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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Friday, January 29. 2010Death of a propagandistHoward Zinn. America the Awful---Howard Zinn's History. Old Stalinists never die, they just fade away.
Posted by Bird Dog
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09:51
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More ThurberHow could anybody not love a guy who can write like this: "The brambles and the thorns grew thick and thicker in a ticking thicket of bickering crickets. Farther along and stronger, bonged the gongs of a throng of frogs, green and vivid on their lily pads. From the sky came the crying of flies, and the pilgrims leaped over a bleating sheep creeping knee-deep in a sleepy stream, in which swift and slippery snakes slid and slithered silkily, whispering sinful secrets." From James Thurber, The 13 Clocks (New York, 1957) Now for some Thurber dogs -
Posted by Gwynnie
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07:40
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Thursday, January 28. 2010One more Thurber: "Home"
Posted by Bird Dog
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17:22
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Word of the day: Gleichschaltung
Posted by Bird Dog
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13:12
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Wednesday, January 27. 2010I’ve Failed As A FatherAfter all I’ve counseled, my 9-year old son insists on doing it his way in tomorrow’s 4th grade elections to the student council. His speech is about how he will tell the students what the council decides, rather than tell the council what the students want. Liberal. And, he’s carrying in a bag of candy for the students, to get the students to elect him. Corrupt. If he wins the election, will he bring home congrats letters from Pelosi and Obama? Grrr! I'll post the election results in the comments. Meanwhile, this approach might have been better: OK, OK, I've failed as a husband, too!
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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18:45
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Another Thurber
Posted by Bird Dog
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17:34
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Our therapy culture gone berserkFrom Bowman at New Criterion's Ain't Gonna Study War No More:
PC makes some hatreds privileged and deserving of "understanding," and others not so. Tuesday, January 26. 2010Today's James Thurber toon
Posted by Bird Dog
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19:55
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AbundanceSnaps from my field trip to Costo Sunday. I'm sure it looks just like your Costco or Sam's, but American abundance - and its cheapness - must be a wonder to those from Cuba or Venezuela. What I was thinking, though, was that I'd like to transport the whole store to Port au Prince today. Readers know that we are great fans of Dubliner Cheese from Ireland: More random Costo pics below the fold - Continue reading "Abundance"
Posted by Bird Dog
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05:15
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Monday, January 25. 2010Give in to gloom
Read 'em and weep: The literary masters of misery who delight in desolation. Yes, Cormac McCarthy does good serious gloom and desolation.
Posted by Bird Dog
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16:07
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Freighter CruisesUnlike grand luxe cruising, freighter cruising isn't for everybody. Still, I know people who would not voyage any other way. Photo is from a 'round the world 124-day trip from the site below, which offers many long and short trips.
Posted by The Barrister
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12:42
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Sunday, January 24. 2010Trains: For suburban Yankee fans, it's about timePhoto of the new Metro-North Yankees-E. 153rd St. station from this site. There has always been good subway service out to Yankee Stadium, but now there is a new railroad service and a new Yankees-E. 153rd St. train station to make things easier for the suburbanites (how often does one hear about a new train service and a new train station?):
It's a great amenity for folks in Westchester and CT, because the traffic and the parking have often been discouraging for them. How well does the baseball transportation work in Boston?
Posted by Bird Dog
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15:58
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NOCDI recently heard a friend use the term "NOCD." It was a blast from the pre-PC past - from my parents' generation. If you do not know what it means, it is a parental admonition regarding friends and dates: "Not our class, dear."
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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14:12
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Saturday, January 23. 2010OpenWe're highlighting Agassi's autobiography Open, 2009. Read the WaPo review at that Amazon site. Pro tennis players have strange lives.
Posted by Bird Dog
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17:06
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Friday, January 22. 2010Architect du Jour: Royal Barry WillsIf you live in a Royal Barry Wills (1895-1962) house in New England, you are lucky. Wills was a Boston architect who specialized in accurate reproductions of Capes, Saltboxes, and Colonial houses - the sorts of homes which might be bungalows, ranches, split-levels or God-knows-what elsewhere in the country. This site discusses his architecture. I was interested to learn that the firm Royal Barry Wills Associates is still in business.
Posted by The Barrister
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12:47
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Thursday, January 21. 2010Midtown snapshotsA few midtown NYC snaps from last week, with brief comments. First snap - the #1 reason to get a degree from Yale: it gives you a clean civilized place to pee in midtown with CNBC running in all the bathrooms if you join the Yale Club. Also, a very nice place to stay in the city for cheap, a cozy hang-out, pretty good dining, and top-notch meeting and reading rooms. The giant hall on the second floor is a good place to hold your memorial service when you croak. More below the fold - Continue reading "Midtown snapshots"
Posted by Bird Dog
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17:43
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Oldest operating barbershop in NYC
It's Paul Mole on Lexington, in operation since 1912. There are still guys who get a straight razor shave there every morning on their way to work - hot towels etc. I am told many guys get a weekly trim. Not me. And yes, they have a shoeshine guy there too.
Posted by Bird Dog
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10:38
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A Perplexed Mom considers her daughters' educationsShe wonders what her kids should study in college, and considers what women used to learn in school. The daily Military Drill sounds good - like the IDF:
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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10:24
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Wednesday, January 20. 2010My waffle wedded wifeGreat wedding:
Posted by Gwynnie
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12:06
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Tuesday, January 19. 2010World's luckiest railroad workerOr dumbest?
Posted by Gwynnie
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15:54
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Monday, January 18. 2010Plain wonderful The blurb says this:
Too bad the recorded sound quality is poor, but what a kick.
Posted by Bird Dog
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13:07
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The John Batchelor ShowOf all of the entertaining and/or interesting radio shows we enjoy (when we have time to hear them), there is one which I think comes closest to the Maggie's Farm sensibility - The John Batchelor Show. Around here, it comes on late at night on WABC. It's more intelligent and informative than anything on the boob tube. If you don't know it, give him a try. Very cool bumper music too.
Posted by Bird Dog
in Our Essays, Politics, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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12:45
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The prophetic voice
Scott at Powerline on the prophetic voice of MLK Jr.
Posted by Bird Dog
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12:35
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A little piece of college advice (and general educational advice)Except when you need a specific course for a specific purpose or requirement (eg Physical Chemistry), I recommend choosing courses by the teacher, not by the topic. At a medical meeting recently, I found myself making the same mistake I have often made: picking meetings by topic instead of by speaker. You can get more out of a brilliant person talking about Coke vs. Pepsi than you can from a mediocrity discussing your medical topic of interest.
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in Education, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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10:29
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Sunday, January 17. 2010Androscoggin Cottage?Our dear pal Sippican is moving from the MA seashore to central Maine on the mighty Androscoggin River. If there is good grouse country nearby, I will be a visitor. Rumford, to be specific (pop 6000). Whether he has a reason or not I have no idea. Rumford is an interesting old lumber mill town, with turn of the century mill company housing developments which would be of interest to any student of the history of town planning. Photo is the Sipp family's new house. I like it. It's not a house - it's a home. But does it get broadband?
Posted by Bird Dog
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06:49
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