Maggie's Farm

Like all retail in the northern hemisphere, mid-July through Labor Day is slow season at Maggies. Luckily for us, we have devoted readers - friends -  of our eclectic, boutique website. Do us a favor - let people know about us. Dunkin Donuts will pay us more for their (actually, multiples of zero) ads. We are all about money - those multiples of $0.

Yes, I think we will have less-frequent posting over the next several weeks when most of us intend to spend our lives outdoors in God's grandeur whether boating, hiking, fishing, gardening, exercising, sunburns and beaching, body -surfing with the sharks, playing sports, sweaty sex in the meadow, whatever. Or, in Roger de Hauteville's case, rebuilding his family outhouse. How many new seats? I'd go for an upscale 4-seater with varnished oak seats. Needs new tile walls too, Roger, and some fresh copies of the Sears catalog. (For the youth, that means tp.)

Our pal Gerard (thanks for the image) has linked a thing about famous pop tunes as pulp fiction novel covers.  

Good inspiration for all. He cut his food volume drastically and lost 60 lbs after his quad bypass 3 years ago. Eats tiny meals and feels much better for it. A once- "hearty eater", he learned to say "No" to unneeded food even if he liked it. Two slices of steak and some steamed spinach with garlic is now good for him for supper.  One soft-boiled egg for breakfast with a glass of V-8. It only took him 90+ years to learn how to eat in proportion to his needs.

He is recently back from a 10-day tour of Normandy with Mrs. BD, now spending a week, with a WW2 paratrooper vet-pal from the old folk's home, staying with our cousins on Nantucket. (Which my daughters term "Nan-f-it.")

Knowing the old Irishman well, I predict a whisky, clam, and oyster diet, and lots of hiking around. He will regale anybody in reach with stories from the old days. A Blarney Stone gift, endlessly amusing with stories and jokes. Everybody who meets him loves him. What a blessing for him to make friends wherever he goes because everybody wants to hang out with him. I suspect they will go fishing for Stripers for supper this week, offshore. Can no longer kayak due to bum shoulder.

In a couple of weeks, he will join us for 2 weeks in Wellfleet, also in seach of perfect oysters and fun waitresses to flirt with. He looks great, dresses well (new updated wardrobe due to weight loss - no old man clothes). Yes, he drives very well too - strong and steady with his brand-new Outback. Lots of guys in their 90s do not buy new cars, or even green bananas. Or are even alive.

Age is a state of mind, or so they say. If you are not dead yet. Arthitis is the challenge, but that's the price paid for an active life. He has always been very strong and athletic (100 pushups with my wife on his back) and a history student at night. Plus a tennis fan, Giants fan. I used to run 10 miles with him. Good times.

Another fun thing about the guy is that he is always up for a NYC adventure. Worked there for 30 years, but it is still a dopamine fix for him. Theater, music, a walk, a restaurant - whatever. If a long walk, best if he carries a cane. I swear he would do Mt. Washington if I challenged him.

To top it all off, he and Mrs. BD are planning a cruise around the Magellan Straits, BA to Chile. How cool is that? Amazing bird-watching. Carpe diem.

May he live long and prosper - even though he can no longer help me split logs as we used to do. I need help with that. I guess that's why we have a son.

The best of New England is Salt Water New England (from whom this Maine photo is stolen)

His post here.  But C'mon, man - it's beach music, like Jimmy Buffet with cool harmonies:

What did medieval peasants eat?

 Senior Runner Disqualified by L.A. Marathon Committed Suicide, Coroner Says

 NYC’s privileged bicyclists won’t even discuss best way to stop bike deaths

 Harvard study finds that trigger warnings may actually harm trauma victims

A victim identity is a recipe for failure in life 

 ‘Sugar Daddy’ business thrives as more coeds sign up to pay off student debt

 ‘C’MON MAN’: Biden Criticized Over Use Of ‘Gendered’ Phrase

 KLAVAN: The Left Uses 'Offense' To Silence Others

 AOC’s Chief Of Staff: We Don’t Think Of The Green New Deal As A Climate Thing But As A “Change The Entire Economy” Thing

Duh 

 Pelosi Rejects U.S. Sovereignty – U.S. Immigration Subject to Laws of “A Global Society”…

I ain't never seen no "global society" 

Elizabeth Warren vows to flood the US with refugees

Even the NYT is recognizing Trump's foreign policy genius 

He "shakes the box" like nobody else has the nerve to do

 Something’s happening here: Trump reaches all-time high approval in WaPo-ABC News polls

An unusual traffic stop 

Coasties attack a narco sub

Ballsy 

 US Fast-Food Drive-Thrus Will Soon Use License Plate And Facial Recognition Technology

To Delay Death, Lift Weights - Two new studies remind of us of what we already know but sometimes forget

 American Psychological Association Pushes Polyamory

 We Need A Green New Deal To Defeat Fascism

 Ocasio-Cortez announces bill to make electoral college tuition-free

Catfight escalates: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hurls race card at Nancy Pelosi

 Vanity Fair: You Know Who Should Be Worried About Epstein’s Photographs?

A question: This stuff is illegal, but is it really "pedophilia"? 

 House Judiciary Committee Continues Subpoena-fest Of Trump Officials

 Why Do Democrats Hate Jobs So Much?

 Lawrence Jones on disdain for Pledge of Allegiance: 'This starts on college campuses'

 Joe Biden: ‘I Respect No Borders’

Get offa my lawn, Joe 

Texas Reporter Watches 300 Migrants Cross Border in Six Hours

 Hillary Posts Instructions IN SPANISH For Illegal Aliens to Evade ICE Agents

 President Trump should set the refugee cap for 2020 at ZERO

Hundreds of blindfolded goats airdropped into mountain range

That's an image 

  3 Helpful Tips For The Suffering Feminists Who Are Being Persecuted By Air Conditioning

  The story of the first factory

 Volkswagen’s final Beetle is leaving the factory today

 Mom Arrested For Allegedly Driving With Children Sitting In Inflatable Pool On Top Of Vehicle

Sounds to me like a brilliant idea 

 Are People Who Make $200,000 Middle Class?

Depends on where you live 

 Massachusetts Looks At Redefining The Age Of Being A “Juvenile” To 21

"Juvenile" has nothing to do with age. Why not go back to adulthood at Bar Mitzvah age? 

Is Facial Recognition the New Fingerprinting—or Something Much Worse? State DMVs are building a vast national digital identification database for federal law enforcement.

Police state

 Father of Kamala Harris Says Her Ancestors Owned Slaves

 Williams College rejects free-speech principles to protect ‘dignitary safety’ of students

"Dignitary safety"? That's a good one. Have you seen dignity?

 The Problem with Treating Children as Adults

 We Need To Dismantle The U.S. Military For ‘Climate Change’ Or Something

 Democrats Control America’s Most Dangerous Cities. So Why Do They Keep Passing the Buck on Gun Crime?

Kling:

 If you believe that the other side holds reasonable views, then you cannot dismiss them as nuts. But that creates cognitive dissonance, because it raises the possibility that you are wrong. It’s much easier to go about life dismissing people with different points of view as hopeless extremists, so you don’t have to engage with them.

America's First Black Billionaire Gives Trump an 'A+,' Says Dems Are Moving 'Too Far Left'

Mark Zuckerberg Brags: We Didn't Allow Pro-Life Groups to Advertise Before Ireland's Abortion Vote

Meddling 

AOC: PELOSI SADDLING ME WITH WORK TO KEEP ME OUT OF SPOTLIGHT 

No, it's called a "job" 

 CURL: Democrats Care More About Helping Illegal Aliens Than Americans

 A European War on (Everyone’s) Free Speech

Evil 

Readers know I consider the Mighty Mighty Deadlift as the core of creating/maintaining a sturdy body - followed by the other powerlifts of course.

Deads are a total body exertion. I only do them once weekly (I do barbell squats on Mon, Deads on Thurs, high-rep leg press on Sat - and still have skinny runner's legs). 

To mix it up and to keep things interesting, about every 6 weeks I switch Squat and Dead from higher reps (ie 8 reps for 6 sets)  to 5 sets of descending reps, increasing wt by 10 lbs for each set (6,5, 4, 3, 2 reps/set). The final two get me within sight of my one-rep max. Gets heavy, and grip gets iffy.

Someday, I will get my one-rep max into the 2 rep range.

Keeps things interesting, and keeps your body off balance by changing routine. 

2-3 minute rest between sets for heavy lifts, please. What is "heavy"? It's all relative to the individual. You know what you can't move, and back down from there.

Re the photo, that's the grip I use 

Image via the great Titiana McGrath 

Consider it an ad for Dunkin 

Justin Verlander Says MLB Is Juicing Baseballs To Goose Up Offense

You Don’t Need That SUV (and You Know It)

Wrong. We need one. Just one. 

US Poll: 1 in 4 don’t plan to retire despite realities of aging

 Cabot Phillips on American exceptionalism: 'You don't see people flooding the shores of Norway'

 Amazon, Microsoft Vying For Opportunity To Help Pentagon Spy On All Of Us In The Cloud…

 Tucker Carlson: How Did CNN's Chris Cuomo Get Into Yale?

Via Powerline:

 “I was excited. This was an opportunity to study, converse, and dialogue about topics such as intersectionality, the prison industrial complex, the war on drugs, and environmental racism that I was exploring in my communication studies major.”

 The late scholar Gerrit H. Wormhoudt's book "Opting Out" says Americans must choose alternatives to government-managed schools for their children.

 Government education in Providence

Image via Ace 

Missions Trip Disaster: Students Arrive To Find Tribesmen Already Christians

Best watermelon carving ever 

Dalrymple:  I Get No Kick From Women’s Soccer

 Thinking About Libraries

The Long-Awaited Apology to Roger Scruton

Scruton is one of the smart guys

 Was Thomas Jefferson on the Duke Lacrosse Team?

The Founders Who Opposed the Constitution - The Anti-Federalists gave us the Bill of Rights. Judge Andrew Oldham says they can also give us insight on the modern administrative state.

 ‘Campus Muzzle Awards’ this year go to exclusively New England colleges

 California public university threatens to punish students for jokes

What a joke 

 Betsy DeVos is right: The NAACP is wrong to oppose charter schools

They should be championing them. Why not?

 Berkeley to consider another environmental first with proposed ordinance banning new natural gas hookups.

There's always firewood... 

 NEW YORK TIMES HAS 6250 TON COOLING SYSTEM, TELLS PEOPLE IT'S NOBLE TO SUFFER W/O AIR CONDITIONERS

 Status Report On New York's Quest For "Climate Leadership"

Sunday bombshell: Pool for deportation is up to 1 million illegals who have already had due process

Courting Homelessness - Boise, Idaho asks the Supreme Court to reverse rulings that shackle its attempts to clear city streets.

 The Hate-Crime Epidemic That Never Was: A Seattle Case Study

Fake news at The Guardian

Trump continues fighting slavery 

Not even Obama took this on 

 Steve Hilton: Proud Americans - That's not who today's Democrats are

 Are Democrats Ceding the Center to Trump?

Um, yes 

 Record 157,005,000 Employed; 19th Record of Trump Era

 European Union: Toward A European Superstate

Finally, heading back to the German Empire 

Getting lobsters stoned before cooking 

 Why do the young and healthy sometimes drop dead?

Denounced by Feminazi Columnist for Wanting Hug From Granddaughter

 To end fatphobia, we need to dismantle Western civilization, says Philly therapist Sonalee Rashatwar

 THIS WHOLE “FEEL SAFE” THING IS BULLSHIT THAT NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN

 US Soccer Player Allie Long Throws US Flag on Grass During World Cup Victory Celebration

Why do that?

Hating america: "... it’s an innovative strategy to run for President by taking the position that your country is garbage and that its are people deplorable monsters."

Socialism Is Back, and the Kids Are Loving It

Gov’t Dependency Plunges Under Trump — Why Aren’t We Celebrating?

 Fresh Off Epstein Case Win, Mike Cernovich Launches Fundraiser to Unseal Congressional Sexual Harassment Deals

 Epstein Was Banned From Mar-a-Lago Club After Soliciting Teen, Trump Provided Info Against Epstein To Lawyer For Victims

 The 2000 US Census Asked Citizenship Question — Obama Deleted it in 2010 — Trump Wants It Back in 2020

 Democrat Congresswoman Secretly Sending Staff To Mexico To Coach Migrants How To Beat System, Report Says

 KAMALA HARRIS WILL BE THE 2020 DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE. WHY NEWT GINGRICH HAS BEEN SAYING THAT ALL YEAR

France Has Turned Into One Of The Worldwide Threats To Free Speech

The UK:  “Its Their Responsibility To Be Looking After And Educating Our Children For Five Days A Week”