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“And all I loved — I loved alone.”

Alone,” by Edgar Allan Poe

From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I loved—I loved alone—
Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—
From the torrent, or the fountain—
From the red cliff of the mountain—
From the sun that ’round me roll’d
In its autumn tint of gold—
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—

 

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“Everything in the world is about sex …”

“Everything in the world is about sex except sex.  Sex is about power.”

— Oscar Wilde

 

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You guys heard the news about “Space Force” today?

In a surprise press conference, President Trump unveiled its mission statement:

  1. Man the air.
  2. Ram the ramparts.
  3. Take over airports.
  4. Do everything they have to do.

 

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Poster for “The X-Files” Season 11 (2017)

Fox Network.

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THIS TOWN CAN PARTY LIKE RAGNAROK.

Nothing stops these Southerners on the Fourth of July.  We had intermittent thunderstorms roll through and around Roanoke early this evening.  But when faced with thunder and lightning, residents just kinda … shot back.

If you crested the right hill here, you could see fireworks displays at every corner of the compass — blasting back at the sporadic storms like a hubris-fueled war with heaven.  Seeing lightning streak across the sky with fireworks exploding in front of it is really, really damn cool.  (Regrettably, I did not get a shot of that.)

 

 

“Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island, 1776” Domenick D’Andrea, 2007

Oil on canvas.

There’s some confusion about the date for this painting; many websites list it as being completed in 1776 — maybe because that date is included in its title.  But Domenick D’Andrea is a contemporary artist living in Connecticut; I believe he painted the piece in 2007.

The Battle of Long Island

Happy Birthday, America.

Have fun, be safe, don’t drink and drive, and don’t accept election help from foreign adversaries.

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By Anita Mishra – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41619517

I knew this pun was bad, but I went Fourth with it anyway.

A college friend actually invited me to the Fourth of July festivities in Washington tomorrow.

But I said no tanks.

 

 

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”

— Ray Bradbury

 

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Cover to “The Ladies’ Home Journal,” October 1858

LHJ Publishing.

Ladies'_Home_Journal_Vol.15_No.11_(October,_1898).pdf