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Recall

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Jesse Jackson gave a speech at Alabama when I was in grad school.   I think it was a campaign stop as he ran for president.  The room was packed;  I got there early enough to claim a chair.  The scene is crystal clear in my memory.  Jackson was bigger than I expected, in a lot of ways.  His speech was electrifying.  I don't remember the exact topics he covered, but I remember the hair on my arms standing up again and again.  He led the "I Am Somebody" chant.  One of the work-study students from the Sociology department was also there, and he and I walked back to ten Hoor Hall, talking about what we'd just seen.  I have a lot of memories from Tuscaloosa --- this is one of the clearest. Looking at this picture takes me back to how that building smelled, the department's office (oooh --- I had my own mail cubby!)  I can hear Don Muir whistling as he walked the hall where all the offices were.  Very good memories.

Markers

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Am I right? This is where not having any place to be (a job, for instance) sometimes pays off.  I can't caulk or weatherstrip to keep stupid out, but my house can protect me from some of it.  As long as I don't watch too much television. I clear-cut a WHOLE lot of collage stuff last night.  Which means I don't really have a whole lot left to work on.  Knitting is still such a slow go.  Reading it is, therefore.  One novel ( The   Golem   and   The   Jinni),  and two non-fiction ( Code   Talker  and The   Horse   God   Built)

SFX

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I like this so much, I'm sure I've shared it before. It's the picture on the left for me.  I'm imagining all the little bee grunts...

Here's What You Need

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A twinnie.  If you don't have one already, getcha one.  They tell good stories, often punctuated by pretty pictures.  They grow things and love animals and marry good people.  They make things, and share them, e.g. Look at that snappy red zipper! And your twinnie will make you fabulous cards. And everything will arrive in a hand-crafted bag/envelope. 🩷

Days

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I have never been more glad to leave an age behind than 65.  Frankly, 2025 kinda wasn't a good year for me all around.  Still, the couple of times I've had to fill "66" in on forms today has been strange. This is a face I showed you a while back You know I can't stop with the "Make my pet human" button. This app is killing me.  In, you know, a good way. Shout-out to my fellow "12ers" (well, some of them): Lincoln, of course Charles Darwin (They were actually born on the same day, same year.  There's a wonderful book about them: Angels and   Ages) Christina Ricci Taylor Dearden (IYKYK) Bill Russell (HERO) Josh Brolin Michael McDonald (A favorite voice) Hope y'all have a good Friday the 13th.

My Sense of Humor?

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It's interesting how algorithms work.  I shouldn't be surprised that lots of animal-related things show up on my Instagram feed.  This made me chuckle: Honestly, I know what a chicken saddle is, but, also honestly, it has been a minute since I've thought about one.  (First thing that inevitably comes to mind is "Who/What is small enough to ride a chicken?"  "How do you put on the bridle and the reins?") Those of you who might have gone a little naughty with the phrase "ride a chicken?"  Here's your pay-off. The fact that there are two names for this is tremendous.  Personally, I prefer "mating saddle."  "Chicken apron" is something that mama chickens in children's books wear.  Like so: So, you put the mating saddle on your hen because you have a rooster who might overmate. (Why do I find this so funny?  I'm having to stop periodically while typing this to giggle.) So you, as the chicken farmer, have to know 1) wh...

Presto

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I have been goofing around with an AI app.  (Don't tell my son.  He'll LAUNCH headlong into a tirade.)  Still, one of the prompts available to me was "Turn my pet into a human."  Here, firstly, is my pet Tap.* Asking that he be turned into a human resulted in this. This thoroughly delights me, in no small part because it's sort of reminiscent of my daughter.  Also, there's a smattering of freckles across the nose.  I do like freckles. *This is another AI: "Pencil sketch."