Kathy June

This is a memorial.
And, a reflecting pool.
It is supposed to be a mirror of the monuments that surround it and the sky.
What a moronic project.
Waste, fraud and abuse.
I've visited the pool several times. It is cleaned ever year. Honestly, I don't like hearing our President constantly disparage the beauty and history of DC. His rhetoric is very un-American and disrespectful, just like these cars driving on top of it. Much of that whole area is part of our NPS and has always been clean and well cared for.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
And, further, don't ruin it!
There is a famous one at the Taj Mahal...can you imagine the marble there being covered with a tacky unnatural blue? Crazy.
Here's an article:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/11/trump-r…
Also, I watched Trump speak about mothers' health this morning. What a huge nothing burger!!! I visited the new website...nothing new. He has cut so much with his BBB that these paltry, tiny band aids aren't covering it.
Those Pregnancy Centers are scary. Mostly run by religious organizations without any trained medical staff.
I have supported Planned Parenthood and trust them to discuss options without bias.
Anyway, all of it is weak and the website is just something that we already have, rebranded.
The $1000 per child? A tax shelter.
www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/12/trump-accounts-ano…
Anyway, a well-informed woman can do her own research.
I've spoke with our son's friends, all in their early 20's. Most of them can't imagine having children in this economy. Some work multiple jobs and can't even afford an apartment!
youtube.com/shorts/H8hyMGP3pc...

14 hours ago | [YT] | 0

Kathy June

Today's film is The Great Dictator (1940).
I assume most people have seen this.
I've thought of this many times over recent years and again when I saw the statue Don Colossus.
Upon seeing that statue, I thought of Percy Bysshe Shelley's Ozymandias (1818):
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."

18 hours ago | [YT] | 0

Kathy June

😘🫴☮️
One of the people who called me today to wish me a happy day said that today was nothing more than a commercialized consumer holiday. I was taken aback! This post explains why.
Well said!
So...I hope all the mothers had a good day today.
I'll be posting more anti-war films this week. For good reason!
Trump has posted a heap of conspiracy theories, vile insults, lies and assorted delusions today. No acknowledgement of mothers. He has zero respect for women as per usual.
It is embarrassing and sad.
I can only imagine how degrading and abusive he must be in private as he is so deranged and sick in public.
Anyway, one of my favorite local festivals, The Whole Bloomin' Thing, was this weekend.
It's been a lovely weekend spent with family and friends. My husband and child are wonderful people!
I miss my mother and grandmothers very much. Later this summer marks 40 years since my mother died. It was traumatic for me. I think about her everyday. My father said "Pat was perfect". And, yes, she was.
I try to be the kind of mom she was and I think I am.
Now that I've had my own family for over 20 years, life has gotten better for me but I do wish that I could share it with her.
Goodnight
😘🫴☮️

1 day ago | [YT] | 1

Kathy June

Today's anti-war and anti-hate film is Princess Mononoke (1997).
A beautiful story by the master director and storyteller Hayao Miyazaki. I love how he subtly drew from ancient myths and symbols, but, truly created his own original tales. This is my favorite of the Studio Ghibli films and it was amazing in IMAX. With an ethereal score and superb animation, it is a beloved classic.
Here's to balance and harmony.
And to Mother Nature.
Soon it will be Mother's Day here in the U.S.A.!
Have a great weekend!
Here in the mountains, the occasion marks the time when it's a safe bet that frosts are over and one can put their seedlings into the ground.
More to come next week...
😘🫴☮️

4 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Kathy June

Today's animated anti-war movie is The Iron Giant (1999).
My son loved this as a child and still does. I love it, too.

5 days ago | [YT] | 1

Kathy June

How could I follow my last posts?
I'm going to post another animated film but this caught my attention.
I remember reading about such spiritual robot pontificators before:
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/08/22/intro…
The goal is omniscience and not omnipotence!!!
Right?
Anyway... it's something to think about.
To me, an all-knowing robot would logically see the folly and futility, the danger of man.
What's the end game?
And, it makes me think of the animatronics of the Walt Disney Hall of Presidents that I visited a couple of times as a kid.
I mean, Trump keeps joking about a 3rd term. And, combine that with his fixation with being a savior Jesus. His office and admin already uses AI to get messages across.
More proof that the Separation of Church and State is necessary!
Anyway, back to work. Sometimes I feel like a robot...but, robots don't feel!
🦾💀
😘🫴☮️

5 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Kathy June

The second film for this Tuesday is the bleak, haunting nuclear winter animation There Will Come Soft Rains (1984). It is a Soviet-era Uzbek short based on a Ray Bradbury story, which I recommend reading as it is a bit different than the film. His story is set in August of 2026.
See also, the origin and inspiration: the powerful anti-war, pro-nature lyrical poem by Sara Teasdale of the same name. It is read at the end of this short.
Ahhh...you don't know what you've got until it's gone.
The animation is wonderful, and, the characterization of AI and automation as a sort of War of the Worlds type mechanical monster is brutal. Effectively contrasted with the egg, a living bird and the beautiful, nostalgic Geraldo and His Sweet Music Orchestra rendition of The Moon was Yellow.
Poignant.
I love this one.
😘🫴☮️

6 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Kathy June

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, one of my two-for Tuesday films is Cinco de Mayo: La Batalla (2013).
This is a well produced movie, nothing truly innovative, but, it is informative historically.
This scene is most powerful along with the ending.
It has a notoriously long 45 minute battle scene that is unfortunately shot and edited in a very kinetic and chaotic fashion. Guerrilla style shots and edits that truly are distracting, as was typical of films beginning in the 1990's to today. Personally, I do not care for it. It can be so all over the place that I begin to laugh. My vision is also compromised with glaucoma, so, it's harder to follow.
I can guarantee that if you go to a bar or restaurant in the U.S. today, many merrymakers wouldn't know the history of the day!
Most know only the countless Alamo movies here in the U.S.A.! 🫩😂
Some history: The Battle of Puebla was fought on May 5, 1862, near the city of Puebla. It was a bartle between the armies of the Mexican Republic, under the command of Ignacio Zaragoza, and the Second French Empire, led by Charles Ferdinand Latrille during the Second French Intervention in Mexico. The result was an important victory for the Mexicans, as they defeated one of the most experienced armies with forces considered inferior.
This was the first major defeat of the French army in 50 years.
Since that day, May 5th has been a historic day in Mexico, and the Battle of Puebla is commemorated every year in countries around the world.
When I was in college, I chose the art of Mesoamerica for specific study.
I've never understood why people from Mexico are considered immigrants to our country...they, along with indigenous Native Americans, were here first.
😘🫴☮️

6 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Kathy June

Art.
I laughed 'till my belly hurt at this!
Perfect, sublime.
Of course, my two least favorite artists, both horrible people, are included here.
I love it.

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Kathy June

🍿Today's war movie is Die Konferenz der Tiere (1969). It is an anti-war full-length animated German classic.
This one is a favorite of mine.
The music and sound effects are great and the animation style is very mid-century modern, hand-drawn in a comedic style. (See Wacky Races by Hanna-Barbera.)
Yes, with themes involving media and propaganda, the suppression of the individual and conformity, the exploitation of resources, and, just the silliness of division and fighting, etc. I've always enjoyed anthropomorphism.
I have considered putting Animal Farm on this list I'm posting here, but, I figure most have read and seen it as it was required in most U.S. public schools. I hope it still is!
Extra! Extra!
"Die Konferenz der Tiere (The Animals' Conference) is a 1949 children's book by Erich Kästner, his first novel after World War II, where animals hold a conference to solve the world's problems because humans have failed politically, advocating for peace and cooperation. The story is a parable about humanity, peace, and taking responsibility, and it has inspired several film adaptations, including a 1969 animated film and a 2010 CGI movie. " - Wiki

1 week ago | [YT] | 1