We 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.
All about monotheism, Abraham, and a mental experiment creating religion amnesia: How Did God Get Started?
One quote from the lengthy essay by Colin Wells:
...faith is the unassailable citadel to which religion withdrew after reason had overrun much of its original territory. And, let’s be honest, storming religion’s territory is what rational inquiry came into this world doing. In the face of such relentless, even terrifying, psychological pressure, it makes sense that our collective embrace of the supernatural, if it was to persist without dissolving completely, would have to tighten to the point of obsessiveness.
But faith is also a mobile citadel, a portable fortress. Having evolved precisely to occupy the territory inaccessible to reason, faith evolved mechanisms to move fluidly with the boundaries of that territory, or, as with apocalypticism, to blithely revise its truth claims about the imminent end of the world as fast as they’re discredited by the world’s contrarian perseverence. Faith’s quicksilver essence can never be rationally pinned down: the harder you press, the faster it squirts out from under your finger. Like the alien monster in countless movies, faith only gets stronger every time you shoot at it.
If this model is correct in its psychology, monotheistic faith will spread across the globe together with reason—as indeed it seems to be doing already, whether through outright conversion or the subtle moulding of older traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism into more monotheistic forms. Faith and reason help define the package we call Western civilization. We might even say that they do define it, and that they also account for its stunning global success.
During the twenty-first century, more urbanization will take place than during all of human history. Both the global population and the fraction of it living in cities will reach their peaks, as 3 billion to 5 billion people join the 3 billion who already call cities home. That staggering urban growth will be strongest in the developing world. If the existing cities there simply grow by accretion, many people will end up in dangerous slums.
We've had only 15-18" thus far, I think, but the drifts are the real problem. It's been blowy and blustery, with gusts up to 60 knots. See NYT: “Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming”. Ya gotta laugh - unless it's intended as satire.
I'll try to get some links up when I can, but shoveling and getting things plowed comes first. In the meantime, catch up on our recent posts.
This is early this morning. I love it:
I took the pup for a walk in the snowy dark, strolling - no, trudging - down the middle of the roads, after my excursion to Dunkin. The old Explorer plowed thru the drifts, with some difficulty. This blacksmith's storefront looked pretty in the snow. He'll make custom stuff, and shoes for your horses too. Anything iron -
Dunkin, this morning. Their 2 am Donut delivery couldn't get through, but the nice Mezzican gals were there making coffee. Dunkin is one of those things in life that you can count on.
Tonight with NYC finance genius and present-wrapping daughter, and the Judds' Christmas record on the record player. Yes, the record player. A fine, if old, Denon. I have tons of favorites still on vinyl, including around 40 operas and most of my favorite Christmas records, now unavailable on CD.
Yesterday I spoke with my mother-in-law in Dusseldorf, where she’s snowed in and may not reach her mother for Christmas eve. She saw on CNN that San Diego was suffering from torrential rains, as TV news searches for exaggerations to fill airtime.
Actually, San Diego got from several inches to over ten-inches of rain, varying by spot. That’s very unusual in our semi-arid location, where sunny days are usual and average temps range along the coast from winter 60s to upper-70s in summer (today’s newspaper editorial calls our usual weather “bland”). Still, as most of our soil is sand and roads get flooded, there are commute difficulties and some small landslides (the Coaster rail is blocked for several more days). We have tickets to the Poinsettia Bowl tonight. We’ll have to go hours earlier and stall in heavy traffic; bummer. At Qualcomm, next to the overflowed San Diego River (usually a trickle), pumps are removing over 2,200 gallons of water a minute from the flooded stadium (I guess that favors Navy, versus San Diego State University).
On the way back from the movies yesterday to see Narnia #3 (good, especially with 3D, but #2 was best), Jason and I stopped at Sports Authority for a quick purchase. Instead, we spent over an hour in the baseball glove aisle helping confused parents choose gloves for their sons (we sold over 20; should have been on commission). Almost all the buyers departed wishing us Happy Holidays; not one Merry Christmas. This is not a Jewish neighborhood (nor Muslim), so I thought that unusual, even bland.
For those to whom Christmas is something special, two items in today’s emails tell of their deep loss.
A fellow Vietnam veteran sent me this artist rendering of a photo taken at the Wall in D.C.These and other veterans never got to celebrate another Christmas.
Another friend sent me this AP clip that Iraqi Churches cancel Christmas festivities because of Al Qaeda threats, following increased but hardly new brutalities and murder against them by Islamists, a million Christians having left Iraq since 2003. Christians in most all Muslim countries suffer violence and death at the hands of Islamists.
Wherever you are, whatever your weather, whichever and however your faith, whenever you pause, give thanks for the freedom to celebrate Christmas in America, compared to the alternatives, and remember when it wasn’t Blandmas or an invitation to be slaughtered.
In the eminent domain context, the problem is that landowners are not being paid enough. The standard of “just compensation” is usually interpreted as the market value of the property as determined by dueling appraisers. This standard can be unfair, as Loyola Law School Professor Gideon Kanner has long argued. It skimps on costs of relocation and upset, and excludes consideration of damage to businesses, which can considerably outweigh the value of the real estate. Tenants, especially businesses, are often seriously short-changed.
This is an iPhone app, soon to be available for other smart phones. Home site is here. The app is free, languages cost five bucks apiece. They only have Spanish-English at the moment, but converting other languages should be a snap at this point.
What's particularly impressive about this is that it's the quintessential case of the entrepreneur's axiom, find a need and fill it. Check out the second video on the site for the background story.
A truly marvelous invention, and sure beats the hell out of having to look up "ADVERTENCIA!GRAVESDE DERRAMESDE RADIACIÓN! DOS PASOS MÁS Y SE MUERE!" ("WARNING! SEVERE RADIATION LEAK! TWO MORE STEPS AND YOU'RE DEAD!") in the translation book.
"Ad-ver-ten-see-a? Why would there be an advertisement way out here? Should we look it up in the translation book?"
I am not a huge fan of Florida (I like going to places with more interesting history, and preferably less heat), but with our deep chill so early this year, I have been thinking about it a little.
I am not really a Hobe Sound or Jupiter type, and definitely not a Palm Beach sort. And Vero Beach never sounds very interesting to me. Your editor is averse to "relaxation," and also does not want to waste time by playing that game where you hit the little ball with the little stick.
Islamorada, for the fishing etc. I am also attracted to Gasparilla and Useppa. When we did a week in Captiva a few years ago, we'd rent a boat and tool around the waters between Captiva and Port Charlotte. We had to boat to have lunch in that wacky place on Cabbage Key, and we anchored right off Useppa for a swim and for some exploring.
Cabbage Key has no roads, and there is an insane drunk directing the boat traffic. Gasparilla and Useppa have no cars. They are both clubs. I am told that Gasparilla is for stuffy blue-bloods (it's rustic and simple), and Useppa more for the nouveaus - more luxurious. Tiny Useppa looks to have been having a building boom since we were down there.
Funny how we humans want to take personal credit for things we feel good about, and how quick we are to come up with excuses and rationalizations for the rest.
The author included this handy-dandy elementary life skills chart, for those who never learned it. Readers might be amazed by how many adults never mastered Life 101. Sadly, the "awareness" part is often the biggest challenge:
Our dear friend Nathan, a Jewish more-or-less atheist, decided to attend midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem this year. Good on him. His snaps and comments below:
His description of the experience begins:
I spent Midnight Mass with Mahmoud Abbas and a few thousand close -- that is tightly packed -- worshippers in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The trip to the Church of the Nativity -- up and back from Christ's birthplace -- was too adventurous.
Someone apparently not at risk of ever touching a human female boob has constructed a replica of the 4077 M*A*S*H unit in their backyard, and submitted it to Home and Garden's Rate My Space. I thought all the comic convention types were dressing up as Klingons, not Klinger nowadays, but what do I know? Go Mudhens!
Psychological "study shows" hypersensitive nuts are affected by Christmas trees. I accept that the themes of peace, joy, love, and giving to others may be tough for the diversity crowd which is drowning in angst and preoccupied with what they can get, but in an 80-90% Christian country, you ought to get used to a tannenbaum here and there. And after all, that tree is pagan anyway. German earth goddess or something.
What is it about Psychologists that they are always agonizing about the hypersensitive? Isn't their job to help people feel stronger, not more pathetic, victimized, and aggrieved?
And hey - where's all the Kwanzaa stuff this year? Perhaps the Kwanzaa cult quit their "ancient and beloved tradition" for diversity reasons, so others might not be "offended." I miss those 12 days of Socialism.
I can handle 12 days of it, but not years of it. If you give me years of it, I will quit working and let the Socialist suckers pay my bills. If they have jobs, that is.
Not sure what "whinning" is, but it's probably an extended version of whining about some perceived deprivation or injustice or whatever. Wives do that and, if I can reach back far enuf into my memory bank, I think I recall dimly that girlfriends do that too. Once they have you on the hook, that is. That's life. It's genetic. We guys, however we are, are never the right White Knight of their 13 year-old dreams. Just dopey guys is what we are, and utterly powerless without this remote control.
The only button missing is the "Be Charming, Cheerful, Optimistic about Life, Deeply Appreciative of Me Despite My Flaws, and Wittily and Flirtatiously Amusing" button. Guess all those words won't fit on a tiny button, so there it is.
It's not really about a flag. It's about "the Republic for which it stands." It's a way of testifying that you agree to the American social contract. In other words, "I agree to this deal."
Kids cannot know what that deal is. It's quite a serious deal, really, because it can cost you your life, plenty of your property, and some of your freedom. It's freely given, too, if you're old enough to give it. You can always move somewhere else. Tom Friedman can move to China.
I don't care whether Rousseau's social contract theory is valid or not; it's an essential concept anyway because it makes it clear that a conscious choice of citizenship is meaningful and important - even if secular and not sacred.
Three Italian poets: Petrarch, Boccaccio (both of whom Chaucer may have met on a trip to Italy in 1373) and Dante. Boccaccio’s “Decameron” lent the inspiration and narrative template for “The Canterbury Tales”. More technically, Geoffrey de Vinsauf’s “Poetria Nova”, a passage from which Chaucer lifted for “Troilus and Criseyde”, armed him with rhetorical devices.
We are Chaucer fans here at Maggie's. I prefer to hear it read, rather than to read it. Audio of a modern translation here. When I was in school, we did it in the original and had good fun with it.
It's exempt from Obamacare rules, too: Medi-Share.
Readers know we hate government compulsion, and believe that government one-size-fits-all stuff fits about as well as a Mao jacket. My examples are, for a few, what if you're a Christian Scientist? What if you're wealthy and want to self-insure? What if you only want Major Medical (which I believe is the only thing that makes sense anyway)?
When they talk about medical insurance, they sneakily speak as if it were equivalent to medical care. It is not.
A reminder to readers on Medicare:
Give your doc a nice Christmas gift. He or she is losing money each time you see him in the office. A little - or a lot - of appreciation is in order, because you are the recipient of their charity and good will. They don't have to do it. Something special like this often goes over well:
Heck, I always give my docs a Christmas something even though I am not on Medicare yet.
I am informed by someone who knows about these things that this is what I want for Christmas: the Lumix LX -5. I guess it's a clone of the Leica D-Lux 5. This guys says to chose the Leica.
I'm not sure I need one, but it seems like a nice thing. I think I could take lousy snaps with any camera, though.
On second thought, maybe I'd rather have the Leica. Heck, I don't know. I'll take the Lumix, Santa.
"two-thirds of Americans believe that success is not outside their control. In Germany, 68% answered the exact opposite way.... By more than six to one, Americans believe failure is the result of the individual, not society… 71% of Americans believe people can escape from poverty. Only 40% of Europeans believe the same....Asked why people are wealthy, 64 percent of Americans say [it is] because of personal drive, willingness to take risks, and hard work and initiative." And why do others fail? When asked that question, 64 percent of Americans cited a lack of thrift, 53 percent ascribed the failure (at least in part) to a lack of effort, and a like percentage said that failure was due to lack of ability. ..... but “in Europe, a majority in every country – with the exception of the U.K., Czech Republic, and Slovakia – ‘believe that forces outside of an individual’s personal control determine success.'"
These really are different views of the world and of the human being.
Readers know that we are fans of SureFire military and tactical flashlights. They are useful for blinding and illuminating a bad guy, or for illuminating a distant detail - or for finding a fox, beaver or owl at night.
The problem with them has been that the battery drain has been so fast that they were not useful for any regular flashlight use (for which they were not designed anyway - they were first designed to incapacitate and illuminate a human target).
They have now come out with a line of LED flashlights, some of which may not meet the same tactical specs but which have a longer battery life, and still should not be used in anybody's face unless you wish to disable them. A MagLite on steroids.
Also, Insty informs us that Amazon has deals on knives. Practical knives, not the fancy ones. Except when boarding a plane, a guy needs a knife in the pocket.
My brunch at Petrossian yesterday was blini with Beluga, smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, and Pear Tart, with a Bloody Mary first, and then some champagne. A fine day on the town with my in-laws who love my kids more than words can tell. Some pics - don't know who those guys are at the door in the rain, but they did not enter and were not properly dressed anyway.
Carnegie Hall has some exterior renovations going on.
I am not a huge fan of Florida (I like going to places with more interesting history, and preferably less heat), but with our deep chill so early this year, I have been thinking about it a little.
Psychological "study shows" 
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The first time I was exposed to the Pledge was in kindergarten. I had no idea what the words meant. 
Chaucer claimed to be no more than a "lewd compilator" of other voices. All creators steal. From 
Readers know that we are fans of 
