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1. Bindu's Corner: This week, we have another quote from Swami Vivekananda on the importance of self-realization and rejecting pretense in the pursuit of realizing the divine within
2. Performing Arts: Taylor Swift became the 42nd artist to be inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame when she was inducted into the latter earlier this month.
3. Super Seniors: Paul & Ringo from the Beatles, Mick, Keith, and Ronnie from the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young have all been making and performing music for sixty years or more, and amazingly, they're all still at it.
4. Bears: Polar bears have moved to the shoreline as sea ice recedes in Arctic regions to forage for eggs, threatening seabird populations.
5. Book Corner: Barbara Streisand's first children's book, “And by the Way…” is scheduled to be released next spring. I can't wait.
6. The Heavens: August's full moon, the Sturgeon Moon, arrives next Thursday night, August 27th. This year, it will be accompanied by a near-total lunar eclipse.
7. Gardening: Better Homes & Gardens has its fall planting guide out to help you maximize your spring blooms.
8. Weather: Hurricane Lala hit the Big Island of Hawai'i hard last week, and now the island is bracing for Tropical Storm Moke to land as well.
9. Tennis: Play starts for the 2026 US Open this Sunday.
10. Hayward M. Fox, Ph.D.: This week, I have another video featuring Dr. Fox from the Institute of Personal and Transpersonal Knowledge.
| | Now, to this week's Flock. | | 1. Bindu's Corner: Swami Vivekananda Quote | | Below is another quote from Swami Vivekananda's New York lectures on spirituality and religion in the 1890s. | | |
We are forever trying to make our weakness look like strength, our sentiment like love, our cowardice like courage, etc. Say to your soul in regard to vanities, weaknesses, etc., “This does not befit thee. This does not befit thee”
And any sect that may help you to realise God is welcome. Religion is the Realising of God.
| | –The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 9/Notes of Lectures and Classes/Remarks from Various Lectures | |
2. Performing Arts: Taylor Swift
| | I am a fan of Taylor Swift. She's a great talent and an All-American girl. After watching a documentary about the evolution of her career and seeing how she conducts herself and treats her fans, I included her as the Flock's Woman of the Week on International Women's Day in 2024. Earlier this month, Taylor became the youngest musician to be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, a foundation focused on honoring songwriters with ties to the Nashville musical community. Earlier in the year, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a New York-based foundation that honors songwriters of all genres in the music industry. | | Taylor Swift Becomes Youngest-Ever Musician to Be Inducted Into 2026 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame at 36: ‘Very Grateful’ | In June, Swift became the youngest woman to be inducted into the 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame | From: People, By: Ilana Kaplan, August 11, 2026 | |
Taylor Swift will be inducted into the 2026 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame!
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, the 2026 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees were announced by Mark Ford, executive director of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, at Belmont University’s Johnson Theater.
Swift, 36, was announced as the youngest-ever inductee to join the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Class in the 20-Year Contemporary Songwriter/Artist category. She was nominated alongside Lyle Lovett, Bruce Channel, Shawn Camp and Lee Thomas Miller.
“From the time I started writing songs as a child, I fixated on Nashville as the perfect place to be,” she said in a statement obtained by People. “I wanted to learn with and from the best and get to immerse myself in a community of storytellers, and thankfully Nashville turned out to be exactly what I’d dreamed of. A town that validated and prioritized hard work, determination and imagination.”
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Additionally, Swift was inducted into the 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame class in June alongside Walter Afanasieff, Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS, Kenny Loggins, Alanis Morissette and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart.
She made history as the youngest-ever woman to receive the honor. (Previously, Stevie Wonder became the youngest inductee at the age of 32 in 1983, per the Songwriters Hall of Fame website.)
| | 3. Super Seniors: Not Fade Away | | I usually focus on senior athletes in the Super Seniors section of the Flock. Previously, I've featured a 92-year-old hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim, a woman thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail at 80, an 82-year-old retired educator and former ultra-marathoner who has dialed in a daily morning workout to stay fit, and most recently, 91-year-old “Grey Beard” on his way to completing the Appalachian Trail for the second time since turning 80. This week, I want to honor some musicians who have continued to create and perform into their 80s and beyond | | As the bass player for the Beatles, Paul McCartney first charted a number-one album on the UK charts in 1963 with Please Please Me. This year, at 84, with the release of The Boys of Dungeon Lane, he did it again for the 24th time. While also making the Billboard 200’s Top 10. Former bandmate Ringo Starr (86) shared some of the vocal duties and played drums on the track Home to Us. | | ‘Billboard’ Charts Definitively Prove Everybody Loves Paul McCartney | | The former Beatle's The Boys of Dungeon Lane is the artist’s 22nd Top 10 Billboard 200 hit since the Fab Four split | | |
Paul McCartney‘s latest solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, has landed here, there, and everywhere on Billboard‘s latest chart returns, mostly at Number One. While the LP, which contains the singles Days We Left Behind and Home to Us, bowed at Number Five on the Billboard 200, which tabulates an album’s popularity with a combination of sales and “album-equivalent” streaming units, the trade mag reports that it landed at Number One on its Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums, and Indie Store Album Sales charts.
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McCartney managed this week’s feat by earning 63,000 album equivalent units in the U.S. for the week ending June 4, Billboard reports. The album’s sales, meanwhile, reached 59,500, of which 32,000 were vinyl records.
This sort of recognition is no rarity for the former Beatle, who has seen the world of album charts evolve greatly in his five-plus decades as a recording artist. The Boys of Dungeon Lane is Macca’s 22nd album to reach the Billboard 200’s Top 10, including Wings LPs. His first solo Top 10 was McCartney, which reached Number One, some 56 years ago. Meanwhile, 32 Beatles albums reached the same rare air. The Beatles’ first Top 10 album, Meet the Beatles!, came out 62 years ago.
McCartney’s latest solo album has received an even better reception in the U.K., though. The Official U.K. Charts Company reports that The Boys of Dungeon Lane is the Number One album in McCartney’s home country. It’s also Number One on the U.K.’s Albums Sales Chart, Physical Albums Chart, Vinyl Albums Chart, and Record Store Chart.
| | The Rolling Stones have toured regularly for over six decades. Their 2026 tour was canceled at the end of 2025 due to concerns about founding member Keith Richards's ability to meet the physical demands of an extended road tour and worsening arthritis in his fingers. With the core members all in or approaching their 80s, the band hasn't thrown in the towel on future live performances, with Mick Jagger teasing a 2027 tour and Richards speculating about a more stable series of residency performances. | | At 82, Mick Jagger Says He’s ‘Ready to Go’ for Another Rolling Stones Tour | | The Rolling Stones frontman hints at potential tour plans while speaking with TODAY’s Willie Geist. | | From: TODAY, By: Talia Wexler, July 9, 2026 | | |
After more than six decades, The Rolling Stones still aren’t slowing down.
On July 10, the rock ‘n’ roll band will release their 25th studio album, “Foreign Tongues.”
Rolling Stones frontman and legendary rocker Mick Jagger chatted with Willie Geist for the June 14 edition of Sunday Sitdown about plans for the upcoming album, including a potential tour.
“Well, I’d love to. I really want to. And, I’m ready to go,” Jagger, 82, told Willie when asked if they’ll head back on the road.
“I don’t think we’re gonna do shows this year, but hopefully we’ll do shows next year,” he added.
Other members of the band, who spoke with Willie in an interview that aired on TODAY July 9, also attempted to explain the band’s longevity.
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“I can’t explain it. I would just say there is a very, very strong bond between Mick and I that goes even beyond in a way but that we’re aware of,” Keith Richards said.
“The only way I can explain is it to say that it’s what we do, you know. It’s just in our blood. We can’t help it,” Ronnie Wood added.
“I have a lot more songs to write,” Jagger continued. “I don’t wanna slow down, particularly. I don’t feel like slowing down.”
The Stones last went on tour in the summer of 2024 to perform their album Hackney Diamonds, released in October 2023.
This next album has “a lot of styles in it,” Jagger said. For the Stones, that was intentional: “You hope that every track has got something for everyone. That’s why you’ve got, you know, 14 tracks.”
While four of the tracks were recorded during studio sessions for earlier albums, the 10 tracks made just for Foreign Tongues were written and recorded in the span of just four weeks, Jagger said.
| | Willie Nelson's music career has spanned seven decades, penning hits for country artists in the fifties and sixties, later helping create the outlaw country movement and finding success as a performer in the seventies. In 1985, he co-created the first Farm Aid benefit concert with Neil Young and John Mellencamp. He has continued to record and perform to this day. At 92, he is currently headlining the Outlaw Music Festival through the end of August, the 2026 Farm Aid and a short run of shows with Neil Young (80) in September. | Neil Young and Willie Nelson to Play Co-Headlining Shows in September | | |
Neil Young and Willie Nelson are joining forces in late September for a pair of co-headlining shows with special guest Ty Myers.
Young and his latest backing band, The Chrome Hearts, will play a twin bill with Willie Nelson & Family at Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on September 22nd, and at Philadelphia’s TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann on September 24th.
Young and Nelson have a long history of playing shows together, most frequently at the annual Farm Aid benefit concert, which takes place this year at Virginia Beach’s Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater on September 26th.
While Young & The Chrome Hearts’ 2026 road schedule only includes these two shows and Farm Aid, their new album, Second Song, is set for release on September 18th via Reprise Records; pre-orders are ongoing.
| | 4. Bears: Polar Bears Threaten Arctic Seabird Populations | | Arctic seabird populations face a ripple effect of a warming climate: receding sea ice has forced polar bears to the shoreline to hunt, leading them to raid seabird nests to scavenge eggs for food. | | As Arctic Sea Ice Shrinks,
Polar Bears Spend More Time on Land—and More Time Consuming Seabird Eggs | | WCS study documents unprecedented threat to Alaska’s seabird populations | | |
A polar bear spends nearly a day walking across a remote Arctic island, crushing and consuming eggs, and destroying almost an entire colony of seabird nests. While reported elsewhere in the Arctic, until recently, such scenes were almost unheard of in Alaska. Today, according to a new study co-led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Cooper Island Arctic Research and published in the journal Polar Research, they are becoming a visible sign of how climate change is destabilizing one of Earth's fastest-warming ecosystems.
As disappearing summer sea ice leaves polar bears with less access to the seals they have relied on for millennia, more bears are spending time on land and turning to seabird colonies for food. Drawing on one of the longest continuous records of Arctic seabird monitoring ever assembled on Cooper Island, WCS scientists and collaborators documented a dramatic increase in polar bear predation on black guillemots and common eiders along Alaska’s Arctic coast.
In July 2024, researchers documented one of the clearest examples of that shift when a single polar bear destroyed 89 percent of the nests in a common eider colony on Spy Island in less than one day—the first predation event of this scale at a seabird colony in Alaska. At nearby Cooper Island, where seabirds have been monitored since 1975, polar bear predation rose sharply after the record sea-ice retreat of 2007. Bears eventually even learned to defeat specially designed nest boxes created to protect the birds.
| | “For decades these barrier islands served as places where seabirds could nest with relatively little pressure from large land predators," said Kayla Shively, Conservation Ecologist with WCS's Arctic Beringia Program and lead author of the study. "What we're seeing now is that as polar bears spend more time on shore, those relationships are changing. It's another reminder that climate change isn't affecting one species at a time—it is reshaping the connections between species across the Arctic.” | |
5. Book Corner: Barbara Streisand's First Children's Book
| | Barbara Streisand's new children's book, And by the Way… won't be in bookstores until next spring, but you can pre-order a copy here. | | Barbra Streisand Announces First Children’s Book And By the Way — See the Cover! | | The picture book about a grandparent and grandchild hits shelves next Spring | | From: People, By: Shyla Watson, August 6, 2026 | | |
Happy days are here again because Barbra Streisand is releasing a children’s book!
In a statement shared with Peple, Penguin Young Readers announced And By the Way... will be published next March from Flamingo Books, an imprint of PYR.
| | “I love being ‘Gamma Barbra’ to my three wonderful young grandchildren. One of our favorite activities is reading picture books together — sometimes the same ones over and over again! So, I thought it would be fun to write my own book… for them… and hopefully, for other parents and grandparents to read to their little ones!” Streisand, 84, said in a statement. | |
6. The Heavens: The Sturgeon Moon & Lunar Eclipse
| | Don't miss next Thursday's full Sturgeon Moon; it will be accompanied by a lunar eclipse with over 90% of the moon shaded red by the Earth's shadow. | | The Spiritual Meaning of the Full Sturgeon Moon | | |
Greet your inner sea monster as you embrace the spiritual meaning of the Sturgeon Moon.
Each month’s full moon has a special name that represents something about the natural world and the energy of that time. The Sturgeon Moon is the Algonquian name for the full moon in August, when the sturgeon were easiest to catch in the Great Lakes. Other traditions named this month’s moon the Full Red Moon, for the late summery haze that can tinge the moon red, and the Corn or Grain Moon, as this is a time to start gathering the late summer harvest in preparation for the fall.
The Energy of the Sturgeon
Sturgeon can live to 150 years, and the largest sturgeon on record was a massive 23 feet long. The word sturgeon means “stirrer” because they tend to spend their time at the bottom of the lake, stirring up the mud, looking for food. In August, they rise from the deep dark towards the surface.
As the full moon rises, we can often feel energy intensifying. For many of us this comes with rising emotions. August is often hot and dry, and the celebratory mood of the early summer can shift towards exhaustion, overheating, and a yearning for the quieter, cooler air of September and October. As the ancient sturgeon rises, so can older parts of ourselves. These parts may have been hidden for a long time. Now is the time to catch those fish and to face the deeply held feelings, bound-up emotions, and old memories that we might not even realize are having an impact on our day-to-day lives.
Sturgeon have often been mistaken for sea monsters—in fact, the Loch Ness Monster may represent huge wayward sturgeon that have entered the lake from time to time. So often we hold parts of ourselves at bay, thinking them to be terrifying beasts, too big for us to hold, unmanageable. Rather, they are often tender, vulnerable parts of us that have been frozen in the past until it’s time to rise to the surface and be held with gentleness
| | What’s Up:
August 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA | A solar eclipse, the Perseids, bright Venus after sunset, and a deep partial lunar eclipse highlight August's skywatching. | |
Lunar Eclipse: August 27, 2026
On the night of Aug. 27, continuing into Aug. 28 for some time zones, the Full Moon slips through Earth's shadow, resulting in a partial lunar eclipse. It will be visible from much of North and South America and parts of Europe and Africa.
| viewing areas for the August 2026 lunar eclipse | Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is safe to watch with just your eyes. Binoculars or a small telescope can give you a closer view of Earth's curved shadow moving across the Moon. | | 7. Gardening: Fall Planting | | Here's a nice guide for garden plants to get into the ground this fall. Depending on where you live, you can move these suggestions up a little, or push them back a couple of weeks. For example, in Tucson, we're best off refrigerating the spring bulbs for a couple of months and planting them in late December or January. Wherever you are, you can get good advice on what to plant and when from a local nursery. | | Here’s What to Plant in Fall for a Beautiful Blooming Spring Yard | Give yourself a jump start on spring with these fall plantings. | | |
After a steamy summer, it’s time to decide what to plant when autumn’s cooler air is easier on both plants and gardeners, but the soil is still warm enough to allow roots to grow before the ground freezes. Even if fall doesn’t bring at least an inch of rain per week where you live, it’s easy to water the plants. Disease and pest problems also fade away in the fall.
Late summer or early fall is often a great time to find bargains at garden centers, as they try to clear out the last of their inventory before winter. Look for deals on what to plant in fall, including spring-blooming bulbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs, which can all be planted until your area is hit with a hard frost. Don’t forget your lawn; cool-season turfgrass can also be seeded this time of year. Plant some of the selections listed here in the ground this fall, and they’ll reward you with gorgeous color in spring.
- Spring Bulbs
- Pansies and Violas
- Turf Grass
- Trees and Shrubs
- Perennials
- Cool Season Vegetables
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8. Weather: Extreme Weather Hits the Big island
| | My heart goes out to everyone on the Big Island affected by Hurricane Lala. The storm hit hard, causing heavy damage and injuries across the Island. Now the Island is bracing for a second hit from Tropical Storm Moke while clean-up and recovery efforts are still underway. If you were affected by these storms and still have internet access, Vibrant Hawai'i has a website listing resources, including medical care, meal and clean water distribution centers, and safety guides. | | Hurricane Lala Pummels Hawaii—Despite Never Making Landfall | | |
Despite never making landfall, Hurricane Lala left a path of destruction across Hawaii over the weekend. Strong winds, torrential rain and mudslides damaged or swept away more than 100 homes while felled trees blocked key roads on the island of Hawaii, or the Big Island, which suffered the brunt of the tropical cyclone’s wrath. More than three feet of rain dumped in some areas.
The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm by Sunday but still managed to take down key transmission lines across Hawaii, leaving nearly 200,000 homes and businesses without electricity. On parts of the Big Island, the power could be out for weeks or months as repair crews struggle to access transmission lines that crisscross rugged and remote terrain, officials say.
“There’s a lot of damage that we’ll be working on,” said Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Sunday, adding that he would be seeking federal assistance for recovery efforts.
Due to Hawaii’s cooler marine waters and location in the vast Pacific Ocean, hurricanes in the area are rare, with only two ever making landfall, according to records. But a strong El Niño climate pattern—potentially even historic—is driving up ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, fueling stronger storms like Lala in the region this year.
| | Tropical Storm Moke advances toward Hawaii as winds strengthen | | From: PBS News, August 22, 2026 | |
Tropical Storm Moke advanced toward Hawaii Saturday, likely bringing more heavy rainfall and strong gusts to the Big Island, where residents are still dealing with the aftermath of heavy flooding and damaging winds from Hurricane Lala.
Moke, which formed Friday in the Pacific Ocean, was located about 470 miles (755 kilometers) southeast of Hilo, moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph), as of 5 a.m. on Saturday in Hawaii. Maximum sustained winds were around 50 mph (85 kph), the National Hurricane Center said.
As with Hurricane Lala, the Big Island is expected to bear the brunt of Moke's rain and heavy winds as it passes south of a direct hit late Saturday into early Sunday.
Moke will then continue its westward path near the islands through early Tuesday, said Casey Oswant, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
"There will still be impacts, especially to the windward and southeast sides of the Big Island, but it will probably be a little bit more limited than what we saw with Lala," Oswant said.
| | Sep 6, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Aryna Sabalenka receives the championship trophy from former player Cris Everet after the women's singles final | The first qualifying round of the US Open starts this Sunday, August 23rd. This year's top seed, Jannik Sinner, had to withdraw due to a knee injury, leaving German Alexander Zverev as the top seed at the start of play this year. I look forward to a competitive tournament and will post updates in coming issues of the Flock. | Who is in and out of 2026 US Open | Tracking the wildcard entries and injured players who are in and out of this year's US Open. | | |
In the last Grand Slam of the tennis calendar year, fans almost need a scorecard to figure out who will play in this year’s US Open.
Injuries have wreaked havoc, perhaps more than other years. Th most notable is Jannik Sinner, the ATP World No. 1, who is not playing because of a knee injury.
Sinner is one big name, but there are more so here’s a checklist of who’s in and out.
WTA players
Serena Williams is playing mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz who is making his return to competitive tennis. She will not play singles. It remains to be seen if she plays doubles with Venus.
Venus Williams received a singles wildcard.
Karolina Muchova, who hasn’t played since the Wimbledon final last month, is questionable as she is recovering from a minor surgical procedure. She did not play any hardcourt tournaments.
There has not been any update on Elena Rybakina’s availability after she was forced to retire from her Cincinnati Open quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek with a leg injury.
ATP players
The bigger story on the ATP side is the list of players not competing in New York. Sinner is joined by Jack Draper and Holger Rune.
Stan Wawrinka, the 2016 champion, who is retiring at the end of the year did not receive a wildcard so he will not be playing. Though Stan’s farewell year has been long and emotional, it is odd that he won’t get a New York sendoff. The 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, and 2016 US Open champion received wildcards at the other three Grand Slams this year.
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10. Hayward M. Fox, Ph. D.: A video from Dr. Fox
| | Below is another video I have not previously posted from the Institute of Personal and Transpersonal Knowledge video collection. Please watch and enjoy. You may also like to visit Dr. Fox's YouTube channel for more videos, and don't forget to like and subscribe. | | These Flock regulars are always here for you: | | Don't Be Shy: Share Your Stories! | | I'm looking forward to sharing more of your personal stories - oral, written, or otherwise, as we enter our third year. I'd so love to present them to The Flock, hit a mailbox below to share your story. | | Subscriptions & Idea Submissions
Reminder: Your submissions are always welcomed. | | |
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Your fan and friend,
Beth
| | | The information and materials contained or referenced in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a physician or other qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before beginning a new health care regimen. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical advice or care based on anything contained in this newsletter. | | | | |
