Monday, August 31, 2026

 

Poems o' Place Names!

 Wow! Quite an outpouring of poems on place names this week! More than anyone, we had great output from Jill Scoggins, who explained it this way:

Is it apparent
that I've thought a lot about
place names in my life?

Leading to this about Idaho:

Coeur d'Alene's meaning?
Unknown. It just sounds pretty
to say it out loud.

And this:

Which town you want to
live in, Sulphur or Sour
Lake? (yes, these are real)

And this:

Woman Hollering
Creek prob'ly has a superb
story behind it.

And even this:

Best state name must be
Mississippi. Lyrical
double letter sounds.

Crystal Beach isn't.
But the name conjures up a
lifetime of mem'ries.

We also had a LOT of Virginia place names referred to, including this from Mark L.:

Croaker, Norge, two names
One interstate exit sign
Thought they were one place

And a follow-up from Des:

Driving past Croaker
and Norge, we see Lady Smith.
Where’s Black Mambazo?

And Craig A:

Short Pump used to be
Lovely farmland with quirky
name, now shopping mall.

There were two referring to Michigan, including this one from my mom:

Slapneck, Michigan
Gnaw Bone, West Virginia
Both seen on road trips.

And one from Christine:

In Michigan you
Can visit both Paradise
Or Hell - seen neither.

The Medievalist brought a little Texas:

Is it Waco? or
Is it Wacko? I'm tired of
explaining the name.

As did Jill Scoggins (and I love this image):

Houston's Buffalo
Speedway: Mind pix of bison
driving Indy cars.

A great anonymous one for Minnesota (I know these signs!):

Finlayson Askov
Is Driving North driving South
Askov Finlayson.

Dr. Daniel Price had a good one (from where I don't know, but I don't want to go there):

I must have misheard
the name "Hairy Man Road"; 
Nope, turns out I didn't.



# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 30, 2026

 

Sunday Reflection: On the richness of normalcy

 


As some of you know, my best friend for the past four decades, IPLawGuy, is facing some health challenges. He has an inoperable glioblastoma, which is a pretty challenging diagnosis.

I've been spending as much time as I can in DC with him lately. We don't go to fancy dinners. We aren't off on a fancy beach. We do pretty normal stuff. We get a lot of ice cream. We drive in the country. We have seen some ball games. Yesterday, we went to see the only movie in recent history to take a serious look at civil litigation in the United States, Coyote v. Acme. 

I guess we are just being normal in unusual times. But really, is there much in the world better than sitting at a ballfield at dusk on a beautiful summer day? Or hearing your friend laugh at a movie? Or concluding that almost any ice cream is damn good as the summer heat melts it just enough?

Life is fleeting, but joy, beauty and meaning need not be.






# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 1 comments

Saturday, August 29, 2026

 

Not hired

 



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Friday, August 28, 2026

 

Haiku Friday: Intriguing place names

 


Here in Minnesota, we seem to specialize in goofy place names-- people don't even seem to notice, for example, if you mention the town called "Embarrass." Let's haiku about those intriguing names, in any state or nation. Here, I will go first:

Ah, Castle Danger--
Former home of Betty's Pies!
Lakeside mystery.

Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!


# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 16 comments

Thursday, August 27, 2026

 

PMT: The Simple Dangers of AI

 


I've written elsewhere about the threat AI poses to culture and human dignity. But there is a simpler danger, and one that only the government can address.

Once AI becomes relatively autonomous-- something happening right now-- it gains the power to destroy what it has access to. And what it has access to is data, system controls, and communications-- the things at the very center of our economy. Recent events (AI agents breaking in to Hugging Face to steal tools, for example) tell us that we are already in the danger area. There will be real consequences and destruction as the machines become more sophisticated.

Bill Gates just came out of hiding (Epstein files, etc.) to flip flop on AI and warn of its dangers given the way things have played out. He's right-- but only after he made billions of dollars on AI. And that's the problem; we are counting on the people making huge profits to be the ones to tamp down the money machine that is AI. How do you think that's going to work out?

The financial existential threat from AI is pretty basic. Companies want to maximize profits through efficiency. AI allows them to do that, because they can do the same work with far fewer human workers. Of course that's going to affect the economy and destroy employment! Defenders of AI say that those greater efficiencies will make the society as a whole richer, but never explain how those riches extend beyond those who profit directly from the efficiencies. In other words, the owners of the business get richer because they employ fewer people. The workers are fired. It's good for the owners and bad for the workers (er, ex-workers). Is that so hard to understand?

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

 

The World was Better for Having Had Her In It

 



# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

 

What happened last Friday will still be bad in 2041

 


Last Friday, August 21, Canada cut off trade negotiations with the US after demands were made that they (reasonably) considered unreasonable. For example, it was reported that the US-- for purposes I can't fathom-- demanded that Quebec abandon it's French language laws. Why is that part of a trade negotiation? And... why is that something the US would care about, anyways?

The Canadians walked away, the U.S. imposed a bunch of tariffs, Canada will respond, etc. etc. etc. Eventually those tariffs will be reduced or removed. But... the more important story arc is a longer one.

 At a macro level, all of this trade chaos the U.S. is instigating is reshaping the relationships between other nations as they turn to one another. They are fashioning agreements, relationships and organizations that do not center or even include the U.S. Because of our instability, we are losing our role as a leader. 

Who wins? Well, in the case of many of the nations we have abused, they are turning to China and the E.U. as "big brother" partners. 

In 15 years, it could be that we are still paying the price for mistakes made now. I hope that is not true, but to avoid that future there will have to be a radical re-thinking not only by the party in power, but in the other one as well, with a goal of long-term stability and consistency that can be projected internationally. 

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Monday, August 24, 2026

 

So many restaurants!

 
I always love it when Craig visits, but this time he really brought the stuff... I remember my Dad at the Jack in the Box drive-through, muttering "I can't believe I am yelling into a clown's mouth":

Howard Johnsons on
Mass Pike gone: the twenty-eight
Flavors are history.

Brigham’s ice cream shops
No longer scooping in Mass.
Left to child memory,

Friendly's Restaurants
going the way of the loved
Awful Awful shake.

The Big Boys of my
Childhood, with great signs, now a
Long road trip away.

And Jack in the Box
Left town too; no longer yelling
“Jack, are you in there?”

And my mom had a good one:

The Little Cafe
German food served with sound of
a bowling alley.

Desiree has a Friendly's thing (who doesn't?):

Now it’s Santini’s,
but we’re still missing Friendly’s
cherry topped milkshakes.

And the Medievalist is back! Thank goodness:

Oh Shaky's Pizza,
With everything on it,
How I miss those pies!

Christine knew what I was talking about:

I always find it
Hard to believe that Red Barn's
Building - still standing

Old Dunkin Donut
Storefront still shares the corner
Held up by sugar.

As did this Ohioan:

Ate at Red Barn in Dayton
Always a big deal
Loved A&W more.

And we even got a Southwestern perspective:

Split T, OkC
Pre-football gathering place
We miss your burgers!



# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 23, 2026

 

Sunday Reflection: Tell no one


 

In Matthew 16:13-20, we find this:

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

It is that last line that has fascinated me since I first read this passage as a kid-- it's not the only time Jesus tells people not to tell others what has just happened.

For an evangelist, it's an odd directive. Isn't the point of it all that people know he is the Son of God? I have a few thoughts about what might be going on.

One is that if you tell a large-ish group of people not to tell anyone about something, it pretty much guarantees they are going to tell someone-- and when they do, there is a special kind of authenticity that comes with it being secret info. 

Another is that perhaps it wasn't time yet for this to be revealed, because it would bring down the wrath of the authorities and cut his ministry short.

Finally, I wonder if it is simply self-protection. Sometimes Jesus removes himself physically from others by retreating to the wilderness; perhaps he is doing that in a different way here.

But in the end I don't know why he told them to tell no one. And, of course, they told everyone!

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Saturday, August 22, 2026

 

Somehow....

 I completely missed this sub-plot in Parks and Rec:




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Friday, August 21, 2026

 

Haiku Friday: Long-gone restaurants

 


Restaurants churn through pretty quickly in some places, and many of my own childhood favorites are long-gone: The Red Barn, Lum's, Burger Chef. I know that IPLawGuy has fond memories of the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Prison. So let's haiku about those this week! Here, I will go first:

Over on Nine Mile
Across from the big K-Mart
Food came in a barn!

Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 8 comments

Thursday, August 20, 2026

 

Political Mayhem Thursday: Election Denial... or at least, very expensive questioning

 


Minnesota's love for novelty candidates seems to have faded. In last week's voting, Trump-endorsed My Pillow guy (Mike Lindell) lost by over 45,000 votes to Lisa Demuth (out of about 400,000 cast in the Republican primary). 

Not to be deterred, and completely on brand, he is demanding a recount because, you know, voting machines. The rub is that he is going to foot the bill-- taxpayer-financed recounts are only available for much narrower results. The threshold his a 0.25% gap, and here there is an 11% gap. It will cost about $850,000. 

He may have trouble coming up with the money (or a surety), since he is in deep financial trouble already, partly stemming from the case he already lost on voting machines to Smartmatic.  

I guess, to some people, it's just inconceivable that they could actually lose.





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Wednesday, August 19, 2026

 

Business News

 


Yesterday, I accidentally stumbled across a very intriguing new business: the "Waco Rage Room."  Apparently, you pay a set fee to smash a set number of objects, which can include elecronics, dishware and wine glasses. For example, for $75 a loving couple can spend 45 minutes smashing 80 pieces of glassware. And how do you break that much stuff? With "baseball bats, golf clubs, mallets, hammers, metal pipes and more!" 

My favorite part is that the Rage Room is conveniently located near the H.E.B. grocery store on Wooded Acres Drive-- the place in Waco most likely to drive a person into a rage. Or, at least, most likely to drive me into a rage....



# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

 

The quiet places

 


I often encourage my students to look for jobs outside of the big urban areas-- and sometimes I wish that I had done exactly that. For prosecutors, for example, there are great opportunities in offices of just a few people, where you can have much more responsibility faster than in a huge urban office. Plus, it fills a true community need.

This election cycle, no one is running for County Attorney in Red Lake County, Minnesota... and, as it turns out no one can, as there are no licensed attorneys living in that county.  Two other counties in Minnesota have at least one attorney, but no one is running for that position.

I suspect that the job market will tighten soon, and perhaps that will force people to consider going outstate-- but it would be great if something drove them beyond necessity. Those places need not only prosecutors, but defense attorneys and people who can do the basic blocking-and-tackling work of civil law. 

Certainly, law is not alone in this-- medicine has long suffered from similar "deserts." It could be that we need to work harder to ensure that everyone has access to the services they need.

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 2 comments

Monday, August 17, 2026

 

Mayo-k Haiku!

 I loved the  haiku this week, on the profoundly unpopular topic of condiments! Check this out from CraigA:

Nothing like mayo
and mustard, more than I should:
my guilty pleasures!

And one from anonymous:

Mayo and ketchup!
Tastes the best on warm hot dogs
Soft and doughy bun.

Christine had (good) thoughts:

Ketchup and relish
Mixed with mayonnaise makes
A lovely chip dip.

And another anonymous gem:

Since it’s Chicago
The mascot won’t be ketchup!
Hot dog sacrilege 🌭


# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 16, 2026

 

Political Mayhem Sunday: The Minnesota Primary Made One Big Statement

 


My home state of Minnesota was in the spotlight this week as we held our primaries on Tuesday. I think that merits a special post this week now that I've had time to think about it. 

There were three elections and one fact that I think sent a single message:

-- Progressive Peggy Flanagan beat moderate Angie Craig by 20 points for the Democratic nomination for Tina Smith's Senate seat. A key issue for many voters: Craig's vote for the Laken Riley Act, which gave ICE money and power.

-- State House Speaker Lisa Demuth won the GOP nomination for Governor over Mike Lindell (pictured above with a pillow), who had President Trump's endorsement, and Kendall Qualles, who was endorsed by the state party.

-- Finally, Michele Tafoya absolutely destroyed the party-endorsed GOP candidate for Senate, whose name I've already forgotten (Doug? Randy? Something like that). 

-- In a state with a rough balance between parties, 697,000 people voted in the Democratic primary for US Senate, while only 406,000 Republicans voted in that race on their side of the ballot. That's a huge enthusiasm gap.

The one take-away is this: Minnesotans are still mad about Operation Metro Surge, and that is a much bigger issue here than the fraud cases and what they have revealed. Here is how that showed up: Democrats turned out in huge numbers and angry, voting for the people they think will fight back against Washington (ie, Flanagan). Republicans are rejecting their state party's advice (Tafoya and Demuth). Trump's endorsement didn't matter much. 

November looms...

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 3 comments

Saturday, August 15, 2026

 

Dueling banjo(s)

 

I had never seen this scene before. It's compelling and kind of creepy. I'm not sure I want to see this whole movie ("Deliverance"), but this song brought back some memories.



# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 1 comments

Friday, August 14, 2026

 

Haiku Friday: Condiments

 

This week's contest is brought to you by Squeeze, the mascot for the Chicago Dogs, a baseball team in the American Association that plays its home games in Rosemont, Illinois. I'm a condiment fan, myself-- I think they are Mayo-k! Let's haiku about that this week (well, condiments themselves, not my affection for them). Here, I will go first:
 
I really hope that
When you give Squeeze a big hug
Mustard goes straight up!
 
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun... 

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 5 comments

Thursday, August 13, 2026

 

The Odyssey and one present message.


 

Those who have been following this blog know that I have a bit of a fascination with the "Late Bronze Age Collapse," which refers to the sudden decline of several civilizations at the same time in the 1200's BC. From Europe to Asia, and particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean, societies seem to have gone into reverse socially, culturally and technologically. There is no real consensus on why, though theories range from environmental disasters to invasion by a suddenly dominant (and unidentified) group sometimes called "the Sea People."

My own theory is that this is what the Christopher Nolan film version of the Odyssey is really about. When Odysseus returns and tells Penelope about the destruction of Troy, she is taken aback. She has been fearing an invasion by the Sea People, but suddenly sees it differently. "We are the Sea People," she says, stricken.

In other words, it is the break-down of broad cultural norms (a key theme in The Odyssey) relating to how people treat one another that led to the universal breakdown, not invasion from a mysterious force. And yet fear of those outsiders had amplified the breakdown of norms, and made everything worse.

It is hard not to see this as a pretty contemporary message.

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

 

On Minnesota

 


People often ask me what it is like to live in Minnesota-- I was recently in DC visiting IPLawGuy and fielded the question a few times. Usually, the question is couched in one of two ways: either with "I heard it is a great place to live," or (more commonly) "how do you stand the winters?"

The first supposition is true: Minnesota is a great place to live, with a strong economy, beautiful spaces, and fun things to do (not to mention an international airport that lets you get anywhere else pretty quickly). Sure, my baseline has been Waco and Detroit, but still, it's been wonderful.

And yes, we have cold winters. But like a lot of people here I enjoy that. I not only enjoy the change of seasons, but I enjoy extremes: that super-hot day where the heat lifts off the pavement in waves and the stone cold January day where stepping outside takes your breath away. We get that here. And the winter is the most beautiful time of the year.

Unlike Detroit where winter is pretty gray, we get sunny winters for the most part, and there is nothing quite like it....

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

 

The summer in a picture

 


I took this picture on my short trip to the Boundary Waters a few weeks ago. The air was heavy with smoke, which created a whole new palette of colors in water and sky. This photo isn't touched up at all-- this is how the water actually looked, which is not normal.

My dad taught me to see the beauty in everything, even in tragic things. I can't do that effortlessly, like he did, but when I try it makes my life better.  

# posted by Mark Osler @ 9:53 PM 0 comments

Monday, August 10, 2026

 

IKEA Haiku week concludes!

 Four good entries this week! I loved this anonymous one:

Kleppstad, Gursten, Brimnes
So many names for your beds
Hope pronouncing right!

And this one from Des:

Went in to get a
foot stool. Came out with a large
comfy sectional.

Christine covers two IKEA aspects in just three lines:

Searching for a bookcase
I don't understand the names...
Lingonberry jam.

And finally, another anonymous gem:

Love discount section!
Found a snap together deck
Transformed small back yard.

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 09, 2026

 

Sunday Reflections: The Theology of "Jesus Didn't Really Mean What He Said"

 


My entire life, there is a certain kind of sermon I have absolutely detested: Those that take a Gospel reading that includes a challenging teaching of Jesus, and then explain how Jesus did not mean what he actually said. For example, I once heard a sermon on a section of Matthew 13 where Jesus tells a parable about seeds-- ending with the weeds being burned and the wheat saved.

That sure SEEMS to be about good people being rewarded and others not. But this sermon couldn't accept that and dodged into the old testament to try to save things. It was weird. I mean... Jesus even explained this parable expressly, saying "The seed is the son of man, the field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, and the weeds are the children of the evil one."

I'm not comfortable with that teaching, but it is what it is-- and it would seem that Jesus really meant something we judgment-fearing people do not want to hear.


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Saturday, August 08, 2026

 

What Batman USED to be like!

 



# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Friday, August 07, 2026

 

Haiku Friday: IKEA!

 


If you haven't been to IKEA, that is worth writing about! And the rest of us can write about the weird and (sometimes) wonderful world that is IKEA. Here, I will go first:

Must know: Could I live
In just four hundred square feet?
I'm glad that I don't!

Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun....

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 4 comments

Thursday, August 06, 2026

 

Political Mayhem Thursday: The facts are, we are staring at two more "change" elections

 

The best explanation of Kamala Harris's loss in 2024 came from IPLawGuy: that the Democrats did not realize it was a change election, where a significant number of voters-- not all of them, or probably most of them, but enough to swing the election-- wanted a change from what they saw in Washington.

The next two big elections, the mid-terms in November and the 2028 presidential race are likely to be change elections, too. And what we should see in some recent outcomes (especially in Michigan) is that people don't just want a change away from Trump, but a change away from the crusty old Democratic establishment, as well.

In the run-up to 2020, I knew we were going to have crusty old Joe Biden forced on us by the powers that be, and we did. I don't think people are going to make that mistake again.

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 05, 2026

 

The first football poll is out!

 


The first coaches' poll of the year is out, and I'm ready for it. Of course, these things have been fabulously inaccurate as a predictor in the past few years, but it is still fun to enjoy a time before records are sullied by actual games.

The Big Ten holds the top two spots (with Ohio State and Oregon) and 8 of the top 25. The SEC has 9 in the top 25-- which leaves just 8 slots for all of the other conferences.

Here is an anomoly.... even though a big plurality of Americans live in Atlantic and Pacific coastal states, only six teams are from those states.  5 teams are from Texas-- by far the largest state contingent.

But, of course, it all will change....



# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 04, 2026

 

Some truths about Abdul Al-Sayed

 

Today is the US Senate primary in Michigan, and it is a hotly-contested race on the Democratic side between Haley Stevens and Abdul Al-Sayed. I've read and heard a lot about it, and have to say I'm surprised by some takes on it.

Haley Stevens seems like a wholly-owned creation of the Democratic establishment. After Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance she put all objectivity aside and was still all-in on his candidacy ("I trust our president, and know that he is the one to finish the job"), and frankly I'm pretty tired of that whole crowd. 

Al-Sayed is described in some places like some street fighter whose platform is communism. Not exactly. Here are some actual facts about him:

-- He's from Rochester Hills, a relatively affluent suburb of Detroit. Both of his parents are engineers (which is pretty common in Detroit).

-- He went to the University of Michigan, then went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. 

-- Then he went to Columbia Medical School and graduated with an MD.

-- Since then, he has worked in public health, as the head of that department first in Detroit and then in Wayne County.

Personally, it might not be a bad thing to have people from public health in government right now....



# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Monday, August 03, 2026

 

On Fish

 It was good to see IPLawGuy back in the haiku groove:

Feed a man a fish;
Teach a man to fish and he
will not go hungry.

And I loved this anonymous entry:

Walking on a beach
Saw man catch a baby shark'
Dangling from his line

He took off the hook
Held it in palm of his hand
This small miracle

Gently released it
Back to the surging ocean
Hope he found way home!

Christine took the bait:

Every summer
Anglers, along the shoreline
Bait buckets ready

Anticipation
As minnows swim, unknowing
Their fate is a hook.

As did this second anonymous friend:

Who was that one guy
He wished for fish in his
Fish wish dish (I think)?

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 02, 2026

 

Sunday Reflection: Stone Soup


 

In Matthew 14:13-21 we find this:

Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.


I love this whole story! One aspect, often (and properly) noted is that clearly the people have come to hear him preach, but first he heals them and feeds them. He doesn't just offer them words.

We usually assume that it was a miracle that multiplied the loaves and fishes, but this text does not make that claim. It might be that once Jesus shared all he had, others were willing to share what they had-- they went home and got their own loaves to share. It can be taken as a story about the power of sacrificial leadership-- of being the first to do the right, hard thing in a public way.

And maybe that is a miracle, too.

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

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