Tom DePlonty

I played them in college! First time I've ever seen them on a recital program...

I don't believe in Hell, but if I did I would die happy knowing there was a special seating section for anyone currently railing against "the sin of empathy," and every one of those seats is made with hot rusty barbs

Two greenware porcelain pots that were bubble glazed - the pots are white and covered with patterns made by covering the pot with pigmented soap bubbles and letting them pop, leaving a fine trace of blue bubbles on the surface

Playing with bubble glazing

Someone Is Wrong On The Internet.

if I understand American politics correctly, progressivism is something that requires 60 senate votes to work, while national conservatism doesn’t require any votes at all

So, DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) is being replaced with WUL (White, Unqualified but Loyal)

And again - my favorite violin show piece; I accompanied a good friend who played it on his graduate recital. It’s pretty much high-class boom-chucking, but the violin line is intricate and subtle bits of time are required in various places so it requires attention!

The president can veto or support legislation. He can make recommendations to Congress. But he doesn't have the unilateral right to change laws.

Trump has very little respect for the rule of law & our Constitution. He is moving us toward authoritarianism.

We must stop him.

Here’s something, anyway

Would love to understand why every Democrat is not out there every second of the day explaining in plain English that Donald Trump has declared war on cancer patients.

Saw a "Democratic strategist" say "we have to earn people's trust back." Just mind-boggling that so many don't understand how this works.

Did voters in 2024 say "I trust the Republican Party"? No. They were mad at those in power. Democrats have to get them mad at Republicans. It's not complicated.

"natural masculine instincts" LOL

Also felt here in northern MA.

Feels like we may have just had an earthquake here (northern MA).

I’ve voted for Democrats straight down the ballot since the early 90s, and I’ll do it again in the upcoming midterms (everyone except Seth Moulton), but what I want to know right now is where are they and when are they going to start speaking up?

A display of flowers, swans, and a Christmas tree molded from beeswax; in the foreground a display of multi-colored flowers, made from dyed wax, mounted on a natural wax disk.

Beeswax crafts at the Topsfield Fair, Topsfield, Massachusetts

Today’s light reading

Living in a PKD novel is less fun than I would have imagined, and I never imagined it would be fun

A sculptor's studio, with studies and pieces in marble on display.

Studio of Daniel Chester French, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Studies for the Lincoln Memorial statue and the doors of the Boston Public Library are seen in the background. In the foreground is French's last (unfinished) piece, Andromeda.

“Megahit” - I hate it when the pangram is bogus

Peter Gabriel
photo Andy Fallon

This week's Internet winner goes to...

A picture of five white porcelain coasters, painted with an abstract design in blue, black, and pink, with the design being similar but not identical on each coaster.

Coasters. When I was making pottery more actively I used to make these small square blanks all the time, and use them to try different design and carving ideas.

You and I seem to have some serious musical overlap. Quasthoff's Winterreise is one of my favorite albums when I want something cold, bleak, depressing and impeccably sung and played (Charles Spencer on that album is just perfect)

And also taking a very gentle appeal for mercy and decency as an attack, which is telling...

A picture taken at twilight of the six glass towers that are part of the Holocaust Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts. The glass panels of the towers are inscribed with numbers, representing the victims of the Holocaust, and also quotes.

Holocaust Memorial, Boston, Massachusetts

I met the man 40+ years ago, at a new music festival...a pleasure, he was a funny and unassuming guy.

I live in Moulton’s district. I hope very much he has a primary challenger.

An art installation installed in a grassy field outdoors. It features face masks, with eyes closed, slightly larger than life size, painted gold, sitting on posts at about head height, tilted upward and forward. They are spread over the field, and the field and faces are covered with a single large, black, rectangular net that drapes in curves from the faces to the ground. The installation is large, with the net stretching forty or fifty feet in the long direction.

Detail of an untitled installation by Damon Jespersen and Gordon Pryzbyla (2021) at Maudslay State Park, Newburyport, Massachusetts

Imagining the armies of lawyers that must be mobilizing today.