Maggie's FarmWe 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. |
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Tuesday, February 9. 2010Something wicked this way comes...Something Much Darker: Andrew Sullivan has a serious problem. The TRN piece is really about the mystery of the Trinity and other topics, not just about Sullivan's disorder - whatever it is. I used to admire, but not usually agree with, Sullivan, back in the day before he ran off the road. The Trinity? It is no more a mystery to me than the math of the 90 degree angle. It just is. Reality just is.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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12:06
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Monday, February 8. 2010DeepakForm Rick Moran:
But, Rick, remember that he has gotten fabulously rich from his banal nostrums. So maybe he's not a complete idiot. Maybe he is our P.T. Barnum.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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09:25
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Sunday, February 7. 2010Villa Medici at FiesoleI do not know how many of Lorenzo di Medici's country villas are extant, but he helped design a few of them, one of which was an architectural inspiration for Palladio. This one, sitting on the hills overlooking Florence, was built by Cosimo for his second grandson Giovanni, and came into Lorenzo's hands after his brother was assassinated by a cabal which included the Pope. It became one of Lorenzo's favorite hangouts with his philosopher, artist, and poet pals (and girlfriends). (By the way, we recommend staying in Fiesole when visiting Florence, and it's just a 15-minute bus ride down the hill. November and May are good months.)
Posted by Bird Dog
in History, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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16:10
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Romeo y JulietaA friend was enthusing about (Habanos) Romeo y Julietas the other day. He views them as the best brand. Photo is their medium strength 42 ring gauge Corona - a good "starter cigar." Now that cigar appreciation is no longer the yuppie fad that it had been for a while, it's OK to enjoy them again.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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12:59
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Saturday, February 6. 2010Andrea Palladio (1508-1580)In the (now, sadly, defunct) New York Sun:
Read the whole thing. Here's Wiki on Palladio. Below is a photo of Villa Capra, aka Villa Rotunda, in Vicenza.
Posted by Bird Dog
in History, Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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14:02
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I've never tried it, but I have heard about it.A quickie for dessert? Restaurant bathroom trysts. I guess amore is sometimes just overwhelmingly urgent, like diarrhea. Been there, but never when fully sober. I remember in the 70s when the only thing going on in restaurant bathrooms was people doing lines of coke with rolled-up $100 bills. It is performed standing up, I assume, like the coke.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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12:28
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Friday, February 5. 2010Is college necessary?From Phi Beta Cons:
True indeed. Nothing wrong with a liberal arts education, though, as life-enrichment for those too lazy to figure out how to obtain it on their own. (It's called "reading.") A rigorous high school education ought to be enough for most practical purposes, and adequate preparation for any job training or apprenticeship which doesn't require advanced math or science. Working out with Prof. John SutherlandI have never been disappointed in The Teaching Company, but I have never enjoyed a series as much as Prof. Sutherland's Classics of British Literature. It is college as it should be. As with any excellent humanities prof, you learn as much about thinking about life as you do about the topic at hand. His soft brogue is pleasant too. Today, I am listening to his Chaucer lectures. Time flies by on ye olde elliptical machine.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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10:47
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Thursday, February 4. 2010"Sailing round the world in a dirty gondola..." with Risi e BisiI visited Venice for a few days many years ago, and do not feel driven to return - it's a giant tourist trap with a pickpocket team on every block - except that I wouldn't mind catching the Venice Regatta in August: On further thought, I wouldn't mind getting a little more experience with Venetian cooking. All I know about it is Risi e Bisi, which doesn't look like much but which is killer delicious when Mrs. BD makes it. Here's When I Paint My Masterpiece live with The Band in 1971:
Wednesday, February 3. 2010Smash the glass of the ruling classFrom Front Page's Class War in the Classroom:
Wow. That's so cool, so advanced, and so deep. And no doubt it's exactly the lesson every $145,000 UAW worker wants his kids to be taught in school... Thank God for teacher's ed. They do it all for the kiddies.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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19:30
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Eric RohmerRohmer died on Jan. 11. From a summary of Rohmer's movies:
The trailer for Claire's Knee (1970) - in French - sorry, but you can get the gist of it:
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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14:20
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Etymology of "bonfire"
It would apppear that it is from bone fire, a burning of human bones.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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12:48
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Two books
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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10:42
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Tuesday, February 2. 2010Independence Mall’s New Museum: The National Museum of Jewish HistoryDown the mall from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, a new museum will open next November, the National
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBmglA-yCCk
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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19:21
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Languages I didn't know existed: Ladin and VenetianConsidering a trip to the Dolomites and the Veneto this August, with visits to Venice (not again!), Padua, Verona, Castelrotto (Kastelruth), etc. Apparently the people in the Dolomites do not really think of themselves as Italian (they had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until WW1, and Mussolini Italianized the names). Found out there are many villages up there in the Dolomites where the people mostly speak Ladin (not to be confused with Ladino). Several million people in the Veneto speak Venetian, too. People in Castelrotto speak German. Photos below of Castelrotto, which looks more alpine-German or Swiss than Italian. It's the south Tyrol:
Posted by Bird Dog
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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17:56
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Is Groundhog Day a religious movie?Harold Ramis:
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:15
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A good present for somebody special next ChristmasThe Complete Calvin and Hobbes. I am sad to say that The Complete Pogo, Vol. 1, has not yet been released. It's a damn shame.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:07
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Bill Watterson looks backIt's been a sad 15 years without Calvin and Hobbes.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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10:23
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Monday, February 1. 2010Author du Jour: Amelia EdwardsDuring the 1700s and 1800s the Brits scoured the planet to find cool places to visit (or to make money). Amelia Edwards was one of them, and she wrote about it. It was the era when, if you saw a couple of ladies riding side-saddle in the desert or the mountains, the natives would think "They must be English." From Amazon:
She wrote mysteries too. We have in hand her book about her trip to the Dolomites: Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys. Her other books here.
Posted by Bird Dog
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:29
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Sunday, January 31. 2010Thank you, Al GoreThanks for inventing the internet. You thought of everything. It never ceases to amaze me how much stuff you managed to put on there. I just found out that I can buy opera tickets for the Arena di Verona (a vast Roman arena) for August online, now. Looks like a fun outing, but the arena seems to big for opera.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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14:20
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Farm toysGood site for high quality farm toys: Carter and Gruenewald. What a great business to be in.
Posted by Gwynnie
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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13:56
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Saturday, January 30. 2010Sasha Cohen
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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17:12
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Gary Kasparov discusses computer ChessAt NY Rev of Books. One quote:
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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12:14
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Friday, January 29. 2010Best Cubans?We would never, even for personal use, advise violating the incomprehensible American ban on Cuban tobacco by using Top Cubans.com. However, we do find their latest rankings interesting, if mundane: How to do a good shoe shineDress shoes need to be shined regularly if you do not wish to look bedraggled, don't they? A spit shine requires a little water (or spit). Here's the USMA method. And from The Art of Manliness, here's How to Shine Shoes like a Soldier. It takes a toothbrush to do it right and to get into the seams. People say 30-40 minutes per shoe for a definitive shine, less for a touch-up shine. Obsessionals like to top off a shine with a coat of clear polish. I read that you are supposed to edge the sole too. News to me, but makes sense. Photo is a good J. Press Oxford shoe - off the rack and not too fancy, but good enuf for government or academic work. Maybe when I win the lottery I'll have foot molds taken in London and Rome and have them make me custom shoes and loafers like my prosperous friends do.
Posted by Bird Dog
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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13:20
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