OK, though, I’ll stop for today after this one. I’m really trying to gather the energy to bake something. It’s supposed to snow some more today, though it is, I’m thankful, warmer today. Maybe a little more reading, then I’ll figure out something to bake. I saw a chocolate graham-looking cooky over on MPS last night, and I’ve been craving chocolate grahams since then.
10th anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo killings by Ann Telnaes
On January 7, 2015 the editorial cartooning community suffered a horrible blow Read on Substack
The attack at the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo left 12 people dead, including five cartoonists, and set off a worldwide debate about free speech and satire.
https://www.gocomics.com/darksideofthehorse/2025/01/07
(I just got my first debit card this past Nov.)
https://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2025/01/07
My kind of place, this is!
https://www.gocomics.com/freerange/2025/01/07
https://www.gocomics.com/jim-benton-cartoons/2025/01/07
https://www.gocomics.com/super-fun-pak-comix/2025/01/07
Those who have snow, and those who don’t-enjoy, anyway! This one is on a Substack I follow.
The Snowfall Is So Silent Miguel de Unamuno1864 –1936
translated by Robert Bly
The snowfall is so silent,
so slow,
bit by bit, with delicacy
it settles down on the earth
and covers over the fields.
The silent snow comes down
white and weightless;
Snowfall makes no noise,
falls as forgetting falls,
flake after flake.
It covers the fields gently
while frost attacks them
with its sudden flashes of white;
covers everything with its pure
and silent covering;
not one thing on the ground
anywhere it escapes.
And wherever it falls it stays,
content and gay,
for snow does not slip off
as it rains,
but it stays and sinks in.
The flakes are skyflowers,
pale lilies from the clouds,
that wither on earth.
They come down blossoming
but then so quickly
they are gone;
They bloom only on the peak,
above the mountains,
and make the earth feel heavier
when they die inside.
Snow, delicate snow,
that falls with such lightness
on the head,
on the feelings,
come and cover over the sadness
that lies always in my reason.
The snowfall is silent
The snowfall is silent,
slow thing;
little by little and gently
rests on the ground
and shelters the plain.
The snow lies silently
white and light;
the snowfall makes no noise;
falls as oblivion falls,
flake by flake.
Softly shelters the fields
when the ice harasses them;
with its flashes of whiteness;
covers everything with its cloak
pure, silent;
does not escape on the ground
anything.
Where it falls, there it stays
light and light,
because the snow does not slip
as the rain slides,
but it stays and sinks in.
Flowers from the sky the flakes,
white lilies of the clouds,
that wither on the ground,
They come down in bloom,
but they are soon
melted;
They bloom only at the summit,
over the mountains,
sorrow of the earth,
and in their entrails they perish.
Snow, soft snow,
the one that falls so lightly
over the head,
on the heart,
come and shelter my sadness
the one that rests in reason.
From Roots and Wings: Poetry from Spain 1900-1975 , translated by Robert Bly, edited by Hardie St. Martin, and published by Harper & Row. © 1976 by Hardie St. Martin. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
I love reading. Life’s decent, too. 😉
The final lines of this strong recommendation add that ‘all takes place in a graveyard.
Source: The Skeleton Dance, Voted the 18th Best Cartoon of All Time, Is Now in the Public Domain (1929)
(I started a post, looked for a share link, and got this. We’ll see how it goes. I’m not up to much today, but this is so good I want to share it. Totally off topic, just enjoy.)
Happy Insurrection Day by Clay Jones
Is Trump confused or just lying again? Read on Substack
Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of Donald Trump’s white nationalist insurrection, when he called MAGA terrorists to come to Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory over him.
Trump lost the 2020 election fair and square.
Trump is the first president to refuse a peaceful transfer of power. He refused to cooperate with Biden’s transition team, a courtesy President Barack Obama extended in 2016 and after Trump’s victory last November (gag), President Biden extended to him as well. Both Democratic presidents hosted President-Elect (sic) Trump in the White House.
Trump ordered his MAGAts to attempt the insurrection after failing to overturn the election through court challenges, installing fake electors, calling election officials to intimidate them into giving him extra votes that didn’t exist, and even having his goons harass and intimidate election workers.
Trump’s white nationalist terrorists assaulted at least 174 Capitol Police officers on January 6, 2021, with 15 hospitalized. There was one death from a stroke and four suicides afterward. They also caused over $30 million in damages which Trump should pay for.
Two of the terrorists died from natural causes, one died from a drug overdose, and another, Ashley Babbit, died from a gunshot wound.
Over 1,500 were arrested, including Donald Trump. This nation has forgotten about the insurrection and has returned Trump to the presidency (sic). After January 20, Donald Trump plans to pardon all of the white nationalist terrorists who attacked our nation.
These people were looking to murder Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence. Now, they will be rewarded.
I had a Lyft driver on New Year’s Eve ask me why I don’t support Donald Trump and I answered, “Because I love my country.” The elderly white driver (surprise) replied, “Donald Trump does too.” I have a serious inability to tolerate bullshit and I probably got a one-star rating from him after I replied to his response, “Donald Trump does too.” Thankfully, he made his dumbass ignorant comment near the end of the ride, where a guy ambushed me with Jesus pamphlets. I went straight from Trump freak to Jesus freak. I was glad I was getting out of town.
That’s our country for you today. Half this nation believes Donald Trump was right to send white nationalist terrorists to attack the Capitol to make him an unelected dictator or they don’t care.
Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn’t just want to ignore January 6, but she wants to make it a national holiday. Hey, we’ll all get a day off. MTG is also concerned that a snowstorm tomorrow will “disrupt” Trump’s certification. That’s rich.
Speaker-hanging-by-a-thread Mike Johnson doesn’t want to investigate January 6 but investigate the investigators. The new Department of Justice under Donald Trump and Pam Bondi will be looking to prosecute people like Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the J6 Committee, and former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, who co-chaired the committee. The DOJ may also be weaponized against people like Special Counsel Jack Smith, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and even President Joe Biden.
Other Republicans encouraged J6, attempted to dox Speaker Pelosi’s location, gave them pre-insurrection tours, and later called the attackers “protesters” and “tourists.” Goons gotta goon.
On January 6, some will celebrate. I will encourage you to remember that our incoming president (sic) is a terrorist and a national security threat.
Two days that will make me sick to my stomach this month is tomorrow, January 6, and January 20.
I’m gonna get drunk.
Creative note: Both of my proofers had disgusted reactions to this cartoon which is exactly what I was going for. Also, I hate layers in Procreate. This cartoon has nearly 40 of them. I would usually just write “pardon” over and over again, but I thought the placement would work better with the layers, but that’s just as much of a PITA to me as lettering. My layer-loving friend and colleague Phil Hands should be happy.
Drawn in 30 seconds: (go watch!)
Find out all about it by clicking the title to see it all. (Also not proselytizing.)
January by Robert Bridges 1844 – 1930
Cold is the winter day, misty and dark:
The sunless sky with faded gleams is rent:
And patches of thin snow outlying, mark
The landscape with a drear disfigurement.
The trees their mournful branches lift aloft:
The oak with knotty twigs is full of trust,
With bud-thronged bough the cherry in the croft;
The chestnut holds her gluey knops upthrust.
No birds sing, but the starling chaps his bill
And chatters mockingly; the newborn lambs
Within their strawbuilt fold beneath the hill
Answer with plaintive cry their bleating dams.
Their voices melt in welcome dreams of spring,
Green grass and leafy trees and sunny skies:
My fancy decks the woods, the thrushes sing,
Meadows are gay, bees hum and scents arise.
And God the Maker doth my heart grow bold
To praise wintry works not understood,
Who all the worlds and ages doth behold,
Evil and good as one, and all as good.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on January 4, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.
It’s a slideshow, with links. I love The Isley Brothers’s work!
Even if you weren’t around when the band got their start in the late 1950s, you’ve definitely experienced the music of The Isley Brothers. With a sound that combines R&B, rock, funk and soul, their music has been been heavily sampled and covered by the likes of Ice Cube, The Beatles and Whitney Houston.
But while you surely know their music, you may not know that the Cincinnati, Ohio-born siblings who were known for producing sexy love ballads actually started singing gospel music as teens. Despite label changes, family tragedies and a lawsuit between two of the original members, founding member Ronald and younger brother Ernie Isley still entertain fans with the songs that first made them famous in the 1960s.
To this day, The Isley Brothers are the only act in history to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in six consecutive decades: The 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Here is their story. (snip-go see the photos, listen to the music. While going through the early slides, why not turn on this? or this? )
https://www.theroot.com/heard-of-the-isley-brothers-the-legendary-group-is-the-1851732498
Scottie's Playtime 