Still my turn. WCW is having a challenging time right now. I am NOT sending thoughts and prayers, I am doing useful things like taking some of her workload and arranging for groceries to be delivered.  Still hot and miserable in Texas.  Dog days of summer. (Not too) sweet tea is the wine of the South. Tornadoes, rainstorms, wildfires, drought, crazy.  Mother Nature is pis*ed, y’all. There always seems to be enough money for war, but never enough for food, health care or housing  for everyone in this, the richest nation on earth.  Some folks are all hat and no cattle (you know who you are). Don’t forget to support NPR and PBS.  Check out the Presidential Term Countdown Clock.  907 more days.

Kintsugi  7/27/26

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know several people who have made their career in the Armed Forces, including some women. The person currently in charge of our military seems determined to purge everyone who isn’t white, male,  cisgender, or straight. He’s even going after facial hair (get rid of it) and testosterone levels (pump them up). Sigh.

 

 

Now you can’t eat eggs without being concerned about possible salmonella. An egg recall for eggs produced in Texas now covers 17 states, and isn’t over yet.

 

 

 

 

 

Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America. 

 

 

Do you remember the White House Correspondents’ Dinner of 2011? I do, and it was so much better than the 2026 version. You don’t miss what you had until it’s gone.

 

POTUS is demanding that E. Jean Carroll return the $5.6 million he was ordered to pay in civil sexual abuse and defamation cases she won.

 

Do you hate to iron? (Yes) Do you even own an iron or ironing board? (Yes) What can you do to remove wrinkles from clothes without ironing?  Check this out (it’s cringe but some of it works).

 

I made strawberry cucumber salad, ideal for this hot weather.

 

How long has it been since you cleaned your phone’s screen? What about your TV? Your child’s tablet?  Not that you need to wipe away all your DNA, unless, of course, you have another life we don’t know about.  Clean them to remove skin oils, germs, food residue, and anything else that finds your devices. Here’s how you can clean them safely.

 

On my reading table —

• Exit Strategy by Lee Child and Andrew Child
• River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
• Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
• Paper Girl by Beth Macy
• There Is No Place For Us by Brian Goldstone
• Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
• The Great Hippopotamus Hotel by Alexander McCall Smith
• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

 

 

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels recently shut down the Bab el Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping lane in the Red Sea. This caused oil prices to rise.  (more)

 

 

 

 

My turn this week.   It is hot in the South. It is hot almost everywhere. Perhaps we are being prepared for Hell. Perhaps we’re in Hell and just don’t know it. Aren’t you tired of “thoughts and prayers” instead of action? I am. Went to a cookout. First jam on the box? “Before I Let Go.”  Don’t forget to support NPR and PBS.  Check out the Presidential Term Countdown Clock.  914 days.

Kintsugi  7/20/26

 

 

 

Recalled lettuce suspected of carrying cyclosporia was distributed from June 29 through July 16 in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Fingers were pointed at Taylor Farms (supplier) and fast-food places that use shredded lettuce (I’m looking at you, national taco chains). 

 

As Paul V. Brock notes in “Hillbilly Eulogy,” to understand the problem around JD Vance’s Communion, we have to go back to Ohio. As someone who grew up twenty miles up the highway, Brock says there’s nothing romantic about Middletown. No one from Ohio would mistake this flat, industrial town on the I-75 corridor for Appalachia. But, as he describes it, “Vance needed Appalachia—he needed the hills and the hollows and literary pedigree, because a broke suburb doesn’t sell books.”  (More)

 

Why did black men in the 1950s always look so sharp? My dad was one, my grandfather, another.  Watch the video here.

 

I need a new passport. I don’t want to travel and find myself sent home because I have less than 6 months before it expires. So…I need a new passport. I saw these tips about taking acceptable photos.  I also saw a link for renewing my passport online. Watch out for companies that promise to do it all for you, and fast, too! Here are the criteria:

• Age: You are 25 or older.
• Passport Validity: Your current passport is valid for 10 years.
• Expiration Date: It is either expiring within 1 year or expired less than 5 years ago.
• Possession: The physical passport is in your possession, undamaged, and has never been reported lost or stolen.
• No Changes: You are not changing your name, sex, date of birth, or place of birth.
• Location: You are physically located in a U.S. state or territory.
• Travel Timeline: You are not traveling internationally for at least 6 weeks

BTW, given our current international political and economic relationships, don’t forget to check for visa requirements immediately!