Michael Fountain

Here to help us pull up our drawers in troubled times is Anna Akhmatova, who had more than just her feelings hurt by Stalin's regime: “We know what lies in the balance at this moment, and what is happening right now. The hour for courage strikes upon our clocks, and courage will not desert us.”

Pennsylvania’s disappointment with Fetterman— “He wears shorts in winter! He must be one of us!”— reminds me of a sad lesson late boomers learned. Not everyone who wears their hair a certain way, likes getting high, or recites a generational password is an ally. Stoners are consumers, not rebels.

If I were God of Love for a day, I would declare that our outer appearance must match our inner self. Deserving, beautiful souls will flourish as genetic celebrities. Monsters will walk the streets, unable to find a mate. Physiognomy is nonsense, but Aphrodite, Eros, and Psyche might make use of it.

1. Google “Gulf of Mexico”.
2. “Gulf of America” will appear.
3. Click the three dots next to that phrase.
4. Click “send feedback”, “Gulf of America”.
5. Click “inaccurate”, identify “Gulf of Mexico”.
6. Repeat. Terms such as quisling, bootlicker, or pusillanimous lickspittle are optional.

Another admirable trait of Voltaire:
His ability to put ideals into practice. At Ferny he organized watchmakers, tile and pottery kilns, a tannery, factories for silk stockings and lace, orchards and vineyards. Reminds me of workshops and classes Jane Hull established around Hull House in Chicago.

Houdon’s bust of Voltaire, that smile like a little fox. Some things I find remarkable:
* He seems to have had a talent for keeping lifelong friendships.
* He was very good with money, unusual for creative types.
* A patron of freedom of speech, but unlike Socrates, always ready to skip town.

Wordplay of the week, for use when a public figure is caught being a sex-pest:
𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞.

The Black Beacon Book of Pirates Amazon.com: The Black Beacon Book of Pirates eBook : Trost, Cameron, Dagstine, Lawrence, Turner, Paulene, Fountain, Michael, Keeley, Karen, Wells, Jack, Watson, S.B., Biggin, Rose, Bayly, Karen, Tyrer, DJ: Kindle Store

𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋 𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄: A (Mostly) True History of Piracy, as told by Poll Flanders, Parrot, Who Sailed with Lawless Men, Buccaneers, Freebooters, Privateers, and Cutpurses, and Lived to One Hundred and Twenty Years of Age.

Part of 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 at www.amazon.com/Black-Beacon...

UnCommon Minds: A Collection of AIs, Dreamwalkers, and other Psychic Mysteries (UnCommon Anthologies) UnCommon Minds: A Collection of AIs, Dreamwalkers, and other Psychic Mysteries (UnCommon Anthologies) [Tyler, P.K., Fountain, Michael, Smith, Daniel Arthur, Ruhe, Erica, Wood, Joriah, Wolf, Elizabeth S., Harpley, Jessica, Liburd, Tonya, Johnson, Tausha, DiPietro, Zen] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. UnCommon Minds: A Collection of AIs, Dreamwalkers, and other Psychic Mysteries (UnCommon Anthologies)

“𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝”
short story
Brother Bolden's last concert in the asylum collapses under the weight of his attempt to express more than can be heard.
Published in the anthology 𝘜𝘯𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴: 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘐𝘴, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 www.amazon.com/UnCommon-Min...

This is for shower thoughts, amusements, and snippets of things I’ve read, seen, wondered at, or smelt. Occasional self-promotion and notice of publications, quickly done to avoid embarrassment to us both.