Sunday, January 7. 2018
From our annual winter NYC weekend of theater and museum shows on our list. Also hiked 3 miles in a windy 5 degrees, briskly, after an early hour in the hotel's gym.
One of the better sledding hills in the park. Better than it looks from my iphone pic.
More Central Park pics below the fold -
Continue reading "Rus in Urbe: Central Park in the snow"
From THE ZEALOUS FAITH OF SECULARISM - HOW THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION BECAME A DOGMA:
To begin with a point to which many Christian thinkers would agree, the United States and other nations rooted in Judeo-Christianity have entered a time of paganization—what we might also call “re-paganization.” The gravitational pull of traditional religion seems to be diminishing, even as a-religious and anti-religious elements accumulate mass. This paganization is especially ascendant among the young, now famously more prone than any other group to checking “none of the above” when asked for their religious affiliation; according to the Pew Research Center and others, the combination of self-described atheists and self-defined “nones” is now the fastest-growing “religious” group.
Wider manifestations of this ongoing paganization have also become commonplaces: the proliferation of religious liberty court cases, legal and other attacks on Christian student groups at secular universities, demonization and caricature of religious believers, intimidation aimed at those who defend Judeo-Christian morality, and other instances of what Pope Francis himself has dubbed the “polite persecution” of believers in advanced societies...
Matthew 2:1-12
2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2:2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."
2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;
2:4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
2:5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
2:6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
2:7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.
2:8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."
2:9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
2:11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Saturday, January 6. 2018
 My Christmas present from Mrs. BD was a winter hiking and birding trip on Barbados. I'm not a big fan of the Caribbean, but what the heck. Lots of good hiking along the 24-mile old railroad bed, and famous birding.
She gave me this 1640 book to go along with it: A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados.
The author, Robert Ligon, was a gentleman, highly educated and literate but a third son so given nothing but education. After losing what little he had on a bad real estate investment in London, he headed to the Caribbean to seek his fortune. He found no fortune, but his book remains the best first-hand report of the Caribbean of the time. An elegant writer too with interest in the geology, the soils, the fish, the trees and lumber, the birds, the architecture, the cuisine, the booze (French brandy for the planters, rum for everybody else including the slaves), etc.
And in the people. The Brit planters (sugar cane, thanks to Columbus) were mostly drunken whoremongers but some were not. Ligon befriended many of the slaves. He even taught them music. Ligon was a talented lutist, and felt the slaves could benefit from learning how to make tunes instead of just their African drumming for their Sunday dance and rum parties.
He also defended their wishes to become Christian. The slaves believed that Christianity seemed to impart wisdom. This was illegal at the time: you could not have a Christian as a slave.
Continue reading "The 1640s in the Caribbean"
It's a cool term. It refers to the ability to master all aspects of living so as to have the chance for a fulfilling and successful life: Bunky Mortimer’s Guide to Lifemanship
Sad to say, many people do not get As in that course. I'd give myself a B if I compare myself with others I know for whom mastery of most of life's challenges appears to come effortlessly.
 Chance Blackbeard Discovery Reveals Pirate Reading Habits
The Church of the Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie
The other Queen mother: She spent two years in an asylum, then became a nun. A new documentary explores the unconventional life of the Queen’s mother-in-law, Princess Alice
Blockchain technology behind bitcoin is worth it
Canadians Shocked When Minimum Wage Hike Negatively Impacts Workers
Al Gore: ‘Bitter cold’ is ‘exactly what we should expect from the climate crisis’
Met Museum changes 50 year-old policy: Non-New Yorkers must pay
I'm going there today. NY in winter is almost as much fun as NY in summer.
Is the hunt for bad men looking like the inquisition?
Support for Anti-Israel BDS Movement 'Virtually Nonexistent' Among College Students
Muslims to become second-largest religious group in US, says report - The Muslim population in the US is growing at a rate of around 100,000 per year
A Libertarian Quandary on Pot, Federalism, and the Rule of Law
Follow the UK Model for Entitlement Reform
Makes some sense. Almost everybody can do something useful. As I said before, we have a Down's gal bagging at my grocery 8 hrs/day, every day. A cheerful presence who clearly loves feeling useful.
What should we do with the people whose work is unwanted or unneeded?
On the other hand, Filling America's 6 Million Job Vacancies
ONE MILLION Americans (and counting) will receive tax reform bonuses
Senior Hillary Adviser Tells Students He’s Nervous They Will Like The Tax Cuts And Vote Republican
African-American unemployment hits lowest rate in history
Powerline:
The association os this speech with the National Lawyers Guild expressing his support for Olson/Soliah and Joanne Chesimard, for the Symbionese Liberation Army and the Black Liberation Army along with his respect for “Minister Farrakhan” and his prayer for Castro give us, more or less, the whole package on Keith Ellison.
Co-head of the DNC. That tells you something.
Persecutors or prosecutors? Cliven Bundy-FBI debacle: Another example of why the feds need to be leashed
The author of the explosive new Trump book says he can't be sure if parts of it are true
But the Gorilla Channel part is definitely true
The Wolff Book Proves It: Our Journalists Stink
Continetti:
He was formed by the New York press and continues to operate according to its Thunderdome-style rulebook. His scathing denunciation of the overrated Bannon was brutal, funny, over the top, and absolutely withering. Then his lawyers followed up with a cease and desist letter.
But it came with a price...
Yes it does. Nevertheless, Trump sells! He might even help rescue the news business by being so colorful and outspoken.
Trump boasts that he’s ‘like, really smart’ and a ‘very stable genius’ amid questions over his mental fitness
RAILROADED: The Real Reasons Al Franken Is No Longer A Senator
Senators make criminal referral of dossier author to DOJ
FBI Knew The ‘Bleach Bit’ Computer Guy Lied In Clinton Email Testimony, Gave Him Immunity
Just how political is the FBI?
Now We Know: FBI Ignored Lawbreaking To Exonerate Hillary Clinton
Israel Is Offering Illegal Immigrants $3,500 And A Plane Ticket To Leave
Middle East's dull response to US's Jerusalem decision shouldn't come as a surprise
Finland at 100—Frozen by Fear, Dragged to a Multicultural Grave
 The Star-Splitter
You know Orion always comes up sideways.
Throwing a leg up over our fence of mountains,
And rising on his hands, he looks in on me
Busy outdoors by lantern-light with something
I should have done by daylight, and indeed,
After the ground is frozen, I should have done
Before it froze, and a gust flings a handful
Of waste leaves at my smoky lantern chimney
To make fun of my way of doing things,
Or else fun of Orion's having caught me.
Has a man, I should like to ask, no rights
These forces are obliged to pay respect to?"
So Brad McLaughlin mingled reckless talk
Of heavenly stars with hugger-mugger farming,
Till having failed at hugger-mugger farming,
He burned his house down for the fire insurance
And spent the proceeds on a telescope
To satisfy a life-long curiosity
About our place among the infinities...
Continue reading "Saturday Verse: Robert Frost"
Friday, January 5. 2018
Maggie's has run an "Urban Hike" for each of the last 3 years. We've gone north from the Battery and Delancey Street, in NYC, all the way up to as far as Grant's Tomb. We even have traveled south from Lincoln Center to Washington Square Park.
All along the way, we checked out interesting historical, literary, and geographic sites as we got to know each other just a little better. Maggie's audience is a fun and interesting group of people, and we get together because we enjoy learning and having a good time.
To that end, Bird Dog and I have loosely planned our Urban Hike for 2018 in late April. It should be warm and sunny enough. No date yet, we'll have that in a month or two.
Meantime - remember - BROOKLYN. If you have any fun facts or trivia that you'd like to share, post them below in comments. We'll start by hiking over Roebling's wonder, the Brooklyn Bridge, and after that? Who knows (yet)? I know if I can get the Red Hook or Brooklyn Breweries tacked on, as well as maybe Widow Jane's Distillery, I'll be in good shape to let Mrs. Bulldog drive home.
Boudreaux: I believe that there is a teeny tiny handful of exceptions to the run-of-the-mill case, but far too few to change my assessment.
Mostly lazy glib people who want to feel important in jobs with no heavy lifting. The real non-career pols (Trump is an example) are the ones I admire. Give a few years of public service and go back to the farm.
In general, the kinds of men and women attracted to politics are precisely the kinds of men and women who disdain the reciprocities required for success in the market. Market relationships are inherently co-equal: Because I can buy my car from Toyota or Ford, General Motors has no power over me. When I walk into an automobile dealership (or a supermarket, or a department store, or a restaurant, or a bank, or a brokerage firm, or a hardware store, or any private firm that enjoys no government privileges) I walk into an establishment that has no power to coerce me. The consequence is that the owners of that establishment treat me with respect, for if they don’t, I spend my money elsewhere...
Does the Bennett Hypothesis Still Matter?
It’s been 30 years since then-Education Secretary William J. Bennett took to the pages of The New York Times to chide colleges for their “greedy” behavior. He decried the negative effect federal student aid seemed to have on tuition, namely, that it allowed universities to raise prices without feeling the consequences of reduced demand or lower-quality students...
Ohioans Are Going to Have a Hard Time Buying Their Favorite Vodka in 2018
Study: 27% of California Adolescents Identify as 'Nongender Conforming'
What You Need to Do Because of Flaws in Computer Chips
Sears is closing over 100 more stores
People Freak Out After Oregon Strikes Law Banning Self-Service Gas Stations
Return to Normal - As new city council speaker, traditional New York Democrat Corey Johnson may walk back from his predecessor’s leftist theatrics.
To get over hippie-stoner image that holds down enrollment, UC-Santa Cruz lowers its standards
‘White Genocide’ prof takes role as ‘Visiting Scholar’ at NYU
New England Was Warned ‘Pipeline Constraints’ Could Cause Problems This Winter. Now It’s Happening
NY Times: It’s So Cold Because You Drove A Fossil Fueled Vehicle
Drill, baby, drill: It’s terrible news for Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
Apocalypse Now: Even More US Businesses Awarding Bonuses, Raising Wages, Expanding Due to Tax Reform
Dow Hits 25,000 For First Time Ever as Employment Zooms
U.S. Manufacturing Just Posted Best Year Since 2004
Liberals Go Ballistic After DOJ Reopens Hillary Email Investigation ‘Actions of a Banana Republic’
Walls Close In Around DOJ and FBI “Small Group” Participants…
COMEY MEMO BOMBSHELL: Evidence Hillary Committed A Felony, Deleted Mentions Of Evidence
Justice Dept Launches New Clinton Foundation Probe
Should liberal media trust Michael Wolff’s explosive, anti-Trump book?
Thursday, January 4. 2018
It's not fair. I know two guys from my local pub, both very unsophisticated about investing who took a drunken gamble and put all their (relatively-humble) savings into Bitcoin almost a year ago. They both sold out this week.
They quit their dumb jobs and bought beers for the whole pub last night. Yes, both are single. Life in America.
I dare you to short Bitcoin. Whatever it is.
“Shame on feminist advocates who whine about a tampon tax in the United States, while remaining silent as a fellow woman in Iran fights for her right to speak at all.”
Nicolle Russell, via Mark Perry
I am not a big pasta fan, but if you want to try one pasta dish as a primi in Sicily, this is it. Bucatini seems to be the typico pasta for this. Fennell (finocchio) grows wild all over Sicily. A roadside weed.
Recipe here., but, better, a very good instructional video here. The guy claims tinned sardines work as well as fresh, but I dunno. I can buy fresh sardines (and fresh anchovies) here. Anyway, the video makes me hungry.
Also, I eat sardine bones. Calcium!
It remains a mystery why sleep is necessary: Why Do We Need to Sleep? At a shiny new lab in Japan, an international team of scientists is trying to figure out what puts us under.
A theater buff pal tells me that Farinelli and the King is the best Broadway production he has seen in decades.
The castrato Farinelli was the Elvis of the 18th Century. This review says the play is about identity and the terrors of fame. Mark Rylance stars (in his wife's play).
It's at the Belasco until March 7.
Image via Am. Digest's Let’s Review 25: Baby It’s Cold Outside Edition
A lovely winter nor'easter today. Dark skies. Got in my hour with trainer anyway this morning. A mainly bench press and deadlift day. Haven't lost electric power so it's a normal work day for me. Kids love our winter nor'easters - "Snow Day!" Dads go to work.
Rap overtakes Rock as most popular pop music
Are Canadian Pharmacies the Solution to America's High Prescription Drug Prices?
I use them
THE ZEALOUS FAITH OF SECULARISM - HOW THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION BECAME A DOGMA
“OH MY GOD, THIS IS SO F---ED UP”: INSIDE SILICON VALLEY’S SECRETIVE, ORGIASTIC DARK SIDE
Nerds trying to catch up with fun
The Earth Could Become A Desert Without The Paris Climate Agreement Or Something
The Nonexistent ‘Right’ to Disrupt Free Speech on Campus
Mao Again:
The Cultural Revolution was largely perpetrated by young people told to feel oppressed by their country’s past. Social justice could be achieved only by the destruction of the weight of Chinese culture. Their slogan was “Smash the Four Olds”: old customs, culture, habits, and ideas.
Via AVI
The more government attempts to regulate businesses, the more those will in turn attempt to influence its decisions. (Paraphrase of Bowdoin Political Science professor Jean M Yarborough.)
Metrics and Their Unintended Consequences - The best intentions combine with imprecise data for perverse effects in health care and education.
The problem with metrics is that the docs and hospitals that take on the toughest cases come out looking the worst
Poll: Voters Show Massive Support for Trump Immigration Policies
DACA illegals can’t speak English, study shows
New York & Co. are paying the price for being Deep Blue
Fusion GPS' 'Fake Investigation' — And Hillary Clinton's Real Russian Collusion
Sultan:
The original civil war was fought by farmhands and factory workers, freed slaves and young boys turned soldiers; the new civil war is being fought by lawyers in blue or gray suits not with bullets, but with bullet points.
Steyn objects to the Pope's messaging
The Arab World Abandons Palestine
The Arab world never gave a damn about Palestine, except as a pawn
5 Things to Know About the Iran Protests and How Badly the Liberal Media Botched the Story
Former Afghanistan captive Joshua Boyle charged with sex assault, forcible confinement
He was no hostage
Germany Cracks Down on Social Media Thought Crime
" The European Union is ignoring this trend and soldiering on with what Brussels calls “more Europe”, which often means more interventionism and central planning. And citizens are not happy with this."
Wednesday, January 3. 2018
Rippetoe is the pro, and I am just an educated amateur but I'd rather see this particular client engaged in a balanced fitness program along with some "nutritional" aka eating guidance. Still, the results are impressive: From Heart Patient to Lifter
But can he run (not jog) a mile? Readers know we favor a balance of HIIT Cardio (total 1/2 hr/wk), Endurance "cardio" (1 hr/wk), serious weights (2 sessions/wk), and calisthenics (2 sessions/wk) for full functional fitness. I doubt that Rippetoe would argue with that, but he is mostly a weights guy. I don't know about our readers, but I find a one-hour calisthenics class to be more challenging - and more satisfying at the end - than anything else I do. They get you jumping and moving like a 16 year-old. The endorphins make you feel like you can take on the world, but you can hardly walk or talk. That tells you that you have done something hard.
Age is no barrier to any fitness pursuit. The body is made to adapt to demands. The discipline to make those stress and dietary demands is the hardest part, but it builds character. No pain, no gain. Best not to wait until you are scared into it by a nasty problem.
There are sins I have entirely given up. Not, however, because I am so holy, but because I got sick of committing them; and tired of the associated self-loathing.
David Warren's post titled Protomartyr
Gramsci, via Moonbattery
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