Maggie's Farm

Mitch Daniels at Purdue

This is a Maggie's group post. Assorted suggestions. 

Doc Mercury used to post Christmas gadgets for us, but he's been AWOL for quite a while. However, nobody needs gadgets. Everybody needs less stuff and less clutter but if young, you can give the wife some gold or diamonds if she doesn't have enough yet. After all, she has had to put up with your many annoyances, shortcomings, sins, and worse.

If you have of-age daughters or even daughter-in-laws, Christmas is a good time to begin to unload unneeded family jewelry and heirlooms. Nobody is getting any younger. 

Olde-tyme Yankees that we are, we believe in 1-2 presents per person after age 12. A book and a special item. Best Christmas presents I ever received? A 20 ga. single shot shotgun at age 12, and Aida at the Baths of Caracalla in adulthood.

- Got an exerciser in the family? Get them a medium-weight jump rope. (need to know their height). For the experienced, a speed rope or a 1 lb rope. The 1 lb. rope will kick anybody's butt after a minute or two.

- If anybody in the world hasn't read it yet, there is Jordan Peterson's Rules for Life. Follow his rules for a useful life.

- Anybody's husband or dad would love a wheel of Stilton. Pair it with a vintage port (and maybe a fancy cigar or two), and happy male. Williams-Sonoma no longer sells Stilton scoops, but you can google that item. Unfortunately, mostly via the UK.

- Give a wife or daughter a day at a day spa - hair do-over, facial, nails, massage - women love that stuff.

- Tickets: People love tickets. Ballet, theater, sports, opera, whatever. My brother always gave our parents 12 movie tix (their local theater had a movie/month package) to make sure they got out to a date night at the movies every month.  

-  We believe trips are great presents, whether a long weekend with theater, dinners, etc in NYC or a week in Spain. Guys or gals, give the spouse the trip that you want, and a voucher for unlimited vigorous sex as compensation for travel hassle.

- PURE stuff is always welcome. Especially their cashmere. They have stuff for guys too. Cashmere vests.

- Warmth for women: Manzi I'm the tights 

- Silliness: Shatner Claus 

- A book for tourism inspiration, lots of famous gardens:  Gardens of Florence and Tuscany. A complete guide

If you have cool ideas, please put in comments because it is getting near to Christmas shopping time. Very near. 

I forgot to mention Caviar Pie in my recent authoritative American caviar post. This decadent concoction is perfect for a brunch, hors d'oevres, or munchies.

Some caterers make Caviar Pie which looks perfect, round, and daintily-finished, but the ones I've had at fancy New Year's Day cocktail brunches look a little raggedy, as in this photo. They don't have to look good because as soon as they are attacked by people armed with cheese knives or crackers it's messy anyway.

You scoop a piece out and put it on toasts, or bagel chips, or whatever. It goes fast.

As usual, one uses the most expensive caviar one can afford - or not afford.

Chopped red onion is key. Here's one recipe, but you can google for more. It's a real meal too if you want, with a glass of champagne. The height of decadence +/- seduction.

My annual Christmas present for my Dad used to be a tin from Petrossian. Worth every penny for the delight it provides.

Why do WASPs and Brit-oriented people love Italia so much?  I don't know the answer.

Novelist Tim Parks writes about living in Verona with his Italian wife. We love Verona.  Siena too.

Michael Dibdin writes (correction - wrote) wonderful detective mystery/thrillers set in Italia.  Good stuff.

Where is the best food in Italy? Bologna, or Norcia? The food in Rome, and south of Rome, is not very enticing.

Aren't these two things in life we need to protect the most? Besides the future well-being of family, of course, but that's a want-to, not a need-to.

I protect my public reputation like a demon. Not because of morals so much as because my work and future depends on it. Morals too, I suppose.  I have seen all too many people permanently damage their lives with just one error of judgement. Everybody talks...and few are forgiving.

Another reputational issue just has to do with a likable, engaging personality. As far as I can tell, there's not much anybody can do about that. An unpleasant or odd personality style is unfortunate in life.

When it comes to health/fitness/vigor, I can not claim to be a Maggie's paragon in that department. At this point, just an hour daily of no-intensity cardio for the past two months. Have to start somewhere, or not start at all. Flabby muscles are neither appealing nor functional.

Sad Radicals

A recovering Lefty claims that his ex-brethren consist mostly of malcontents who are sad or angry that reality is not as they wish it to be.

 Instead of developing a relationship to God and a recognition of one’s own imperfection, we wanted our non-anarchist families and friends to develop their “analysis” and recognize their complicity in the evil of capitalism. These non-anarchist friends grew increasingly sparse the longer I was an anarchist. They didn’t see how terrible the world was, and they used problematic language that revealed hopelessly bad politics. Frustrated with them, I retreated further and further into the grey echo-chamber of my “chosen family.”

Having read a bio or two, I do not like the guy. Still....

This via Powerline. I read it first as "infinite" instead of "indefinite."

People are talking about this piece by Haas in Foreign Affairs.

I am not impressed. 

Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux. L'amour is tough to handle.  Brassens sings Aragon's famous poem of the ambiguity of love. Lyrics and info here.

Met a fellow at a holiday party, and we were talking about travel. He said his travel days were long done and that he had seen enough of the world. He no longer even wants to drive to Vermont unless it's a hunting trip. His wife is headed to Petra with some friends in January, but he refuses to go with them.

I loved his story. (Details altered enough for privacy and happily OKed by the guy)

Story below the fold - 

Today’s Social Science Courses—More Feelings, Less Facts

Should Isolated Tribes Like The One That Killed John Chau Be Left Alone?

They do not seem to take to Jesus very eagerly, but I bet they'd like an iPad. 

Few people are locked for life into an income category. Grad students are poor in income, as are many retirees who have decent wealth.  That's why snapshot income data is deceiving.

A pal is urging me to go to NY to see the Met's new Mefistofele. He says this guy is as good as Ramey, and he remembers Ramey.

The very smart and thoughtful Oren Cass discusses his new book, The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America.

It's a podcast and a transcript. Cass is mostly concerned about the majority of Americans who do not attend college. He believes the policy emphasis on higher ed is misplaced. So do I.

After touring the US during Prohibition, he wanted to give thanks for the removal of those "dour Puritans" from England. 

From Int. Takeout:

 When back home in England, Chesterton’s objections gave way to thanks. That would be thankfulness that his country had not taken a similar step. In fact, it was this very sense of thankfulness that led him to propose a Thanksgiving Day for England. It would be a day to “celebrate the departure of those dour Puritans, the Pilgrim fathers.”

Sowell: The Moral Bankruptcy Of Charter School Opponents

Yes, well, everybody knows it's just the cost of teachers' unions money. Nothing to do with education. 

That is via The Atlantic's  The ACLU Declines to Defend Civil Rights - The civil-liberties organization has taken a stand against stronger due-process protections in campus tribunals that undermines its own principles.

We still live in the long shadow of Man-the-Hunter: a midcentury theory of human origins soaked in strife and violence

Very amusing too. Actually, hilarious. America's elite is on a ship of fools. "Why did your wife run off with the fat mailman? Trump is that mailman."