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.
51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
51:4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
51:5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
51:6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
51:11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
"I took my potatoes down to be mashed and headed on over to the million dollar bash."
I think Dylan did this one on of the original Basement Tapes in 1967. Those were fun, often silly tunes if you can find them anywhere (not the produced ones, the original ones). Some feel this tune was making fun of Andy Warhol, but it doesn't matter.
I feel that Roger didn't do it rough enuf because he is too sweet of a guy, too happy a guy (reborn Christian for a long time) but this is all good. Yes, it was Pete Seeger who put the Ecclesiastes bit to song.
From a pal who is spending this summer in the Sierras. Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds. He says they go through 10 lbs. of sugar attracting the Hummers.
While out on an anchorage Sunday we were awakened by thunder and hailstones + heavy rain on the roof around 11:30 pm. It was pitch black outside and we realized with the lightning flashes that the other three boats in the anchorage had fled to some safe port. Oh, and it had been such a mild sea breeze that we had left all of the hatches and eisenglass windows open.
It was a dramatic hour or so on the water for us.
We have some serious boaters who read us. For them, stormy nighttime navigation is probably easy. I have been a day-boater, salt water, most of my life (sail and power), but I am not used to this sort of overnight thing away from port. We have to up our game but I guess that midlife requires new things. Decay, or grow.
Another problem I have with overnight boating is that I like to get to the gym early. It straightens out my brain and body. On a boat, at 5 AM, there is no escape and nothing to do but sit or eat, neither of which I like to do very much.
"There are times when sailing feels like Murphy's Law in action. Because if anything can go wrong, it will. And, most likely, it will happen at night."
As editor of this eclectic site, I am sent interesting links from contributors, readers, friends and family, etc. daily. Not to mention links we all appropriate from other sites without deserved acknowledgment.
As a Dog Days experiment, I'd like to ask our folks to directly post their links onto the website whenever they feel like it.
Run the links through Notepad first though, or the font will be screwy. Sort-of the way Instapundit's contributors do.
It will lighten my load, and, remember, besides the $300 k I get annually from Dunkin (just kidding), this is not a paid job and my life is busy with fun, and with some difficult challenges, always. And yeah, I am not retired and never want to be. (Mrs. BD complains that I can not learn to relax. I hope I never will, although I do read at night in bed.)
In July and August, we tend to run a fair number of re-posts. Our contributors are welcome to repost past stuff that would be interesting. Especially on weekends.
“What makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There's no evidence for it. Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told-and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare.