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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Monday, January 1. 2018New Year tip: Beware of Dunning-Kruger
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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12:23
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Saturday, December 30. 2017On photography
As somebody who just likes to take snapshots, I feel no desire for something like that but it seems that many people do. A classic: Sontag's On Photography.: “Not many photographs are worth a thousand of [Susan Sontag's] words.” ―Robert Hughes, Time
Posted by Bird Dog
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12:40
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How to slow time, with Saturday VerseTime's winged chariot does hurry along. As life goes on, it hurries faster, frighteningly so. I know only one way to slow down that acceleration: do new things, take on new challenges, visit new places, have new experiences, find some fresh successes and failures, make new friends, . While routine and structure are generally useful and comforting for people, new challenges and adventures, large or small, which entail some special stimulations and anxieties. Yes, anxieties. New stresses are good. Seek God, learn Mandarin, lift heavier weights, remodel the house, take a Great Courses course on something about which you are totally ignorant and uninterested to open your mind, find a new mate (not for me - we make new together), climb a mountain, or try some good therapy and reawaken or unleash parts of your inner true self which have been smoldering in the dark for years. All such things have the effect of adding punctuation marks, or even fresh chapters, to the humdrum prose of life. Variety is the spice of life. This author agrees with me: There's a Reason Time Seems to Speed Up as You Age - But It's Possible to Slow It Down While it's not just about a manipulative seduction, Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) was spot on with the time thing. To His Coy Mistress Had we but world enough and time, My vegetable love should grow For, lady, you deserve this state, Thy beauty shall no more be found; The grave’s a fine and private place, Let us roll all our strength and all Wednesday, December 27. 2017A caviar farm
Posted by The Barrister
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13:34
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VDH in praise of doing your own physical labor
I get his point, but I do not think that fitness is equivalent to physical labor. Our carpenter lifts weights in the gym with the intention of continuing to be able to carry heavy things at work through his 70s. In my case, I have always done all of the outdoor labor at the HQ and the farm that I have time for (ie weekends), but I never saw any fitness gains from that. It is enjoyable for me, though. For house-cleaning and laundry, we have two high-energy Polish immigrants who leave everything spotless, neat, and sparkling. Their only requirement of us is that there be no clutter, nothing on the floor, and nothing on any surfaces. When you have day jobs, nobody wants to spend a weekend house-cleaning and doing laundry. Heck, we even do our workouts Sunday morning before church. Monday, December 25. 2017Thoughts about being a grandpa on Christmas eveningI plan to keep myself in fighting shape so I can fulfill that job, or duty, or whatever you call it. Little boys, little girls, whatever comes my way. I am prepared. My plan them is to teach my family ways, to transfer my culture. I will talk with them about books, I will take them on hikes in the woods, I will teach them my secrets about the trees and the birds and amphibians and reptiles and fish and wildflowers, and all of their names. I will teach them how to use a hand saw and a table saw, and how to screw a screw and how to nail a nail. How to make a rustic outdoor table. I will quote to them from Milton, the Bible, and Shakespeare while I take them on fishing hikes to mountain lakes, valley streams, Atlantic bays, and the ocean itself. I know from myself that grandkids remember every word their grandfathers utter and every bit of lore they convey. I will reprimand them when they behave uncivilly or in an unsportsmanlike manner. I will teach them firearms and archery. I will teach them how to comport themselves at my NYC club, and how to dine with adults in an adult venue. I would be happy to introduce them to sailing craft, or handling powerboats for that matter. I will expose them to serious music and talk to them about it. I will encourage them towards the discipline of making serious music, or any music. My two grandpas together helped teach me all of these things and I am forever grateful for that. My Mom and Dad were busy with all of the other kids, plus work of course. I learned a lot besides all that from my two genteel Grandpas, including how to handle hunting dogs (Don't give them an inch, or they'll take a mile"), handling horses ("Dumb as rocks. Show them who's boss, and they will do anything you want."), and driving tractors on New England hills ("attend to the angles"). They also taught me how to speak with adults. "Ask them about themselves. Learn all you can from them." Sports? I am no athlete but I would be joyful to swat tennis balls with a kid or kids for hours. Just buy me a couple of beers after as compensation. Interest and cheerful cooperation are required. I am sorry, but the business-essential art of golf is not in my repertoire. My own Christmas kids are the best, and I will welcome some Christmas grandkids when the time is ripe.
Posted by The Barrister
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17:14
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Friday, December 22. 2017Hollywood Wants Your Money...and Your MindA commenter: "Kill your TV and take a walk through the woods with your kids, spouse, friends and or loved ones." We all know that TV and movies are aimed at an IQ of 100. That's the market. Even Tucker aims low. A good life can be had by shooting the TV and getting out in the world, meeting new people, doing interesting challenging things - and going to Christmas parties.
Posted by The News Junkie
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13:38
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Wednesday, December 20. 2017Continuing educationAgain, a Christmas book only for those who wish to continue or to update their secondary or college educations: Campbell's Biology. It is the current basic text, and it guarantees a thorough grounding in the basics. If you shop around on line, you can find it for much less than the list price. A magnificent book, clear and easy to read if you recall some basic biochem. If you took college bio ten years ago, you know almost nothing. I have too much stuffDalrymple says he owns so much stuff that his relatives will actually regret when he dies due to the hassle. For him, his accumulated stuff is like a joke on his inheritors. He does understand that no amount of possessions can fill an emotional or spiritual hole. My experience is that most people stop accumulating stuff and possessions around age 50, and begin getting rid of it all slowly thereafter. How many ties, jackets, socks, sweaters, shirts, cooking pans, decorations, lamps, chairs, tables, china sets, serving platters, do I need? We would have an abundant life without buying a single material thing (other than food) for the next ten years. I will admit that dress clothing becomes outdated and can look ridiculous or like thrift shop goods, so that does need to be replaced. As the kids grow in independence, I will encourage them to take anything here that they want, but they won't want it. They will have their own ways and their own tastes, and all of our stuff will end up in a large dumpster someday. I can live with that.
Posted by The Barrister
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17:53
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Tuesday, December 19. 2017The Age of Outrage(Liberal-Lefty) Prof. Haidt speaks on The Age of Outrage: What It's Doing to Our Universities, and Our Country Transcript here. Smart, open-minded fellow.
Posted by The Barrister
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13:42
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Monday, December 11. 2017"Contains more masterpieces-per-foot than we might ever see in The USA again"
At the Metropolitan Museum (NYC), Michelangelo, Divine Draftsman and Designer Until Feb. 12. Despite seeing so many of his artworks and sculptures, one of my favorite Michelangelo experiences was scrambling around the ruins of the defensive walls of Florence - which he designed. What It Took to Create the Met’s Once-in-a-Lifetime Michelangelo Show I had to read The Agony and the Ecstasy in high school. That book made an impression. I had a great education, but my IQ could not appreciate it all. Older now, and likely less smart, everything in life becomes more magical to me.
Posted by Bird Dog
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15:47
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A Christmas book: E.O. WilsonSaturday, December 9. 2017Best lecture you never heard in collegeIt's difficult say exactly what the topic is (it says "Reality and the Sacred") but it really meanders all over the map. Very rich stimulating. I believe this is from when Peterson was teaching at Harvard. "A phenomenon always transcends the manner with which you frame it." The Q&A is good, too.
Posted by The Barrister
in Education, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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14:32
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Friday, December 8. 2017Reading Aloud Helps You Remember More InformationYes, it really does help. Best study method I ever used: Read a paragraph, and explain its content back out loud in your own words. That method got me through med school.
Thursday, December 7. 2017The dark side of ReasonPure reason is amoral, godless, material, resists poetry, music, magic, the soul, and the transcendent. On the other hand, reason has the tools to critique reason itself. That is cool. The dark gifts of reason. Mendelssohn (my main man this past year) drank deep in the Lutheran A Mighty Fortress in his 5th:
Posted by Bird Dog
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16:07
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Tuesday, December 5. 2017A book (not new): Galateo: Or, The Rules of Polite BehaviorSocial and behavioral advice to a young Florentine, from 1524: Galateo: Or, The Rules of Polite Behavior
Posted by The Barrister
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13:53
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Monday, December 4. 2017A Christmas book: Mark Helprin's new oneMark Helprin is our favorite living novelist. Jay Nordlinger loves him too. The book is Paris in the Present Tense.
Posted by Bird Dog
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15:52
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Wednesday, November 29. 2017What is "picturesque"?
It means, of course, what sight you think might be interesting to have or show or keep an image of. Photography made image-making accessible to the masses, and thus things like Instagram. The "picturesque" became the "photogenic." The "photogenic," like aesthetics in general, is socio-culturally defined. We seem to have a few categories for photos: Nature scenes, kids at play, quaint scenes, people who look interesting or attractive, and images used to document moments or things. At this point, a lot of them are cliches (sunsets, waves, babies, old men on benches, etc). Painting is a Cropsey, Hudson River. We're looking at a photogenic photo image of a picturesque painting of people looking at picturesque scenery.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:20
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Tuesday, November 28. 2017Christmas present idea, for serious hikersNot for walkers, but for those who really want to Move It With Vigor over hill and dale and and clamber over steep rocks: The Best Five Hiking Pants I have the Pranas and the Montanes. The thing is that, for cold weather, they are easy to layer underneath. Re the Montanes, Amazon doesn't have them but Montane USA does. Their sizing is not US sizing, so check the sizing for those great water-resistant hiking/climbing pants.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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16:46
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Sunday, November 26. 2017Le Petit ChefThe world's smallest chef turns your plate into a projected grill.
Posted by Bird Dog
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12:45
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Saturday, November 25. 2017A virtual stocking-stuffer: A hiking AppAt Maggie's we tend to recommend Christmas gifts like activities and trips rather than material things that moth and rust do corrupt. Of course, if you have a kid that needs something like a computer or a hat, boots, and gloves, I suppose you have to do that but, in general, it seems that very few Americans need any more stuff. A good stocking-stuffer: The Alltrails Pro app. It's half-price right now, $14 for a year's membership.
Posted by The News Junkie
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:38
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A free ad for Wilbur YachtsWilbur Yachts in Southwest Harbor, Maine, makes nice boats. No Black Friday deals but the family might love one for Christmas. Here's their Wilbur 31':
Posted by Bird Dog
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05:03
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Wednesday, November 22. 2017Haidt's moral formatVia an Althouse post: I have a problem with that term "moral reasoning." I don't think it exists to any extent in real life. Some people know right from wrong, some do not, and some know but don't care. Aside from the Ten Commandments, most peoples' moral rule of thumb is to avoid, or to feel uncomfortable, doing anything their Mom or Dad would be unhappy about or dismayed by. Morals are mostly cultural, tribal. Are you listening to me, Prof. Haidt?
Posted by The Barrister
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13:32
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Tuesday, November 21. 2017The Perilous State of the University: Jonathan Haidt & Jordan B PetersonTwo smart guys, Peterson (a mostly-Libertarian, or at least anti-authoritarian sort) and Haidt (non-Leftist Liberal). Warning: Once you begin, you will not want to turn it off because these are thoughtful, knowledgeable guys.
Posted by The Barrister
in Education, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:31
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Sunday, November 19. 2017OldieIn light of the frequency of human and grizzly bear encounters, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears while in the field. They advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears. They also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear. It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear dung. Black bear dung is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear dung has little bells in it and smells like pepper.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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17:06
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