The this and that of the world from newsworthy to interesting to the mundane.
February 21, 2025
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| Monroe, Georgia this week. |
It was 17 degrees this morning. This was likely the last day of teens until next winter. It has been a cold week, but the tulips and the lilies are coming up from hibernation.
Another good week of writing as I find my way through this next novel.
This might have something to do with the next novel.
February 20, 2025
The ideological capture of the corpse of what was Atlanta's gay and lesbian newspaper that was once known as Southern Voice is sad. It happened years ago in an effort to appear more trendy and hip. That shift alienated its audience who supported it for decades and started the paper. It is no wonder that it recently changed ownership again. I hate that they presume to represent gay and lesbian Georgians because they don't and most of them rarely if ever leave their perches in the city.
In this recent post they cannot even see their own intellectual dishonesty and revisionist history. They revel in it. It is no better than the other side.
This was the announcement when it was sold in 1997. Reading it is like opening a time capsule on what was a newspaper for gays and lesbians.
February 19, 2025
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| Flowery Branch, Georgia on Monday |
Dark days are here. Even Nixon in his most corrupt and dangerous moments would not have thought of doing this. In the span of my life, we as a society in this country have changed to a degree that was unthinkable. People have gone so far off the deep end that they are unable to recognize what is normal and what is abnormal. The danger is ever present and people go on without blinking.
"Oh beautiful for spacious skies and now those skies are threatening. They're beating plowshares into swords for this tired old man that we elected king. Armchair warriors often fail and we've been poisoned by these fairy tales."
Don Henley - The End of the Innocence (1989)
February 14, 2025
Mid twenties this morning and it is spectacular. Writing has been going well on the next novel.
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| Blossom Dearie 1966. |
Blossom Dearie - I'm Hip Take that Beatniks.
February 13, 2025
Checked the rain gauge this morning and after the heavy rain overnight, the two day total climbed to 4.4 inches. It was the heaviest rainfall since Hurricane Helene. That was nice to get heading into Spring.
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| A beautiful and charming album cover from 1957. |
Grieg - Lyric Pieces
February 11, 2025
Winter returned today with rain and upper 30s.
Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains
February 10, 2025
99X is like the alternative nursing home or a pet project to give the original staff something to do in their waning years. How much of the 'getting the gang back together' needs to be done?
A few years ago driving through central Illinois, I scanned the radio dial and landed on WPGU, an alternative station run by students at the University of Illinois in Champaign. It is how a modern alternative radio station should sound. Granted most new alternative music is pretty limp.
February 06, 2025
This warm spell can end now, I enjoyed it, but I'm ready for winter to return.
Meta, owner of Facebook, stole millions of copyrighted books and used them to train their AI. Hmmm. Zuckerberg stole the idea behind Facebook so what's new? And Aaron Swartz was prosecuted by the government and killed himself over making academic journals publishing tax payer funded research available to the public for free? Everyone should watch the documentary about Aaron which is available for free on the Internet Archive and elsewhere.
February 04, 2025
I went for a walk for a few miles yesterday in the seventy degree weather - it's too early to be this warm. I pondered how the internet is increasingly clogged by bots, fake content and AI. The internet is close to being ruined. Monetizing social media has helped that along as people are desperate for clicks. It should be required by law that if you monetize a social media account, say for example on Facebook, that it should be disclosed on every post and then I can decide who to block. Also, I wish there was a way to block every stupid reaction video and scummy "influencer" on Youtube. Lastly, after reading Reddit for the last couple of weeks, I realize it is nothing but propaganda and much of it is fake and misleading too.
January 29, 2025
I loved Mr. Roboto by Styx as a ten year old kid in 1983. I was listening to the lyrics this morning and now I understand why.
January 24, 2025
Four days with snow on the ground this week and today is hopefully the day the last of it melts. In my mind, I am floating in the ocean on my back, I smell coconut scented sunscreen and Jefferson Starship's Miracles is playing.
January 20, 2025
Today begins whatever the next four years brings. It feels like falling off a cliff and not being able to see the bottom. It's a crazy fucking country.
Living in America - James Brown (1985)
January 18, 2025
The potential snow threat in Georgia for Tuesday will be a non-event here with possibly flurries. The best chances for snow will be Macon southward. I'm glad it will be nothing of note this far north.
I don't know what the U.S. will become in two days, but my expectations will be low and that it will become more dangerous and ugly.
Edge of America - Duran Duran
January 14, 2025
After four inches of snow on Friday and having the snow linger on the ground until Monday, we have the full moon tonight known as the Wolf Moon.
Loafing last night, I heard Hayfever by The Trashcan Sinatras and now I'm listening to the entire album, I've Seen Everything from 1993. It is good stuff that I missed out on when I was twenty from one of those bands who I often heard about, but never paid attention to before.
January 09, 2025
Daybreak Thursday looking southwest from the second floor of the house. It was 19 degrees this morning and there was a herd of six deer on the front lawn. The deer foraged and walked in the direction of the river as they readied for the winter storm coming on Friday. The snowfall should be heavy in the morning before mixing with sleet. It will be a significant storm and that is exciting.
Rush - Tom Sawyer
January 08, 2025
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| Brasstown Bald. |
The late afternoon view from a camera atop Georgia's highest peak at 4,784 feet shows snow and ice in place before Friday's storm. Further south, here at home, at 1,000 feet we made it above freezing for four entire hours today for a high 37. The ground is frozen as hard as concrete. A pair of large doe deer ate berries in the front yard early this morning when it was 23 degrees. I'm expecting in the neighborhood of three to four inches of snow with potentially some sleet for Friday.
The Chameleons - View from a Hill
January 07, 2025
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| Louisville |
My former home of Louisville saw nine to ten inches of snow over the weekend. I was envious. This coming Friday it appears that it will snow here in Georgia. It won't likely be eight or ten inches and it will be only the second time it has snowed since purchasing this house in almost three and a half years. I look forward to it.
Slint - Washer
January 05, 2025
Hotel Costes 4 - London In The Rain
January 02, 2025
Facebook plans to unleash more AI and bots on the service. Of course this news is buried during the holidays and at the same time as the new overreaching terms of service go into effect. It is overrun with AI garbage now and flooding it with even more sounds perfect. I hope people have had enough and finally let it dry up and fly away. (Rollingstone article)
Continue reading The Road & The Trail for 2024.
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