Cold...

 

 

It was all over the news today, oh boy. 

In these times of frozen hearts,

The well of sorrow is deep, 

And children find it hard to sleep. 

What once was seems to be sleeping, 

Lost In a strange world of dreams, 

Even nightmares. 

The snow flies, 

The ice creeps, 

Stealing away breath. 

Songs and words are lost, 

And the children find it hard to sleep. 

When the world is painted Orange, 

Somehow it will be blue. 

Let the Angels fly to heaven, 

Carrying songs and poems for all the children, 

For those with soft hearts, 

Kind minds, 

And some shred of decency left upon the cold hard ground. 

Words, words, words.. 

I still wonder what they are worth. 

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford 

© 01/09/2026

Regards,

Dan Stafford

Sardines And More...

I have discovered that I really like sardines, especially this particular flavor. At  first I was worried about the bones. I tried skinless boneless sardines in EVOO first, and those were good with a few drops of Cholula. 

Then I searched online about people eating sardines with bones in them, and apparently the canning process for tinned sardines is hot enough to really soften the bones, and they are a great source of calcium and trace minerals.

I tried a tin of these this morning, and I couldn't even tell there were bones in them. Very good, and excellent source of omega 3's and minerals, selenium, and more. Going to alternate these with skipjack tuna.

Regards,

Dan Stafford

Happy New Year 2026!

2026 AI New Year Ball Drop/Fireworks - (Dan Stafford & Gemini 3)

I have an odd feeling that 2026 might just be a turning point towards a more positive future. I don't know why, but my core is feeling lighter than it has for the past several years, like a weight is lifting.

I don't usually predict much, but I think AI is going to be a big player in many ways. I also have a suspicion that, for those who use it with jurisprudence, integrity, compassion, hope, and inspiration, it may just become a very useful tool and possibly companion.

I think AI will be as much a reflection of those using it as it is anything else.

My wish is for a peaceful, productive, healthy, diverse, and compassionate world. It also needs a healthy dose of pragmatism. Most of all, we need a strong dose of a positive vision for the future instead of all the negative and apocalyptic feed coming from current entertainment sources.

We also need a lot more one-to-one or small group conversations that are verbal instead of textual.

Maybe we can't have a totally different world just because it's January first. However, we can change our attitudes, thought patterns, behavior, and focus almost overnight on an individual level. That's always a reason for hope, because a lot of us changing those things in bright and positive ways would be a powerful thing.

Sending love, light, and hope to all our world.

For Auld Lang Syne, my friends, and for a joyous future.

Blessings,

Dan Stafford

 

Words Of Choice...

The magic of an old-school blog.

It seems to me that "social" media has become anti-social media in many cases.

Algorithms came first, All the better to feed the corporate wolves dressing like sheep. Then came the invading hordes of Zombots, robotic catfish trying to make us all chase our tail. Now it's AI, be it AI bots, AI algorithms, or just AI throwing videos like Godzilla in a pillow fight with a feather cannon.

It's gotten to be ridiculous.

I miss the days of blogs written by humans, subscribed to by choice, and simple static banner ads I could actually read through.

Those things still exist, but they're hard to find unless you discover a means of punching through the AI results firewall of the geomind's zeitgeist.

It was a debacle when Google killed Feedburner in July of 2022.

However, I've discovered a replacement that lets me cultivate a channel that I control for incoming information: https://follow.it/ 

This is letting me build my own list of blog feeds. 

Not that the AI stuff isn't interesting, but I need to read humans too. Actual written-by humans for humans old-school blogs about people's passions and their lives.

Maybe families could create blog circles and share their links to replace what Farcebook used to be. It would be better than what we get now, especially with just a daily "newspaper" email.

This might just be an idea.

Thank you for reading.

Dan

--

Compassion is the greatest sign of Humanity.

The Thing About Dragons...

The Thing About Dragons...

 

The Thing About Dragons

Reading the old romances,

We see through ancient eyes,

We lack the same filters Celtic mystics lacked,

We see like medieval knights,

Kings,

Bards and wizards.

But in a modern world where Erich Von Däniken is alive,

Filled with the mystery of Ancient Aliens,

My hair would stand on end too,

If I were so sloth as to not practice mental gymnastics.

Perhaps it's the steam of an early morning shower,

Like the isolation of a hidden mountain geothermal spring,

Tucked in a cave full of intellectual gold,

But I saw the Saurids come flying down at Beltane,

Only to face ignorant shields and swords,

For the maidens weren't sacrificed for dinner.

It was for DNA,

Baby.

Or babies.

You see,

That's the thing about Dragons,

Was it the tail of a rocket burning them into the sky,

Or Old Elvish magic,

Something elemental?

Was a hoard of gold fuel,

Or just pretty?

Any technology sufficiently advanced,

Or magic.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford

(C) 12-26-2025

A Silver And Gold Yule...

A Silver And Gold Yule...

I see lights, I see solstice.

I see the red and green,

It's raining good luck and money on us,

Sweet spirit,

Cheer and soft old music,

Fortunes turn to freedom,

The fires of Yule burn bright,

Blazing sweetly,

A remembrance of what can be now is,

Underneath the snow and evergreens,

And we dance Winter dances,

We dance with angels and spirits,

For we are both safe and free,

Happy Yule,

Ancient Yule,

Jack Frost painting,

We are drumming a spirit-walking beat,

The winds and trees are Odin's bones and breath,

The aurorae a dance of Thor crafting with hammer and lightning,

The better to see the Norn sisters weaving.

AquarianM

(C) 12-14-2025

By: Daniel A. Stafford

Captain Yule's Yuletide Chronicles...

 Captain Yule's Yuletide Chronicles...

Captain Yule

A seeker of stories,

A journalist of the contemporary Yuletide,

The magic can be green, white, red, or blue,

But it is memories that need to be shared,

The decorations,

The food,

The food fights,

The romance,

The breakups,

The makeups,

The bicycles and trees,

The socks and the ties,

The pies of pumpkin or pecan,

Whatever it is that you carry along.

Have a Cool Yule! (And share it.)

Captain Yule.

(C) 12-12-2025 by: Daniel A. Stafford

Captain Yule's Cool Yuletide Chronicles - Channel Intro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maZZoGQlGyo

We Passed Second Section On Monday.

Three of us passed our second section test on Monday evening.

We were tested on a couple of our stances, and how long we could hold those.

We were tested on four different forms as well, and also four different kicks, and punch combinations as well as chung combinations.

It's also very cool that we are all three of similar ages, early 50's to early 60's.

Upon passing second section in this art, we receive our first gi, but not the belt. Apparently that comes later.

It was a bit like Oom Yung Doe Christmas. A happy occasion.

I congratulate my classmates!

Thank you for reading.

I bow to my instructors.

I bow to the flags of our nation and art.

I bow to the masters, students, and martial arts practitioners who have passed this art down to us through the millennia.

Thank you All.

Regards,

Dan Stafford