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.
I'm not a big fan of visiting Rome, but I've been there a few times and have walked all around and seen all the required sights. Got stuck there one time too (long story). Did enjoy this book: Dottoressa: An American Doctor in Rome.
One cool thing about Rome is that you can hop on a quick train south to Ostia Antica which is the most intact ancient Roman city. Far more preserved than Pompeii, which is all rubble except for a few ancient street food vendors and the porn pictures in the ancient whorehouses.
One thing Pompeii and Ostia have in common is that they were both seaports. Ostia (now Ostia Antica - Ostia is nearby, a beach town) was the Port of Rome in olden times, now silted up as is Pompeii.
Ostia Antica is huge - can't see it all in one day but a few hours with a nice lunch and beer in their cafeteria is enough to get the gist of it. Except for our technology, their lives were not too different from ours. Heck, they even had apartment buildings. We live in a Roman civilization.
Western medieval times were a crazy step "backwards" in civilization. A degeneracy, you could say, or a throwback. That's why those medieval times capture the imagination. I guess Hadrian's Wall, and Regensberg, were Rome's high water marks before the barbarians took over again. Ancient Rome is familiar, kinda boring to me. Medieval Europe is weird.
There is no evidence for a Universe before the Big Bang.Nobel Laureate Roger Penrose, famed for his work on black holes, claims we've seen evidence from a prior Universe. Only, we haven't.
It must be Ash Wednesday. None of us have a doctorate in metaphysics nowadays (I think), but is life just a dream?
I like to imagine that my life has my own steering wheel, but I am not sure about that. I do know that all lives have or need some sort of anchorage, centering, lodestar - whatever. Do we live in a God's simulation? Is that Judeo-Christian view?
Best if I shut up before writing more. Not qualified.
I had thought that this speakeasy-type joint was still closed "for renovation", but nope. It is open again as The Campbell. As before, there is almost no signage, and a girl checks your attire before letting you in. You just have to know where it is. Cozy place. We have used it as a destination for a couple of our Maggie's Urban Hikes.
Located in Grand Central Terminal (aka Grand Central Station), this office of John Cambell in the 1920s had been abandoned for decades and used for storage. Here's what it looked like in Campbell's time:
They are not rare across the entire US, but can be difficult to distinquish from their Sharp-Shinned Hawk relatives. Often impossible, so people like me just call them "Accipter sp.". In the US, there are 3 accipter species, all bird-hunters. The noble Goshawk, beloved of falconers, is the king. Rarely seen.
Pancakes are for fun, not nutrition. Little ones like pancakes. So do adults - if with bacon and fried eggs on the side. Bacon just makes everything better.
Pancakes are no more nutritional than bread, but fun with real maple syrup. Fact is, as a kid, we sometimes used molasses instead.
We make them many ways: with a little corn meal and canned corn; with sliced apples, with our stash of frozen cranberries (best), or with blueberries. All good.
17:1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.
17:2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.
17:3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
17:4 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
17:5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!"
17:6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.
17:7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid."
17:8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
17:9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
Kid-friendly, unfashionable, and not for weight loss. Reposted annually by popular request.
I've collected the posts on old-timey Mommys of America non-gourmet, comforting (eg filling), quick 'n easy (eg no lasagna or fried chicken), and sensitively-multicultural (even Shrimp 'n Grits) winter suppers here, in no particular order. Such foods mean family love.
I suspect some of our foreign readers - of whom we have quite a few - might be interested in what American moms (and sometimes modern dads) fix up for ordinary family suppers in Upper Yankeeland (with the exception of Shrimp 'n Grits which is real Southern food and suitable for breakfast, lunch, or supper).
A number of these are suitable to ye olde slow cooker aka electric crock pot.
John Adams: “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
Mark Twain: “Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.”
Whale deaths
People used to call 
Pancakes are for fun, not nutrition. Little ones like pancakes. So do adults - if with bacon and fried eggs on the side. Bacon just makes everything better.
Kid-friendly, unfashionable, and not for weight loss. Reposted annually by popular request.