Friday, September 13, 2024
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Honesty Chez Catreona
Honesty, also called Money Plant or Silver Dollar Plant, is a flowering plant in the cabbage and mustard family native to central and southern Europe. Introduced to England in the late Sixteenth Century, soon after Honesty came to our shores with the Pilgrims.
It thrives in moist, partially shaded locations. In late Spring into Summer, the plant blooms with a profusion of dark pink flowers. At this time of year, the flowers have given way to paper-thin seed pods that take on a silver sheen as they dry.
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Kamala Harris wins debate, Taylor Swift endorses her moments later
Thank you, Madame Vice President, for a first class debate performance. And thank you, Taylor, for a thoughtful and eloquent statement of endorsement.
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Monday, September 09, 2024
Early Autumn
The sweet and melow voice of Jo Stafford with "Early Autumn" from her 1955 album Soft and Sentimental.
Vance for VP? Hell No!
My latest meme. I seem to be drawn to highlight Vance's, er, negative points. Well, that's okay. People with a lot more brain power and talent than I are working on Trump.
As always, feel free to share this one if you think it might help.
Sunday, September 08, 2024
Faith and Justice Matter to Harris and Walz
Amid all the discussion of the Harris-Walz campaign's wide and warm inclusiveness, till now I had heard nothing about faith-based outreach and inclusion. But, unsurprisingly, this well organized, disciplined and focused campaign is on it. At the end of August Sojourners published an article about Rev. Jen Butler, the campaign's faith outreach director. True to form, they got the best.
A veteran of the Obama administration as well as many years of organizing and interfaith discourse, Rev. Butler is a solid addition to the stellar Harris-Walz organization.
Saturday, September 07, 2024
Wildlife Chez Catreona
When they went out yesterday morning, Dad and Sis spotted a large praying mantis on the back bumper of the car. It sat for its portrait before, with a little encouragement from Dad, it flew off into the grass.
You never know what you might see in the wilds of Springfield! I'm not a bug fancier myself, but some readers may find it interesting.
You’ve probably noticed…
You’ve probably noticed, the blog has a fresh, new look, not to mention a new title.
I’ve been struggling for a couple weeks - that felt like a couple eons - to alter the source code for the blog’s template. But, ahem, every time I tried another idea that seemed like it would be the charm, the mess only got worse. Finally, I gave up and set a new Blogger template. And being new, unlike the previous one that was ancient as such things go, this one was fully customizable. Phew!
Can’t think why it took me so long to come around to the completely logical decision to apply a new template, except that I do tend to be change-averse. When I think how much time and angst I could have saved myself by exploring the current Blogger template set! Sometimes I’m not too bright. * igh*
As to the new title: At the time I founded the blog, The Arty Blog seemed appropriate. Now, though, something broader and more inclusive is called for. Life, the Universe and Everything isn’t the most original title. It fits the bill though.
Let me know what you think of all the changes.
September Morn
A sad song and, yes, I know it's a Neil Diamond [click] song. But Engelbert does a beautiful job with it.
Happy Saturday!
Friday, September 06, 2024
RIP Sergio Mendes
Master of the bossa nova, Brazilian musician and bandleader Sergio Mendes has died at the age of eighty-three.
Thank you for all the wonderful music, Sergio. Rest in Peace.
After police caution, father gave suspected Georgia school shooter AR-15
Who gives their thirteen or forteen-year-old an AR15 for Christmas? To my mind, that in itself constitutes child abuse.
I'll have to look it up, but seems to me the school shooter in Michigan a couple of years back was given a weapon - an automatic pistol? - by his parents. In that case, the parents were quite rightly prosecuted. In this Georgia case, too, the father has been arrested and charged.
An epidemic has been running through this country since at least as far back as Columbine twenty-five years ago. Boys and young men are so alienated, so deeply despairing that they obtain fire arms, often automatic weapons, and go into schools, houses of worship, malls and grocery stores... and slaughter as many people as possible. Holding parents to account is one valuable tool in confronting this mass madness. Comprehensive, sensible gun control laws would help as well. But there must be more that can be done.
Someone needs to find out why these kids are so dispondent, why they have such a bleek view of life that they think killing many strangers - and usually themselves, either by self-inflicted gunshot wounds or suicide by cop - is the only solution.