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. |
Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page
Categories
QuicksearchLinks
Blog Administration |
Wednesday, March 14. 2018Hawking Radiation
Stephen Hawking made his reputation in theorizing about radiation from black holes. This brief summary is over my head.
Posted by The News Junkie
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
19:26
| Comment (1)
| Trackbacks (0)
Skin in the gameFrom some comments about Taleb's new book, Skin in the Game: • For social justice, focus on symmetry and risk sharing. You cannot make profits and transfer the risks to others, as bankers and large corporations do. You cannot get rich without owning your own risk and paying for your own losses. Forcing skin in the game corrects this asymmetry better than thousands of laws and regulations. • Ethical rules aren’t universal. You’re part of a group larger than you, but it’s still smaller than humanity in general. • Minorities, not majorities, run the world. The world is not run by consensus but by stubborn minorities imposing their tastes and ethics on others. • You can be an intellectual yet still be an idiot. “Educated philistines” have been wrong on everything from Stalinism to Iraq to low-fat diets. • Beware of complicated solutions (that someone was paid to find). A simple barbell can build muscle better than expensive new machines. • True religion is commitment, not just faith. How much you believe in something is manifested only by what you’re willing to risk for it.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:51
| Comments (2)
| Trackbacks (0)
Tuesday, March 13. 2018Tommy Rall!
Here is Rall with the great Bob Fosse:
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
14:09
| Comment (1)
| Trackbacks (0)
Sunday, March 11. 2018How everything is getting betterWhy Modern Life Is Great (And It's About To Get Even Better) with Ron Bailey
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:55
| Comments (5)
| Trackbacks (0)
Saturday, March 10. 2018Got enough clothes?
Where the instructions "Formal attire" used to mean gowns and dinner dress fro men, now it means dresses and suits. Dress has obviously become small-d democratized. There is a loss in that, a loss of elegance at the least. We're now at the point where even formal black or white-tie weddings (evenings only, please) look like silly costume shows. That ten year-old gown should be fine, and who cares? I recently realized that I own enough formal wear, footwear, outerwear, sportswear, riding wear, ski gear, boating gear, and athletic gear to last my lifetime, not including new tennis racquets. I am done accumulating it as long as my size doesn't change, which will not.
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
14:35
| Comments (15)
| Trackbacks (0)
Friday, March 9. 2018Largo al factotumRossini wrote the music for the opera in three weeks. Make way for the handyman, with the late great Dmitri Hvorotovsky. Lyrics translated here.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:51
| Comments (7)
| Trackbacks (0)
Teaching William Zinsser to Write Poetry
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:45
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
Thursday, March 8. 2018Survey: Most entertaining recent Wall St. movie
What have been your favorite finance dramas?
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
13:07
| Comments (12)
| Trackbacks (0)
Wednesday, March 7. 2018How Modern Art Serves the RichMore art is being produced and sold than ever before, at ever higher prices. What is most art "for"? Well, it's to be decorative or at least interesting. It can be social signalling or status-seeking. It can be used for investing or money-laundering. I suspect all of these things have applied since the Renaissance.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:02
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Mental illness and artAn isolated chronic schizophrenic connects with people through her creativity. Interesting that her speech is similar to Milton in Office Space. Thanks to Ann Althouse for finding this:
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
12:56
| Comment (1)
| Trackbacks (0)
Balloon decorTook Mrs. BD to the Balanchine/Stravinsky program with the New York City Ballet last weekend. One of her Christmas presents. I thought it was a heck of a show, even though I am neither a balletomane nor a Stravinsky fan (Mrs. BD is a dance fan, regardless of style or tradition.) I do find Balanchine's style more accessible to me than classical ballet or modern dance. NYC is the world center of dance for a good reason - tons of fans, and not all gays by any means. NYCB is almost always sold out, and there are ways to get reasonably-priced tickets. The lobby of the David Koch theater last weekend, with cool balloon decor:
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
05:00
| Comments (3)
| Trackbacks (0)
Sunday, March 4. 2018Our Search for Meaning and the Dangers of Possession
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in Religion, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:06
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Loveliest hikes in each of the US 50 states
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
14:31
| Comments (2)
| Trackbacks (0)
An American place
All filling their baskets with their preferred products of American abundance at reasonable prices and in high volume. It's a kick to go for staples, but 2-3 times per year is enough for me. Mrs. BD gives me a list, but I do whatever I want. Heard at the cheese place there, a mom to a little girl: "Honey, let's get Dad some good cheeses. He loves cheese. He's like a mouse." Of course I make some impulse buys, like their Kerry Gold Irish cheese. Good stuff, like cheddar but better than cheddar. And a pack of their amazing ribeyes of course. $50 for a 5-pack of thick and fatty ribeyes? Since Mrs. BD and I share one ribeye for a supper, that's a $5 delicious and protein-packed supper for this couple which lifts weights and exercises daily. If you exercise hard, you need that nutritional fat. Nothing to do with that silly cholesterol nonsense. Word to the wise: their house brand (Kirkland) extra virgin olive oil is as good as anything anywhere.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
12:38
| Comments (15)
| Trackbacks (0)
Wednesday, February 28. 2018"Fairness" and financial well-being
I know that I have never made the most of these gifts, but have made a good life given circumstances, chance, opportunities, and life's exigencies. I had choices. I had college classmates die of drug overdoses. Character traits and talents are far more important in managing life than IQ. I am bright enough, but without special talents, and lacking in a high level of ambition. I just like to be content and to pursue my various interests in a serene environment. Had I been born to a single crack-addicted mother in Baltimore, God knows where my life might have gone financially and otherwise. Likely not too well, because it was only external discipline which kept me on productive tracks. I needed that because, despite some innate curiosity, I am someone who would always prefer sports, fishing, hunting, etc. than sitting in a classroom or office. Since I do like to make money, I might have been a drug-dealer although, being me, I might have had conscience issues with that. Who knows? Nothing in life is distributed fairly, especially parents and genetics. In my case, I credit my parents for making the efforts and sacrifices to set us kids up as best they could. Doing the same for my own offspring has been my main goal and satisfaction. At the same time, my life has been rich in many other non-financial ways.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:07
| Comments (11)
| Trackbacks (0)
Sunday, February 25. 2018Lessons from the Sioux
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
12:01
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Friday, February 23. 2018This is a rich conversation
I like his point that learning new things is painful because it kills something in yourself. I do not know what they mean when talking about equality, though. What is equality?
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
17:00
| Comments (8)
| Trackbacks (0)
Sunday, February 18. 2018Aging parents: "Can't we talk about something more pleasant?"The great cartoonist Roz Chast put her campy irony aside to produce a heartfelt and mostly hilarious cartoon book about the aging and decline of her parents. OK, lots of gallows humor. If you have or have had declining parents, it's required reading and you will recognize everything except Brooklyn (unless you grew up in Brooklyn - the 7th largest city in the USA if it were still its own city). Also for non-New Yorkers, her illustrated Going Into Town - A Love Letter to New York is an excellent and humorous guide.
Posted by Bird Dog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:38
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Saturday, February 17. 2018A book: The Graduation Speech You'll Never HearNobody writes a beach-reading book with the wit and dark craziness as Carl Hiassen, but he has a new book coming: Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You'll Never Hear Illustrated by Roz Chast, of all people.
Posted by The Barrister
in Education, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
15:49
| Comments (2)
| Trackbacks (0)
Thursday, February 15. 2018Reviewing "I, Pencil"From the article:
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
13:40
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Wednesday, February 14. 2018RIP John Perry BarlowThe 25 Principles for Adult Behavior: John Perry Barlow Creates a List of Wise Rules to Live By Among other things, the cowboy wrote these songs for the Grateful Dead
Posted by The News Junkie
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:27
| Comments (3)
| Trackbacks (0)
Tuesday, February 13. 2018A book recommendation: Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks MatterMonday, February 12. 2018Pretty good rules for lifeJustifiably IrrationalAfter last weekend's exciting trip to the Super Bowl, I was having some conversations with a good friend about our various superstitions. Invariably, big games include a conversation about how we're going to be managing ourselves, or how we behaved.. I've never hid, nor have I pretended to not have, my superstitions. They are a part of how I enjoy the game. I told a workmate, prior to leaving, that I was seriously considering not attending since my nieces felt I was a jinx. After all, the team did quite well with me lying on the floor in front of my TV, why change what works? He laughed and said "You're the most rational person I know. I had no idea you were so superstitious. You do know you have no impact on the outcome of the game, right?" I looked at him and said "Maybe I don't. Maybe." Then I smiled and gave him a nod. Of course I have no impact. But I'll never believe I don't. In 1997, I traveled to Scottsdale with friends to watch Syracuse play Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. Syracuse took an early lead, relinquished it, and made a strong comeback in the second quarter. Things looked pretty good. I decided to go to the bathroom, and it was all downhill from there. My good friend was with me, and he explained to me my little trip was the problem. Obviously, I had to take care of business before the game starts, and just deal with it after that. Over the years, we've developed a good repertoire of what works and what doesn't. In 2003, when Syracuse won the Men's Basketball National Championship, I was communicating with him every step of the way. No missteps could take place on the part of anyone in our group, and none did.
Continue reading "Justifiably Irrational"
Posted by Bulldog
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
12:40
| Comments (7)
| Trackbacks (0)
Saturday, February 10. 2018Clean your roomFirst things first. If you can't manage your own life, you are in no position to give advice to anyone, much less to try to control anybody else. Peterson's book is a best-seller. It's not self-help. There are many layers in each of these simple chapter headings. Rule 1 Stand up straight with your shoulders back
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
17:12
| Comments (3)
| Trackbacks (0)
« previous page
(Page 38 of 250, totaling 6233 entries)
» next page
|