Beauty crowds me till I die

Beauty mercy have on me

But if I expire today

Let it be in sight of thee -
#EmilyDickinson

Lent 2026, Day 13: It’s a death cult. "We are the only true believers. The outside world is full of enemies who want to destroy us." — Jim Jones

www.eastofeden.blog/news-culture...

Al Green, Christian Menefee Head To Runoff Election For Texas House Seat Menefee led in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election, but didn’t secure more than than 50% of the vote to win the race outright.

Democratic Reps. Al Green and Christian Menefee are headed to a runoff election in Texas

For the first time, we now know how many Black-owned bookstores exist in the U.S. The National Association of Black Bookstores has released the “first comprehensive national report” on the state of America’s Black-owned bookstores.

There has never been an official, comprehensive record of Black-owned bookstores across the United States — until now

Every stage of this process - his arrest, spending a year in jail, being dumped on the streets to die - would be deeply shameful in a society that actually valued human life.

2,500-year-old 'primitive prosthetic' found on jaw of mummified Scythian woman who survived complex jaw surgery Researchers used CT scans to peer inside a partially mummified skull and discovered the woman survived jaw surgery 2,500 years ago.

www.livescience.com/archaeology/...

Lent 2026, Day 5: Rising Dawn. I fell for you and I knew The vision of your love, loveliness I hope and I pray that someday I'll be the vision of your hap-happiness, oh, oh

Angels, planets, and bodies recur throughout the manuscript as allegories for interior conditions, making this black angel not an isolated curiosity, but part of a larger visual system devoted to becoming, rather than achieving perfection. www.eastofeden.blog/news-culture...

Donate to Support for MaryLou DeFreitas’s Funeral Expenses, organized by Thomas DeFreitas My name is Thomas DeFreitas, and I am hoping to raise some funds to … Thomas DeFreitas needs your support for Support for MaryLou DeFreitas’s Funeral Expenses

gofund.me/6903b50f4

Lent 2026, Day 4: Wanna be on top? Na na na na na na, na na na na You wanna be on top?

"In our lives, we push to project composure, confidence, and calm. Social media has supercharged these projections; we post curated carousels of filtered pics and edited vids.
Yet, in the end, we can’t control everything.
We can’t control most things."
www.eastofeden.blog/news-culture...

Lent 2026, Day 3: With dignity. Charmed, Steamy, & Euphoric. Rest in peace.

Charmed, Steamy, & Euphoric.

Rest in peace.

#EricDane #RIP
www.eastofeden.blog/news-culture...

Lent 2026: Ash Wednesday. Whoa. I didn’t blog at all during Lent last year. I felt like the whole of last year was Lent. Still no Easter, though. But this year, I’m going to write. Or at least try. Today, I’m opening with Hayl...

As a person who strives to act in the way of the holy “ghost,” part of the “bones” of the Body of Christ- yes, I can say, I’m still a “true believer.”
Join me over the next 40+ days, as I blog my thoughts and stuff. www.eastofeden.blog/blog/lent-20...

Amy Sherald’s Show Sets Visitor Record at Baltimore Museum of Art The museum became a venue for “American Sublime” after Sherald withdrew her exhibition from the Smithsonian, citing censorship concerns.

Amy Sherald’s exhibition “American Sublime” made headlines last year after the National Portrait Gallery reportedly attempted to censor her painting of a Black trans woman. Now, with 63,000 visitors and counting, it’s the best-attended show in the Baltimore Museum of Art’s history.

Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.

Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.

Catherine O'Hara, 'Schitt’s Creek' Star and Comedy Legend, Dies at 71 Catherine O'Hara has died at the age of 71. O'Hara was known for her appearances in movies including 'Beetlejuice' and 'Home Alone', as well as her Emmy-winning role as Moira Rose on the TV sitcom 'Sc...

Nooo...

So give me back to Death -

The Death I never feared

Except that it deprived of thee -

And now, by Life deprived,

In my own Grave I breathe

And estimate it’s size -

It’s size is all that Hell can guess -

And all that Heaven was -

Fr1653 #emilydickinson

I'm surprised by just how many people are so trusting.

Finding God in the App Store

On religious apps, tens of millions of people are confessing to spiritual chatbots their secrets: their petty vanities and deepest worries, gluttonous urges and darkest impulses. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/u...

Large police response after reports of shots fired at UMass Boston Shots were fired at UMass Boston, prompting a large police response on campus Thursday afternoon, the Boston Police Department confirmed.

Just Another Day in America: Large police response after reports of shots fired at UMass Boston, police confirm
www.wcvb.com/article/umas...

New Brunswick Cop Shoots and Kills 68-Year-Old Woman in Senior Building - New Brunswick Today | New Brunswick, NJ Local News City police shot and killed a 68-year-old woman inside of the high-rise senior apartment building where she lived.

#RIP #DeborahTerrell #sayhername #NJ

Remedial Measures a shortish essay, in verse, on self-care

Remedial Measures #poetry open.substack.com/pub/thomasde...

Keep the two distinct in your head.

#LoniAnderson #RIP