A succinct summary of our times from my morning reading. From Bill Knott's "I Am Flying Into Myself: Selected Poems, 1960-2014".

I haven't quite warmed to the remix yet, but it's easy to stand behind the sentiment of R.E.M.'s latest effort, a new EP with proceeds benefitting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_rs...

I didn't watch the State of the Union speech, and won't watch any clips featuring him. But I did peruse some analysis in the hope of seeing sanity claw its way back. A foolish errand, I know. Case in point: Sure, NYT factcheckers, "fast" is the only thing to be concerned with here.

The New York Times is going to run out of euphemisms for “illegal.”

Reading Heather McGhee’s “The Sum of Us” this morning, I was struck by how well this view of conservative whites in 2009, while terribly misguided at the time, perfectly summarizes what Trump and Musk are actually doing today.

Is Trump aware of how the Mercator map skews things? Maybe once he realizes Greenland isn't really bigger than the U.S. mainland he'll lose interest. (courtesy of www.thetruesize.com).

But if the Register goes away, who will tell the women in my life how to shop for gifts for me?

When this is your voice of reason, you are in very big trouble.

Such a wonderful Paul Engle Prize ceremony last night in Coralville for poet Camille Dungy. She went to high school here, so many well wishers came out to celebrate her. So much positive energy! One of the most-rewarding nights of the year. www.iowacityofliterature.org/camille-dung...

Can Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers agree on anything? Yes, eventually, if this year-late celebration of their biggest album is any indication. Lucky for us, the results are revelatory. jpkenyon.substack.com/p/synchronic...

For your lunchtime reading pleasure, some thoughts on the new "We Are the World" documentary streaming on Netflix. Puzzled Dylan, drunk Jarreau, self-driving Rogers and much more on this return trip to 1985.

open.substack.com/pub/jpkenyon/p…