‘Walden’ Wasn’t Thoreau’s Masterpiece

For Aaron Lisec - who fills me with delight to know one who will appreciate this special piece. It's powerful, an illustrative indirectly political and meaningful lesson without an ugly antagonistic tone. After he left Walden Pond, he took routinely daily walks with scraps of papers for notes, a stick to measure, collecting samples, observing and recording, pressing leaves and things in note books - all while writing about the marvels of it all. A beautiful balance between recording the dry process of data and the boundless wonder for nature. To be truly in tune with the environment, to know it and love it fully. There are links to read what is available from the journals online - free! "Thoreau’s real masterpiece is not Walden but the 2-million-word journal that he kept until six months before he died. Its continuing relevance lies in the vivid spectacle of a man wrestling with tensions that still confound us. The journal illustrates his almost daily balancing act between recording scrupulous observations of nature and expressing sheer joy at the beauty of it all. "
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‘Walden’ Wasn’t Thoreau’s Masterpiece
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In his 2-million-word journal, the transcendentalist discovered how to balance poetic wonder and scientific rigor as he explored the natural world.

Kaiju Godzilla T-shirt

KAIJU?! I want any t-shirt that says that! Love kaiju.
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Kaiju Godzilla T-shirt
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- This is a must-have in any true Godzilla fan's collection.- Guaranteed safe & secured checkout via Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, Amex & Apple Pay.- 100% M

Kaleidoscopic Installation Lets Visitors Experience What It’s Like to Step Inside a Diamond

There's a video at the end of the article. SO COOL!!! This is magical. Rhonda, for you think crystal. Wish we could do this.
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Kaleidoscopic Installation Lets Visitors Experience What It’s Like to Step Inside a Diamond
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XEX’s Prismverse art installation dazzles audiences with a kaleidoscopic audiovisual experience inspired by brilliant cut diamonds.

NASA becomes operational, October 1, 1958

I'd celebrate this with my sister Renee. "NASA's stated vision is: To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind". Contrary to what Pres.Trump announced: to monetize and weaponize space. It will happen ideally without NASA.
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NASA becomes operational, October 1, 1958
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NASA ( National Aeronautics and Space Administration ) began managing the United States space exploration program on October 1, 1958. NASA's stated vision is: To reach for new heights and...

Neil Diamond Greatest Hits | Top 30 Best Songs Neil Diamond - Neil Diamond Greatest Hits Full Album

Why is Eric playing Neil Diamond, ever, and at 8:30a Saturday. I hate YouTube. Update: he has switched to Beatles. Thank you to any responsible deity.
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Neil Diamond Greatest Hits | Top 30 Best Songs Neil Diamond - Neil Diamond Greatest Hits Full Album
https://youtu.be/1FhEXH5dHXo
Neil Diamond Greatest Hits | Top 30 Best Songs Neil Diamond - Neil Diamond Greatest Hits Full Album Neil Diamond Greatest Hits | Top 30 Best Songs Neil Diamo...

Toni

Still stands at about a tie between Dolomite and Manos for worse movie ever viewed (more than once). Mathematically, Manos wins for its ratio of epic gravitas that is inversely proportional to its entertainment value. At least Dolomite is hilarious. His kung fu is breathtaking. And yes, of course, I've seen Plan 9 From Outer Space, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and Bela Lugosi's last film. But not all the way thru, I think. Maybe. It's a blur, like that Jodie Foster movie Contact that Eric and I walked out of, "this sucks".
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Toni
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6:45am. Dolomite. I pondered, "Have I seen a movie worse than Dolomite?" "Is 'Manos - hands of fate' worse than Dolomite?". Without question "Manos" is by far the worse movie I have ever watched in its entirety or in part. One of Eric's favorite films of all time. Hence we watched the entire thing. Without MST3000. It is indescribable. But worth it for each scene with Manos. Tantalizing fact: he wears a full length cape. By the way, you can expect great and exceptional things when a main character wears a cape. It's a bold commitment to present something awesome. "Manos - hands of fate" delivers. Conclusion, nothing I've seen even on Mystery Science Theatre of any period is worse than "Manos". Relative to "Manos", "Dolomite" is a big budget cinema treat. A thoughtful well written, performed and directed rendering of the complexities in the world of an exceptional pimp. Renee Schiber, can you think of of a worse film than "Manos"?

Does Public Radio Have a Diversity Problem? (14 min)

This piece got me thinking...I haven't listened to NPR All Things Considered, etc for years now. (Nor CNN, MSNBC, etc) Not for my daily news fix. I do go to the NPR site or links to choose from awesome content to read or listen to in isolated bits. I do have immense appreciation and respect for NPR. NPR has compelling and brilliant storytellers with engaging FM voices but the presentation is emotionally exhausting, too manipulative for me. I'm a weeny. In general, I feel manipulated because to be fully engaged I am made to feel empathic, choose the proper side, get upset about some social injustice (...or worse) be uplifted, etc by a personal struggle - both are fairly tedious for my news junky mindset. And boring. My mind works that way anyway. Plus, I don't enjoy being part of a choir being 'fed'. It may be unfounded, but that's how it feels. More objectively, there is NO question about the stellar reputation of NPR content, the quality and factual integrity. But it's a unified voice. I know where the vantage point will be on any given feature or topic. How the story will be told. More akin to informative editorials than news because of how and what they choose to present, or not, and how opposing views are presented - there are certainly no 'other' voices or 'opposing' view points on staff. So the "public" doesn't seem well represented and therefore less interesting. Not exactly sure how to say what I mean there. A preferred source? CSPAN! Which I don't have tv access to again yet. Epic web site. Unadulterated, unedited, in context, primary sources via talks, speeches, and interviews. When there's a political speech to catch, always CSPAN - no talking heads telling me watch to listen for or tell me what I heard. Makes a tremendous difference, time to process, before I listen to reactions. Chatting, not ranting from me. Just some thoughts.
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Does Public Radio Have a Diversity Problem? (14 min)
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Does public radio have a diversity problem? Jon Caldara, president of Colorado's Independence Institute, believes it does.