The little book “Chicken Soup With Rice” By Maurice Sendak is one of a set of four books collectively titled “Nutshell Library” published in 1962. I am going to scan my copy, that I received as a child, and publish a page a month. Why? Because the world needs more Maurice Sendak…and chicken soup with rice.
During a recent visit to my hometown (the capital of Iowa) I pulled into a parking lot to check my phone and laptop. While I was bent over into the passenger doorway looking at the laptop a city bus stopped and two passengers stepped out, around 50 feet from me. I began to notice a few moments later someone hollering, “Hey, O.G.! Hey, O.G.! Hey, O.G.!” This was repeated multiple times, with a short pause in between.
I finished with the laptop, shut the passenger door to my van and rounded the vehicle to get in. It was then I saw that the incessant yelling was coming from one of the former bus riders, and he was staring right at me, continuing with the same phrase. I stopped and stared back. He then asked, “You got a cigarette?” At that moment I realized all of that noise, for maybe two minutes straight, had been directed entirely at me. A lady standing beside him was gazing into her phone. I said, “No, I don’t smoke.” He said, “Good for you.” Then the couple half turned and began slowly walking away along the sidewalk, speaking quietly among themselves, as if I had never been there.
What’s the point of this little story? There isn’t one, really. I just wonder what would possess a man to stand in one spot for that long, hollering the same phrase repeatedly at a complete stranger? We were not at a sporting event together, or a concert, or a protest. He just stepped off of the bus and presented his rudeness to the first chump he saw.
A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves a number of obscure men who have only remained obscure because their timidity has prevented them from making a first effort; and who, if they could only have been induced to begin, would in all probability have gone great lengths in the career of fame. The fact is, that in order to do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand shivering on the bank, and thinking of the cold and the danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.
Sydney Smith (1771 – 1845)
Encounters: I was visiting with a neighbor recently about working on various projects over this summer, and how some had not turned out so well. At one point he commented with a smile, “Yep, cut three times and still too short.”
Read: Take The Next Exit, Edited By Robert F. Sayre. This book is a sequel to Take This Exit, which I have not read yet. The one I have read is a delight, full of articles and essays about the people of Iowa and the places they live and the landscape that surrounds them. From the introduction: “The good traveler in Iowa should expect the best in all things, and this book is intended to help the traveler look for it.”
Observed: A cicada crawling out of its shell. I have seen plenty of empty shells over the years, and live cicadas flying about, but that was a first.
Website: www.grannybasketball.com
Recipe: My wife recently bought some tortellini shells on sale, which prompted me to look up our Chicken Tortellini Soup recipe. Now I know what to do with that chicken breast that has been bumping around our freezer for the last few months.
This is one of my favorite Neil Young songs, played slow and sung tenderly. I don’t know what it means. It’s just a dream/song that I hum along to.
Well, I dreamed I saw the knights
In armor coming
Saying something about a queen
There were peasants singing and
Drummers drumming
And the archer split the tree
There was a fanfare blowing
To the sun
That was floating on the breeze
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the 1970s
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the 1970s
I was lying in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes
I was hoping for replacement
When the sun burst through the sky
There was a band playing in my head
And I felt like getting high
I was thinking about what a friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie
Thinking about what a friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie
Well, I dreamed I saw the silver
Spaceships flying
In the yellow haze of the sun
There were children crying
And colors flying
All around the chosen ones
All in a dream, all in a dream
The loading had begun
Flying Mother Nature’s
Silver seed to a new home in the sun
Flying Mother Nature’s
Silver seed to a new home
Written by: Neil Young
Released: 1970
This is a simple series of photos that all include my dads Ford shortbed truck. When he passed away in 2024 the truck came to me, and I decided to snap some photos of it here and there with one of his cameras. This turned into a tribute of sorts to my dad, who loved photography and traveling, among many other things.
Last summer I bought a stack of old magazines at a local tag sale. I decided to scan the contents of whatever interested me and share. I will also include scans of some other stuff I have sitting around.
Looks to be an early compression belt. The idea that it could have medical purposes is put to doubt by the mention of “flab.”
My dad had a book full of photos of train crashes that I would sometimes look through when I was a kid. They fascinated me, as did any kind of wrecks or ruins or run down, abandoned places. This photo was taken during the time span of purposely crashing trains into each other for fun and profit, sort of the godfather of demolition derbies.
Photo Source: https://petapixel.com/2022/06/10/historical-photos-of-when-trains-were-purposely-crashed-into-each-other/
After reading a very eye-opening article about AI I figured I had better hurry up and get to learning more about this massively important invention that is sweeping over us all.
Last time I asked The Duck (DuckDuckGo AI) to write an outline, then a complete short story using the outline it created. This took a total of around five seconds for it to complete. This is Part Four of this series.
I have found two distinct, and usually polar opposite views from most people I have talked with about AI. A few are exploring how to use it and sometimes incorporate the new technology into their lives, while most hate and/or fear it. One family member uses AI extensively both at work and at home, using it to find solutions in a variety of situations, including asking for advice about personal problems. Another might be in the midst of being replaced by it at her job.
Older folks are skeptical of, and vague about, what AI is. Younger workers might use it occasionally, but are mostly afraid of loosing their jobs to it. The year 2025 was the grand emergence of AI in the social consciousness of this country, with a better awareness of how invasive this technology was to become in the year 2026. And beyond.
Currently AI is used to search, identify and “improve” everything one can imagine. If an answer is not waiting to be found it will cobble together what it can access, or create something altogether new.
Within just the last few months there have been global calls to pause the rapid growth of AI, and for several years there have been discussions about how to regulate it, which to a layman such as myself seems somewhat pointless if it is true that this technology is now writing its own code.
As usual, science fiction was ahead of the curve on all of this. The first Star Trek movie (1979) revolved around a (fictional) Voyager 6 (“V’Ger”) that had achieved sentience, with some help from aliens. V’Ger “became a living thing,” and was determined “to learn all.”
Most of us don’t have the time or inclination to look into all the ways AI is sinking into our lives, but a very few recent examples are:
Even more fake actors: AI Actor Tilly Norwood
“Candy.ai is the best AI girlfriend app, letting you create personalized virtual companions or connect instantly with our realistic AI characters in immersive, uncensored fantasy experiences – all within a safe and private space.” That last part is very important. “ Candy AI attracts a wide range of users. Some seek companionship or emotional support, while others use it for storytelling, creative writing, or roleplay. Additionally, AI enthusiasts explore it to better understand conversational AI capabilities.” AI enthusiasts? That’s polite.
Ever heard of “Surveillance Pricing?”
I asked Duck AI what Death By Clawd is, and this is the response received: “Death by Clawd is a website that analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. It evaluates how vulnerable these companies are to disruption by AI technologies.” More to worry about that almost no one understands, or cares, what it is.
At the time of this writing (late August 2026) an online search for “AI Data Center news articles” numbered in the dozens published within the last two weeks. Very few of them were of a positive nature.
Think the next generation is dumb? Don’t read this one: Students Lose Ability to Think as They Lean on AI for Everything
There is also worry about a coming AI bubble threatening the world economy, as well as AI just plain destroying all of humanity. How we all are to be wiped out is vague, at best.
All of this AI information can be baffling, because of how fast all of this is moving. And, of course, there is way more going on than the few highlights I have touched on here. I started this series on a lighthearted note, and titled it Fun With AI. Maybe this final part should be labeled Run From AI. I saved the worst for last. Public Horrified as OpenAI Pushes “Child After Child Into the Grave”
On that note I asked The Duck “what is happiness and the meaning of life.” The answer I received was positive, but clinical. It seems that we can now find a solution to all of our questions – with our own answers.
Once a month I highlight a piece of art I have created and posted on my Fine Art America site. This one is titled “Burnt Matches” from the Scanner Still Life Collection.
Stay informed with curated content and the latest headlines, all delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now to stay ahead and never miss a beat!
