Overheard at Table 1: The Overwhelming Violence of the Ungodly Aggressor

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/26/hegseth-prayer-violence-pentagon

 

The main problem with Hegseth reciting this prayer (other than it shows that he has no original oratory but must live off the words of others) is that the context is wildly different.

When that prayer was first uttered, the USA had already been at war for four years, and they were about to attack a small island that they knew was heavily fortified and would be defended to the death.  They were sending young men into battle knowing full well that the casualty rate would be 50-75% if they were even able to take the island.

Hegseth repeats this prayer for the US military forces that have attacked a sovereign nation that poses no credible threat to the country.  Additionally, the US military in no way faces the kind of casualty rate that it expected and suffered at Iwo Jima.  

Additionally, WWII, the Pacific conflict in particular, was a response to an unprovoked attack by Japan. In the modern scenario, the USA is Japan and Iran is the USA.

And yet, here is Hegseth, praying for "overwhelming violence" - when it is the USA that is the aggressor and holds the militarily superior position.  

That's an obscenity in the eyes of God.

But, I must say, that when he asks for God to "break the teeth of the ungodly" then everyone in the USA better start looking for an orthodontist.

 

 

Overheard at Table 1: Arm-Wrestling Eight-Year-Olds

"What always got me about Charlie Kirk was that he - like Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro - always went to debate college students.  19, 20 year olds ... people who are not known for their rationality or decision-making abilities.  So of course these guys who are all jacked up trained on bullshit rhetoric when they are talking with emotional screaming hyenas look all good for their clips that they send to their followers, but seriously, Kirk debating college students is like me arm-wrestling an eight-year-old.

"I'm kind of a wimpy guy, but even I can take an eight-year-old in arm-wrestling."

Overread at Table 1: Poem of the Day - Stop Saying "He Shoulda Complied"

Stop Saying "He Shoulda Complied"

If you don't comply,
you die.

If you do comply,
you still die.

So why
even try?

Overheard at Table 1: The Purge of America

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5109360-doj-fires-prosecutors-who-worked-on-trump-criminal-cases/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/us/politics/justice-department-firings-trump-jack-smith.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/27/trump-justice-department-jack-smith-officials-fired/77978912007/

Overheard at Table 1: New Years Day 2025

Otis Redwing: So, how are YOU planning to face these next four years.

Lucky Moran: I plan on taking up Day Drinking.  You?

Otis: Trying to figure out how to put myself on a morphine drip.

Overheard at Table 1: The Man She Married

Today my wife told me that she wanted back the man that she had married.  She meant the man I was when we got married.  That man, she said, was funny and kind and caring and sweet and was always very tender and never got angry and was always mellow and completely in control of everything.

I thought about that man.  My wife is right.  He was a great guy.   Late 20s, still had all his hair, was relatively in shape (no middle aged spread, no arthritis, no back problems).   That guy hadn't yet lost his parents, his grandparents, his wife's parents.

That guy still hadn't gone through raising three kids, one of whom stopped speaking to him 15 years ago.   He hadn't moved states, been though downsizing and layoffs, been fired, been told he was unqualified for a position he'd been working for seven years.  He hadn't faced major emergency room visits for his wife who nearly died from a rupturing gall bladder.  He hadn't yet had to drive four hours to rescue his daughter from a violent roommate.  

That guy hadn't yet had to watch his savings dwindle to repair his house that the insurance wouldn't cover, never had cars die, been stranded, helpless, apart from his kids in hurricanes, hadn't yet reached his fifties and still wondering if he will ever have enough money to retire.

So my first thought after wondering about that great, wonderful, guy, was "That guy didn't fucking survive three decades of this thing called LIFE!"  

But that would have been mean.   So, I just told my wife, "He's still here.  He's still me.  I'll do better."

And she said, "You've been saying that for over 25 years."

Overheard at Table 1: Cryptograms

 "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."
— John Muir
This Cryptogram's Statistics
Success Rate:    92.2%
Average Time:    46 seconds
Record Time:    6 seconds (will0416)
Your Time:    37 seconds
Performance:    Above Average
Difficulty:    
Currently 4.89/1012345678910
4.9 out of 18 votes cast
      

37

6    26    46    138    230    


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Categorize this Quote:
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Sad
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Thought
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Previous Top Solvers For This Puzzle
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Player
Date
Solve Time
1.
will0416    February 5, 2021    6 sec.
2.
n-j-b    November 6, 2022    7 sec.
3.
nanrich    September 5, 2016    10 sec.
4.
jgl_45    March 12, 2023    10 sec.
5.
azhang941    July 29, 2020    11 sec.
6.
Deanna48 Premium Member    July 23, 2024    11 sec.
7.
ivyk    June 10, 2023    12 sec.
8.
munchlet    October 11, 2018    13 sec.
9.
agneg05    March 16, 2021    13 sec.
10.
attercop    June 4, 2021    14 sec.
11.
ahnoah    April 8, 2023    14 sec.
12.
aaaaaa    May 23, 2024    14 sec.
13.
DefyScience    July 23, 2024    14 sec.
14.
Deatomization4thePeople    May 21, 2013    15 sec.
15.
Nautilus    April 14, 2020    15 sec.
16.
kb83    May 9, 2018    16 sec.
17.
Descifrador    March 19, 2022    16 sec.
18.
DMVJDCPA    July 28, 2022    16 sec.
19.
BirdyBirdyBirdyBird    October 30, 2023    16 sec.
20.
GramBow    April 25, 2018    17 sec.

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John Muir
John Muir
John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Si...  More

Comments on this Puzzle:
abra
February 21, 2014, 3:32 pm
Amusing, and it kind of paints a mental cartoon.
LLapp
April 22, 2015, 1:53 pm
This is so well put, and so terribly unknown to most people.
SippyGurl
January 17, 2017, 9:26 pm
like that tiny root you try to yank out but that just keeps going and going
darkyr
June 14, 2017, 7:48 am
Like the natural gas you try to siphon out from under the neighbors' yards.
phthelen
July 2, 2018, 1:42 pm
A single tariff? oops
Eureka
December 10, 2018, 9:53 am
Lucky for us, John Muir made sure we have beautiful wilderness to enjoy.
318WOZ
February 12, 2020, 8:18 pm
Man With Beard Pulls Root Across County Borders, State Lines -- A man was reported by multiple residents of Sacramento for trespassing as he continually tugged at a root that ran across their properties, according to the Sacramento Police Department. Unrelated local disturbances caused police to lose track of the man, but he was later seen several days later as far south as Fresno before he turned east, still removing more and more of the root as he moved along. Unconfirmed reports the following week put him in the fringes of Las Vegas; one resident of Henderson, who encountered him there, claims to have followed the bearded man along the eastern edge of Las Vegas until he got bored. What appears to be the last sighting of the man--an image captured by a highway camera--occurred north of I-15. He is now rumored to be moving toward Crystal Springs, still doggedly following the root and muttering under his breath about "damned morning glory", and he could be pursued by simply following the unearthed plant, but no one cares.
DrCryptell
August 13, 2020, 6:49 am
I tugged at a leaf the other day. I had to tug so hard it almost caused an 8.0 earthquake. Muir says that some day tugging on a leaf will do exactly that. What happens if you tug a tugboat too hard? Muir predicts: tsunami.
imported_Beverly
March 10, 2022, 6:00 pm
318WOZ, are you sure he wasn't muttering something about bittersweet?
Synonymous
October 7, 2022, 9:38 pm
318WOZ your book is equally entertaining. Nice stories, both.
pickleball
February 19, 2023, 10:10 am
waldo
bees
July 25, 2024, 5:20 pm
Any tips on killing off poison ivy and vinca?

Overheard at Booth 1: Cancelled Canciones vs Stevie Nicks

Cancelled Canciones: Sorry, Stevie, but you're cancelled!

Stevie Nicks: Why?

CC: "Gypsy" is a slur!

SN: You can't cancel me.

CC: Why not?

SN: I'm an actual witch with an enigmatic sexuality except for one famous relationship with a bandmate in the 70s.

CC: Fair enough.  You're not cancelled.  But just stick to singing "Landslide" and "Gold Dust Woman"

#CancelCulture

#CancelledCanciones

Overheard at Table 1: Cancelled Canciones vs Santana

Cancelled Canciones: Santana, you are cancelled?

Santana: Why?

CC: Because of your song "Gypsy Queen"

Santana: It's actually called "Black Magic Woman"

CC: They're the same song, separated by a slash mark.

Santana: You can't cancel us anyway, we're Latino and African slash Afro-descent.

CC: Not that white guy, Gregg Rolie. We'll at least cancel him.

Santana: OK by me.  No me cae bien ese cabrón anyways.

#CancelledCanciones

#CancelCulture

Overheard at Table 1: The Greatest Army

The Greatest Army

The greatest army we ever faced?  Strangely enough, it was the army that never came at us with guns or tanks or planes or bombs.  They came at us, babbling about their Savior, and how we needed to stop our killing and learn to love and live in peace.

We killed 'em.  Sure, we killed 'em.  By the dozens.  By the hundreds, but they kept coming.

That was the weird thing.  They kept coming.  Never stopped going on and on about their Savior.

Eventually, though, we did kill them all.  At least, we thought we did.  You see, they stopped coming, so we thought that was the end of it.  But of all the armies we'd ever gone up against, this was the one we couldn't forget.  Couldn't get it out of our minds - these crazy soldiers, always going on about their Savior.

Some of us even starting proclaiming this Savior.  Just a few at first, and then a handful more, and then more.

So, you see, it's almost as though, in the end, they won.  They were the greatest army we ever faced.

Overheard at Table 1: Notes for April is the Cruelest Month

 
April is the Cruelest Month

"Man's yesterday may never be like his morrow; Nought may endure but Mutability. "
— Percy Bysshe Shelley


What does that mean?
 

It means that I’m going to mute you now.
 

The sharpened rebar pierced Marc through his navel, and erupted from his spine.  Marc was lifted high into the air, impaled and screaming, and brought down savagely onto the ground.
 

1/2
 

Oh my GOD! Mags! what he’s doing to that poor man.
 

I know!  Glorious, isn’t it!
 

No, it’s horrible
 

The beautiful brutality! Finally, a man worthy of our lust!
 

What do you mean OUR lust?
 

 2/2
#Mags




I brought this to you because I thought you could help.
 

How can I help?  
 

You both share the same … determination.
 

Thank you for the compliment, detective.
 

It wasn’t a compliment.
 

Yes it was.  You just don’t want to admit it.   But anyhoo, all I can tell you is what you already know:  he’s killing member of this “dark poets community” – how many is that?
 

Hundreds – even thousands.
 

Well, you got a lot to choose from, but mainly it seems like he’s going for the ones he thinks are not “real writers” – those who don’t actually write or who just fool around in other people’s DMs.
 

But why?
 

He’s an editor.  In his mind, the whole community is a book, and he’s whittling it down until it’s fit for publication.
 

That’s insane.
 

Writers are a strange bunch, but editors, well, they’re even stranger.  Their logic is well, let’s just say, it’s esoteric.
 

That’s not very helpful.
 

Just look for the ones in the group what haven’t actually written a lot in the past few years.  Start with them.  HE certainly has.
 

Thanks … don’t know if you’ve been much help, but thanks.
 

Oh, and detective, if you do catch him, tell him 2 Peter 3:17
 

Do I have to look that up or are you gonna tell me.
 

“Be careful that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.”   

You would do well to hold on that verse yourself.
 

See ya ‘round, Billy.
 

You know where I am, Detective. I ain’t goin’ nowhere but the chair.

Overheard at Table 1: Autopsy Results for the American Empire

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in the end
the autopsy will affirm
that the American Empire
died
from choking on its own vomit

Overheard at Table 1: Poetry Concerts in the South

The Poet said, "Aw man I HATE doing shows down there.  Every single time, I'll be giving them ballads and some Greatest Hits Sonnets, and inevitably, some local yokel will pipe up an yell 'FREE VERSE!' and I'll be like, 'This ain't that kind a show, bro!'"

 

Overheard at Table 1: Harry Potter and the Censors

 

Heard something today about Harry Potter ... a pro-LGBTQ speaker stating that anybody who has Harry Potter items in their social media bio, or references to Harry Potter in their work or lives, may need to rethink their position, as their support of Harry Potter may be painful to the community because of the creator, JK Rowling.

JK Rowling has, as we all know, in recent years, become quite a controversial figure for her anti-LGBTQ views.

However, for me, personally, Harry Potter represents a period in my life in which I read those books as bedtimes stories to my grade-school son, and it was one of the best memories that I have of him, as his mom & I divorced when he was very young, and he rejected me as a teenager.

So, when I think of Harry Potter, all I have in my heart is a tender memory of my first born son, who will probably never speak to me again in this life.

Now, I understand my personal pain does not measure to the trauma and rejection that this community has suffered; however, I do take umbrage at the subtle censorship by the speaker in the beginning paragraph of this missive: Short version - throw out Harry Potter because it hurts LGBTQ people.

Again, I reiterate my theory that, to be a healthy literate public, we must learn to separate the art from the artist.  Whatever views Rowling has should be immaterial to her creation, which has now a life of its own independent of her.   Harry Potter should be enjoyed by all - and by that, I mean ALL people, regardless of orientation.  Because, while I will never proclaim the Potter books as particularly good writing, per se, the characters are lovable and relatable, and the story is a wonderful underdog tale, and a surmounting of all odd so that good will prevail, and the ultimate message that Love truly does conquer all.

I am truly sorry that Rowling's comments are hurtful to a large segment of the human race - but I will stand firm that, for me personally, Harry Potter is truly all that I have left of my only-begotten son ... and I have made it my ground to stand against all forms of literary censorship, regardless of the source or their rationale.

 

Overheard at Table 1: The Universe Has a Plan

Everyone saying that the "Universe has a plan" is really talking about God.

But saying "The Universe" is something that every one KNOWS to be true, and yet still imbue it with a sense that somehow we are loved, cared for, thought about, and special.

But the people who imbue the Universe with these qualities have been cowed by a world that doesn't want them to talk about God, and so they move these needed qualities onto the created (universe) and off the Creator (God).

Full culpability for this, however, must not be given to the world, or the non-believers, but upon Christians themselves, who have either abused the name of Christ for their own selfish ends, or through their complacency have not presented their testimony sufficiently to demonstrate that God is the One who loves you, cares for you, thinks about you, and holds you so very, very special.

Overheard at Table 1: 2024 - American Purge

Going to call this year "American Purge"

As of this date, 23rd of January, Texas Governor Greg Abbott told the Texas Military to deny the US Border Patrol access to the region.

the Supreme Court ruled that it is Constitutional Law that the the Border Patrol have access to the region to cut the wire.

Today, Abbott ordered the Texas Military to defy the SCOTUS ruling and continue to put up razor wire.

In defiance of Constitutional authority.

So ... in short - the argument against immigrants is that "they are coming here illegally and we are a nation of laws"

Yet, when the third co-equal branch of government rules that THIS is the law, because anti-immigrants don't LIKE the law, they will IGNORE the law.

The only logical conclusion is that this is NOT about legality.

It is about humanity.

It is about who we consider "worthy" and who we do not consider "worthy"

Overheard at Table 1: Blue Tea Blues

 Blue Tea Blues

Oh Lawd I was so thirsty
I fell down upon my knees
Oh Lawd I was so thirsty
I fell right down on my knees
Asked my baby for a drink of water
All she gave me was some ol’ Blue Tea

I asked my pretty mama
Oh please have mercy on me
I asked my pretty mama
Please won’t you have some mercy on little ol’ me
She laughed and walked out the door
saying you just go on and drink that ol’ Blue Tea

Now I’m here all alone
Just drinking down this ol’ Blue Tea
Got no water, no liquor, no woman
All I got is this ol’ Blue Tea
Well Jesus on the Cross got Vinegar
and all I got is this damn ol’ Blue Tea

Well my Lord Jesus!
On da CROSS!
All He got was vinegarrrrrrrrrr

… vinegar as bitter as this Blue Tea
dat’s all my baby left of me.

MR
2023-1211

Overheard at Table 1: X-Mass

If it is EX-Mass, does that mean it was formerly Mass but now is no longer Mass?

Overheard at Table 1: Hank and the Reaper

Hank and the Reaper

Reaper: OK, Hank - can I call you Hank? - it's time, old pal.

Henry: Well, I knew I couldn't stave you off indefinitely.

R: You had a good run.

H: Outlived all my enemies and most of my detractors.

R: Can't ask for much more than that.

H: Well, I've received my prizes on Earth.  Time for my prizes in Heaven.

R: Oh, there are prizes awaiting you, but they're not in ... well, you'll see.

Overheard at Table 1: NaNoWriMo Shuts Down Forums

Why we can't have nice things.

No idea if any of the grooming accusations are true, but let's just all admit that there are no safe spaces anywhere and it's very sad when some of the spaces we hope were safe turn out not to be ... or at least are accused of not being safe.

But then, I haven't been using the forums anyway. I just use NaNoWriMo to try to finish my novel.

To The NaNoWriMo Community,

We're dropping in to communicate to a broader audience about concerns that were brought to the attention of the Board. The concerns we received related exclusively to activity on our online forums. Though individual issues were varied in nature, they led us to a singular conclusion: that closing down the forums until issues could be properly resolved was the right first step. 

We are aware that a great deal of misinformation and innuendo on the matter is circulating. Though we cannot control speculation and sensationalism, we can be transparent about the questions we’ve received and the action that has been taken. 

The issues brought to our attention include:

1. Inconsistent moderation and lack of attention to resolving complaints

2. Concerns about the safety of minors (one volunteer moderator accused of grooming was complained about for not being removed from the forums in a timely fashion)

3. Dynamics between moderators and community members; concerns about inclusiveness and staff conflicts of interest

The decision to temporarily shut down the forums was made out of a desire to stop and investigate, and to exercise an abundance of caution. Online forums cannot serve as safe and welcoming community spaces without a large-enough team of well-trained moderators.

We are also a 25-year-old community whose growth has outpaced that of the resources in place to support it. It is the Board's opinion that now is the right moment to pause, meaningfully resolve problems, and address complaints and match resources to needs. It's time to press the reset button on the forums. 

This will take time and we appreciate your patience. In the meantime, we need to make a few things absolutely clear:

• The vast majority of complaints sent to the Board have not been verified, including claims about child grooming. It is important to draw a distinction between the voluntary, precautionary measure of proactively shutting down the forums and measures that might be taken if our thorough investigation confirms the truth of any of these complaints. 

• The Board received its first complaint on November 7th. This was the Board’s first knowledge of these issues and the first community member outreach that any current Board member had been sent. 

• Since that date, the Board has been transparent and responsive. You are welcome to view our official statements and findings on the NaNoWriMo main forums. 

• We have primarily communicated on the forums about this, but we realized that some commentary was warranted more broadly, which is why we're sending this email. 

Maintaining the Magic of NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo is a rich, dynamic, global community that reaches far beyond our online forums. Around the world, countless authors are writing amazing things. NaNoWriMo has tremendous reach beyond the forums that continues to lend support and resources to writers. 

Though some of what is being said about the organization is unflattering, we hope you will review our responses and conclude that we are operating to the highest standards of integrity in this matter. We have volunteered to serve on this Board from an abundance of love for the organization, its people and what it aims to do. We will work hard to regain your trust.

We'll end with a Fred Rogers quote we like about what truly happens in challenging situations. "Look for the helpers. There is always someone helping." We want to acknowledge the hundreds (if not thousands) of community members who step forward every day and who have stepped forward in this moment. For every concern we've received in our inbox, we have also received words of encouragement and offers of help.

In Partnership,

The NaNoWriMo Board