Tuesday, May 27. 2008
For readers who remember (or care about) the shade perennial border that I was working on finishing up last spring, here is about half of it, one year later, from two angles. (Sorry about my lousy photography.) I am pleased by how well it is shaping up after just one year: 
Sunday, May 25. 2008
 This is a re-post from 1682:
Thomas Brewton on Locke's view of the centrality of wisdom and virtue in education: Wisdom follows from the foundation of virtue. Wisdom is knowing how most effectively to manage one’s affairs with foresight. Acquiring it is a product of good temper, application of mind, and experience. Wisdom can only be initiated by the teacher, as it is a life-long process of learning from experience how to apply the lessons of virtue. What the teacher can do is to hinder the student from being cunning, what today we call playing the angles, or being street-smart (both of which are end products of John Dewey’s pragmatism, now taught as situation ethics, the idea that you make up the rules for each situation that arises).
Closely related to virtue and wisdom is the concept of good breeding, which flows from the love of God. What Locke meant by the term was an Aristotelian mean between extremes: the student should not be too bashful or gauche in dealing with other people, nor should he be prideful and too full of self-importance. He summarizes the aim as “not to think meanly of ourselves, and not to think meanly of others.” Ill breeding reveals itself in “too little care of pleasing or showing respect for those we have to do with.” The aim is “that general good will and regard for all people, which makes everyone have a care not to show in his carriage any contempt, disrespect, or neglect of them; but to express, according to the fashion and the way of that country, a respect and value for them according to their rank and condition.” Students are to be schooled against roughness, fault-finding (denunciation or ridicule), and being contradictory and captious.
Read entire here. Brewton's website here. Image is Locke - not our friend Tom Brewton.
 What is getting planted this weekend, besides a ton of basil (and I think I need much more) in the veggie garden:
- A nice large mass of Nepeta (Catmint, not to be confused with Catnip). Photo on right. - A 20' shade border edge of Green Spice heuchera. Look how it changes color with the seasons. This variety is a very cool plant. - 20 obscure and delightful Hostas, including Love Pat. We think Hostas look best planted as "wave" plantings in the shade (never in the sun), such that, when mature, the leaves of one plant touch those of the adjacent plant and prevent weeds. For the right effect, that means mass planting of at least 5-10 of the same type, usually, unless you have a spot for a "specimen" plant. To do it right, you have to know what size the darn plant will become. Hostas come in mini, small, medium, large, and extra-large. A medium plant will be 2 1/2-3' across at maturity. An extra-large variety can be 5-6' wide at maturity if it is happy. Hostas mature fairly slowly (3-4 years, like most perennials), and if you divide them they revert and start their maturation process all over again. Best to plant them right the first time, and then leave them alone forever except for some fertilizer in Spring and early Fall. I keep mine well-mulched - most easily done when they first emerge, but before the leaves unfold. Once they unfold, it's tough to do. Do I enrich the soil when I plant them? You bet I do. The old rule is a $50 hole for a $5 plant (unless it's a herb sort of thing that likes bad soil): twice as deep and twice as wide as you feel like digging. Big hole, soil mixed with humus or manure, and peat moss. Plenty of water the first year. And 6" of mulch (not that ugly and ineffective cedar chip crap) unless weeding gives you pleasure.
Glenn Gould plays the Italian Concerto. If it puts you in an Italian state of mind, check out this on Isola Bella: that is Italian! (Click on that small photo to biggify.)
Goose chicks, early this morning (thanks, reader) 
Saturday, May 24. 2008
 How was Home Depot? Crowded. 12 bags of Black Forest mulch, 12 bags of manure, 2 big bags of peat moss.
Now it's 32,000 scientists in the "denier" camp Iranians skeptical about "unconditional dialog". Related: Obama's Illinois legislative career. Should polygamy be a crime in the US? McCain: soft on the border Call me Gerald. Vanderleun on Memorial Day How big is American "big oil"? Not very Bring out your dead (organs). Blue Crab Rancor good for democracy, and other topics Chesler looks at media response to the Karsenty story How not to visit the Adirondacks, via Tiger Time to take away the punch bowl We do not endorse Top Cubans, but they have some Father's Day specials John Kerry on talking with enemies. Who elected this guy to the Senate? An allergy to WiFi? Some people are insane. I have heard of people who react to computers and TV screens. They are psychotic. But our world sometimes seems to be run by psychotics. I think her "gaffe" was mostly innocent, but it's still bad. Anyway, she has been toast for months. Will McCain blowout Obama? I wouldn't be surprised.
Our pal Sippican thought y'all might like this one too, on Bob's Birthday, from his youth. It's probably about some adolescent rebellion thing, but he outgrew that fast. Maybe it's the 1000 year-old younger generational anthem:
Some say that You Belong to Me is owned by Dean Martin, but I think Bob owns it now with this haunting performance of the song from the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers. By the way, Happy Birthday to Bob who turns 67 today and who remains on his "Endless Tour." God bless ya, Bob, and many happy returns.
Who is wise? He who learns from every man.
Who is brave? He who conquers his own urges.
Who is wealthy? He who rejoices in his portion.
Who is honored? He who honors others. Ben Zoma, from The Ethics of the Fathers
At the NYBG in the Bronx, a Henry Moore exhibit all summer. It's the largest outdoor exhibit of Moore's sculpture ever. It's a cool photo op, and it is tough to capture the fluid, organic, muscular forms and the ways that light affects them. 
Friday, May 23. 2008
Best of History Hyperhistory - they make excellent timelines. Timelines give me the context I need.
Thursday, May 22. 2008
 Scientology is a cult. Scientology is a cult. Scientology is a cult.
Furthermore, I think Scientology is a non-serious wierdo cult for unbalanced nuts, derived from lousy science fiction paperbacks and one which, I have heard, has a knack for emptying the bank accounts of vulnerable souls. Arrest me! In London, Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology a "cult." I'll bet he wishes he lived in the USA right now. Well, it's a comfort to know that London's Bobbies are on the job, finding criminals and preventing crime. Makes you appreciate living in a country with free speech, free thought, and "critical thinking," unlike Big Brother places like England and Canada. Our Revolution was not for nothing. We believe in good, genteel manners, but we also believe in speaking out, and the very notion of manners enforced by law makes us feel unmannerly and defiant. (Maybe it's an "American thing.") It's a delicate balance, but we will offer no respect to people or things we judge undeserving of it. BS is BS. On further reflection, the subtext of this story probably is that, if criticism of Scientology is permitted, then criticism of Jihadist Islam would have to be permitted too, and that might "offend" (ie they might riot) hypersensitive grievance-mongers. It's always open season on Christians, though. However, Christians can take it.
Intelligent people are a dime a dozen. Whenever I meet blogger people and academics I'm agog at how dull and lifeless they are. When people aren't all that bright or intellectual you can just take them as they come, but intelligence expressed as rationalism instead of as wisdom in action has little or nothing to say about whether anybody is a worthwhile person or not. It's become a kind of contra-indicator to me, actually. A friend
The Queen of the Segueway meanders from Heuchera to Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy is in the Maggie's Farm Pantheon. He is a worthy role model for any politician - or any person. Here's a photo at San Juan Hill, with his Rough Riders: 
Dan Ford begins: Two years ago I signed on for this master's "programme" at King's College London, where half of my classmates were majors in the British army and the rest were civilians and military around the world. The discipline is War in the Modern World--i.e., 1945 to date. Since everyone else in the course was born after 1970, it didn't surprise me that none of the students remembered the harsh days that followed the Second World War, nor our tutors either. But the textbooks--surely they got it right?
Read the rest of this brief post.
It's mostly about oil futures speculation and the Index Speculators. Dino wonders whether they should be regulated, or simply flogged.
Wednesday, May 21. 2008
The Farmer's Home - Summer, by Currier and Ives, of course. This will be our summertime image this year: 
Over the transom: THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.
Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.
Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.
In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.
Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time.
Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.
He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.
He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.
The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.
The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties. They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
They will need to read a book each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.
The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.
If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right to be called Mother!
Tuesday, May 20. 2008
 It's about the colorful and shapely foliage, not the flowers. From Bridgewood Gardens, on Why We Grow Hostas:
I'm not a botanist, I don't know the science. But I do know that hostas have some kind of chemical in them that makes people nuts. I know people who have normal size houses, with normal size back yards, normal kids and a sensible spouse, and these people grow a thousand or more different kinds of hostas. I don't know just one of these people. I know a bunch of them. These people are obviously nuts and they have only one thing in common, they've all come in contact with hostas. Obviously, there are still people who add a few hostas here and there to their gardens and leave it at that. There must be some kind of threshold you have to cross - one day you're a sensible gardener, the next day you're nuts. I think the first sign of trouble is when you say to yourself, "I wonder how many of these things I have now."  So you count your hostas and you're surprised to realize that you already have 40 different kinds. You don't remember buying that many, you never thought of yourself as a collector, it just sort of happened.
Read the whole thing about Hostaphilia. Our first post about Hostas was Hosta City. I think Hostas are OK, but it's the Mrs. who is the enthusiast and connoisseur. It takes them a year or two to get established, but after that they are tough. Few things are more pleasing or rewarding to grow in deep shade, and they are so dense that you get no weeds. Hosta Direct has a large selection. Photo on top: Hosta "Captain Kirk"
Monday, May 19. 2008
 We have been perhaps too preoccupied with guns over the past week. Not being knowledgeable about anything but sporting guns, we really aren't qualified to discuss handguns. All I really know is that a .22 handgun is good for targets and rats, a 9 mm isn't really all that good for much, and bigger is designed to seriously hurt people. Well, all are fun for target practice.
Self-defence and home defence? Yes, we believe in those most basic of human rights. Guns, baseball bats, whatever. A reader friend who knows everything about guns thought our readers might be interested in these inexpensive (used) German Police Sig 9mms. You can buy them refurbished, too.
From a collection of photos of wrecks at Dark Roasted Blend. h/t, Dr. Bob 
Sunday, May 18. 2008
My gardening buddies and I journey to this place each May for our vegetable plants. We go because they are the only place around here that has 30 varieties of tomatoes (including the yellow pear-shaped cherry tomatoes and all sorts of heirloom tomatoes), and 15 varieties of Basil and five varieties of Italian parsley, etc., in their herb shed (not that you want that many - it's just fun to see them all). This was yesterday morning: 
 
 Well, the world's largest turkey in Frazee, MN (photo on right) got his goose cooked a few years ago. Overcooked turkey - too dry, not good.
However, the largest turkey ever raised was 86 lbs (39 kilos). That big guy must have been a fine source of left-overs for some lucky family. The problem would be running out of cranberry sauce and stuffing.
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