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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. |
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Wednesday, January 4. 2012Weds. morning links
Monopoly - Official Trailer Man eats pizza slice from EVERY joint in Manhattan What Vietnam Taught Us About Breaking Bad Habits Ohio unemployment falls, but so does support for Obama WaPo: Gloomy numbers for Obama The latest briliant intellectual offering from one of our nation’s Ivy League universities. It’s January 2012 and so far we’ve avoided the Climate Apocalypse Progress: Canadian Senate Listens to Global Warming Skeptics Why Best Buy is Going out of Business...Gradually US Closes 2011 With Record $15.22 Trillion In Debt, Officially At 100.3% Debt/GDP, $14 Billion From Breaching Debt Ceiling The Stratfor Scandal "They [Catholics and others] will either have to change their views..." Tuesday, January 3. 2012The Romney boysA reader sent us this info about the Romney lads whose pics we posted this morning:
Stanley Brothers with a tune for 2012"I'm worried now, but I won't be worried long..."
For the New Year: Satiety, the Animal Pleasures, the Cardinal Sins, and "Addiction," Part 2
Oh, maybe never, I hear my readers thinking. I put the word "addiction" in quotes because I am not referring to physiological addictions such as to narcotics or alcohol, but to the pop culture use of the word, as applied to chocolate, food, sex, money, power, buying, etc. The casual use of the term, of course, refers to the difficulty in stopping the behavior when it doesn't make sense. I opened the topic earlier, in The bad news: Eating less keeps your brain younger and more vigorous (with comments on satiety) Some people are studying the brain to try to understand satiety. Some, interested in overweight, are studying foods. I think they are barking up the wrong tree (Yankees might not realize that that is a reference to coon hunting with coon hounds). I believe that most of these "addictions" are more subcultural and psychological than physiological. Returning to the topic of food, the well-respected scientific journal Elle points this out in Satisfaction Guaranteed:
Some subcultures believe in big eating, some in savoring, some in minimalist eating, and, for some, food is just not a central part of life at all - Northern Europeans, for example. I was raised, for example, to learn that a lady always eats slowly, and never finishes the food on her plate. Not in public, anyway. It's not considered ladylike. Continue reading "For the New Year: Satiety, the Animal Pleasures, the Cardinal Sins, and "Addiction," Part 2" Tuesday morning linksNeo-neo thinks the Romney boys are hunks. I think Mrs. R rates a perfect Mrs. Late-Middle-Aged Barbie. Is she 60 years old? Well, here's Raquel Welch at 71, lookin' hot. "Progress." What is it? The Greatest Paper Map of the United States You’ll Ever See An atheist with some tough and strange messages to atheists:
Everybody "believes in something," even if it is only Self. Self is a false idol. Question is whether the "something" is worthy of devotion. Ahead of Iowa Obama campaign readies to fight Romney Father Christmas Stabbed to Death by Muslim Fanatics inTajikistan Religion of peace and tolerance kills Santa. Better not inform the kids or they might develop some intolerance too. This was evil. How journalists create the news Are we finally seeing an end to the ridiculous ethanol subsidies? A good thing. Ethanol is for drinking, not burning. CURL: Is Romney the next Kerry?
Still, everybody seems greedy for OPM. I want my MTV. Columbia jumps the shark: Columbia offers ‘Occupy 101’ I'll offer to teach Tea Party 101 for free. After all, it was a much bigger deal, with clean, non-sociopathic and polite people, involved tons more people with no arrests, and had real impact. Guess the Academic Left doesn't care for those sots of things. 40,000 new laws as of January 1. How can we be expected to know them all? We're all crims these days. Americans bought record numbers of guns last month amid an apparent surge in popularity for weapons as Christmas presents. That's a good thing. The good folks should all be armed, and guns are fun tools. Furthermore, an armed Santa is a safe Santa. The AP’s 2012 Playbook For Romney Accusations of antisemitism are building against the Center for American Progress (CAP), the left-wing umbrella organization that serves as a “brain trust” for Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the Obama administration. Bumpersticker below stolen from Legal Ins: Monday, January 2. 2012Fix Me, JesusWe made it to the final night of the Ailey's NYC season at City Center last night. Mrs. BD commented that Ailey is now the only modern dance company that can fill a large venue in NYC for three weeks straight. Yes, they did Ailey's Revelations, along with some Paul Taylor and a very cool piece by Ohad Naharin. A jolly, sold-out, and enthused crowd. We tried the pre-theater supper at the famous olde Russian Tea Room for nostalgia's sake. Good vodka, same olde atmosphere, the Russian food not great (certainly not as good as when Jackie O hung out there) but the Vodka selection was excellent - around 40 varieties. The lad and I had the Russian Standard (their vodka shots come ice-cold in little flute glasses). OK, I know - the place has become a little tourist trap for Euro-trash celeb-seeking visitors, but it's still kinda fun and they do have a good caviar selection on their regular menu (We think Petrossian a great place for mid-town caviar etc., but Maggie's Farm is not Zagat's): Fix Me Jesus, from Revelations. What Christian has never prayed for that? The pupette and her pals loved it all. So did I. It was my second time.
Posted by Bird Dog
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17:24
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The quest to understand consciousness and the "autobiographical self""What Do the Law Schools Think They're Doing?"Everybody knows what they are doing. They are trying to run a guild in a post-guild society. One aspect of that is keeping prices high - the prices for the schools, and worse, the prices for the poor clients and to hell for those who cannot afford a lawyer but are not poor enough to get a cynical, burned-out Legal Aid person. Justice is exorbitantly - and unjustly - expensive and, as I have often said here, I think a better case could be made for socialized legal coverage than for socialized medicine, because equal justice is an American ideal, but illness is just human fate. In my view, the American legal system is a broken and often piratical mess run for the benefit of the lawyers (most politicians are lawyers). Just consider how many people settle unjust and annoying claims simply to avoid legal fees. Via Bader in Minding the Campus:
Of course, if you want a Big Job in a Big Law Firm, you will want a Big Degree. It's just one more example of greedy Big Education's monopoly on credentials. Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Government, Big Education, Big Farming, Big Tort Law. Same old story. Just follow the money. Why are all the good Jews Democrats, but you an evil Republican?
The MSM continues to boggle my mind.
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13:48
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Old Homes: "George Washington Slept Here"Some old friends were back in the NY area for the holidays. Rather than stay at a hotel, they watch friends' homes who are also traveling. Last year, I was jealous of the fact they were staying in a house that George Washington had slept in. This year, they stayed in the same house. After a nice dinner at a local pub, they invited us over. The house as it appeared in 1919: The house is known as The Timothy Ball House in Maplewood, NJ. It's not open to tours, because it's a private residence. The owners do let in groups of local school children to see the portions of the original structure which are intact and visit the room that Washington literally slept in. The Ball family were Washington's cousins, Mary Ball having been his mother. Washington would stop by while the troops were wintering in Morristown (which they did over two brutal winters, the second far more difficult than Valley Forge), because a view from the ridge in Maplewood allowed him clear access to watch English troop movements in Elizabeth and Staten Island. Continue reading "Old Homes: "George Washington Slept Here""
Posted by Bulldog
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Monday morning linksIn Pictures: Hang Son Doong Cavern – The Worlds Biggest Cave Gore-mobile recalled as a fire hazard Half a billion dollars of taxpayers' money for twenty-five $89,000 cars? Adam Bellow hopes to give voice to the tea party with new conservative imprint at HarperCollins Ninety floors... and counting: The breathtaking views from One World Trade Center (and there's still 14 storeys to go) Update on that CT cop applicant who scored too high to be a cop I can’t help but think that if we had a Republican in the White House we’d be hearing wall-to-wall sob stories on that topic. George Will's Obama needn’t lose for GOP to win:
Gun Permit Holders Substantially More Law Abiding Somehow, the NYT manages to find a danger in this Related: NYT Squeezes Bad News From Good More from the NYT:
When home invaders arrive, do you phone the Brady Campaign? A good, sane and sober way to spend New Year's EveThe pupette and some of her pals ran in the 4 mile Emerald Nut race in Central Park at midnight. She emailed me one of her pics:
Posted by Bird Dog
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Sunday, January 1. 2012Free ad for Bob: WinterludeOWS mocks itselfThe Bigger They areThe Harder They Fall. It has been a long standing theory of mine, starting back in the late '90s, that the more complex systems become, the easier they are to break. The complexity creates conditions in which a minor glitch in one system can create havoc in other associated systems all without human interaction. This theory also applies to society as a whole as far as I'm concerned meaning that the more rules, regulations, laws and policies are enacted, the ability to circumvent them becomes easier and easier. Some other much smarter folks than I am agree.
Posted by Capt. Tom Francis
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12:23
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AA for New Year's DayAA Daily Reflections online. You do not need to be an alcoholic to benefit from them because we all have grievous flaws and faults and, if we aspire to be more worthy people, we can use anything that helps. The notion of the 12 steps came from the evangelical Oxford Group movement of the 1930s, whose first "step" was "We admitted that we were powerless over sin." (The author of the linked piece seems to view AA as a dangerous cult.) From Wiki on the Oxford Group:
Good stuff. Reborn is good. Otherwise, it's just all about me - and I ain't all that great. Here Bill Wilson discusses the construction of the 12 Steps. I am no expert on AA (and am happy to be corrected on any misunderstandings), but my impression is that Bill Wilson did believe that only God could rescue him - and many others - from their personality flaws (in Wilson's case, possibly some sociopathic and narcissistic tendencies) and addictions (in Wilson's case, alcohol). Doctors do not have the power to cure addictions, and no Psychiatrist would claim it (if they are, indeed, "curable"). It seems to me that only things like AA have the power to combat them - and to help people grow to higher levels of sanity, maturity, and realism - possibly higher levels than those who never had deal with these things. As my pastor says, only God can do it, but that could be said of all healing. Feel free to tell us about any AA experiences you might have had.
Posted by Bird Dog
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12:05
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Sunday morning links
Can Online Learning Meet 21st Century Demands? MIT’s new learning platform points to future of higher ed Are cashiers obsolete? Krauthammer on Why We’re Alone in the Universe Mitt Romney's humor problem The Moral Foundations of Occupy Wall Street - An illustrated guide to the signs at Zuccotti Park Obama Will Govern Without Congress The concept of "Guilt by Association" Top Ten JunkScience.com Stories of 2011 Ten 2011 Examples of Major Media Malfeasance - It will get even worse in 2012. On a $4M Vacation, Michelle Seeks $3 From Backers Not from today's Lectionary: "Sufficient unto the day is its own evil"Therefore do not worry, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For after all these things the Gentiles seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need all of these things. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:31-34 Grandma Moses
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Saturday, December 31. 2011A splendid Madama ButterflyThe visually stunning, dreamlike new production at the Met last night knocked our socks off. The lacy ninjas running around and the traditional Japanese puppetry were, I felt, very cool. I don't get to opera too often these days - maybe twice or three times a year. It's always fun for me to realize that Butterfly was the pop, commercial music of 1904 despite being a sort of soul music with nary a hummable tune. Wagnerian touches, but lyrical and conversational, lush and still subtle. Butterfly was like avant-garde rock, or maybe the REM of the time. 'Twas my Christmas treat for some of my kids (Yes, K - you are one of mine now). One more Big Apple Treat tomorrow for the lucky bambinos before regular life resumes. I suppose we are Puccini fans, but who isn't? Genius, with a musical complexity beyond my comprehension but fully within the ability to touch me. We visited his house in old Lucca, and his home church where he learned keyboard, two years ago but it feels like yesterday. Carpe diem... There are a few more performances of Butterfly this season. I took a few snaps for you readers who miss NYC. Intermission at the sold-out performance:
This is not the diva we saw last night. We had the charming Canadian Liping Zhang, not Patricia Racette. It's a tough role, on stage non-stop and singing for three hours. Willing suspension of disbelief - Racette does not look 15 years old but it is Butterfly's youth and innocence which explains the tragic story. Nowadays, it might be considered a story about pedophilia and a dirty old man, but 15 used to be considered marriageable and still is, most places on the planet. Maybe a good idea... Mrs. BD comments "Can you imagine Leontyne Price playing Butterfly?" No, and yes. (She did.) I always study an opera in advance, and then listen more afterwards. Listened to this bit at least 10 times today, between cleaning-up-Christmas tasks - takes me a long time to get a piece of music because, much as I love it and as much as it can reach my soul, I am musically-retarded (it's a Learning Disability! Where's my free money and goodies for that Disability?) Can you hear the "waves of grain" with the American naval officer horny rascal Pinkerton, here?:
A few pics below the fold - but not of the production itself. I would not violate their rule because I love what they do for those of us who save our pennies for such wonderful experiences, and pass them on to the next generation as precious gifts. Continue reading "A splendid Madama Butterfly"
Posted by Bird Dog
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14:35
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San Diego New YearAnother year is over of Bird Dog dragging you to a museum or a show in Manhattan. Now, for a quick tour of the San Diego area...where the betters live better.
Friends are visiting from New York for a few days. They’re staying in the downtown Gaslamp. This used to be the area south of Market full of strip joints, seedy bars, and such. Over the past twenty years it has become a magnet of fine restaurants, dance clubs, fancy hotels, with the huge Convention Center along the bay, next to the excellent sightlines from every seat Petco ball park. San Diego's costs are a fraction of New York’s. My friend is an expert on the Near East. They had dinner Thursday night at an Afghani restaurant, which they both said was some of the best they’d had from that part of the world. The weather this week: 70F+ and sunny. Yesterday, I took them to Old Town, several acres of authenticish early Spanish and Anglo San Diego... (Lots more of a tour of lovely San Diego below the fold) Continue reading "San Diego New Year"
Posted by Bruce Kesler
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The only ad the Repubs should needSaturday morning linksWhat's become of England's aristocracy? 30 years later, revisiting Brideshead Vanderleun on prayer Yuletide Mead on the Trinity Khan Academy Jumps To 4M Uniques Per Month Like the Teaching Company and the MIT online courses, this is the new model for self-motivated learning Brooks: Midlife Crisis Economics Payroll tax cut raises worries about Social Security’s future funding CT Gov Schemes With SEIU To Unionize Day Care Providers & Others Without A Vote California is trying to unionize babysitters too How do the rich earn their livings? Lots of small businesses in those stats The Case for Walmart - New York City politicians should drop their misguided war on the retail giant. MSM Refuses To Ask Obama Tough Questions They Ask GOP Barone: Voters Want Growth, Not Income Redistribution Surber: It’s bully government, not nanny Watching the painful death of the welfare state
Happy Hogmanay!
Posted by Bird Dog
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Friday, December 30. 2011TurtlemanA friend emailed this to me, with the comment "How the heck did the South lose the Civil War?"
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