Stages of Love

Everyone knows about child development; adult development is less appreciated. One aspect of adult development is the maturation of long-term love. Young Love This is the period characterized by looking long and deeply into the lover’s eyes. The world disappears and the only thing that matters is what is seen in those scrying orbs. This period is well documented (see the pop music charts of the last seventy years) and, unfortunately, grasped too tightly by people who do not realize it is meant to be a phase, not a permanent condition.

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Pimento cheese

Made pimento cheese for a gathering of friends tonight. I’ve always loved pimento cheese but this is the first time making it. So simple. 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (shred it yourself; it’s cheaper!) 4 oz diced pimentos 1-2 tsp mustard salt and pepper small amount of grated onion, to taste a few or many dashes of hot sauce 1/2 cup mayo (added a little at a time until you get to the desired texture) Mix together and chill for at least 30 minutes.

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I’m not sure how I heard of David Benjamin Blower or when I followed him on Bandcamp but I’m glad today that I did. His new album is great. “Apocalyptic folk,” he calls it, and that certainly got my attention. 🎵

"May is Mary's month"

Flesh and fleece, fur and feather, Grass and greenworld all together ; Star-eyed strawberry-breasted Throstle above her nested Cluster of bugle blue eggs thin Forms and warms the life within ; And bird and blossom swell In sod or sheath or shell. All things rising, all things sizing Mary sees, sympathizing With that world of good Nature’s motherhood. From “The May Magnificat” by Gerald Manley Hopkins

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Wonderful episode of The Emerald: “Carry That Weight: On Mythic Burdens and Cosmic Supports.” If you’re feeling the weight of the world—and you’re open to an animist view of the world—I cannot recommend it highly enough.

This is the sort of bread Rachel turns out on a random Thursday. She’s gotten so good over the last couple of years.

A quick search of my posts reveals that I am excited at this time every year when the tree frogs start their ruckus. Dear reader, it has begun.

Great segment from John Oliver on the continuing dangers of AI around mental health, suicide risk, and plain old delusion–and the absolutely sociopathic responses of the AI CEOs.

A really interested tidbit from Joel Salatin about how North America before the Europeans actually produced more food than it does today, even with the various chemicals.

CNBC newsletter:

Musk’s Tesla is beta testing an in-vehicle version of xAI’s Grok chatbot. First rolled out last year, it allows drivers to give voice commands to their car’s navigation system.

Meanwhile, my thirty-year old pickup truck has no power windows, locks, mirrors, or seat. The radio/cassette player doesn’t work–and I may not fix it. It doesn’t get in a hurry to go anywhere, which is increasingly to my taste.