https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/headlines2.html

A big nod to Stephen Ball‘s Chryon Wire and Archive Org‘s third eye for inspo and seeds.

Something to listen to oldies but goodies in the workshop , left buttons to see the source page if I want to download it or favorite on archive for later. There’s a search bar at the bottom if I feel like listening to something else, too. May add more presets to the radio later

The Night Dial

https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/nightdial6.html

• Illegally Waging War Against Iran: Initiating and sustaining military hostilities without congressional authorization or an imminent threat.

• Violating the War Powers Resolution: Defying a congressional directive to withdraw U.S. troops from hostilities against Iran past statutory limits.

• Dismantling Civilian Protection Infrastructure: Disregarding international laws and internal mechanisms meant to minimize civilian casualties, leading to deaths in Minab, Iran.

• Authorizing Extrajudicial Killings at Sea: Substituting standard maritime law enforcement with lethal military strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats.

• Suppressing Free Speech and Retaliation: Abusing Department of Defense authority to unlawfully retaliate against and investigate Senator Mark Kelly.

• Executing the Unauthorized Capture of Nicolás Maduro: Directing “Operation Absolute Resolve” to capture the Venezuelan President without congressional approval.

• Conducting an Unlawful Campaign in Yemen: Executing unauthorized military operations under “Operation Rough Rider” that resulted in civilian casualties.

Saw these two. Fat and happy. Would have brought them to the vet to get checked and home if they weren’t averse to it.

At least I got to say hi, and the cardboard and cans are out of the garage now.

Newton and Pyewacket were some wonderful lads.

Friend in India sent us some Diwali snacks!

The first is sort of a crunchy cracker that is a spiral of noodle, kind of buttery sesame,  with an herbal finish

Maybe a hint of honey?

Fried and tasty. I would eat a lot of these.

They sent me a big box of treats, so more to follow!

Also had some Seeroh (Sooji Halwa)
Known as सूजी का हलवा in Hindi, this is a dish of semolina (coarse, purified wheat middling) toasted in butter or ghee and then simmered in milk and/or water much like porridge oats.

Sugar and spices like cardamom, saffron and nuts are also added at the end of the cooking process.

Sort of the consistency of a rubbery cookie dough, sweet and really good.

Draft two:

Tales from the Holler No. 1: The Devil Monkey

I’ve always been interested in the strange stories that turn up around the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains. There are plenty of local legends, sightings, and odd little bits of folklore that don’t get much attention outside the areas where they’re told. Some probably have perfectly ordinary explanations, while others leave you wondering what someone might have seen out there.

One story that caught my attention is the Devil Monkey, a creature reportedly seen in and around Southwest Virginia.

One account dates back to the spring of 1994. A woman from Ohio was driving toward the Outer Banks when storms and road construction forced her off the highway and onto a dark, two-lane road south of Roanoke, around 2:30 in the morning. A flash of lightning briefly lit up the roadside, revealing something walking alongside the road.

She described it as roughly six feet tall, with a muscular but lean build, short black fur, pointed ears, a flat snout, and a long, thin tail. The closest comparison she could make was something between a monkey and a wolf. It didn’t seem particularly interested in her or the car, and simply continued walking away.

There were other reports from the region: A couple near Shawsville reportedly saw a similar creature, and their German Shepherd later disappeared. Farmers around Shawsville, Elliston, and Vinton described hearing strange screams coming from the woods. They sounded like a human yell mixed with a hyena’s cackle. I’ve been in that area and that isn’t a usual sound of the nighttime woods.

Similar sightings have been reported in Tennessee, West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky, going back to the 1970s and 1980s. Near Saltville, an elderly man reportedly saw a black, dog-faced creature with monkey-like features rummaging through his trash. Hikers near Marion spoke of being followed through the woods by something that grunted and snapped branches as it moved. They said it kept pace with them for more than a mile.

The creature has gone by a few different names over the years: the Devil Monkey, the Mountain Ape, and the Ridge Runner. L.B. Taylor Jr. included accounts of it in his book Monsters of Virginia: Mysterious Creatures in the Old Dominion.

There have been suggestions that the sightings might involve an escaped zoo animal or some other exotic critter that found its way into the mountains. That’s certainly one possibility, although there’s no photograph, specimen, or official record confirming what people saw. At this point, the story rests on eyewitness accounts, some of which are separated by years and considerable distances.

I can’t say what was walking along that road over thirty years back. A misidentified animal is certainly possible, especially in the middle of a storm during the early hours of the morning. Still, the description is interesting, particularly when you start finding similar stories from other parts of Appalachia.

I suppose that’s part of the appeal of local folklore. You don’t necessarily have to believe every story to enjoy looking into it. Sometimes it’s the details, the differences between accounts, and the way a story gets passed along that make it worth exploring. Around here, there are plenty of back roads and wooded hollers with stories of their own.

This is the first entry in Tales from the Holler, a series about strange stories, local legends, and unexplained happenings from around the valley and beyond. I’ve got a few more things I’d like to dig into, so this probably won’t be the last time we go looking for something unusual in the mountains.

It’s that time of year again. Hey, remember when Anonymous  more visibly took on scammers, pedophiles, and cults  on the regular? I miss those days.

I would love to have seen what the most mobilized teams of the 2010s would have done with flock cameras and the like today.

In the wake of current events, post a blue character! 💙

— Scottobear (@scottobear.bsky.social) 2026-11-04T20:56:30.415Z

American Jewish groups like the ADL so bought into "Republicans are the pro-Israel party who will protect us from the anti-Israel left" that they are unprepared for a world where JD Vance runs on "Israel betrayed MAGA." And unlike Mamdani, he won't be careful to distinguish "Israel" from "Jews."

— Joel S. (@joelhs.bsky.social) 2026-11-04T19:14:28.142Z

listen up democrats: we did not vote for you for y'all to find common ground and reach across the aisle. we voted for you to crush our enemies, to see them driven before us, to hear the lamentations of their women

— Emma Berquist (@emmaberquist.bsky.social) 2026-11-04T04:31:12.236Z

NEVER FORGET: The BIGGEST Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP from H.R. 1 begin on January 1st, 2027. THIS MUST BE REPEALED!

— Peter Morley ♿️ (@petermorley.bsky.social) 2026-11-04T18:39:30.224Z

Good Roanoke things from Virginia overall.

The vibe today was like that part in Lord of the Rings where the trees decide to march on Isengard and unleash their wrath on Saruman’s fortress.

Favored response cards on bluesky to random responders to midterms

Kevin reminded me of this-

https://retrogames.biz/support/the400-mini/upgrade/

Well worth it! It fixes M.U.L.E.!

See also, to add to USB in the back-

https://archive.org/download/Atari800RomCollectionByGhostware

And

https://www.atarimania.com/machines/atari-400-800-xl-xe/top

https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/weather-008.html

For the record, cobalt blue bottle for bottle trees and haint blue for porches are not even close to the same shade. Haint blue is really pale blue-green and cobalt is much darker / vibrant.

I mention, as the most salient characteristics (of the collective unconscious) chaotic multiplicity and order; duality; the opposition of light and dark, upper and lower, right and left; the union of opposites in a third; the quaternity (square, cross); rotation (circle, sphere); and finally the centering process and a radical arrangement that usually followed some quaternity system . . .

C.G. Jung, Psychology and Alchemy The mome rath hasn’t been born that can outgrabe me.

James Thurber, The Thurber Carnival

Spotted either a mountain fox squirrel or a fisher on our road trip today while leaf peeping

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBd81g8BHf4B9hSM9

Assorted leaf peep pix from paint bank in the link

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