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, April 25. 2017Why guys are getting crew cuts and shaved heads, with a useful style note to gals and guys
Men aren't women, so why should they have to bother with good hair? Women in my world need to look well-groomed and well-cared for, with well-cut and styled hair (and good nails) but men just have to look clean and neat. The only downsides for guys are sunburn potential and looking stupid, but that's a good trade for the hassle. On a dare, this weekend I am going to get it all cut off for summer. Ladies, if you have unstyled hair or long hair over 35 most women look homeless, deranged, like a WalMart shopper, or like a refugee from Maine. Guys, if you have long hair over 35 you look dangerously homeless or mentally-disturbed unless you look Hollywood-glamorous-cool that way or are an eccentric billionaire. Discuss - (Note to commenter: Melania Trump is not "most women")
Talkin' bout his generation
He goes on to discuss Moral Narcissism, which is a good topic. However, describing a generation or much less a Zeitgeist based on the kids who made it into Newsweek Magazine is highly misleading. It would be as erroneous as describing today as the Black Lives Matter, or the Antifa, generation.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:40
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Wednesday, April 19. 2017INNOVATE, OBSERVE and EXPLOIT. INNOVATEPossibly an interesting new book: Darwin's Unfinished Symphony: How Culture Made the Human Mind Arnold Kling mentioned it here. It seems to be about how people adapt to change, or fail to. Rules of the game change. Life can be like Calvinball. Winners adapt, losers fail to adapt. One must be quick on one's feet in life, like a hunter.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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16:25
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Charles Murray on social class in the USA
Ultimately, though, he is talking about character traits and American civic culture. Worthy character traits support civic culture, and vice versa. Think Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Interesting quote: "The upper middle class is keeping its effective values to itself." Also, his point about "churn" seems important, because in the US lineages go up and down socioeconomically and socioculturally over time. No fixed classes as in most societies and it's not mainly about wealth either. I posted on this topic previously: Class, Social Capital, and Character Traits His wonderful speech from 2011 video here. I think it anticipates Trump. The Q&A at the end is good.
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
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16:08
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Monday, April 3. 2017The Left Hates Mike Pence For Loving His Wife Because They Don’t Really Think Men Can Be Evil
It's a a good piece about the apparent assumptions about basic human nature. Avoiding problematic temptation isn't just about Christianity though. It's also about maintaining self -respect and reputation. I believe that, with humans, sex, personal advantage, neediness, money, power, dominance, etc. are always at work but that there are many other more admirable things at work too. This is all quite obvious. Outside Hollywood, public figures have to be especially alert to seductions by star-f-ers, blackmailers, users, and the like, so they have an extra character challenge. Happily being a non-public figure, I meet with women colleagues and clients all the time. Never had a problem with myself but I have had to awkwardly handle a few attempted seductions when I was younger. It is no longer in fashion to talk about how women take advantage of men for their own purposes. Women have power of many kinds, but the current batch of Lefty women prefer the victim image.
Posted by The Barrister
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14:24
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Sunday, April 2. 2017Pond skimmingSugarbush ski area has a community feeling with lots of regulars. They have an annual pond-skimming event usually early April or late March. You are supposed to wear a costume, and the trick is to get across the pond. I love things like this. The water temperature is in the 20s (F).
Posted by Bird Dog
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11:13
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Friday, March 31. 2017Even if you aren't Christian, or are a casual Christian...
You will enjoy Max McLean's production of C.S. Lewis' conversion: The Most Reluctant Convert. The New Yorker: " Lewis’ fiercely considered intellectual reason makes the stuffy Oxford don intriguing company.” My favorite line from the performance: "My Oxford friend Barfield was raised in an open-minded family... so naturally he knew nothing about Christianity." I also loved the part about his pre-university tutor W T Kirkpatrick. Some teacher, demanding as hell of intellectual consistency and precision. Also, his experiences in combat in WW l. Lewis' conversion happened like Hemingway's line about how a character's bankruptcy happened, "Gradually, then suddenly."
It's at the Acorn on W 42nd St NYC. Cheap. McLean did another one man show of Screwtape a couple of years ago (which we saw. Also a tour de force). This is only 80 minutes. After, you can grab a bite or a cocktail at our favorite joint in that neck of the woods, The West Bank Cafe, right across the street. Cozy and great service. When McLean finishes, he takes questions from the audience. Mrs. BD unmasked her intelligence with the best question. The Acorn is in one of these new sorts of multiplex stage theaters that are emerging around NYC. It's a cool concept: four or so black box theaters on a few floors of an old converted industrial building, all sharing administration etc. Each small theater has its own name. Also want to mention that all the brand-new high-rises around W 42nd are astonishing. That used to be a lousy area between the Garment District and Hell's Kitchen with a long windy hike to the subway. Every few months there is a new luxury high rise even though the general area is too busy and charmless in my opinion. The Big Apple draws ambitious, determined, and talented people like an apple draws fruit flies.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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14:07
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Thursday, March 30. 2017A conversation with George Steiner
"Revealing and exhilarating, A Long Saturday invites readers to pull up a chair and listen in on a conversation with a master." A Long Saturday: Conversations
Posted by Bird Dog
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13:50
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Monday, March 27. 2017"What is truth?"From The ‘Postmodern’ Intellectual Roots of Today’s Campus Mobs:
Yes, it is interesting. I remember dorm room bull sessions, often pot-smoke- filled, on such topics. Also, beer cans, pizza boxes, Haagen Dasz. Very difficult to separate the social construction of reality from propaganda. Anyway, this is all kid stuff. Reality is when you stub your toe on a rock and enlightenment occurs.
Posted by The Barrister
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18:26
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Wednesday, March 22. 2017Best piece on Chuck Berry, after reading all the others"To Europe, America has always been a bad man." That is insightful. They like to condescend to us God-and gun-loving barbarians and only love us when they need some rough guys. Otherwise, they only want American dollars and banks. The world loved this rough AMERICAN creature: Chuck Berry Has No Particular Place To Go.
Posted by Bird Dog
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16:48
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Tuesday, March 21. 2017How do you turn corn into cars?
Of course, most politicians really do know better. They are just bullshitting people, which is their mission if they want to keep their easy job.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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19:33
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Personal financeEnjoyable and useful site: Financial Samurai A sample post on that site about being rich: Scraping By On $500,000 A Year. Of course, as he points out, what is a rich income depends entirely on where you live, how you live, and your attitude towards life.
Posted by The News Junkie
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15:33
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Sunday, March 19. 2017Big flower showMrs. BD thought you might like to see some of her snaps from the annual Philadelphia Flower Show (since 1836) this week. This is a show put on by professionals, not amateurs. An annual treat for Mrs. BD and her pals. More pics below the fold - Continue reading "Big flower show" Friday, March 17. 2017Spring Cleaning: Junk is JunkThe stuff is too much with us. You only need one of everything you need and, sometimes, less than one. Except for money, less is more. Every two years, we do a deep Spring Cleaning. Step one is getting rid of things. Step 2 is deep cleaning with cleaning helpers and fresh painting afterwards, as needed. Some years it takes a dumpster, some years our yard guys with a truck, and some years it's just throwing trash bags full of clothing into the back of the Suburban to go to Good Will, Salvation Army or, if really good stuff, Thrift Shop. We do have a "storage room" in the cottage. Four antique and beautiful andirons. A "brown", once thought elegant, dining room table. Spare brown dining chairs. Extra bookshelves. Spare beds and bedframes, etc. Why? Waiting for what? Death and the Final Dumpster, the Dumpster of Doom? Or the Garage Sale of Death? One of our projects this year is to convert a college kid's room into a lovely guest room. This means the kid's books into boxes to the attic, the kid's childhood desk and furniture to charity, a new Queen bed, and painting/redecorating. Projects: - Any book in the house never to be re-read by us or wanted by kids: Recycling or donated - Any old surplus furniture not tagged by kids (esp old "brown" furniture): Dumpster if yard guys don't want it Can't give that stuff away. - Carpets: We have enough antigue oriental carpets to furnish a palace. Mostly in a closet with mothballs. Some won't fit in there. Entirely out of fashion and unwanted but we love them and they once had value. We will not buy another house just to use carpets and paintings. Maybe consign them? Probably not worth the trouble. - Closets of clothing: If not used in one year, it's gone. If ugly, gone. How many sweaters do you need? It is a liberating experience. - Boxes of old photos and photo albums: Dumpster if nobody in the family wants them. Seems like a shame, but past is past. - Knick-knacks, goo-gaws, and misc. decorative items and things kids made in grammar school out of clay - dumpster. It's not immortal art. Getting rid of stuff is painful, but the good, cleansing pain like having a wart removed. - Excess kitchen and serving items: Unload on your kids, donate, or dumpster.
Prof. Jordan Peterson's book listSunday, March 12. 2017The Tuckerman Cult - New Hampshire
There is no such thing as reliably nice weather on Mt. Washington, but most New Englanders have vowed to climb it in summer if not winter. Hiking to the top of Mt. W in winter is an ultra-macho and dangerous adventure, but hiking up the ravine is do-able with skis on your back. Hike Mt. Washington Via the Tuckerman Ravine Trail
A friend skied it last week with his 7 year-old son. He ended up carrying the kid's backpack and his skis up. Just one torturous hike up and one wild and hairy run down. Pick your ski route down carefully. It's rugged, lots of rocks. Hiking up Mt. Washington in summer is a good outing, much easier but still a leg challenge.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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13:40
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Saturday, March 11. 2017Hating Silver
We have lots of sterling platters, bowls, and dinner sets. Also, lots of old silver plate stuff which does look pretty at times but really it all tarnishes so fast that there is no reason to use it. Garbage, basically, even if it has an ancestor's initials engraved in it. We have no scullery maid at present, alas. If you haven't gotten rid of all of your silver, here's How To Clean Silver With Aluminum Foil & Baking Soda. Basic chemistry. Even clean and shiney, you will never use it.
Posted by Bird Dog
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13:51
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Thursday, March 9. 2017Of course you're a victim: What good are you?
A "get over it" segment of Prof. Peterson's presentation. Good fun. It's secular, but almost religious. He does not quite get to the idea of laying at all at the cross, so he is dark and misses the joyful part. With a bit more Jesus, he'd be a heck of a preacher. He's right: It is a miracle that the lights are on.
We posted the full presentation here. Superb.
Posted by Bird Dog
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15:38
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Wednesday, March 8. 2017Know-nothing college grads
On a related topic, Prof. Deneen is struck by the lack of knowledge about the fundamentals of history and culture among his students at elite institutions, HOW A GENERATION LOST ITS COMMON CULTURE. I suspect he is talking about the common elite culture, because I don't think the average guy or gal on the street in 1950 could tell you much about Magna Carta, Saul of Tarsus, or John Milton. I might be wrong about that. In any event, the democratization of culture and of higher ed has resulted in the loss of basic cultural knowledge among the educated such that the numbers of those able to transfer the knowledge, as citizens and parents, shrinks. Or does it? Maybe it was always like that. I remember being confused once in high school social studies when the teacher joked that nobody cared about Plato's Republic and nobody read it. Confused because my Dad often referred to it. A quote from Deneen:
I had the advantage of attending a college where the cultural foundations were required, and came first. The result was that every grad knew the Inferno - and the Bible too. There are a lot of basics that the highly-educated youth that I interview know nothing about. What's your opinion on all of this?
Posted by The Barrister
in Education, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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14:12
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Charles Murray, the monster of MiddleburyA good interview with the evil Charles Murray. He discusses social capital, industriousness, civic culture, community, and the stifling of civic life by government.
Posted by The Barrister
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13:36
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Sunday, March 5. 2017Hiking vs. Walking vs. Strolling
Hiking is not walking. Hiking is mainly about speed to destination, and hills at the least and gravelly scrambling at the most. Except for the steeps, hiking takes endurance and the steeps demand leg endurance if not strength too, especially with a pack. We have two hiking trips planned in the next few months, one in Georgia (USA) and one in the Outer Hebrides. With 2 years of hard training, Mrs. BD and I are probably fitter than most people of our ages and life habits, but I am not sure about 6-7 hours of up and down the Highlands. Hills or mountains, whatever - serious hiking with poles and packs every day for ten days with no rest days. The leg strength we build from deadlifts and barbell squats is great and useful, but it's not endurance. Our cardio intervals are probably most relevant for efficient endurance-building, but I think we ought to add to that plenty of stairmaster time and a weekly weekend 4-6 hr uphill hike on top of our usual fitness routine. Speed hike, not casual hike. I think we ought to do Mt. Washington (if and when the snow melts). I am the rare outdoor person in New England who has not tackled the Presidential Range, and I should do it. Several pals of ours love to do the hut-to-hut thing up there, but I admit that I like a good bed and a good shower daily, and real good "unhealthy" food. Sheesh, I am the person who loves Urban Hiking because there is more to look at than trees and rocks, and there are fun food trucks with Falafel and stuff. I hate myself when I need a sit-down on a serious hike. What would you do to prepare for serious hiking trips? Saturday, March 4. 2017Management
I filled in the %s with my guesses, and he explained that my hypothetical business took a 70% cost in poor management. He said that my guesses were probably not too far off for many organizations but I might have the categories wrong. He said one reason for it is that, in organizations, most people have little real skin in the game and just hope to keep their paychecks coming but, in general, organizations are inefficient and one can only hope to keep it as low as possible.
Posted by The Barrister
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15:00
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Friday, March 3. 2017Interesting professors speak out
Part 1 by Dr. Norman Doidge is thorough and smart but a bit dull. His error, I think, is in missing a crucial component of the Speech and Thought Police which is their destructive rage and desire for control. In a sense, he gives them too much credit for genuineness. Believe me, they are not hurt when they claim victimhood. They are victimizing.
If you only have a little time, skip Doidge. Prof. Peterson is a fascinating speaker and is able to identify human evil. He has been victimized and he is pissed and passionate. This is dynamite and I urge all of our readers to listen:
Posted by The Barrister
in Education, Politics, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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14:57
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Tuesday, February 28. 2017Rudy Mancini's story
Posted by Bird Dog
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15:46
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Sunday, February 26. 2017Sand
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