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.
19:1 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
19:2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
19:3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
19:4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
19:5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
19:6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.
19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple;
19:8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes;
19:9 the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
19:11 Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
19:12 But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.
19:13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Snowed in now and happily so. House cleaning while mixing up a batch of winter stew for friends and family.
Mountain of sauteed onions, garlic, and celery in bacon fat and butter, all the bacon bits, big browned chunks of pork, chicken, and venison shoulder from the freezer. Lots of carrot chunks. A quart of my frozen gibier jus and a half bottle of cabernet. Half cup of crushed tomato, a few bay leaves, and some herbs. Tablespoon or 2 of raspberry jam and a couple of handfuls of frozen blueberries. A few twigs of snowy thyme from the frozen garden.
Porcinis if I had any dried ones in the pantry, but their flavor is thick in my special jus anyway.
A little thickening if needed.
6-8 hrs in the crock pot to tenderize the meats, then served on Pappardelle with some of my peach preserve on the side. Better yet - just in a bowl with that rich sauce concentrated instead of being spread around on noodles.
Trump is both a reaction to and expression of liberal delusions. Schlesinger’s fears have largely come to pass; we’ve become what he called a “quarrelsome spatter of enclaves.” Schlesinger was too much a part of the elite to imagine that the class he always thought of as representing the best of the future would come to be despised by a broad swath of Americans for its incompetence and ineffectuality. But what Schlesinger saw on the horizon seems to have arrived, with no sign of abating: we are in the midst of a soft civil war.
I love you, though I rage at it, Though it is shame and toil misguided, And to my folly self-derided Here at your feet I will admit! It ill befits my years, my station, Good sense has long been overdue! And yet, by every indication Love's plague has stricken me anew: You're out of sight---I fall to yawning; You're here---I suffer and feel blue, And barely keep myself from owning, Dear elf, how much I care for you! Why, when your guileless girlish chatter Drifts from next door your airy tread, Your rustling dress, my senses scatter And I completely lose my head. You smile---I flush with exultation; You turn away---I'm plunged in gloom, Your pallid hand is compensation For a whole day of fancied doom. When to the frame with artless motion You bend to cross-stitch, all devotion, Your eyes and ringlets down-beguiled, My heart goes out in mute emotion, Rejoicing in you like a child! Dare I confess to you my sighing, How jealously I chafe and balk When you set forth, defying Bad weather, on a lengthy walk? And then your solitary crying, Those twosome whispers out of sight, Your carriage to Opochka plying, And the piano late at night... Aline! I ask but to be pitied, I do not dare to plead for love; Love, for the sins I have committed, I am perhaps unworthy of. But make believe! Your gaze, dear elf, Is fit to conjure with, believe me! Ah, it is easy to deceive me!... I long to be deceived myself!
Refresh your memory about the father of Russian literature here.
Since we have so many guys and gals here getting on the heavy-duty fitness bandwagon, here's my update. Friday is mostly Heavy Calisthenics Day for me - moving day - and each time it is different to prevent habituation. This morning 5 am:
- 3-minute elliptical warm-up - Four sets of leg press, just 340 lbs, 15 reps each after an 100 lb. warm up of 20 reps. I can do it. I can do more. Barely. Grunting. - A four set rotation of heavy rope variations, step-and-press with heavy ball, and big ball wobbly planks - Four sets of jump (speed) rope alternating with variations of heavy ball slams. (I am working towards 100 jumps without slip-ups). How is your jump-rope coming along? It is a tough calisthenic exercise. - 3 sets of hamstring curl with big ball to balance the leg presses
Yes, that is mostly intense cardio/general fitness, not strength, on Fridays. One hour, more or less, with minimal breaks for a sip of water or coffee. I can feel my heart pound for about an hour afterwards and I can not climb the stairs. That is the good sign that I have exerted myself to my max. One hard-boiled egg with salt for breakfast is enough for repair.
Tomorrow is my normal cardio day regardless of global cooling: 5 minutes stair machine intervals, 10-20 minutes elliptical intervals, 25 minutes treadmill intervals (while watching the Food Channel), with plank variations plus calf lifts with 20-30 lb. weights between each item. Could do more, but the trick is to find the right amount and be done with it. No point in over-doing it but a good point to doing it.
Sedentary people like me without manual labor jobs need to move with intensity - or face decay. Mrs. BD's knee problems were solved by some weight loss plus weight- lifting and other leg-strengthening exercises. Bad knees need weight loss and muscular compensation. It is a vulnerable joint, like the shoulder. These joints were just built to get us past breeding age.
After almost 8 months, I am getting to the point where I can truly begin to work hard, and all of the aches and pains in the first 6 months have resolved by building strength and endurance. Remarkable adaptation of the middle-age body, but nothing ever gets possible before the bar gets raised. Goals! 10 reps of 200 lb. deads!
... there is a tendency to believe that existing in the natural state of every person would mean their body functions perfectly. In reality the human body is a kluge, a series of evolutionary compromises that functions well enough to breed, and exists in a constant state of decay, barely staving off entropy for seven or eight decades until finally succumbing to the inevitable.
Don’t get me wrong, the human body is also a marvel of evolutionary complexity. Biology is subtle and powerful. But it is also messy and imperfect. Everything that can go wrong, does (in someone). I think most people intellectually know this, but just don’t want it to be true.
Snow on the way. I blame global warmening. Stock up on beer, canned goods, and batteries - and keep your TV or radio turned on for the latest catastrophizing. Sheesh.
Oxford Union backs motion to remove Cecil Rhodes statue - Students narrowly back Rhodes Must Fall campaign despite hearing that next step would be to tear down statues of Winston Churchill and anyone else with a blemished historical record
My lad and a couple of my cousins are studying old family portraits and putting them on a family ancestral photo website. Good clean fun. They emailed me this photo of a couple of my Mom's ancestors, asking me whether I recognized them. They must think I am ancient, but I can't even make out the faces.
A guess is that's my great-grandfather's winter house in Fort Lauderdale. His grand old place still stands there.
How to make Moroccan/Turkish/Greek/Arabian coffee. Delicious stuff even without any spices - just sugar. I prefer it to espresso. You need a dallah or ibrik or whatever it's called to make it properly. Alas, not available at Dunkin or Starbucks. Why not?
A machine can not make it. I think it could become more popular, for sure, than the crappy, watery espresso one is typically served in the US.
In the US, the Federal state is The Borg, gobbling up the rights and responsibilities of state and local government. At the dawn of the First World War, it was possible for an American to have no interaction with the national government, outside of the Post Office. His government was the town, village or city. Even his state government was alien to him. Today, it is impossible to live as an American without rubbing against the rasp of national government.
Well, the math of music is fascinating but I suspect that composers hear the music in their heads before they write it down, just as writers do with words. Being, sad to say, tone-deaf and a musical no-talent, I can not assert that with any confidence.
These are not your grandfather's Marxists'. These are not the deadly, self-sacrificing, true believers of Lenin's time. Joe Biden is not Leon Trotsky, Hillary Clinton is not Rosa Luxemburg. Time has taken its toll on their movement. It has evolved into a stinking mélange of government corruption and crony capitalism and self-interest. Their hatred of traditional America is unabated but they are old and soft and have not had a new idea in fifty years. Their entire political base is on the take and is bought and paid for with our money. Tenured, overweight, overaged, academic leftovers from the 60's and 70's. Taxpayer funded race hustlers, the professional grievance industry, and all the other assorted thugs, criminals and perverts we see on TV every night. The beer drinkers and pot smokers sitting home living on your back. The young inmates of our university system, a bunch of overeducated, overindulged, overprotected, overmedicated punks who will vanish like the morning fog at the first drop of sweat or first pang of fear. Self-aggrandizing celebrity and media air heads who equate a tight ass with intellect.
Trump is not tapping into anger. He’s tapping into the sensibility of the great majority. The people look up and see an endless parade of frivolous parasites who defend nothing but their own prerogatives at the expense of everyone else. What’s the point of voting for one party or the other when both sides are colluding against your interests? Why do we have these parties?
The GOP electorate doesn’t trust the establishment on spending. It doesn’t trust it on immigration. It doesn’t trust it on, well, much of anything. And Jeb is the face of that establishment.
The sea is calm to-night. The tide is full, the moon lies fair Upon the straits; on the French coast the light Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand; Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. Come to the window, sweet is the night-air! Only, from the long line of spray Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land, Listen! you hear the grating roar Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling, At their return, up the high strand, Begin, and cease, and then again begin, With tremulous cadence slow, and bring The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago Heard it on the A gaean, and it brought Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow Of human misery; we Find also in the sound a thought, Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating, to the breath Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true To one another! for the world, which seems To lie before us like a land of dreams, So various, so beautiful, so new, Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; And we are here as on a darkling plain Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, Where ignorant armies clash by night.
The original breakfast roll-up. McDonalds makes breakfast roll-ups, but they are not very good.
I like roll-up "sandwiches" for lunch of supper Especially with apple butter, turkey, mayo, tomato, lettuce. If I were a breakfast-eater, I'd try a jianbing any time.
Snowed in now and happily so. House cleaning while mixing up a batch of winter stew for friends and family.
Confession
The clean eating delusion:
A day to remember MLK. An American hero. Not a day off work for most people, though.
Titanosaur, Museum's Biggest Dinosaur Ever,
The original breakfast roll-up. McDonalds makes breakfast roll-ups, but they are not very good.