…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. pause and rest.

In Summary: * Got my weekly laundry all done today as I should, it being Monday. And I exercised prudence in avoiding any yard work. Though it didn't rain today, the heat and humidity is brutal, pushing the heat index over 100 degrees by mid-morning. We'll see what I decide about the yard work tomorrow.

Prayers, etc.: * I have a daily prayer regimen I try to follow throughout the day from early morning, as soon as I roll out of bed, until head hits pillow at night.

Health Metrics: * bw= 239.97 lbs. * bp= 159/91 (67)

Exercise: * morning stretches, balance exercises, kegel pelvic floor exercises, half squats, calf raises, wall push-ups, BP breathing exercises, pilates

Diet: * 05:00 – 1 banana * 05:30 – big HEB Bakery cookie * 06:15 – 1 ham and cheese sandwich * 12:00 – hash browns, sausage and egg breakfast taco, cole slasw, breaded pork chop * 15:00 – chocolate chip cookies

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 04:00 – listen to local news talk radio * 04:40 – bank accounts activity monitored. * 04:50 – read, write, pray, follow news reports from various sources, surf the socials, nap * 10:00 – started my weekly laundry * 11:45 to 13;45 – watch old game shows and eat lunch at home with Sylvia * 14:00 – watching old episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger while folding laundry * 17:00 – listening to the Texas Rangers Pregame Show ahead of tonight's game vs the Miami marlins.

Chess: * 11:30 – moved in all pending CC games

Rangers vs Marlins.

Tuned in now to 105.3 The Fan, DFW's #1 Sports Station for pregame sports talk ahead of tonight's MLB Game, the Texas Rangers vs the Miami Marlins. The opening pitch is nearly an hour away. I'll stay here for the radio call of the game as broadcast over MLB's Gameday Service.

And the adventure continues.

17 June 2026

Support (working title): some Courbet colors—Self-Portrait with a Black Dog (1842-44)—isolated and repurposed for this painting based on a lounger and a leaf that I saw outside a window with Yena in Lido. I remember the pillowy cushion bending to the empty weight of dried foliage.

I think the main organizing factory/inquiry with this one was trying to achieve a simultaneity of receding and confronting (in feeling and space), but I also ended up with something of an echo or a mirror. And a lesson in line. Worth noting to self that, as exemplified in the process for this one, I’m noticing how much more I seem to be working things out ahead of time in the drawing phase now. Of course there’s a certain (large) portion that needs to remain unknown before I begin painting to make it worth doing, but I’m also realizing more and more that I still feel fulfilled when the surprises happen earlier in my sketchbook. I suppose the most satisfying is when they happen in both phases.

Anyway, I think this one is asking some worthwhile questions and gave a good shot at fragmenting them further, but I think the color is a bit too binary still. So I think the next problem to solve has something to do with combining this more dynamic approach to line with a more interesting/nuanced/subtle approach to color so that they’re complementing each other rather than merely coexisting and the whole thing can reach a harmony that extends beyond the kinetic further into silence.

15 June 2026

Image inventory: a jagged wet reflection of a plane on a tarmac, collapsed and dismembered mannequins in an abandoned shop front window display, a group of pigeons on a sidewalk (half in light, half in shade), a marshmallow-looking lounge chair, two white doors loosely bolted together (one with covered-up graffiti in a block of gray), a phone booth with etched graffiti, a dog blurred and lunging towards a hand, dried yellow mimosa flowers on a nightstand (small dead explosion), a sliver of blue sky between two terracotta buildings with laundry lines, a white rectangle building floating on top of a full frame of ocean water, a dark cloud that looks like a face in profile over a small fluffy luminous cloud, a reflection of train seats, a small concrete sphere balancing on a brick ledge, two boats speeding through a canal towards a horizon, contrails shooting upwards out of two cut tree branches, a small red home and a small white bridge from above, rain drops in black water, wood grain three ways, pastel colored ceramic bowls at varying heights on a wood floor with dappled light, ivies encroaching on an upturned table, a yellow lost cat sign (name: Falco), shells organized by color (mostly whites and gray-blues) on a beach.

Is it only the UK or is the rest of Europe also displaying a short shorts trend? That and tight leggings. I guess the leggings were the hype a number of years ago and is still going strong but the rise of shorts seems to be taking over.

Everywhere I go, regardless of setting or temperature, there is a lass wearing shorts. And not just the ordinary type, but the type that ride up and through, presenting that glorious view of the lower cheeks.

I write this post with a level of hypocrisy. My girlfriend is one of these girls. Infact, I like to tell myself she's an 'OG' shorts wearer. She is always wearing her shorts, granted it's not usually the ass crack type, but the tight leggings shorts. And yes, I catch all your pervs catching a look. Whether we are outside, shopping, picking our kids up from school.. nothing can restrain the wandering eye of a straight male these days. I'm not complaining of course.. gawk all you want fellas!

However, I have to make a point whilst we're on topic, who are these parents letting their young children wear such attire. It was not long ago I turned an isle in Aldi and saw a girl, roughly 12, wearing the short shorts that rode so high her whole bottom was on display. I nudged my partner to see and we both gave a look of disbelief. It was a father shopping with his daughter. Surely, as a man, you know how this looks? How other men might perv on such a view? I'm confused about what angle the father took when he allowed his daughter to leave the house dressed like such.

Back in 2013, my elder daughter was in the improv group in her high school. The co-captain of the improv team was a girl named Ayo Edebiri.

So I’ve seen Ayo Edebiri perform live on stage many times, though, before Sunday, it was only in high school improv shows. I joked before we went to see Proof that the fact that we’d seen her in so many high school improv shows surely meant that Ayo should comp us some tickets to her broadway debut.

(I should point out that she and my daughter were friendly but not close, and I think Ms. Edebiri could probably pick my daughter out in a crowd but certainly not me or my wife.)

Anyway, so we were excited to see Proof, and I knew very little about it except that Ayo (because we’re all on a parasocial first name basis with her in our house) and Don Cheadle were in it.

There are summaries in other places, but this is a play about family and mental illness and what we owe each other. It’s got a lot of funny moments but is ultimately serious, and folks, Ayo Edibiri’s performance is absolutely stunning.

Because there are a few flashback scenes, we see what the character of Catherine was like before spending four years tending to a father with serious mental illness. And so the actor playing Catherine has to whip back and forth between hopeful and enthusiastic and beaten down and nearly broken, and Ayo pulled this off brilliantly. It really was a breathtaking performance. Awards of course don’t mean anything, and the only other show I’ve seen in New York in the last year was Bigfoot the Musical (which was utterly delightful but of course very different) but I am incredulous that she hasn’t been recognized for this performance.

I read some reviews, and it seemed like a lot of critics were reviewing their own response to the 2000 production rather than this production.

Except of course by the audience, which absolutely roared at her curtain call. All the actors (Cheadle, Jin Ha, and Kara Young) gave good performances, but the play asks much more of the actor playing Catherine, and Ayo absolutely killed it.

(I’m trying to work on not being mean, but I did go to YouTube to look at Gwyneth Paltrow’s performance in the movie. And it’s…a lot of yelling. Without being too mean to Her Goopness, let me just say it’s a performance that’s not even in the same league as the one I saw on Sunday. And she presumably had multiple takes!)

The only quibble I had was with the play itself because “character seeing and talking to a dead loved one” was a hoary cliché when the play premiered in 2000, and it’s fundamentally a lie about grief because the hard thing about grief is the dead person’s sudden and complete absence from your life.

But that’s not the fault of this production, which is fantastic.

The family at the center of the story is played by Black actors, and this didn’t really have an impact on my interpretation of the story, but you know what it did affect? The composition of the audience. I don’t go to a ton of Broadway shows, but I know that the conventional “wisdom” is that people of color don’t really go to high-profile Broadway plays like this. Well, they certainly do if you cast fantastic actors of color in lead roles! I’m just sayin’!

Today we’re having an iced tea, and before you start questioning my drink choices. at least im not drinking a pissed drink and by that i mean coffee. and by we i meant me and i only. Not the fancy hot tea cup as always because im feeling like a fire flame with the weather these days. And I love it. i have nothing to talk about which is clear from the way i started this. talking about ice tea. but something about today wasn’t normal. i slept while i was showering and had that dream again. the ghost woman with her navy dress. i woke up in a bath full of my own blood, which was unpleasant to deal with, considering I don’t remember earning any injuries, but it was just her with her gun again or whatever she had this time. i dont know if she wants to leave me alive or to suffocate me slowly. and ive never ever slept while i was showering, guess that would be an interesting note to tell my therapist. havent mentioned the navy dressed woman to her would definitely have me into a new pill recipe or whatever.

I got gifted White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky. not my usual type of book, which is obvious from the fact that nobody appears to be dead. Still, i'll give it a chance. stranger things have happened to me than reading a book i wouldn't normally pick.

Sincerely, Ahmed

Any non Brits want to know what it is like living in the UK right now? You woke up a few days ago to find this guy called Andy Burnham all over every news stream. Who is this guy? Why has every-single-fucking news station started glorifying this guy? Not even my friends, family, coworkers or the guy walking his dog knows who he is.

A couple days pass and our pathetic excuse of a PM has decided to resign. You know, the guy who swore he would fight to the very end only a week or two ago? Yes.. he's quit. And now all talks are about Burnham replacing him. Excuse me, what?

Welcome to the drama show of United Kingdom politics. It is like they don't even hide it anymore.

Photos of two leading U.S. political figures are now available for download from the TechNewsLit portfolio at the Alamy photo agency, former vice-president Mike Pence, top, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. (Sort on “most recently uploaded” to quickly find the newer photos.)

Pence, who served as V.P. during Donald Trump’s first term, spoke to a full house at the National Press Club on 15 June about his conservative philosophy. He says that philosophy traces directly back to 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and the later presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Pence says he spells out that history in his new book, “What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience”, on display during his National Press Club talk. Yet he barely mentioned his key role on 6 Jan. 2021 that allowed the electoral college process to play out and certify the election of Joe Biden as president, despite Trump’s demands and audible threats from rioters storming the Capitol.

Sanders, officially an independent who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate, spoke to another full house at National Press Club on 8 June. He gave his now-familiar stump speech reflecting his self-described socialist philosophy, pointing out the damage caused by growing economic inequality in the U.S. and continuing need for universal, single-payer health care.

In his talk and later Q&A, Sanders described proposed legislation to create a sovereign wealth fund with proceeds from a 50 percent stake in artificial intelligence or A.I. companies, which he justifies as payments for the companies using materials without permission copyrighted by the U.S. government, to train their algorithms. He also introduced legislation calling for a moratorium on new data centers that provide processing power for A.I., until stronger safeguards are in place.

In both the Pence and Sanders appearances, the speakers were interviewed by CBS News correspondent Robert Costa. Photos of Costa and Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman are also recently added to the TechNewsLit collection of media and business leaders.

Copyright © Technology News and Literature. All rights reserved.

When I was a kid, my neighbour and I found a goat carcass in the forest.

It’d been picked clean revealing the white skull which we brought back home to my grandmother

We wanted to show it to her

Apparently it was one of her dead goats she’d pulled into the forest herself,

And we’d pulled it back, (partially)

Probably it couldn’t be buried properly in the frozen grounds, and there was no room in the freezer

She really loved her goats.

I didn’t think about it being one of her goats, it was just a skull with horns and teeth

I don’t remember how she reacted when she saw it or why we did it, but I remember the pungent stench of death on my mittens

They threw them away

The UK is currently up in arms over the rape gang enquiry – 250,000+ women and girls as young as 11 have been systemically raped by mostly Pakistani Muslim gangs. What can I say? As a white British man with kids and rather conservative views, you might be surprised to hear my reaction is not deport, deport, deport...

I have strong alignment with what JD Vance recently said on The Diary of a CEO which is, fast immigration is never a good thing. Not enough time to assimilate, adapt, build relations, supply jobs, supply care etc. Correct immigration takes time and especially needs time to adjust for the culture shift. Now I'm not exactly pro immigration, as I said, I'm quite conservative, but I can't stand the narrative that every Muslim is partaking in some nation wide raping – especially when the enquiry clearly highlights the British support and health services equally to blame!

I do believe the 'Pakistani' factor is at play more over the 'Muslim' factor. I have met many Muslims and I think every single one was nothing but pleasant with me. More so than the English. So much so that when I came to faith in a higher power, I first turned to Islam because of how well the Muslims treated me day-to-day. I did however become Christian for reasons I can tell another day. The point is, I don't think Muslims are this plague of raping monsters which some media personalities seem to suggest.

I will admit that I think our nation has lost it's identity. Call it consequences of the middle east wars or the woke agenda but, it is safe to say that England has lost it's identity and it feels Muslim communities are filling that identity. I don't think Muslims are “taking over” but I do think their sense of community is becoming so vast that English people feel threatened. Every nation should have an identity and if it is lost then something will replace it.

Regardless, the people who partook in these crimes and especially the ones in power who knew but did nothing need to face the full swing of the law – my hopes on that matter are minimal to be truthful.

Freundinnen & Freunde der Weisheit! Diese Woche etwas verspätet, die Hitze fordert ihren Tribut. Diese Woche befassen wir uns mit unserer Persönlichkeit und wie stark wir sie formen können.

Viele Menschen wünschen sich, gelassener, gewissenhafter oder kontaktfreudiger zu sein. Die psychologische Forschung zeigt: Unsere Persönlichkeit ist formbar – aber nur bis zu einem gewissen Grad. Zwar bestimmen genetische Anlagen zu einem grossen Teil, wie wir ticken. Doch auch unser Umfeld, unsere Erfahrungen und bewusste Entscheidungen prägen mit, wer wir sind – und wer wir werden können.

Psychologinnen und Psychologen unterscheiden dabei fünf zentrale Persönlichkeitsmerkmale: emotionale Stabilität, Extraversion, Offenheit, Gewissenhaftigkeit und soziale Verträglichkeit. Diese „Big Five“ sind keine festen Kategorien, sondern Kontinua – man kann also durchaus an einer Eigenschaft arbeiten, ohne sich grundlegend zu verändern. Studien belegen, dass gezielte Übungen wie Tagespläne, kleine Mutproben oder sogenannte Wenn-Dann-Pläne (z. B. „Wenn ich auf der Party allein bin, spreche ich jemanden an“) dabei helfen können, gewünschte Eigenschaften zu stärken. Voraussetzung ist jedoch: Die Veränderung muss aus einem inneren Antrieb heraus erfolgen – nicht aus gesellschaftlichem Druck.

Besonders gut lassen sich Eigenschaften wie Extraversion oder Gewissenhaftigkeit beeinflussen. Andere wie Offenheit oder Verträglichkeit sind tiefer verankert – oft durch kulturelle oder familiäre Prägungen – und lassen sich nur schwer und meist nur mit Unterstützung verändern. Entscheidend ist dabei weniger der Wunsch nach einem Idealbild als vielmehr die Frage: Was tut mir gut? In welchen Situationen möchte ich mich anders verhalten – und warum?

Letztlich geht es nicht darum, sich neu zu erfinden, sondern sich besser kennenzulernen. Persönlichkeit verändert sich nicht über Nacht, sondern schrittweise – ähnlich wie ein Muskel, der durch Training wächst. Und sie verändert sich nachhaltiger, wenn Entwicklung und Selbstakzeptanz Hand in Hand gehen. Wer sich unter permanentem Optimierungsdruck verbiegt, läuft Gefahr, sich selbst zu verlieren. Veränderung braucht deshalb mehr als Methoden – sie braucht Mass und Sinn.

Denkanstoss zum Wochenbeginn

„Alle Unruhe im Menschen entspringt aus der Phantasie.“ – Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)

ProductivityPorn-Tipp der Woche: Klare Strukturen für Meetings

Meetings sind oft Zeitfresser. Setze klare Agenden, halte sie so kurz wie möglich und stelle sicher, dass am Ende jeder weiss, was zu tun ist.

Aus dem Archiv: Vier Worte und ein Notizbuch – für einen besseren Schlaf

Wer kennt das nicht: Es ist drei Uhr morgens, draussen ist alles still – nur im eigenen Kopf herrscht Hochbetrieb. Gedanken kreisen, Aufgabenlisten wachsen, verpasste Chancen und ungeklärte Fragen drängen sich auf. An Schlaf ist kaum noch zu denken. Solche Nächte sind keine Seltenheit – sie gehören für viele Menschen zum Alltag. Doch muss man diesem inneren Film wirklich tatenlos zusehen?

weiterlesen …

Vielen Dank, dass Du Dir die Zeit genommen hast, diesen Newsletter zu lesen. Ich hoffe, die Inhalte konnten Dich inspirieren und Dir wertvolle Impulse für Dein (digitales) Leben geben. Bleib neugierig und hinterfrage, was Dir begegnet!

EpicMind – Weisheiten für das digitale Leben „EpicMind“ (kurz für „Epicurean Mindset“) ist mein Blog und Newsletter, der sich den Themen Lernen, Produktivität, Selbstmanagement und Technologie widmet – alles gewürzt mit einer Prise Philosophie.

Disclaimer Teile dieses Texts wurden mit Deepl Write (Korrektorat und Lektorat) überarbeitet. Für die Recherche in den erwähnten Werken/Quellen und in meinen Notizen wurde NotebookLM von Google verwendet. Das Artikel-Bild wurde mit ChatGPT erstellt und anschliessend nachbearbeitet.

Topic #Newsletter

My phone battery is getting very dangerously low and so I’m going to this quickly say this out loud. I hosted another game night tonight and even though the turnout wasn’t huge, we had 10 people and so we were able to play a couple games. I also asked people to bring snacks and I felt like most of the people were very grateful to be there to be invited, and I didn’t feel like I was just an organizer that doesn’t get to participate. Because of that I’m very grateful. I also got to play a lot of the games because a friend offered to host them as a storyteller and that made it a lot more fun for me.

I used to write. I used to read without a schedule and a goal. I used to look younger. I used to not think about aging except as a means for opportunity and change. I used to go to concerts alone and freely. I used to watch movies, I mean, films. I used to kiss boys on streets outside of noisy bars. I used to drink, I mean really drink. I used to be sad all the time. I used to have short hair. I used to wax my bush. I used to wear red lipstick every day. I used to have jean shorts. I used to care more. I used to care less.