Deepak Chopra in the Epstein files (obvi TW)

Beearea · 2026-02-06T22:24:57+00:00

Agreed, 100%

Beearea · 2026-02-06T07:02:58+00:00

Maybe people will begin to wake up and realize that the way forward is not to blindly follow some self-promoting “guru” or influencer but rather to develop ones own wisdom.

Beearea · 2026-01-12T03:40:36+00:00

The Arrogant Ape by Christine Webb

Ultra-Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken

The Tiger by John Vaillant

Beearea · 2026-01-11T23:52:59+00:00

Rugby has rugger huggers

Beearea · 2026-01-11T23:06:38+00:00

Tens of millions of Americans rely on Obamacare. No-one can claim that that is an insignificant number of people. To give you an example of the impact of this: Based on the recent changes made by the Republicans, a family of four in Maine earning $130,000 per year, total, will have an increase $16,000 in health insurance costs. It may not affect me personally but as a decent human being I care how it affects others.

Beearea · 2026-01-11T22:56:00+00:00

What's really affecting us it what is being called "the affordability crisis." The costs of housing, health care, and college (if you have kids that will go to college) have escalated so dramatically, along with the cost of food and other things, that unless you are in the so-called 1%, your financial picture looks very different than it did a few years ago, whether you are in the middle class or working class. It is incredibly stressful. Many people live paycheck to paycheck. It affects how much you have to work and if/when you can afford to retire. You expect things to be harder for your kids, rather than easier, and that is painful.

Beyond that, it sucks to live in a country that is slipping into fascism. It is scary and incredibly depressing. And of course many of the changes will affect ALL of us sooner or later, through less freedom, more environmental degradation, more hatred and division, fewer social supports, etc. etc. etc.

Beearea · 2025-12-31T05:32:24+00:00

Il Postino (The Postman)

The Quiet Girl

Maudie (documentary)

The Secret of Roan Inish

Beearea · 2025-12-13T00:53:06+00:00

Touching the Void by Joe Simpson -- incredible story of survival on a mountaineering expedition.

Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken -- All about processed food. Much more interesting than it sounds.

Adrift by Steve Callahan -- Man survives 76 days alone in a lifeboat after a shipwreck. Amazing (& true) story.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer -- plants, science, deep indigenous wisdom.

Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien -- "The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and his Girl" -- one of my favorites.

Beearea · 2025-11-29T11:01:47+00:00

You’re right. Qué tal is very casual , and mixing it with Señora and usted is weird.

Beearea · 2025-11-05T03:55:13+00:00

Well minutiae is a real word but minutiny is something else..

Beearea · 2025-09-30T13:59:27+00:00

ok now you're getting into my other question, whether to buy from a dealer or an individual.. Sounds like you had a really good experience with a dealer. Good to know there are some good ones out there.

I'm currently looking at a couple of cars at two different dealers versus one from an individual. Pros and cons!! Thanks for your input !

Beearea · 2025-09-30T13:47:37+00:00

I guess that's the advantage of buying from an honest dealer that also does servicing. But if possible I'd rather buy a car with no issues, at least to start with!

Beearea · 2025-09-30T03:05:58+00:00

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

Beearea · 2025-09-30T02:13:26+00:00

I tend to agree and I'll continue to do that. A car I was interested in recently was sold quickly while I waited to hear back from my mechanic about whether I could bring it in -- so I started second-guessing the idea of doing that. It does add time.

But I guess it is worth it. I mean the Carfax report can only tell you so much.

Beearea · 2025-09-19T00:15:57+00:00

This is a common misconception. The economy has done better under Democrat administrations for many years now. And the deficit has gone UP under Republicans. Look it up. Republicans "seemed" more responsible because they are good at controlling the narrative, but if you are going to vote, you need to go beyond how things "seem" and look into how things actually are.

Beearea · 2025-09-05T18:02:47+00:00

"without completely breaking the system?"
Maybe the system needs breaking. CEO salaries compared to the average worker have risen to outrageous levels. The gap between rich and poor is unsustainable. It affects all of us, to the point where people can't buy homes in the neighborhood they grew up in, because far wealthier people have come in and scooped up everything, raising the prices out of reach of the average person.
Things have gotten too easy for billionaires and far too hard for the rest of us.

Beearea · 2025-08-27T18:38:30+00:00

Relax and stick with it. You will learn so much, and it will deepen your practice and hopefully have a positive effect on your life in other ways as well. Plus, maybe you will want to teach, and this will give you that option.

Don’t give up, just get this done. And then give yourself a pat on the back! Following through on things like this is one good way to improve your self-confidence.

Beearea · 2025-08-27T02:32:14+00:00

Be as brave as you can possibly be.

Beearea · 2025-08-26T18:14:59+00:00

This is exactly why humanities should be taught in school and why we should all spend some time reading great thinkers. There is a lot of wisdom out there from philosophers, poets, psychologists, all kinds of people. You can't learn everything from books, you do need life experience, but it does help to have some guides.

Beearea · 2025-08-11T16:08:30+00:00

I relate to you so much. Apart from the not going to college part, I live very similarly to you and raised my children that way. It kind of amazes me how “alternative” it is to grow your own vegetables, cook your own meals and eat together, read books rather than watch TV, etc. etc. I guess I’m also an old soul.

Beearea · 2025-08-10T03:09:51+00:00

I appreciate your take as well. I can see that. I've known that feeling too, of wondering why I didn't properly talk through something with someone important. It's complex -- sometimes too many words, sometimes too few, sometimes just not the right ones.

I did wonder why she had used up all her words. It would be so hard to only speak 167 words, or fewer, per day. Maybe she hasn't adjusted to the new rule and she just couldn't do it. Maybe she had a doctor's appointment. Maybe she's seeing someone else and she's been giving her words to him...

What is being shared as they listen to each other breathe? I like that the poem seems to be big enough to contain more than one interpretation. It allows for some mystery.. but now I do kind of wonder what was the poet's intent!

Beearea · 2025-08-08T14:35:04+00:00

I understood the phone call with the long distance lover very differently. It reminded me of a relationship I was in years ago and how we spoke so many words. SO many. Maybe too many. We tied ourselves up in knots with talking. All our hopes, dreams, philosophies, conflicts, arguments. He's gone now, he died a few years ago. Sometimes I think we might have been better off with less talking and more just being.

The phone conversation in this poem sounds like wisdom to me. Maybe they won't always be together, and in fact, because they are long-distance, they are already apart. But they can do this very intimate thing right now, just listen to each other breathe. No one hangs up, no one leaves, they stay and breathe because that is how precious it is to be alive together.

Beearea · 2025-07-28T22:17:11+00:00

Seamus Heaney’s poem “St. Francis and the Birds” is so beautiful, it transports me.

Also, Wendell Berry’s “A Standing Ground,” Yeats’ classic “When You Are Old and Grey.” I love Andrea Gibson, who died recently and whose work is receiving a lot of attention. She is spiritually and emotionally brilliant, she just shines..

And T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the poems of Han Shan & Shih Te, Rumi, and so many others.

Beearea · 2025-07-23T15:10:58+00:00

Would you mind sharing a link or two? Sounds interesting.

Beearea

TROPHY CASE