Shut the front door – common ground can be found

I have never heard this expression before but it’s a good one.

musingsofanoldfart

I am not sure when it happened, but “shut the front door”became a funny euphemism for a more colorful saying. I have witnessed it being offered up as an excited way to say the person cannot believe what has just been uttered. I will leave you to your own devices to substitute the more colorful metaphor.

So, with this in mind, please feel free to utter “shut the front door” on these truthful events or comments:

– Novak Djokovic, the top-seeded men’s tennis player in this year’s U.S. Open, was disqualified after accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball during his match. On occasion, tennis players are prone to slam a ball with their racquet when they hit a bad shot. Djokovic hits the ball harder than almost anyone on the planet. The good news is the judge is alright and Djokovic was concerned and contrite after he…

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Going West: Walking with Angels

This is a hike I would love to take someday! Before my arthritis makes this kind of thing impossible!

France & Vincent

We didn’t have to climb the whole height of the mountain; there is a makeshift car park about halfway up. I was glad of that, as my poor, much abused feet were not happy. I spend much of my life barefoot, the soles of my feet offer better protection than most of my shoes these days and anyway, I like to feel the earth beneath my feet. Left to my own devices, I would have walked in the flimsy lace slippers that allow them to breathe and expand, but common sense demanded the walking shoes be worn. It would be a long way to carry an idiot with a twisted ankle back down the mountain and we had been warned of a scramble over loose scree at the top.

Walking shoes come into their own in rain and winter weather, or when crossing the boggy stretches of moorland born of…

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Saturday Caturday

It’s gotten chilly here in Western New York now that we’re well into September & the kitties are hanging out together for warmth. They really love the old loveseat which I have covered with quilts & blankets.

photograph © polly macdavid

Goethe Stanza Notes

Very interesting

From the Back of the Wardrobe

A rather different poetic form, especially for English language poets, is the Goethe Stanza. Each stanza comprises of a single line a couplet and another single line. The first single line rhymes with the second line of the couplet and the first line of the couplet rhymes with the second single line. There is no set meter and the rhyme schema is

a ba b c dc d e fe f and so on.

It is possible to interlock the stanzas in some way, as demonstrated by Goethe in the example
Example

The Goldsmith’s Apprentice by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

My neighbour, none can e'er deny,

Is a most beauteous maid;
Her shop is ever in mine eye,

When working at my trade.

To ring and chain I hammer then

The wire of gold assay'd,
And think the while: "For Kate, oh when

Will such a ring be made?"

And…

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He Lied. He Knew He Lied.

SMH

Mock Paper Scissors

Deadly distractions

CNN released new audio from Bob Woodward’s April 13 interview with Prznint Stupid:

TRUMP: This thing is a killer if it gets you. If you’re the wrong person, you don’t have a chance.

WOODWARD: Yes, yes, exactly.

TRUMP: So this rips you apart.

WOODWARD: This is a scourge. And–

TRUMP: It is the plague.

Remember: to this day he continues to tell us everything is fine, under control, winding down.

Here’s the thing to consider: maybe he’s not as stupid as we think he is (he understands that the the virus is fatal), but he’s definitely much more of a psycho than we thought he is.

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“Trump knew it was deadly and airborne” and “he lied about the coronavirus anyway”

“We now know what the president knew & when he knew it”. He & he alone, is responsible for over 190,000+ deaths in the USA from this deadly disease & for close to 7 million people becoming ill with it … often with long-lasting consequences.

The Way of Improvement Leads Home

Here is The New York Times:

On Feb. 7, during a taped interview with Bob Woodward, President Trump acknowledged that the coronavirus could be transmitted through the air, that it was very dangerous and that it would be difficult to contain. “This is deadly stuff,” he told the investigative journalist.

“You just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed,” the president warned.

Despite his apparent understanding of the severity of the disease and its method of transmission, over the next month, in five cities around the country, Mr. Trump held large indoor rallies, which were attended by thousands of his supporters.

Mr. Trump spent weeks insisting in public that the coronavirus was no worse than a seasonal flu. It would “disappear” when the seasons changed, he promised in late February. “We’re doing a great job,” he said in early March.

Why lie to the American people?…

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“F*** Liberals, That’s Pretty Much It”

This has been true LONG before trump. He just capitalized on it. I think it’s telling if I have a political conversation with someone, they always tell me, “Oh, you’re a liberal” & I have to tell them, “No, I’m not”. But I have to remember that most people don’t understand political nuance & rely on labels, even if they’re faulty, to put it mildly. I also think that most people feel so powerless in their personal lives that they have to be able to say “F” someone … even if it harms themselves, their neighbors & the entire nation & only increases their powerlessness. Perhaps it’s a kind of addiction. Certainly it’s easier than thinking about things in a rational, logical & mature manner.

Nan's Notebook

From a Facebook post …

The question was asked why people continue supporting Trump no matter what he does. This was a lady named Bev’s answer:

“You all don’t get it. I live in Trump country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last places where the KKK still has a relatively strong established presence. They don’t give a shit what he does. He’s just something to rally around and hate liberals, that’s it, period. He absolutely realizes that and plays it up. They love it. He knows they love it. The fact that people act like it’s anything other than that proves to them that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all around.

If you keep getting caught up in “why do they not realize this problem” and “how can they still back Trump after this scandal,” then you do not understand what…

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The passing scene: Links and charts 8/9/2020

I’ve always liked charts ~

Phil Ebersole's Blog

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Some graphs and comments by Tony Wikrent on Ian Welsh’s blog.

UNITED STATES OF INEQUALITY: 2020 and the Great Divide on Capital and Main (Hat tip to Bill Harvey)

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Report: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally May Have Caused Over 250,000 Coronavirus Cases

WOW.

Going West: The Poet’s Yew

I would love to go here!

France & Vincent

The rain continued as we walked from the Abbey to the church, the sky heavy and grey. Even the shelter of the trees was not enough to protect the lens from the constant drops, but it began to ease as we sought the solitary yew in the churchyard, beside which the mediaeval poet, Dafydd ap Gwilym, is though to be buried, although there is a dispute as to whether Strata Florida or Talley Abbey holds the poet’s remains.

There are disputes too about the dates of his birth and death, though all agree that he lived in the mid-1300s, writing poems of nature, love and laughter that are still known and loved today. It seemed fitting that a bard should be buried beside a yew, one of the land’s sacred trees and as long-lived as verse. The hollow trunk seemed a portal to another world and, if Daffyd is not…

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