random older posts

cost of living comparison (sacramento vs. lisbon)

(in life, travel, economy from 2019)

Cool international cost-of-living comparison site: expatistan/cost-of-living. If you're thinking of moving from Sacramento, CA to Lisbon, Portugal, for example, go to: ... read more

hobo traveler regarding usa

(in life, travel, advice from 2022) by don

Andy Graham has traveled nonstop for 25 years and evaluates the USA vs other places. Fascinating: Watch on YouTube ... read more

i lost my tomato plants

(in life, health, food, home-garden from 2013)

We had a freeze Tuesday night, so I lost my tomato plants and probably my cucumbers. :( I replaced those original tomato plants, adding cherry tomatoes, and might have lost those too because, even though I hadn't planted them yet, I screwe ... read more

the great powder puff derby race

(in culture, writing, poetry from 2023)

The morning was cold and brightEverything was feeling rightI hooked up the horse to the cartOnto the track, we do dartJeppy Ho is the gelding I will raceHe has such a jazzy fast paceWe all are excited todayTo me this is just like playMy fam ... read more

dad's 94th birthday, part 3

(in family, holmes, lionel, birthdays from 2013)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3Old SacramentoOnce Bijou and her people hooked up wit ... read more

how to move a book store

(in culture, writing, books from 2018)

A rent increase forced the owners of October Books to move locations in Southampton. They used a crowd funding campaign and loans to buy a former bank location about 500 feet down the street for $400,000. Cool! ... read more

digging a shallow well

(in life, health, advice, home-garden from 2019) by don

Digging a shallow well from dowsing to digging to capping. This shallow well will provide water for our bees and supporting plants. This dig uses a modified hand auger and took about 4 hours to complete (17 feet with nearly 4 feet of wat ... read more

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external news feeds
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united airlines plane strikes kite while landing at reagan national airport in 'scary' incident-- just months after fatal mid-air crash
That is one airport I will be avoiding from now on.

iowa bill would strip vaccine makers of some liability protection for injuries
Good!

one of putin's limos blew up
Just a few days after Zelensky said Putin would be dead soon.

tulsi gabbard revokes security clearances of biden, harris, hillary, more
That should be standard procedure for all former government employees.

jd vance arrives in greenland: it's cold as s--t here -- nobody told me'
What kind of dumbass couldn't have guessed it would be cold in Greenland in March?

swalwell: pete hegseth and mike waltz should no longer be in the government
Says the guy caught in a Chinese honey trap.

over half of senior canadians want liberal government, youth skew conservative
That's because seniors need social services more than young people do.

rubio says people should be proud we have a president promoting peace and the end of conflict on this planet
Unless you count Israel and Yemen.

islamist sentenced for attempting to bomb hospital
Only Israelis are allowed to bomb hospitals.

gallup: american support for israel has plummeted to lowest level ever in 25 years of polling
They are the new South Africa, and something both Lefties and Righties can agree on.

trump: colleges allowing "illegal" protests will lose federal funding, agitators will be imprisoned
Free speech only allowed when not criticizing Israel.

chinese colonel says america is going down, trump has damaged the us's reputation more than all of his predecessors combined
Wishful thinking from the Chinese military.

company does about-face after telling employees they could be fired if still single by september
Even in China, one of the most totalitarian countries on Earth, you can't be an absolute tyrant.

britain's leftist government removes portraits of churchill, wellington
In their defense, Churchill did work to ensure that World War II proceeded as planned.

cops in germany are raiding people's homes for insulting politicians
Nazis 2.0.

germany's "democracy" arrests people for insults, lies & memes
England, China and Thailand, too!

latest local posts

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featured book

Another Way

Anti-corporate crusader Dobie Pokorny wants to save the world from oligarchs like Colonel Charonne. On his speaking-truth-to-power tour, he meets and falls in love with Kaylie while enduring attacks at every turn. They each think the other is out of their league, but there's a connection. Can they outrun Charonne and his minions? And, what's up with Semmy, the little blue alien?

first few lines

Dobie Pokorny was on tour in support of his manifesto, Another Way: Beyond the Status Quo. Driving north from Tennessee, after an angry mob in Indianapolis, he veered southwest. With stops in Illinois and Missouri – things got interesting in Missouri – followed by Oklahoma and Texas, it got downright weird in New Mexico.

His latest book was an anti-corporate diatribe born of a lifetime of people-watching and corporate employment. He never had a career. Just employment. One job a... Give your own review HERE! Blurbs, links and more at William Arthur Holmes dot com.

Amazon Movers & Shakers

CULTURE

good article about storytelling

(in culture, writing, advice from 2020)

Pop culture today is obsessed with the battle between good and evil. Traditional folktales never were. What changed?Read, listen or watch the rest here: ... read more

one of the all-time great rock era lyricists

(in culture, music, lyrics from 2017)

Listening to Don Henley this morning. He is one of the all-time ... read more

tom mullen quote

(in culture, quotes, politics from 2021)

We even have an organization that styles itself, AntiFa, its chief means for fighting fascism being to dress all in black and beat its political opponents with clubs. -- Tom Mullen ... read more

no annoying prompts

(in culture, writing, blog, friendsnews from 2019)

Aren't you glad we don't have any of those annoying pop-up ads asking you to join our newsletter? Ironic, isn't it, given that we are an online newsletter?Please support this website, should you be so inclined: buy one of ... read more

started a new story today

(in culture, writing, books, novels from 2013)

I started writing a new story today. Can't say much about it except that it's pretty much sci-fi, though it might wander into religion and politics. So, yeah, it should offend just about everyone. Then I took a break and started cleaning ... read more

FAMILY

light at the end of the tunnel

(in family, adoption, holmes, travel from 2007)

We visited Elizabeth again today. We caught her when she was in the music room with all the other kids in her age group. She smile ... read more

my youtube videos

(in family, holmes, bill, movies-tv-video from 2019)

Most videos have been moved to Vimeo. Contact us here for the password. ... read more

california trip (2008)

(in family, holmes, travel from 2008)

Tara, Elizabeth and I just returned from a trip to California. We went for my nephew Thomas's wedding (to bride Heather at Lake Tahoe), but it was also a convenient excuse to let everyone on my side of the family, especially her Grandma an ... read more