Slavery: Was and Is Still Here

 

RETIREMENT 103

Unbleached flour on sale?
Pancakes for breakfast it is.
Cocoa powder not on sale?
Then settle for burnt rice tea
Or plain cleansing hot water.

Russet potatoes on sale?
Mashed they are, for lunch.
Gravy from scratch.
Cheese not on sale?
Then just imagine it’s there.
MLJ31012026

RETIREMENT 102

Walk to the grocery store.
Anything on sale?
Not a thing?
Turn around and want nothing.
MLJ/28/08/2024

RETIREMENT 101

Alarm goes. Say a prayer.
Exercise. Take a hot shower.
Oatmeal and hot chocolate drink,
Or fried rice and corned beef.
Put on your wide-brimmed hat
And who-cares-what-I-wear getup.

Hear mass, work, give back, volunteer.
See the woods, watch the birds and the bees.
Wait for sunset. Enjoy a blueberry muffin.
Pray. In your peaceful sleep, you’re taken.
MLJ/28/08/2024

Thank you for the laughter, Catherine O"Hara

 "Why God gave us humour... to be able to exist amidst the sadness." - COH -

Catherine O'Hara (1954-2026): A Conversation You've Never Seen | Dini Petty 1998

Happy retirement, Denyce Graves!

"We are more alike than unalike." - D.G. -  

From DC Roots to Opera Icon

Make E-Books Count

 Especially for seniors who are losing their vision...

As Cold as Ice

Tails tucked between our legs
At the mere scent of the yellow head
And his armed gang members.

We’ve turned a blind eye
To his every yap, bark, growl, bite
Our hearts as cold as ice.
We’ve looked the other way
As he smothers a weakling a day
Saving our own skin
Until he looks our way…
MLJ30012026Minnesota

Streets of Minneapolis

Thank you for the laughter...

 

Save the children

 

On our way home…

Ashes to ashes.

Nobody warned us
We’d be so incomplete
With all our losses
Vision, hearing, memory, bones…
Glad we didn’t sell our souls
So we’d still deserve our home.

Dust to dust.
MLJ26012026EyeTrouble

Enjoy reading!

 

I just wanna be…

A YouTuber
A TickToker
An influencer
A gamer, a gambler
I just wanna be famous.
Just wanna be a billionaire.

When everything’s empty
Empty governments
Empty laboratories
Empty pharmacies
Empty hospitals
Empty schools
What do I care?
AI will give me answers.

I have a self-driving car
A self-cleaning house
Robots at my bidding
No Amazon River?
Dried up by data centers
No boreal forest?
Burned up by global warming
What do I care?

Trillionaires have colonized the moon
Enslaving aging scientists and engineers
Refining robots that’ll replace them.
Wish I could follow later
But I’m no Jeff nor Elon yet
No Gautam nor Jensen
Oh, well…
MLJ24O12026EnlightenTheChildren

Fave junk food

 Can't afford...

Dry January: Anyone?

 

Mississippi Mesala (1991)

 Mississippi Mesala (1991)

Did we know? The British brought laborers from British India to build the Uganda Railway (1896-1901), and workers later settled there. Under Idi Amin in 1972, the Asians were expelled from Uganda. A familiar story? Canada hired Chinese laborers to build the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to connect Eastern Canada with the Pacific (1881-1885). Most of them settled in Canada and built Chinatowns in major cities, but further immigration was stopped with the Chinese Exclusion Act (1923-1947)… Fast forward to present North America where most industries move with the brains and muscles of migrant workers. From Silicon Valley to the farms of Ontario, how are they faring? MLJ/31122025

Thank you, Dado Banatao.

 

Freedom of the mind

 

Meteorologist: If this is winter storm, imagine the heat dome in summer.

 

What is a heat dome?

The Summer Book: A superb performance by Glenn Close at 79

 

Available on Kanopy for CPL card holders. 

Filmed in the Finnish archipelago.

Rob Reiner: Find joy in your life.

 Rob Reiner, thank you for your movies. 

To Live Simply: Stay Home on Boxing Day

 

Sabrina Carpenter for Second Graders?

T: Do you know what Jesus' father did for a living?

S1: He was a scientist?

S2: He was a driver!

T: Let me give you a hint. It starts with the letter C.

S3: I know. He was a carpenter.

S4: Like Sabrina Carpenter?

S5: Your crush?

Mancala

 My grade 2s this year are enjoying this game a lot. I got the board from my landlord who was ready to dispose of it, and I use decorative rocks instead of puka shells. Guess what? I got a mancala set from today's exchange gift. Tomorrow will be unboxing day. The kids will surely be happy to have a second set in class. Enjoy every bit of surprise this Christmas and always!

How to play Sungka (Philippine Mancala game)

60s-90s: Do you know where your children are?

 

21st Century: Do you know who your child is corresponding with online? 

Do you know who your child is meeting tonight?

How much do you know your child?

"I think shame is underrated these days... Re-enter with some more humility." SP

Julia Roberts & Sean Penn | Actors on Actors

Right. Nobody's ashamed of being too greedy these days (with obvious conflict of interest), too unkind (and shaming journalists), too uncaring (and not paying workers)... Where did humanity go?

MUSIC

 MUSIC or any form of art (or sports), for your child, please, instead of too much electronics before it's too late; otherwise, digital detoxing will be very painful. Just my two cents... Peace!

Take a second for some relaxing banjo

Anyone still wondering why AI is unregulated?

 

Zzz...

A total of ten hours in two nights.
marks for eight subjects
progress report comments
for each of twenty-two students
sixteen as English learners
six with special needs
one severe
tomorrow again
seriously?
deadline in two days

Zzz...

MLJ06122025ReadyToZzz