterly out to one side and fall where the salvias, hard carmine,— like no leaf that ever was— edge the bare garden. William Carlos Williams was born in Rutherford, New Jersey in 1883. A highly influential figure in twentieth-century poetry, he was the author of Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems and many other works. Williams was also a physician. He died in 1963. Williams was known as an Imagist poet. “Imagism was born in England and America in the early twentieth century. A reactionary movement against romanticism and Victorian poetry, Imagism emphasized simplicity, clarity of expression, and precision through the use of exacting visual images.” Read more about the history of the Imagist movement. Continue reading

Marc Maron sees Rachel Maddow on TV almost every night. But there was a time when they saw each other every day, back when they worked together at Air America Radio. Rachel and Marc talk about those early radio days which turned out to be a transitional point in both of their lives. Rachel also explains how her early days of AIDS activism and public policy studies eventually led her to the broadcasting career she has now, which is something she never imagined herself doing. They also discuss depression, prayer, self-confidence, and why she felt compelled to write her new book, Blowout. listen via www.wtfpod.com Continue reading

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We are more likely to experience depression than our parents were. Blame our automated, online world? How about the reduced physical effort we make to survive? Neuroscientist Kelly Lambert finds compelling evidence that having to work hard for rewards significantly improves mood and prevents depression. Mixing research from anthropology, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology, her theory suggests that physical effort directed toward tangible outcomes activates particular regions of the brain and builds resilience against the emotional emptiness and negative thinking associated with depression. In other words, get out of your funk not by changing your mental activity and thoughts, but by physical activity. She wrote Lifting Depression: A Neuroscientist's Approach to Activating Your Brain's Healing Power about her brain research into how using your hands-on crafts projects can be as beneficial to the body as taking psychoactive medication. Continue reading

“A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning.” ― James Dickey Continue reading

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“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” ― Marilyn Monroe ​ Continue reading

On a desert and deserted island of my own making... But now I am home and I will follow Charles Baudelaire's advice and “Always be a poet, even in prose.” Continue reading

“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries... Continue reading

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” ― Marilyn Monroe ​ Continue reading

Looking at what has been lost or is in danger of being lost in New Jersey http://endangerednj.blogspot.com tidal pool Continue reading

This week on Sierra Club Radio: It's our 7th anniversary special featuring interviews from some of our favorite past guests: Tom Friedman, Ashley Judd, and Nick Kristoff. Happy Birthday Sierra Club Radio! via sierraclub.typepad.com Continue reading

Rule 1: If there's no really good reason for a business to be done locally, it will migrate to the web. Rule 2: Businesses that migrate to the web often have economies of scale, and those businesses quickly coalesce into just a few (or even one) winner. The winning strategy for the local business or freelancer, then, is: a. provide a product or service that truly works better when it's local, and b. do it in a way that works better when it's small, custom, connected and not in search of economies of scale. via sethgodin.typepad.com Continue reading

via www.jeffbridges.com JeffBridges.com Continue reading

"1492. As children, we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them." — Kurt Vonnegut Continue reading