We 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.
1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
1:12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem,
1:13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.
1:14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
2:18 I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me
2:19 --and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
2:20 So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun,
2:21 because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
2:22 What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun?
2:23 For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
Best way to eat this grain. I like to grill it with the husk on until the husk is burnt, but the Central Americans tend to grill it with husk off. Done right, no butter needed - but salt always.
This grain was genetically-engineered in Central American centuries ago. Agronomists have made it sweeter now.
You did not learn much about life and work in the movie made from Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm. Movies can indicate content, action, but cannnot explain it.
I am re-reading the book. Read it if you have not. It is not Moby Dick (no transcendent component and no poetry), but the comparison has to do with the amount of information (oceanography, meteorology, technology, sociological, and the fishing industry) that Junger packed into this story. Not to mention that he is a compelling writer. Snappy, compact prose.
The guy deserves however many millions he made from the book. Sad to say, Melville didn't make a penny from Moby Dick.
Here's the inside scoop: Few people in the field ever believed that depression was caused by a "seratonin imbalance." Far too simplistic. There is no single "depression" anyway.
What is termed "depression" is a grab bag of miserable signs and symptoms which can be associated with some (undiagnosed) cancers and Bipolar Disorder to neurotic and/or personality vulnerabilities.
SSRI meds help some people with depression remarkably well, but probably not most.
All the old liberal virtues — disinterested inquiry, due process, colorblind justice, advance according to merit, not some extraneous racial, ethnic, or sexual quota — all that has been rebranded as the invidious patent of reactionary and therefore impermissible vice. In sum, the educational establishment in its highest reaches is today a cesspool, contaminating the society it had been, at great expense, created to nurture.
Still, parents are willing to climb naked over broken bottles and impoverish themselves to send their children to this cauldron of iniquity. The light from those extinguished stars still, for a short while yet, beams down upon us, and people still utter the words “Harvard,” “Yale,” “Princeton” with something approaching awe.
Females of many species of Orb-Weaving Spiders (common in gardens) consume their mates following a romp in the web.
Same thing goes for many species of Fireflies. I am seeing lots of them in the morning darkness. Delightful beetles doing their courtship dance in the moonlight.
Crossfit programs are for any level of conditioning because you do the things at your own ability and pace. Their sessions include heavy weights, cardio, and calisthenics.
I think the now-old-fashioned intense feminists speak as if women lack strong sexual drives. I should say, "sexual and/or romantic" drives and desires.
Those things are strong in most women, young and old. It's biology.
My problem is that, regardless of brand, adjustments, etc., the pain in my injured shoulder destroys any pleasure with a backpack, or even a lighter daypack.
I don't like to look like a dork, but even worse is being like the Aussie hikers (sorry for the stereotype): the women herd the kids and carry the backpack, and the men just carry a beer or three, and the cheese sandwiches.
"...there are plenty of writers, actors, musicians, etc., whose politics I deplore but whose talents I enjoy. Erasing them from history doesn’t serve much of a purpose."
Have you every poured some Maple Syrup on some fresh snow? That will pull out a tooth.
It seems that the invention of ice cream (or, maybe at first, sherbet) was somewhere in the Middle East. Then somebody added more luxurious ingredients (Bastani).
It is easy to forget that there is plenty of snow and ice in Lebanon and northern Iran. This stuff can be transported. In much more contemporary times, schooners from New England used to transport blocks of Cape Cod pond ice to India. There is still a business called Cape Pond Ice.
Our favorite Cape Cod band. When they are playing, half the place gets up to dance. She and her husband also own that little art gallery next to Pearl in Wellfleet.
Took Mrs. Bulldog to see Billy Joel as part of his Madison Square Garden residency. He announced how many shows he'd done there, I think it was 182. Not bad. He called himself "the house band." I have a feeling he is.
I had an opportunity to see him when I was 15. 1977, just after The Stranger was released. Some family dynamics prevented me attending and after that, I guess I just never cared enough to go see him, or didn't have the money. Billy Joel, today, is a NYC/NY State cultural icon. He may well be the MSG "house band" and that showed during the concert. The crowd was engaged, active and enjoyed every minute. I found myself singing along to songs I didn't even realize I remembered, and most weren't even singles, just album tracks.
It was a great show and I'm glad I finally saw him, even if his voice isn't what it once was (he admitted to missing the higher notes).
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Should We
CNN'S 'Climate Correspondent'
Females of many species of 
Is anything more dorky, especially for a guy?
Here We Go: 
Have you every poured some Maple Syrup on some fresh snow? That will pull out a tooth.