• Rinkitink

    A drawing of King Rinkitink leaning against a barrel. From the Oz books of Frank L. Baum
    King Rinkitink of Gilgad, by John R. Neill, from Rinkitink in Oz, by Frank L. Baum, 1916

    From The Sacred Journey, Frederick Buechner:

    For reasons that I can only guess at now, no one I came to know during that first year in Oz left a deeper mark on me than a plump, ebullient king named Rinkitink. He was a foolish man in many ways who laughed too much and talked too much and at moments of stress was apt to burst into unkingly tears; but beneath all that, he gave the impression of remarkable strength and resilience and courage even…

    Rinkitink was a very vulnerable man, silly and unstable in numberless ways, but in his fatness he seemed also somehow solid and substantial, eccentric and yet reliable with his slippered feet planted heavily on the ground and his heart in the right place. Like a tree that has been blown for years from so many directions by so many winds that none of them can ever quite blow it down, he seemed strong in his very vulnerability. In his capacity to laugh and weep at the drop of a hat and in general to make a fool of himself, he seemed wise with the wisdom of a child who sees better than his elders that the world is indeed something to laugh and weep about and who, more realistically than the rest of us, accepts his own foolishness as part of the givenness of things. Frightening and terrible adventures befall him in the course of Baum’s book, but somehow he always manages to come riding out of them on the back of his faithful goat Bilbil. The world can wound him and scare the daylights out of him, but never, you feel, can it destroy him. It is only the world of the fairy tale to be sure, but nonetheless he has overcome that world, and I have remembered him with admiration and love ever since.

    In different guises (though always fat) and under different names, Rinkitink has haunted me always…

    … these books were all childhood or early boyhood reading – but certain patterns were set, certain rooms were made ready, so that when, years later, I came upon Saint Paul for the first time and heard him say, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,” I had the feeling that I knew something of what he was talking about. Something of the divine comedy that we are all of us involved in. Something of grace.


  • Betty’s

    Auto-generated description: A vintage diner called Betty's Shack displays retro Coca-Cola signage at night.
    Betty’s Shack, Dallas TX, c.1940, Hayes Collection, Accession Number: PA76-1/20361.1, Dallas History & Archives Division, Dallas Public Library.


  • For the past three or four years, I’ve made it a tradition to read stuff by Fred Buechner while I’m on vacation in the mountains. It’s always a thought-provoking treat.


  • Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey

    It is by its content rather than its duration that a child knows time, by its quality rather than its quantity–happy times and sad times, the time the rabbit bit your finger, the time you had your first taste of bananas and cream, the time you were crying yourself to sleep when somebody came and lay down beside you in the dark for comfort. Childhood’s time is Adam and Eve’s time before they left the garden for good and from that time on divided everything into before and after.

    (Probably a lot of F.B. in the pipeline, fyi.)


  • Here Comes the Sun

    Auto-generated description: A dirt path winds through a forested area with tall trees and dense green foliage in the background.
  • Apple Paul

    Auto-generated description: A torn collage features various images including people by a pool, a plant, a man behind text, and several pieces of fruit.


  • Mr. L.N. Headlee, rancher and artist

    A folk art painting of a cowboy roping a streer in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of the southwest United States
  • Love Can Last

    a bride and groom in a limousine

    21 June 1980

    friendly looking older couple

    45 years


  • Backlit Archie

    Morning

    Evening


  • They Don’t Make Spokesanimals Like this Anymore

    A majestic lion stands atop a sign promoting home-produced cheese.
  • No Kings Protest, Alamosa, Colorado (pop. 9,888), 14 June 2025

    Protester holding an  anti-Trump sign. Protester at an anti-Trump rally

    Protester waiving a small American flag at an anti-Trump.rally


  • Lynda Barry via Adam Westbrook via Robin Sloan


  • RIP, Brian Wilson

    He shared beautiful gifts from a sad life and a tortured mind.*

    Yes, my father used to beat the hell out of us… That is probably why I wrote those happy songs. I try to get as close to paradise as I can. I try to steer clear of heartbreaks.

    – New York Times Magazine, 2024

    *One might say the same of Sly Stone, may he also rest in peace.


  • All the Feels

    Today is the 40th birthday of my first-born and the 78th anniversary of my parents' wedding. Kind of dusty in here.

    Auto-generated description: A smiling couple dressed formally is sitting at a table adorned with flowers.

    Dad & Mom


  • Today is the Anniversary of D-Day

    I doubt that soldiers on Omaha beach could ever have imagined they were dying for this 81 years in the future.

    Auto-generated description: Soldiers are disembarking from a landing craft and wading through the water towards a beach under a dark, cloudy sky.


  • Don’t feel great about this

    “Following a review of performances and after significant reflection, the Club can announce that Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties.” – Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 6, 2025

    In any case, waiting around this long is a very Spursy move. (Also, adiós, Christian Romero, best player on the club [except when he goes bananas].) ⚽︎


  • Ventura County in Shadow

    Auto-generated description: Palms and trees are silhouetted against a twilight sky with a hint of light along the horizon.

    📷


  • Curves at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
    📷

    A large fountain is in the foreground with a grassy park and a tall building in the background, surrounded by blooming trees and people walking.
  • New York Times

    May 30, 2025:

    #1: As Elon Musk entered President Trump’s orbit, he told people he was taking so much ketamine that it was affecting his bladder. He was also taking Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, and he traveled with a daily medication box of about 20 pills.

    #2: Trump is now presenting Musk with a giant golden key he says he gives only to “very special people.”

    #3: White House Health Report Included Fake Citations - A report on children’s health released by the Make America Healthy Again Commission referred to scientific papers that did not exist.

    I’m special. Where can I get one of those keys? Maybe Buc-ees?


  • Nick Cave on Hope

    Via SwissMiss


  • “Forecast” by Luci Shaw

    Planting seeds
    Inevitably
    Changes my feelings
    About rain


  • Fra Beatus, 8th C., Spain

    Auto-generated description: A colorful, stylized depiction of an angel interacting with a winged figure, surrounded by intricate patterns and symbolic elements. From the 'Beatus Escorial,* 8th C., Spain

    from the Beatus Escorial


  • That’s a Sweet Face

    a close photo of a mini goldendoodle's face
  • Living in The Upside Down

    Auto-generated description: A person is sitting on a white couch in a modern outdoor setting, with text discussing a crypto billionaire's return to the U.S. for dinner with Trump.

    From the WSJ. Presented without comment.


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