Capturing a Rare Visit
Some of my cousins came by with my aunt and uncle to visit my
parents. It’s not often we’re all in the same place, so I gathered
everyone for a photo: my parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins.
We don’t see each other much these days, and moments like this feel more meaningful with time passing. We're all getting older, maybe a little wiser too. 📸💚
I’m not in the picture since I was the one behind the camera. The only editing I did was to clean up a bit of clutter on the counter.
#CherishedMoments #MemoryLane #GenerationsTogether #FamilyPhoto
Balancing Simplicity and Style Online
I recently made a few updates to the theme on my website at michaelmitchell.blog, which is hosted through Write.as. The goal was to modernize its look and feel while also complementing my micro.blog site.
Feel free to drop by and take a look. I’m really happy with how it turned out. If you happen to spot any bugs or quirks, just drop me a line. Thanks!
I tried to stargaze tonight under the full moon 🌕, but the mosquitos were relentless. I couldn’t stay outside. Florida summers don’t mess around. 🦟 #FullMoonFeels #FloridaLiving #SummerNights
Capturing the Moon with My Seestar S30
I’ve always wanted a telescope. Something I could use to take photos and videos of the night sky with my phone or camera. I recently came across a YouTube video about the Zwo Seestar S50, but since this is my first telescope, I decided to start with the more beginner-friendly S30 and bought it for my birthday.
I’ve owned it for a couple of months, but only recently started using it seriously. Here are some of the first photos I captured with it on July 4, 2025:
Blogging My Way: Typora + Git + Cloudflare + Micro.blog
This post serves two purposes. First, it marks the inaugural entry 🥳 on my new blogging system.
I'm using Typora ✍️ to write and save my posts locally in a folder. From there, I git push them to my GitHub repo 🔁, which then deploys to Cloudflare Pages 🌐. Finally, the RSS feed is imported into Micro.blog 📰.
It’s not as elegant as MarsEdit 💻—the polished Mac-only tool—but it works for now and lets me keep using Typora, which I really like. I tried Obsidian 🧩, but it felt too complicated. The whole "vaults" system 🤯 didn’t click with me. Typora is just simple and clean ✅.
#blogging #typora
Happy 249th Birthday to the United States of America 🇺🇸
Today, we celebrate the 249th birthday of the United States — my home country and my birth nation. Nearly two and a half centuries have passed since our founding, and in that time, we’ve experienced triumphs and trials, unity and division, progress and setbacks.
Some might say we’re not in a good place right now. And yes, it’s true — we are in a turbulent chapter. But I take comfort in history. Nations go through cycles. England, France, and the rest of Europe have weathered centuries of political and social upheaval. They have survived monarchies, revolutions, world wars, and more — and they endure. So will we.
Europe was home to many of history’s greatest empires: the Greeks, the Romans, and the vast British Empire — the largest the world has ever known. In modern times, however, the American nation was instrumental in bringing an end to both World Wars. That matters. We have never been perfect, but we have often stood firm in moments when history demanded courage, sacrifice, and leadership.
I see Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has passed. I think it will ultimately cause more harm than good. If it works the way it’s supposed to, I should personally benefit from the overtime provision and maybe, in a couple of years, the new car interest tax rebate. But I also know a lot of people it will hurt. 🤷♂️
As a no-party-affiliated voter who leans just right of center on most issues—and definitely left of center on healthcare—I’ve always believed we should have universal healthcare. 🏥 I don’t have all the answers, and I’m not sure how we’d fund it or make it work in a way that’s both sensible and doctor-patient centered, but I believe it’s the right direction.
I think the cuts to Medicaid are harmful. I’m not totally against work requirements, as long as they’re applied equally and fairly to people who aren’t disabled in any way.
And once you factor in looming tariffs and the removal of undocumented farm and construction workers, I think inflation will come roaring back. 📈 Any breaks I might get will likely be eaten up.
That’s just my two cents.
#Politics #Healthcare #Economy #Opinion
What Am I Even Blogging About?
I’ve been thinking lately about what to blog about. I’ve had several ideas. The reason I’m blogging about this is because I’ve been trying to figure out what should be a blog post. I tend to think posts should be medium to long in nature. But people aren’t reading my stuff anyway, and honestly, do I really care?
I’m blogging for myself, just to get my thoughts down and out of my head.
I use Sharkey and Micro.blog for what I call short-burst posts and reactions to things happening in the moment. Kind of like I did back in the pre-Musk Twitter days.
Back in February, I blogged about whether anybody even reads my posts. In the weeks and months that followed, I saw other people wondering the same thing. I found that kind of amusing, since I had just written about it and was thinking the exact same thing.
📷 Day 30: Solitude
A lone hawk resting in the oak outside my window. Quiet, still, and completely at ease in its own space. #mbjune
📷 Day 29: Winding
A quiet road from years ago, curving through the trees. I’ve always liked how it disappears just out of sight. #mbjune
📷 Day 28: Ephemeral This was our boat after Hurricane Milton last October. The rain filled it overnight. It was a moment that came and went quickly. #mbjune
📷 Day 27: collective My first raised garden bed. A collective of herbs and veggies, each one small on its own but coming together to make something special. 🌱 #mbjune
📷 Day 26: Bridge
Old rail bridge in downtown Tampa, FL.
📷 Day 25: Decay What we see as decay, nature sees as renewal. These fungi don’t just mark the end — they begin the next chapter.
📷 Day 24: Bloom
Not even in the ground yet and already showing off!
📺 This TV Week’s Watchlist:
From Peacock:
- 🎬 The Day of the Jackal – Season 1, Episodes 4–10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ No spoilers!
I finished the first season, and all I have to say is: Bravo. There was action, mystery, intrigue—and more action. Some parts felt wildly exaggerated; I can’t imagine all of it happening outside the realm of TV drama. But other parts? Absolutely plausible—though more likely orchestrated by nation-states than rogue, non-state actors.
I hope they make a second season—there's definitely room for it. Maybe even a third. But no more than that.
As I said in a previous post, when it comes to TV, the British really know what they’re doing. 🎬
From Prime Video:
- 🎬 The Chosen – Season 5, Episodes 2–5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “No spoilers” doesn’t quite apply here—it’s based on the Bible.
Not much to say other than: Wow. It’s been a great season so far—and with such incredible source material, how could it not be? 😊 Fantastic true story, outstanding acting. Best series EVER. 🎬
#TV #Entertainment #Peacock #PrimeVideo
📷 Day 23: Fracture
Our neighbors tree after Hurricane Milton last year October 2024 it fractured were luckily it didn’t damage anything.
Tracing Roots Lost to War
I’ve been wanting to blog about this for a while. This will
probably be a long one—and it might even turn into a series of posts
around a central theme.
My mother—more than me, but me too—has
always wondered about her mother’s family.
A Childhood Cut Short
My grandmother was born in Poland in 1926, before World War II. She was just 13, almost 14, when Germany invaded. According to my mother, my grandmother was at school in Kraków when the invasion happened. She was taken away from her parents, older brother, and sister. The last time she ever saw them was before going to school that day.
I just learned this part while preparing for this post: my grandmother was taken to a concentration camp and was “in line for a shower.” She was seen by a German officer, who pulled her out of the line. She was forced to serve as an au pair—but in truth, she was a slave.
My mother told me that, surprisingly, my grandmother was treated well by the German and his family and was almost certainly saved from death by that officer. My grandmother never knew why she was chosen out of everyone in line.
We all know what “going into the showers” meant. But I don’t think it
was just fate that saved her—I believe it was divine intervention. If
not for that moment, how would my mother be here today—and, by
extension, my brother, sister, and me?
God has a plan for
all of us, and He always makes sure His plans are carried out.
📷#mbjune Day 22: Hometown
After the storm, the streets of my hometown fall into a kind of quiet only a big-city suburb knows—where palm trees sway under a fire-lit sky, and everything feels like it’s holding its breath.
📷 Day 21: silhouette
Nature’s silhouette framed in moonlight and moss. 🌕🌿
