Ephemeris of Miscellany

Hitler did the best thing of his life on this day in 1945. He assassinated Hitler! You know the old saying, "In the land of the two balled-men, the one-balled man wants to be king." ... What kind of a loser wants an authoritarian in charge? Yet authoritarianism is on the rise. Seems just to be a matter of time. George Washington was inaugurated first president on this day in 1789, a faux meaningful fact to those people who fancy themselves as pro-America really yet wish we still had a king. April 30, 2022 ... This article ends on a eye-opening note. The interviewer had just asked him about his town hall answer that he wouldn't be a dictator, except on day 1 to deal with the border. He had said he was kidding. "Whether or not he was kidding about bringing a tyrannical end to our 248-year experiment in democracy, I ask him, Don’t you see why many Americans see such talk of dictatorship as contrary to our most cherished principles? Trump says no. Quite the opposite, he ...

Philosophers have pondered the Problem of Evil for centuries... if God is good, all-knowing, everywhere, and all-powerful, how can evil exist? Either God is impotent to stop evil, or can stop evil but chooses not to. Well I might have solved it tonight. I got an email from a wine club, advertising wine drinking as the "self-care" that we all need right now. I'll be damned if that isn't evil and also the most supremely good idea I've ever heard. Is EVERYTHING both good and evil? *Just kidding, if the Nazis taught us nothing else, it is that evil is the opposite of good and must be destroyed. But elsewhere there are a lot of gray areas. April 29, 2020 ... At kickball yesterday I tore my quadricep to smithereens. Struggling to get dressed this morning, I noticed the brand name of my shirt- Faded Glory. Postscript- I think I dodged a bullet, it's likely just a really bad strain. Hopefully only out of commission for a month or two. I tore my achilles tendon in 2011...

"Before you speak, you are master of the words. After the words are spoken, they are master of you." That's either a Zen saying, or I've read so many Zen sayings that I made one up. ... Roger Sterling- "Well, I’ve got to go learn a load of people’s names before I fire them.” ... A correspondent on This Week had a friendly interview with a Georgia Trump supporter and asked her what it would take to restore her faith in the election system.  "If Trump wins, that would restore it." Her sentiment crystallizes what I've found echoed over and over and over through countless conversations. There's a widespread belief among many on the right that there's only one possible outcome- either Trump wins, or the election was illegitimate. This insanity starts right at the top, Trump has said it outright. It's beyond politics- it's about reason versus nonsense. The Republican in charge of Georgia election integrity was interviewed next and stated t...

In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus said, "The Kingdom of the Father is spread out over the earth, and men do not see it."  Does it seem strange that I'm quoting the Bible? I'm not! The Gospel of Thomas was discovered in 1945 so it wasn't included in the Bible, although it was written only a hundred years or so after the death of Jesus. Too bad because it links Christianity and Eastern religions. Heaven is not elsewhere, it is here.  A powerful distinction.  It also links both types of religion with Belinda Carlisle. "Oh Heaven is a place on Earth."  So if you are ever having a shitty day, remember that it's a shitty day in Heaven, but don't take it from me. Consider taking it from Tung Kwo.  Master Tung Kwo asked Chuang: "Where the Tao is found?" Chuang Tzu replied: "There is nowhere it is not to be found." The former insisted: "Show me at least some definite place where Tao is found." "It is in the ant." said C...

Substitute teaching at Manor Middle School. A kid came up and said in a weak voice, "They said if I might throw up I should go to the office." Me- "No problem, go ahead." He turned and started walking toward the door very slowly. All eyes were on him. Was he going to blown He got to the door, turned around just as slowly and asked, "Do I, need a pass?" Me- "No, just go!" Jesus Christ, if ever a rule was meant to be broken. April 26, 2001 ... Great news from the  NIH National Library if Medicine! "Our opinion is that the consumption of red wine cannot be a general recommendation for the population, even though epidemiological studies conducted at Cambridge University (UK) indicate that the consumption of two glasses of wine [per day], along with other lifestyle changes, like moderate exercise, taking fruit, and not smoking, increases the life expectancy by 14 years." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7920262/ ... One of the a...