May5

taco cat.

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happy first birthday to Pete the Cat on Cinco De Mayo!!

he’s grown from a tiny crazy rescue kitten

who never stopped

jumping, climbing, standing UP, running, exploring, playing

and most of all

hugging and loving

olive the slow and gentle cat and me

 I was worried 

when he suddenly 

mellowed out 

in the last few weeks

thought he might be 

plotting something

was he going to change the locks while I was gone?

was he going to somehow find a way to get outside

and be standing tall on the roof waving

when I got home?

was he going to lock his best friend olive

in the closet while playing hide and seek?

what was he planning?

then I remembered

he was born on cinco de mayo

 his very first birthday was coming soon

he had somehow 

grown into a teenager right before our eyes

while always mellow olive 

 had grown into a mid-lifer

   both are still who they are

they had found a happy medium

with Pete the Cat running the taco stand

and Olive and I lined up to buy what he’s selling

(his tacos are made with jelly beans, marshmallow fluff and maple syrup)

happy to all be sharing our space.

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TACO CAT IS TACO CAT SPELLED BACKWARDS.

May4

small victory.

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I spent a couple of hours

capturing a year of memories

to make into a  photo book

uploading the photos into one place

creating a cover

putting things in some sort of order

making them make sense

telling  the story of the year 

spacing them to be pleasing to the eye

letting it be less than perfect

just like real life

happy to have the year 

remembered and represented

all in one book

the special price was great

a bonus

 happy with it all

i pushed the order button

and bam!

imagine my surprise

when it was double the price!

they had added in some special metallic effects

some colorization., etc. that I hadn’t asked for

i quickly contacted the company

who I’ve made books with before

and our ‘conversation’ began with a chatbot 

who gave me options that didn’t apply 

after a few back and forths

it passed me on to a human

after a few more back and forths

and yet a few more

then a few more after that

suddenly

they had a change of heart

and miraculously 

they could solve it

 it was almost free at that point

i feel like we were at the point

where they were going to actually pay me

for the honor of buying the book from them

and they sent me the message above.

kind of funny and over the top

but problem solved.

I appreciate them.

—

‘celebrate even small victories.’

-h. jackson brown jr.

May3

the voice of truth.

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today, may 3rd  is world press freedom day

on this day, in 2025,  361 journalists worldwide are in prison 

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The One Free Press Coalition (#OneFreePress) uses the collective audiences of member organizations to stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth worldwide.  

With journalist freedoms under assault worldwide, the One Free Press Coalition was conceived during a meeting of the International Media Council at the World Economic Forum. Top editors from leading media organizations committed to use their collective muscle—by working together, they could shine a massive light on the plight of threatened journalists all over the world. 

Coinciding with World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd), global media outlets unite as One Free Press Coalition to publish this annual “10 Most Urgent” list, bringing attention to fellow journalists who are being imprisoned for seeking to tell the truth. These ten cases illuminate governments’ efforts at criminalizing journalism, silencing the media, and withholding information from the public.

The list is compiled in collaboration with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to CPJ data, 361 journalists were behind bars worldwide at the end of 2024 (up from 320 in 2023). 

In August 2024, the One Free Press Coalition celebrated the release of two American journalists—Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva—from Russian detention after their cases topped the May 2024 list of “10 Most Urgent” press freedom cases.

Given the increasing number of journalists detained for simply doing their jobs and seeking to tell the truth, and given the successful 2024 campaign to free Gershkovich and Kurmasheva, the One Free Press Coalition crucially and emphatically unites our collective voices in support of the following individuals and their urgent cases of press persecution.                                                 

10 Most Urgent, May 2025

https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com/list

World Press Freedom Day 2025 is a powerful reminder that journalism is more than just reporting—it’s a lifeline for democracy, justice, and the environment. As we face global crises like climate change, the need for fearless, ethical, and free journalism has never been more critical.

Let’s celebrate, support, and protect the voice of truth — today and every day.

“In every country in which there has been a loss of freedom, where does it begin? It begins in news media, in public print, in books, and on the proscenium. That’s where they attack you first right there. That’s the bread basket.” – Rod Serling

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image credit: unesco

May2

on the day after May Day.

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this post

 a day late

 may day

yesterday

 a day spent

walking

for the workers

for the immigrants

for all people

for their rights

human rights

in the park

on the streets

to city hall

 I feel lucky to be able to say

I’m home again

not everyone can say that tonight.

—

‘if folks can’t imagine you as human, all the policy in the world is irrelevant.’

-Ta-Nehisi Coates

*Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates is an American author, journalist, and activist

May1

a thousand suns.

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‘a sunflower field is like a sky with a thousand suns.’

-corina abdulahm negura
—
SLAVA UKRAINI
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photo credit: Food and Wine Magazine

 

Apr30

what we love.

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a boy, his dog, his mom, and a bulldozer

—

“we make our lives by what we love.”

-john cage, american composer and music theorist

Apr29

in quietness.

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another lovely day, another lovely park to sit in quietness.

—

‘in quietness, the soul expands.’

*rockwell kent

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*Rockwell Kent, American, (1882- 1971), illustrated hundreds of books and was known as having been a painter, writer, architect, wood engraver, sailor, adventurer, voyager, political activist, laborer, lobster fishermen, union organizer, and lecturer.

 

 

 

—

ann arbor, mi, usa

 

Apr28

do no harm.

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Happy Birthday to Harper Lee

one of my favorite authors, writer of To Kill A Mockingbird, (her first novel, published in 1960, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize)  which was adapted into one of my favorite films in 1962, and won 3 Academy Awards.

—

‘as you grow up, always tell the truth, do no harm to others,

and don’t think you are the most important being on earth.

rich or poor, you can look anyone in the eye and say,

“I’m probably no better than you, but I’m certainly your equal.’

-‘Atticus Finch’ character from Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee

 

—

photo credit: author, Harper Lee, “To Kill A Mockingbird on set with Mary Badham as “Scout”, 1962, Getty Images

Apr27

I always knew that I was destined for something big in this world. rhea ripley

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we were all quite amazed and amused

after each ordering an entree

when one of my daughter’s dish arrived

it appeared somehow very different

from all of the rest of ours

big enough to feed at least ten people.

sometimes, you just have to go with it.

—

‘your big opportunity may be right where you are now.’

-napoleon hill, american self-help author

Apr26

others.

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‘our similarities bring us to a common ground;
0ur differences allow us to be fascinated by each other.’

-tom robbins, american author

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image credit: pinterest