![]() |
Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page
Categories
QuicksearchLinks
Blog Administration |
Monday, October 8. 2007Kyoko Yonemoto: Ravel Violin Sonata, 2nd movement
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:00
| Comments (9)
| Trackbacks (0)
QQQ: VDH, more thoughts on his trip to IraqHere. Why can't we get this quality of reporting from the MSM? The QQQ:
Posted by Bird Dog
in Politics, Quotidian Quotable Quote (QQQ)
at
15:06
| Comment (1)
| Trackbacks (0)
Collected quotes from animal rights activistsHere. (h/t, Doug Powers) An example:
(BTW, every medicine and every surgical procedure is tried on animals before people. Would anyone want it to be otherwise?) The Shy Newt and the miracle of amphibian metamorphosisNewts have unusual life-cycles. Actually, this is a photo of a Red Eft I took yesterday. Red Efts are the land-dwelling intermediate form of our Eastern Red Spotted Newt. They go from egg to gilled young newt to Red Eft on land and then, after a few years, back to adult air-breathing, breeding water newt. Saw many of them yesterday in our Hemlock groves up above the beaver marsh, poking around the leaf litter on the balmy October day. They are surely only days away from hibernation deep in the leaf litter. Although they look like Gummy Salamanders, their orange color announces their toxicity to predators. Cute little critters that provide instant good cheer when seen.
Posted by Bird Dog
in Natural History and Conservation, Our Essays
at
11:20
| Comments (9)
| Trackbacks (0)
A Splendid Rant
A splendid rant against the NYT and their ilk on their deliberate (?) ignorance, by Yankeeland's unsophisticated, barely-literate, unshaven and un-showered, Maple Syrup-sipping, pajama-clad, knuckle-dragging, Baked Bean-eating Jules.
Columbus Day Morning Links
Father Desbois studies the fate of the 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews shot by the Germans. "The holocaust of bullets." Quoted from Viking:
Purpose of appendix found, maybe. It's a bacteria-container. Al Gore understands the need for the US to be in Iraq. Anchoress Anti-semitism at the University of California? Stillwell Image: Chris Columbus, noted Italian-American racist, imperialist tool, Capitalist, and killer of brown people. He was also the founder of Columbia University and Columbus, Ohio.
Posted by The News Junkie
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects
at
07:33
| Comments (8)
| Trackbacks (0)
The Frost FamilyRe that kid who was trotted out by the Dems to promote SCHIP, here's the rest of the story at Surber, Insty, and Steyn. Apparently this family made life choices which did not include insurance for their kids. That is not "need." That is "choice." In America, we try to take responsibility for our choices like big boys and girls. (h/t, Buddy) Sunday, October 7. 2007Texas experiments with tort reformTexas set a limit to medical malpractice awards, and finally they are getting the doctors they need. Tiger Hawk. It's simple economics. If doctors know they might get wiped out by a loony judgement of a jury, as Tiger Hawk points out, they will either tend not to practice - or to avoid all high-risk cases. Not to mention the cost of malpractice insurance - up to $200,000 per year for some specialties in some areas of the country. Not to mention all of the useless and expensive tests docs order, purely to cover their asses. Roberta FlackThis superb lady has come to speak and to talk with the kids and sing a little at my kids' school for the past few years, but I have been an admirer forever, it seems. If you don't have her CDs, you are missing out.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
13:14
| Comments (7)
| Trackbacks (0)
IslamophobophobophobiaMary Jackson at the New English Review. She links to Islamic Law and its Challenge to Western Civilization. A quote from the latter very comprehensive site: Most people in the West believe that Islam is a religion in the traditional sense of the word. However, this is a fateful misconception. Islam is not just a religion. It is much more than a religion. Muslims themselves describe their faith by saying, Islam is a Complete Way of Life. This is certainly a more apt description, because Islam is a religious, social, economic, educational, health, political, and philosophic way of life. In fact, Islam is an all-embracing socio-politico-religious utopian ideology that encompasses every field of human endeavor. The Western view of religion is that a religion is a narrow aspect of life. It does not encompass all human affairs. Religion stands beside culture, economic, politics, and other human institutions. Westerners may differ on matters of religious faith, but they can work together in social, state, and economic affairs. The reason for this is that their respective religions don't claim divine authority over the institutions of governance and economics. Their faiths may differ regarding the salvation of the soul, life after death, and religious rituals, but they don't claim to have divine insight into the institutions of human government and its particular laws. As good citizens, they strive to have a just and equitable society. Islam is different from other religions in that it is not limited to the spiritual aspects of life. It engulfs all aspects of life from the cradle to the grave. Islam claims to have a divine mandate over everyone, and this includes non-Muslims too. While non-Muslims may not be required to observe the religious rituals of Islam, they must recognize the supremacy of Islamic rule over them. As an ideology, Islam promises an economic, political, social, and religious utopia when the world finally submits to Allah and the rule of Shari'a law. The Islamic objective is to have all aspects of a nation's culture and institutions undergo gradual Islamization to yield an Islamic state patterned after Shari'a Law. Come On Over And Grab A Wingle
A Wingle is a pick-up truck made in China by the Great Wall Motor Company. How could you not want a Wingle if you read their advertising copy? How could you resist:
Hmm. They may want to drop the conquering thing. Never mind that; check this out:
Isn't that a daisy? Like all advertising copy, it's pure unadulterated horsehockey. But it is adulterated by the translation. It's charming, in the same way it's charming for everybody else when your toddler says: "Daddy makes boom-boom and Mommy lights candles. The bathroom is just like church." It reveals much in its innocence, like a pretty coworker who dresses sleepily and shows up to work in a slip.
This is perfect for those late-night rides home from the tavern. "It washnt mee offshisher. My Wingle ish arbitrary. I can't manipoolate it any other way -- don't tase me, bro..."
Solid headlamp? Are they burning coal in there? That's a decidely low beam.
If this was a PowerPoint presentation, all you'd need to do is throw in a few "synergy" and "enterprise" sorts of words and paste in the pictures. Fantastic. Available in several colors. "Milky White" is nice, but sounds too much like cataract surgery for my tastes. I'll take one in "Fashionable Orange." And don't skimp on the lead.
Posted by Roger de Hauteville
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects, Our Essays
at
09:06
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Sunday LinksTips for lap dancers. Dust my Broom. The founders never separated God from State - just "church". Cherry at Am. Thinker We need to add Grow a Brain to our blogroll. The average American gets 41 miles per gallon. Theo What victim trumps the other victims? The Socialist Food Chain, at Dr. Sanity FLARES' Photo of the Day. Cool. What's the deal with science and Islam? Something went very wrong. Synthstuff How the NYT has tried to wiggle out of its past Haditha pronouncements. Dem. Project Hillary a socialist? Classical Values. Her famous quote, in which she sounds excited, rather than reluctant, to use your money:
Quite a revolutionary sort of statement from an American politician. What strikes me, again, is that she views such things as positives, rather than occasional necessary evils and impingements on freedom. I simply do not want her to do anything for me if the price is my autonomy. I'll let you unpack her statement yourself, word by word and phrase by phrase. From today's Lectionary: MillstonesLuke 15, 1-10 Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves. The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' " FirewoodOne more load yesterday morning. This is well-seasoned White Ash, the tree from which baseball bats are made. I see some log-splitting in my future. Yes, that squiggly green thing on the window is a Fisher's Island sticker, for those with sharp eyes. Very nice place, Fisher's - but no place for tourists. This truck can use the Fisher's Island dump.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
04:42
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Saturday, October 6. 2007NicoFemme Fatale. It was never clear to me whether Nico was forced on the Velvet Underground by Warhol, or whether they wanted her. Nico, as many recall, died young of a stroke. (Those who say that she sounds like Lilly von Schtupp when she says "twue" are cruel-hearted.)
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:05
| Comments (3)
| Trackbacks (0)
A small, but not invisible Maggie's Farm
We know we are destined to be a boutique blog, with a certain sensibility and many shortcomings which will prevent us from becoming mass market. Plus we do not have the time, or, really, the motivation, for fresh reporting. Furthermore, we do not bother with ads which would only compllcate our taxes for little gain, while compressing our space. It is encouraging, though, for us to view our growth in an international blogosphere which is overloaded with interesting things to read. And yes, I know we post too much, too often. That is one of our many flaws. According to our internal stats, we are running an average of about 4000 visits/weekday. In September, 145,000 visits and over a half-million page views. (Multiple visits do not count - and we get happily get plenty of 'em.) We quit looking at our millions of hits per month, which mean little. We are small, but not invisible. Our average length of stay is 3-4 minutes, which is very long for any blog or website: it either means that we are interesting... or that our visitors are slow readers. The less-accurate Sitemeter shows a lower number, but nonetheless shows a steady pattern of growth: we have never had a month without readership growth since we began keeping stats in March, 2006 - unless you count the occasional months following mega-links. The graph looks good, and tells us that the market for Maggie's Farm is not yet saturated. And don't even ask about those old Truth Laid Bare rankings. That site hasn't updated us since 2006, despite several emails to them, so I think they are non-functional as a source of blog data. Let's just say that we are the Eastern Box Turtle of the Blogosphere. If you like us, and know folks who might also enjoy us - even if they do not agree with our politics - send us around. We know there are plenty of people out there who might like Maggie's, but have never stumbled upon us. We welcome civil, informed debate, disagreement, and genteel correction, and, in fact, we are never truly certain about most of our bold assertions. One more thought: Leave a comment on a post if you have a thought to share. Don't be shy. We read most of 'em, sooner or later. Our commenting is easy: no illegible letters to type in for security. Our high-tech anti-spam takes care of that for us. Photo: The mascot of Maggie's Farm: A very young Eastern Box Turtle, a cheerful, slow and steady critter who likes rainy days and eats almost anything. At this time of year, they are fattening up for a long hibernation. Around here, they spend half of their life cozily buried in restful hibernation - October to April or May.
Posted by Bird Dog
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
09:00
| Comments (19)
| Trackbacks (0)
Cool Elevators of the World
Interesting and unusual elevators at Deputy Dog (h/t, Grow a Brain)
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
07:56
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
Grilling a burger tonight?The largest frozen burger patty company in the US has folded after massive recall. Just looking at that burger machine is sickening enough. Meanwhile, if you wait long enough, maybe everything will be recalled. Manitoba Sunset, from our duck boat on Lake WinnipegosisTime to pull in the decoys and head the boat back to the barn.
Friday, October 5. 2007Over 60?
You might be a candidate for The Purpose Prize. 60 isn't old anymore. They could have made it 70.
Posted by Opie
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
19:46
| Comments (3)
| Trackbacks (0)
What is a "moderate Moslem"?
Celestial Junk defines it. h/t, SDA
Barney Frank quotes Marx, and wants to regulate hedge funds
Regulating hedge funds is an oxymoron, and moronic. Markets do crazy things, regularly, and as long as the Fed keeps its God-like eye on things, we do not need politicians trying to control deliberately-high risk markets. These markets are not for sissies, and everybody knows that.
A Mom's William Tell Overture
Posted by Opie
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
08:53
| Comment (1)
| Trackbacks (0)
QQQHistory will have nothing but contempt and derision for pampered academic prigs whose commitment to leveling the distinction between perversity and ordinary life so greatly exceeds their loyalty to country and their gratitude to the armed forces which defend them. Never Yet Melted, re Yale Law's finally opening to military recruiters Indoctrinate UFrom Evan Coyne Maloney, maker of the documentary "Indoctrinate U" (via Classical):
We want to do our bit to get the word out. To get the film screened in your area or on your high school or college campus, go here. I believe this film is important to help open up the conversation, and to take back free speech and free and open thought. Plus Stanley Kurtz thought it was hilarious.
« previous page
(Page 9 of 11, totaling 265 entries)
» next page
|