Lawrence: Trump's Iran war propaganda videos show the depths of his depravity

MS NOW

Gov't Mule "Beautifully Broken"

I am referencing this song today, because I feel "broken" by my government's recent actions. Gov't Mule "Beautifully Broken"

March 1 and March 2 reflections & memories

Today I am thinking of my cats Oliver and Owen, who were born on or near this day, 15 years ago. I am also thinking of other dearly-beloved mammals that are, or were, in my life.

When I brought my current old-lady cat Coco home, as a 10-week-old, Owen (half a year older) stopped dead in his tracks, when he first saw her. I didn't know if Owen was going to attack Coco - but instead they immediately started to develop a profound love relationship.

Owen was possibly the most loving cat I ever knew - but every cat I knew well was quite loving! [Owen died in 2012. Oliver died in 2023.]

So, these days, I feel a diffuse pain of "things missing to me, that I once had and loved" - as well as the somewhat diffuse and not-yet-completely-discerned pain of what our peopled world is becoming, and already is (and becomes increasingly revealed).

I judge that I'm having a hard time managing my several levels of cognitive dissonance - and I also guess that others struggle, in similar fashions - and we must all press on, anyway, even as things are or may become (?).

Dissociation is useful, for a while. But I think it only hides any call to action that one might be avoiding.

I'd like to know how you feel about current human affairs, too. And / or: you could tell me about mammals you have loved.

To end with a positive reflection, I'm also thinking of Hulda Faleide, who was born on March 2, 105 years ago. I think she was a wonderful, caring, hardworking, upstanding, helpful member of her family and of every one of her larger communities (!). I'm so pleased that I had the long-term privilege of being acquainted with and cared-for by Hulda. I loved her and respected her, and I thought Hulda made a wonderful role model for very many. Hulda also had an enjoyable, dry sense of humor, which one could regularly look forward to.

Genesis "Squonk"

Genesis "Squonk"

Like father like son
Not flesh, nor fish, nor bone
A red rag hangs from an open mouth
Alive at both ends but a little dead in the middle
A tumbling and a bumbling he will go
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Could never put a smile on that face
He's a shy one, he's a shy one, wouldn't you be too?
Scared to be left all on his own
He hasn't a, hasn't a friend to play with the ugly duckling
The pressure on, the bubble will burst before our eyes
All the while in perfect time his tears are falling on the ground
But if you don't stand up, you don't stand a chance
You don't stand a chance
Go a little faster now, you might get there in time
Mirror, mirror on the wall
His heart was broken long before he ever came to you
Stop your tears from falling
The trail they leave is very clear for all to see at night
All to see at night
They come at night
In season, out of season
What's the difference when you don't know the reason
In one hand bread, the other a stone
The hunter enters the forest
All are not huntsmen who can blow the huntsman's horn by the look of this one
You've not got much to fear
Here I am, I'm very fierce and frightening
I come to match my skill to yours
Now listen here, listen to me, don't you run away now
I am a friend, I'd really like to play with you
Making noises my little furry friend would make
I'll trick him, then I'll kick him into my sack
You better watch out, you better watch out
I've got you, I've got you, you'll never get away
Walking home that night
The sack across my back, the sound of sobbing on my shoulder
When suddenly it stopped
I opened up the sack, all that I had
A pool of bubbles and tears, just a pool of tears
Just a pool of tears
All in all you are a very dying race
Placing trust upon a cruel world
You never had the things you thought you should have had
And you'll not get them now
And all the while in perfect time
Your tears are falling on the ground

Larnell Lewis "Change Your Mind"

Larnell Lewis "Change Your Mind"

Today in Anna's history

The desire not to exist after awakening and ego death - Carl Jung

The desire not to exist after awakening and ego death - Carl Jung

Nuts for Coco on Nestle's birthday

Larnell Lewis "Coconuts"

Kenny Garrett Quartet "Sing a Song of Song 1/2"

Lydian Collective "Thirty One"

Genesis "Squonk"

Genesis "Squonk"

Charles Cornell "The 1989 pop hit with 18 key changes"

Charles Cornell "The 1989 pop hit with 18 key changes"

Brand X "Nuclear Burn"

Granny's Intentions "Rise Then Fall"


Trip The Witch "Saturn We Miss You"


Small Town Titans "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (official video)

Adam Ben Ezra ft. Michael Olivera "Free Fly"

GoGo Penguin "To The Nth"


Four80East "Sandbar"


Brad Mehldau Trio "I Concentrate on You"

Bruce Springsteen releases ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ protest song

Seen at https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/01/29/bruce-springsteen-streets-of-minneapolis-protest-song

Jazz Pianist Tries To Understand Björk

"Remaking Kids by MGMT to Learn Why It’s So Good"

"The Radiohead Song That Makes You Cry Every Time"

You Will Never Heal Until You Understand This About Your Mother - Carl Jung

The Psychology of People Who Don’t Remember Their Childhood

You are a Gift, my love

... and you are my Present <- thank goodness, and whatever else contributed to this great moment.

(How great!)

Hitting Bottom (from daily ACA email)

"All bottoms have meaning, and all bottoms can be a starting point for a new way of life. There is hope. Healing is possible."

We've hit some type of a bottom. Maybe we feel hopeless because life hasn't gone as we hoped. Or we've lost too much because of our dysfunctional behaviors, and we realize that we don't know how to change on our own. We tried, but it didn't work. Maybe we find our way to an ACA meeting because deep down we know there has to be something more.

Working the ACA program doesn't mean we might not hit more bottoms. Some of us are often blindsided by something we thought we'd dealt with. Maybe we've spent eons working on our over-responsibility character defect and have made great strides. Then in the face of overwhelming stress and grief, it feels as if we find ourselves right back where we were before we began recovery. We're in there trying to take care of everyone, being the buffer, trying to control the situation.

The difference this time is that we're not really in the same place. We now have tools. This new bottom tells us that we're a complex individual who doesn't have all the answers.

On this day, when I slip so far that I think I can't see daylight, I will not abandon myself. I will look at my situation as another opportunity for growth.

Engineer (not lawyer) joke

[Posted on Quora.com by Steve Thomas]

My sister-in-law, the lawyer, complained that I was always telling Lawyer jokes and requested that I - for once - tell an Engineer joke. So, I obliged with this one:

An Engineer dies and goes to heaven. Arriving at the pearly gates, he finds them closed. After banging on the door, eventually Saint Pete arrives, and looks questioningly at the new arrival. Petey informs the engineer that he must be at the wrong place, as all new arrivals have been accounted for. Pointing out the elevator behind him, he closes the door and the sullen engineer departs.

Arriving in Hell, as soon as the elevator door opens, the engineer is greeted by a blast of heat, the smell of brimstone and sulfur. Mystified at this turn of events, he’s unable to decipher what it was in his previous existence that would have sentenced him to eternity here.

Stepping out, he sees that the path leads across a deep chasm. Lava flows at the bottom, making the crossing dangerous, if not lethal. But as he starts down the path, he realizes the rock is rich in iron ore. Not yet understanding the pecking order, he sees a few ‘warm’ bodies breaking rocks, and calls them over, instructing them to break out the iron ore. Soon enough he’s got iron being smelted, and seeing other rocks that match, soon has steel being made. Within days of his arrival, he’s got a factory going, steel girders and a bridge across the chasm, and begins working on air conditioning equipment.

So the devil, in his office, hadn’t been paying too much attention, until he paused one afternoon and looked out. Seeing the bridge that wasn't there before, the factory, and multiple of his minions toiling for this engineer, he calls down to the head demon to find out what’s going on. The demon tells Lucifer that he hasn’t been able to stop it - this engineer is wrecking havoc with hell.

The devil is thinking about this, recognizing that for the first time in a dozen millennia, there are some improvements happening in hell - when suddenly the phone rings. Looking at the caller ID, he sees that it’s “the other place.”

“What can I do for you, Pete?” the devil asked.

“Yeah, uh ... remember that new arrival you had the other day, that you couldn’t find the papers on? The Engineer?”

“Yep, sure do. We didn’t have any paperwork for him, but he’s here anyway. Why?”

“Well, it turns out he’s ours. We had a little paperwork mix up, his papers got stuck in the wrong folder, so you’ve got to send him back.”

The devil thinks about it for just a split infinity and answers: “No.”

St. Peter is flabbergasted; he’s never had a conflict with the devil before. “No?! What do you mean No? He’s ours - you know the rules. You’ve got to send him back.”

The devil thinks about it just another moment and answered, “I said no. We’re going to keep him. This guy has made more improvements around here in just a couple of days than I’ve seen in several millennia. He’s here, so I’m going to keep him.”

“Oh, Come on, you know it doesn’t work that way. If you don’t send him back, we’ll have to sue you in heavenly court.”

The devil broke out into a huge guffaw. “And where do you think that YOU’RE going to find a lawyer?”

Radiohead "Paranoid Android" analysis

Medeski, Martin & Wood "Shine It"

Premiata Forneria Marconi "Appena Un Po' "

Jan Akkerman "You Do Something to Me"

Tord Gustavsen Quartet "Staying There"

Mathias Eick "The Door"


Tord Gustavsen Quartet On Every Corner"

Brand X "The Ghost Of Mayfield Lodge"