🌟 What I'm Reading: 6-30-2024 🌟

A Weekly Roundup Highlight Reel of What I Have Been Reading

The Starfire Codes

Jun 30, 2024

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I post a weekly roundup of some of the highlights of what I’ve been reading… including many thoughtful, valuable, and intriguing perspectives that I could not otherwise post.

I hope that you find this list to be useful, inspiring, interesting, and informative!

Sending my love,
Demi 🌟

What I'm Reading: 6-30-2024

Candidate Quality Doesn't Matter

Several right-wing media outlets have taken to post-election lecturing the hoi polloi about the importance of “candidate quality.” Their main thrust: the reason the much ballyhooed Republican Red Wave drained to a mere Red Ripple for the midterms is that some of the Grand Ol’ Party’s candidates lacked the charisma and character, the policies and perspec…

2 years ago · 11 likes · 20 comments · Apollo's Lyre

The Great Reality Debate and Synchronization Rituals

Open wrist talk back again In the wounds of its skin They'll pinprick the witness In ritual contrition The A.M. trinity Fell upon asphyxia-derailed In the rattles of — The Mars Volta, “Roulette Dares (The Haunt of…

10 months ago · 32 likes · 21 comments · Apollo's Lyre

Joey and The Don in TV Land

It started with a note. A beautiful note. Just four pictures of two men in their golden years enjoying life’s simple pleasures: the majesty of nature, the taste of a homecooked meal, the company of a good friend. Pictures filled with love, laughter, and hope for a brighter future…

a year ago · 21 likes · 25 comments · Apollo's Lyre

Benjamin Akira Tallamy's substack

Bill Murray's Hair

Many things people think are alike, are in fact different. Looking is not seeing. Hearing is not listening. Talking to, is not Speaking with. Youth is not beauty. And then we have Bill Murray’s hair. When I was a kid, I never quite understood Bill Murray’s hair. I would look at it and wonder what he was thinking? Was it some sort of character affectation? Som…

10 months ago · 87 likes · 7 comments · Benjamin Akira Tallamy

Becoming a Butterfly

Why does it feel weird to be happy?

Becoming a Butterfly is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Why does it feel weird to be happy? That is the question I woke up with. I was also wondering what I might want to write to you about this week. What did I have to write about…

10 months ago · 9 likes · 3 comments · Terra Brooke

cb.substack.com

The use of the predatory bird proved effective

I was taking BART to work a few months ago when I noticed a woman holding a large bird of prey. I must admit that I was surprised. I'm accustomed to eccentric behavior on San Francisco public transit, but the bird was so big and the woman looked so serious that I couldn't quite shrug them off as being part of the usual cast or characters. What were they …

10 months ago · 75 likes · 11 comments · Chris Best

The Charlotte Pendragon Diaries by Charlotte Pendragon

Thanks for reading The Charlotte Pendragon Diaries by Charlotte Pendragon ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. I want to dedicate this article to Tracy, a lead singer, dancer, Bluebell girl from London, and my friend. She befriended me while performing at Bally’s Grand in the Jubilee Show. I became good friends with her and her …

10 months ago · 67 likes · 48 comments · Charlotte Pendragon

Chas Holloway's Thinkopolis

Count Von Zeppelin

Click to Play Audio Count Von Zeppelin by Chas Holloway Things you didn’t know about the Goodyear blimp…

10 months ago · 4 likes · Chas Holloway

Chewsday Memes, Jun 25

Good time of day, humans! This is a small rat’s nest of memes I’ve snatched lately (mostly from Xitterverse) – some serious, some not so much. Enjoy…

10 months ago · 85 likes · 3 comments · Rat

A Convict's Perspective

A Story Tellers Story

I think storytelling hinges as much on who's telling it as it does on the tale itself. Are you a character in it or simply a narrator? Did you know that con-artist is literally a synonym for storyteller? I just read that in my thesaurus app after I had decided to write this and I cannot tell you how amused I am by that. I suppose I was meant to write thi…

10 months ago · 167 likes · 53 comments · Coleman

Cultural Crossroads

The Journey North Goes South

Previously: The journey to the north begins with a tense departure. As we drive along the Mediterranean coastline, the highway narrows and the surroundings become increasingly desolate, marked by the smell of an old plastic factory and the sight of broken-down cars. Joseph's unusual behavior of ignoring stranded motorists on the side of the road puzzles …

10 months ago · 4 likes · April Larson Assi

Richard Nixon: On China, Balance of Power

10 months ago · 4 likes · 1 comment · Jason Powers

Demystifying Philosophy

Can AI Companions Truly Be Our Friends? Here's What Aristotle's Answer Might Be

“I admitted to my friends that I found happiness with an AI girlfriend and now they think I’m nuts”. “My depressed brother is dating an AI and is finally happy, but our family doesn’t know how to process this.” The quotations above are reported by Brit Dawson in his article “Meet the people bringing their virtual relationships into the IRL” (In Real Life…

10 months ago · 13 likes · 9 comments · Maria Antonietta Perna

DoG’s Substack

Truth Bomb Central: Memes that Expose the Deception (Part 15)

10 months ago · 53 likes · 5 comments · DoG

Ear Candy Update

Some men are searching for the Holy Grail, but there ain’t nothing sweeter than ridin’ the rail. - Tom Waits, Cold Water The loneliest place in the world is the Erie, Pennsylvania train station at 4 o’clock in the morning. For the record, the Erie, Pennsylvania train station is open only between 2 and 6 a.m. It is decidedly not Chicago…

10 months ago · 15 likes · 6 comments · Jason Thompson

Ordre du Chapeau Rouge

Have you heard of the Ordre du Chapeau Rouge? (Pardon my French, alas, I don’t know a word of French, but I do know that it sounds fancy to us Americans!) Sorry, I digress. Back to the subject at hand… Have you heard of the Ordre du Chapeau Rouge? Don’t feel bad if you haven’t. It is a super elite, super secret Masonic Order, known to very few. Or maybe…

10 months ago · 12 likes · 13 comments · Cameron M. Bailey

Of Pisco and Peru: Iquitos Pt. 10

‘Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it’s in my basement. . . let me go upstairs and check’ — MC Escher The song purrs softly through the room in what must be a galley, but looks like a demented biology professor’s hoarding attic and smells like a fouled-up port-a-potty after a weeklong chili cookoff…

10 months ago · 25 likes · 11 comments · EpicGonzo

Expect the Unexpected

One Stop Shopping in Antarctica

For a Black Belt Power Shopper like myself, there is nothing like a good fix of retail therapy in Paris, London, Tokyo, Port Lockroy… Port Lockroy? Never heard of it? That’s not surprising. Port Lockroy, Antarctica, has only recently earned its standing among the mega-giants of international retail therapy…

10 months ago · 19 likes · 10 comments

The Freedom Scale

Gandhi, Castro, and the Vietcong Were All 'Right Wing'?

Why this book | Title Page | Table of Contents Preface | Introduction PART 1 Chapter 1 (1.1) (1.2) | Chapter 2 (2.1) (2.2) (2.3) | Chapter 3 (3.1) (3.2) (3.3) (3.4) (3.5) (3.6) PART 2 Chapter 4 (4.1) (4.2) (4.3) (4.4) (4.5) | Chapter 5 (5.1) (5.2) (5.3…

10 months ago · 17 likes · 2 comments · Christopher Cook

The Freedom Scale

Who Will They Pick to Replace Biden?

I didn’t watch last night’s debate. That was simply not going to happen, for a host of reasons… First, as most of you know, I no longer believe that ‘democracy’ is a good thing. It has fundamental moral problems—ones that, contrary to our gauzy patriotism…

10 months ago · 103 likes · 88 comments · Christopher Cook

The Freedom Scale

You Should Be Able to Pay Bone Marrow Donors

It’s 12:07 AM, and I am still in the airport. Will this plane even take off tonight? Will my wife and I be sleeping under an airport bench? I don’t know. Either way, I figure I might as well be productive while I wait. To that end, I have been sitting here scanning for new #FreedomShorts that we can watch and discuss together for Monday’s post…

10 months ago · 50 likes · 51 comments · Christopher Cook

A Harmony of Staves

It is now impossible to understand Gnosticism as a continuation of the Egyptian mysteries. Whenever people read the Gnostic gospels, they automatically assume, that it is simply an earlier version of their familiar biblical tales, one that is historically interesting to some, odd and confusing to others. They cannot see that these stories were stood on …

10 months ago · 1 like · Mike Kay

Holly’s Substack

Paternal Overtures: A Disjointed Medley

The second half of this post is a lot more vulnerable and personal than my content typically is, which is why the comments are closed, but the topic won’t leave me alone. I had to write this one to get the voices in my head to shut up. Introduction: the Speech…

10 months ago · 125 likes · Holly MathNerd

Holly’s Substack

The Smell Was Elephant S*** All Along

10 months ago · 109 likes · 20 comments · Holly MathNerd

Honest To Goodness

Christian Nationalism and the 10 Commandments

I’m a really squeamish person. I can’t watch the ending of Braveheart without wanting to hurl. While everyone else runs around the room shouting “Freedom!” in solidarity with William Wallace, I’m sitting there turning green as my mind churns over the graphic reality of what, exactly, is happening to his body as he’s drawn and quartered. It lingers with …

10 months ago · 60 likes · Kaeley Triller Harms

Intellectual Dissatisfaction

These memes are intended to make light of an increasingly tense political atmosphere. This publication receives submissions from the community, and the memes held within do not reflect the opinions of the publication…

10 months ago · 65 likes · Jeremy Mercier

Mean Girl Summer

Did you ever have a song that took you back in time? The other day I heard “Funky Town” by LIPPS. No one was home so I belted out the verses the way I did when I was 11. Were the windows open? Who cares! That song took me back to summer camp when I was 11 years old. I remembered how my “friends” and I would walk around singing it. It was a song for our…

10 months ago · 59 likes · 35 comments · Jane Deegan

Kaya's Self Liberation Portal

Climbing the Ladder to Exalted States from within the Heart

Climbing the ladder to exalted states often begins with allowing lower density emotions to fully flow. Through allowing the full spectrum of emotional energies to flow fully through the heart, through self compassion, they are transmuted naturally.Kaya's Self Liberation Portal is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, c…

10 months ago · 10 likes · 6 comments · Kaya Marie

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On the Road of Bones

Hitting the Substack Wall

I believe I’ve hit the Substack wall. You can only expand and grow so much via the platform and now that the numbers are bottoming out and the subscriptions come few and far between, I’m going to have to look at some way to get my writing that is hosted in Substack more views from somewhere out there, on the shitternet. But how to get those eyes to come to me is a real mystery…

10 months ago · 4 likes · 3 comments · The Bone Writer

On the Road of Bones

Travis was happily married and the father of 3 young children, two boys and one girl. He and his wife were active in the community and their kid's lives. They took their kids roller skating, went on hikes, and to the park. They tried to keep the kids active and disengaged from the screen. Both Travis and his wife, Stacy, wanted to give their kids a more traditional upbringing, hard to do when the school system hands the kids a Chromebook on their first day of class. Therefore, they ended up pulling the kids from the public school system and homeschooling…

10 months ago · 7 likes · 4 comments · The Bone Writer

On the Road of Bones

Surviving the Bully Brigade

This post was originally published via Medium on 1/22/21 and is directed at those in school dealing with bullies and/or the parents and teachers of a child who is on the receiving end of the torment. Middle School was literal hell for me. My Mom got a job in Atlanta and we moved here from a small town of about 1400 people in Nebraska. The schools were different. The people were different. Life was different. I was a fish out of water and just hoped that I could fit in…

2 years ago · 4 likes · 1 comment · The Bone Writer

On the Road of Bones

YOU are part of a Lost Generation

YOU are the Lost Generation. Did you know this? Did you know that your history has not been written down? That your photos and writings are momentary? There is a photo of Billy the Kid from 1880 that will most likely be around long after you have shuffled off this mortal coil. That photo will still be around long after the Corpo tech masters shut down your Instagram, Facebook, Google Photos, Apple Photos, or (INSERT cloud site or app you keep your pictures on HERE). That photo will outlast your entire legacy because it is physical and part of the real world…

10 months ago · 10 likes · 2 comments · The Bone Writer

Proton Magic & Co.

Owls & Bioweapons🦉

I usually get 5-10 likes on a note but this one shocked me at 32 likes and made me think there is something that is really reverberating here with people. So today I’ll make a full post of it and add some extra fun. 👉Would you use a “Masked Skull & Bones $$$” image as thumbnail for a serious post to an audience who has had friends and family injured an…

10 months ago · 61 likes · 37 comments · Proton Magic

Is This The Energy Behind Consciousness?

Set Your Pulse: Take a breath. Turn your attention to your body and release any tension. Breathe slowly into the area of your heart for 60 seconds, focusing on feeling a sense of ease. Stay connected to your body as you read. Click here to learn why we suggest this…

10 months ago · 20 likes · 4 comments · Tom Bunzel

Reina’s Substack

Dreamland Configurations

I wake up in the a.m. most days, just having left the different places I've traveled during the nite hours. It’s quite often an interesting game of trying to decipher the messages left in my subconscious by my higher self, ancestors, or Spirit (and sometimes All 3). Even when I can remember the entire “Dream” or scene, some specific intricate details ar…

10 months ago · 17 likes · 5 comments · Blessed Warrior Reina

Richard Hanania's Newsletter

Biden Won't Quit Because Being Old Sucks

I’ve achieved a bit of fame over the last four years. Not that much, as I’ve only been recognized twice “out in the wild.” But at any event that draws a crowd that is into politics or rationalism, a lot of people come up to me and introduce themselves. Acquaintances and even strangers reach out a lot with business and social opportunities, and they are …

10 months ago · 138 likes · 92 comments · Richard Hanania

The Shrewd Artist by Michael Newberry

Martine Vaugel: Survivor, Worshiper, Fool

10 months ago · 9 likes · 2 comments · Michael Newberry

The Shrewd Artist by Michael Newberry

ROMANTIC NIHILISM, Paul McCarthy at MOCA (2001)

Note: I knew I was missing an important article from the list I included in yesterday's Chapter 10, Is a Modern Renaissance Possible? I looked for it everywhere online and couldn’t find it anywhere; the one link to it was to a defunct site. But I did find it in my Word files. It is important for me to republish it. Romantic Nihilism is a review of the very disturbing works of Paul McCarthy…

10 months ago · 6 likes · 15 comments · Michael Newberry

Morning immersion

10 months ago · 8 likes · Andō

SUNRISE SALUTATION #46: Rest As A Portal To True Prosperity

Thank you for being here today, and a very warm welcome to my newest readers and subscribers. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to have you here. I am blown away by the fact that my words mean something to you, and I hope I shine that little bit of light resonance in your day when you need it most. Thank you for helping me to live and bloom in my …

10 months ago · 33 likes · 16 comments · Solarah

SUNRISE SALUTATION #48: Getting Back To The Primordial Wisdom Upon Which True Love Was Born

Thank you for being here today, and a very warm welcome to my newest readers and subscribers. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to have you here. I am blown away by the fact that my words mean something to you, and I hope I shine that little bit of light resonance in your day when you need it most. Thank you for helping me to live and bloom in my …

10 months ago · 19 likes · 4 comments · Solarah

SUNRISE SALUTATION #49: Everything Protected Under The Shadow Of The Moon Must Come Under The Scrutiny Of The Sun....If It Is To Be Properly Resolved

Thank you for being here today, and a very warm welcome to my newest readers and subscribers. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to have you here. I am blown away by the fact that my words mean something to you, and I hope I shine that little bit of light resonance in your day when you need it most. Thank you for helping me to live and bloom in my …

10 months ago · 22 likes · 5 comments · Solarah

“THROWBACK THURSDAY”

A conversation with Demi Pietchell from “The Starfire Codes” inspired this “Throwback Thursday” series. We were comparing the readings we had published around the same dates to find common threads, themes, and messages. We were pleasantly surprised to see that even over a year ago, our messages were in close alignment…

10 months ago · 11 likes · 7 comments · Solarah

Stat Significant

How Does Our Sense of Humor Change With Age? A Statistical Analysis

Intro: Have I Lost My Sense of Humor? When I was eleven, my favorite film was Scary Movie 3. For those who don't know, Scary Movie 3 is a screwball comedy that parodies popular horror films from the 2000s, including Signs and The Ring. This film was the third installment of the wildly popular…

10 months ago · 157 likes · 51 comments · Daniel Parris

Natural Balance

If you have been on any social network for longer than a day or two, you have undoubtedly seen someone promoting the benefits of meditation. While millions of people engage in the practice, there are millions of others who are interested but either have not been shown how, or are uncertain about it due to pre-existing beliefs…

10 months ago · 50 likes · 11 comments · Stone Bryson

I mentioned in this week’s edition of Written In Stone that I would not bother watching the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and (soon-to-be former?) President Joe Biden on Thursday night, that I would instead be grabbing clips later to get a gauge on how it went…

10 months ago · 117 likes · 69 comments · Stone Bryson

Written In Stone [06/27/2024]

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another edition of Written In Stone [WIS]. This is the newsletter for you, the paid Members, sent every week between Tuesday and Thursday. Each mailing includes site updates, personal musings, plus more. In this week’s edition we feature thoughts on Assange and his ‘release,’ dole out some welcomes…

10 months ago · 6 likes · 2 comments

The Symbolic Echo

The Ailment of the Creative

What is a Creative? Our sociological standard today is that we are all creatives capable of creation. Of course, this depends on the definition of “creation” and its application. It also has much to do with merit, value, effort, emotional investment, and, of course, you may not be creative if you don’t have one diagnosis in today’s overtly medicalized ps…

10 months ago · 6 likes · 5 comments · Anthony Hess

Talking to Myself

set it on fire 🔥

The smell of burning paper filled my nostrils. Warmth from the flame licked at my skin. I watched my handwriting disappear, floating away in wisps of smoke and ash. Last June, I started lighting my thoughts on fire. Literally. 🔥🔥🔥 While summer glowed outside my window, a different kind of fire kindled within me. My mind played tricks. The thoughts were…

10 months ago · 47 likes · 42 comments · Caroline

105 Books I Want to Read Before I Die

These are 105 books I want to read before I die. The list is in no particular order. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World, by Haruki Murakami Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy The Passenger/Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy Tender is The Night…

10 months ago · 64 likes · 47 comments · John Mistretta

The traditional formula for comedy is to take something serious and make it funny. Today, I’m going to take something funny and make it serious. I work at an intermediate school. This means that I interact with a lot of pre-teens on a da…

10 months ago · 116 likes · 43 comments · Melissa Petrie

The Dogma of Atheism

a year ago · 21 likes · 101 comments · Tereza Coraggio

This Changes Everything

Those things your arrows are pointing at in the microscope image are not 'viruses'

If you have been following the no-virus news lately, you are probably aware of the virology experiments that have been conducted by a scientist named Jamie Andrews and his team. These are essentially the controlled experiments that should be done every time a virologist claims to be showing that a virus exists. Somehow, though, these controls are never …

10 months ago · 28 likes · 15 comments · Betsy

Can You Please Stop Telling Me To Live My Best Life Please

I’m massively grateful to everyone who supports this page and allows me to do more writing like this. As a token of my gratitude, I’m currently sending signed hardbacks of my books Villager and Notebook to everyone who takes out a full annual paid…

10 months ago · 412 likes · 112 comments · Tom Cox

The People Who Can't Wake Up

I read an interesting article recently by a blogger who had gotten an email from an old online acquaintance. The old acquaintance was chastising this blogger for being “negative” on his social media. Specifically, the blogger-in-question is opposed to all of the incoming totalitarianism that has been creeping upon us for the past so many years in Wester…

10 months ago · 19 likes · 11 comments · Stephanie B.

Witchcraft and Metaphysics with Jenna Newell Hiott

The Archetype and The Tarot: The Student and Ace of Swords

Through the Student archetype and the Ace of Swords, this week we’re being called to examine our patterns of seeking knowledge and truth. Can we become the objective observers of our own minds? Welcome everyone! For an overview of what I’m doing here, please check out…

10 months ago · 25 likes · 15 comments · Jenna Newell Hiott

Discussion about this post

Thanks for the shoutout Demi!

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1 reply by The Starfire Codes

Cameron M. Bailey

Great selections Demi! Thank you for including me among so many wonderful writers!

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1 reply by The Starfire Codes

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