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, July 14. 2015John Singer Sargent
Well, it is always full of people so there's that. Readers know that my rule for museums is to go to see a specific, limited set of things, a 1 hr and 15 min time limit, and walk in the halls to your item destination with blinders on so as not to get distracted by other interesting things. It's too easy to get overstimulated and a case of the deadly museum-brain. Mrs. BD and I zoomed in Sunday afternoon to catch the Sargent show. No rush to see - it's there until September. (Yes, we always use the earphone thingies) Sargent had lots of friends, and painted them. Most interesting to me was that, as soon as he became rich enough from his society portraits, he turned to what he loved most which was Impressionist landscape, sometimes with people but with no facial features at all. Died 1925. A few of my pics of Sargent's pics below the fold - Continue reading "John Singer Sargent"
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Monday, July 13. 2015Quality ShoesWe gave the lad a pair of some serious London-built Peal &Co. quality shoes for his birthday this weekend. Doubt he would ever do that for himself, which is what birthdays are for. Our link to Men's shoe maintenance, and other shoe topics As a thanks, he sent me this good one. Sounds like a cross between Roger Miller and Bob Dylan:
Not entirely unrelated, Shoes For Industry:
Posted by Bird Dog
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An earthquake will destroy a sizable portion of the coastal Northwest. The question is when.Saturday, July 11. 2015iPhone photo competitions
Fancy machines are not necessary for interesting pictures (not that an iPhone is a comprehensible or un-fancy machine to me). Real cameras seem to be becoming seen as clunky, obsolete artifacts except for nature documentation, Japanese tourists, fashion photogs, and the press corps. Often, imperfect and flawed photos are good and fun to look at. Photos from 1900 are wonderful. In general, I try to avoid taking photos. "Why would I want to do that?" I will never look at them again.
Posted by The News Junkie
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Thursday, July 9. 2015Euclid Cannot Explain a Hamburger
Fred Reed meditates on Scientism
Posted by The News Junkie
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Wednesday, July 8. 2015The Grand Inquisitor
Posted by Bird Dog
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Tuesday, July 7. 2015Fit for lifeA generation or two ago, many or most middle-aged people acted and looked old, stodgy, and even weary. This Youtube is good, re fitness for the over-50 set. It's not an ad for Crossfit but it does show what the middle-aged can do to keep on truckin'. I think the group experience adds something extra to it all, besides lowering the cost of the training:
Sunday, July 5. 2015Was human evolution inevitable, or do we owe our existence to a once-in-a-universe stroke of luck?Was human evolution inevitable, or do we owe our existence to a once-in-a-universe stroke of luck? God puzzles me. I can see him creating a lion or a butterfly, but why such a mediocre thing as humans? Perhaps he was lonely, but he could have done better.
Posted by Bird Dog
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Data vs. Hunches
I can hit the windshield of a fast-moving car with a snowball, but I can't do the math of it.
Posted by The News Junkie
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Friday, July 3. 2015Not thinking about books and stories
I have never been quite clear about what "studying" littacher means. (I do know the difference between aggressive reading and passive diversionary reading.) However, there are a few "critics" - I think of them as "illuminators", who are wonderful to read on the topics of books and authors. Books about books, which are literary works in themselves. Harold Bloom is one, another is John Updike, and I can list a few more who I enjoy like Edmund Wilson, Lionel Trilling, Walter Benjamin. I also enjoy learning from experts about how stories (or songs or pictures or poems) are structured, the hidden architecture. In the end, people do love well-told stories and well-depicted ideas and things, regardless of the medium. When stories, for example, are very well-written and constructed, the delight in the words adds a lot to the tale (eg rosy-fingered dawn). Craft, talent, inspiration, penetrating intelligence, wide knowledge, insight into human nature, magic - the things most of us lack but admire and even envy. I would take a class with Bloom, but what about "studying littacher" in an ordinary high school or college? This via Schneiderman's Are Literature Departments Doomed? (but not his view):
Bullshit.
Posted by The Barrister
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13:56
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Monogamish and related topicsFrom McInnes on The Reality Disconnect:
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Wednesday, July 1. 2015Multiculturalism, as viewed from Connecticut
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Edward Pincus let Chen off with probation—for murder—after an anthropologist testified that, in Chinese culture, the shame of a man being cuckolded justified murder…. The female head of the Asian-American Defense and Education Fund, Margaret Fung, applauded Chen’s light sentence, saying that a harsher penalty would “promote the idea that when people come to America they have to give up their own way of doing things. This is an idea we cannot support.” Saturday, June 27. 2015Cool places in New England: Monhegan Island
I love the Maine woods for hunting and fishing, and the crazy state of Maine in general (to visit) but my problem is that the water is too cold for comfortable swimming, unlike the Cape where it is just invigorating. A family friend just sent me this snap of my Dad (L) and my Mom (R) with a friend on the friend's lawn on Monhegan Island, Maine. My parents had 5 kids at that point, so it was good for them to get adult-oriented breaks.
The list at that Wiki link of the artists etc. who have had summer homes on Monhegan is impressive.
Photo below is the harbor, with the Island Inn. 17 miles of hiking trails.
Wednesday, June 24. 2015Do bicycle helmets do any good?Tuesday, June 23. 2015One thing I saw on Father's Day
As readers know, I get a huge kick out of NYC. Have theater tix for next Sat., and dinner, which is good, but just wandering around is a blast for a country boy like me. It is a comfort and a pleasure to a middle-aged fellow to see that they will remain a bonded family when we parents are dead and gone. I imagine their future Thanksgivings and Christmases, and maybe continuing the ritual Cape Cod family reunions with our annual family morning Wellfleet Triathlon with all of my sibs and any available kids (bike around 15 miles ending up at Long Pond, race across Long Pond and back maybe 1/2 mile or more and try not to drown, then run about 7 miles back home for a hearty breakfast. Better yet, to the Lighthouse for blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs). Family traditions are important life foundations. Body-surfing in the ocean in the cool north Atlantic. The annual family baseball was good too. Batter Up! My Mom at 84! She knew how to hit a baseball and to do lots of other things too. Their being fond of, and grateful to, their parents is good too. Already, they will drop anything to give us a hand when needed. Blessed, I guess. Will do the same for them as best we can.
Posted by Bird Dog
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Monday, June 22. 2015Fitness in Middle Age, Part 5: Things my trainer says about food and exercise- He claims that the harder you exercise, the more your appetite tends to diminish. I find that to be true. He had to ask Mrs. BD to make sure I eat four bites of protein daily at the least, for nourishment. Like a hard-boiled egg or a slice of ham. I don't want it and I often don't do it. As I have reported, he works me quite hard so that I stumble out of there with weariness and muscles burning. I don't want to eat hardly anything anymore. He insists I have to have at least a small amount of carbs daily too, but I usually just don't want it. It's an interesting phenomenon. All I want is water and caffeine, and a little wholesome (organic) Indian tobacco. Before this process began, I was mostly ready for anything tasty (but nothing suqary) despite having no meaningful weight issue. Now, I have little appetite and can never come close to finishing a really nice restaurant meal. I try to force it to be sociable, but I can't do it. Everything is a doggy bag worth two more left-over suppers. We go out to places with friends often, weekly at least, and I feel embarrassed by how little delicious stuff I want. - He seems to feel I can lose another few lbs or so, around my middle. I can see what he means, but my trousers are already trying to fall off. Says it can only be done by the right diet - meat and eggs, low carbs. No problem. He says people tend to feel that they have to finish their meals - whatever they are served - and thus lose their sense of what is sufficient. They ignore the moment when any hunger they may have felt is gone and disconnect from their bodies. Stop then. Don't just go on eating mindlessly until the thing is finished, as if somebody else was in control of you. "Clean your plate" was a Depression-era admonishment for children which created two generations of fat people. What is sufficient to maintain, even under a rigorous fitness program, is not very much as long as it is protein-heavy in proportion. Buffets are the worst. - He says "Lite Aerobics," like fast walking, jogging, road bicycling, or 40 minutes on the elliptical or the treadmill, are better than sedentary but not valuable for building fitness, endurance, or for fat-burning. They can keep you mobile but not improve fitness. He says ten minutes of maximum-intensity aerobics is much better. For now, for my "off-days" he likes 10 min intense bike for warm-up, then a rest, then 10 mins intense elliptical, then maybe 5-10 mins intense rowing. Or 2 out of the 3, mix and match. Efficient exercise. I still cannot do 10 mins of intense elliptical but I can do "relaxed" elliptical for an hour. Waste of time, he says - and boring. I am also told by my doc that it is the intensity which burns a little fat, enhances endurance, and induces collateral cardiac supply (which will help you survive your first heart attack). Those are good things. Gotta feel the burn or it isn't worth your time. No pain, no gain. That applies to all exercise, apparently. Brief, high intensity for resistance or for cardio rather than time spent. My doc is in great shape. - Factoid to remember: Even high-intensity aerobics, verging on anaerobic, will not burn your fat if you have carbs on board. Your body preferentially burns bagels over body fat. It's easier because carbs become sugar - cheap energy - during digestion. A bagel = sugar. - Overloading muscles is the only way to improve strength. You injure your muscles, and they come back stronger. That strength is what improves endurance. A surprising amount of that "good" damage comes from the Eccentric Phase of weight exercises - not when you are pulling or pushing, but when you are doing the opposite in a slow, controlled fashion. He thinks I am ready for "Negative Reps." He advised me not to bother with high-rep exercises. Well, it's all interesting physiology. Physiology is a fascinating topic.
Posted by Bird Dog
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Saturday, June 20. 2015Are the kids today weenies?
Who is to blame for this? Weenie Dads? Tort lawyers? Government? Mom-headed households? Truth is, when I was ten I would disappear all day on bikes with friends, exploring woods, swimming illegally in reservoirs, building forts (snowball fights in winter, rock and stick wars in summer), shooting BB guns, fishing, sailing a Sailfish, playing vacant-lot baseball, shooting hoops on the asphalt-covered schoolyard, enjoying occasional fistfights, stealing candy from the candy shop, smoking cigarettes stolen from parents, teasing girls (mainly the ones we liked). Home by dark of course. That was the rule. Normal stuff. The wife says I turned out fine. If your kid doesn't come home dirty and bruised, with a mouth full of lies and the occasional broken bone, it's a shame. But I guess the boys play video games all day now and rot their brains.
Posted by The Barrister
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Cumberland-style Porch Swing
Posted by Bird Dog
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Backyard CroquetIn England, they call it "garden croquet" as opposed to formal croquet on a graded, manicured court. We have neither a backyard pool nor a backyard tennis court, but we have an outdoor ping-pong table in the barn and, of course, a good English croquet set. In time for Fathers' Day,your Quick Reference Guide for Backyard Croquet Rules
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
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Friday, June 19. 2015Audi races bikes on the AutobahnIn Germany, the Autobahn between Stuttgart and Munich is used by the auto industry for their high speed test tracks. The Germans have three types of divided highways, limited access, freeways, and the Autobahn. All have speed limits except the Autobahn. The thing that surprised me was, at least the last time I was there, you are not allowed to pass on the right, which both the motorcycles and the Audi did in the video. The highest speed traffic is to be in the left lane and if you are overtaking another vehicle you are to flash your lights and the other vehicle is to move to the right allowing you to pass. This will give you your Go Fast high for the day. The guy in the Audi is nuts and the guy on the bike makes the Audi guy look sane. It's worth visiting Germany just to enjoy the freedom of the Autobahn, but you can do the same in Italy if you feel like it. In Italia, you ignore the speed limits and all of the other rules. Nobody cares. In fact, the road is considered a place for fun.
Posted by The News Junkie
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Perfect Teeth
It seems to me that decent, spirited people always aspire to improve their souls, their brains and knowledge, their fitness, their appearance, their skills, their morals, their relationships, etc. etc. Giving up is not cool and shows no respect for God's gifts - and surely nobody wants their teeth to indicate that they might be from England or Bosnia. Orthodontia in America: America’s obsession with perfecting its teeth.
Wedding funHow to make weddings fun even in cheesy catering halls. Crazy, bawdy lyrics of C'e La Luna Mezz'o Mare. "Marry the guy with the cucumber. " The singer has the real rough southern Italian peasant accent - wonderfully bad.
Posted by Bird Dog
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Thursday, June 18. 2015Wedding season: "Share our joy." OK, will try to. I'll confess that I do not greatly enjoy wedding events, and this season has been, and will be, heavy with these weekend social duties. Of course, I am always pleased when people find life partners, though. In youth, attending friends' weddings was great fun. Drinking, smoking pot behind the church, getting dressed up, guys meeting new gals and vice versa, making out on the club porch with a new person after too many champagnes. Many youth meet their future mates at weddings, for good reason: they have been socio-culturally vetted. I also understand that parents like to throw lavish weddings to entertain their friends, families, and business associates. An excuse to check that box. But only the youth really enjoy these things because it's new to them. As an adult, I do not really enjoy attending (although I feel hurt if not invited). They interfere with your whole day and go on too long. An inconvenience, in fact, but showing up is an obligation to people you care about. It's important to them that you show up. A brief ceremony with sandwiches and drinks after would be fine with me, same as a funeral. Two hours, max, go through the receiving line, leave your gift on the pile, and then get to your tennis game. I've been to enough weddings (and enough funerals too). Throwing a wedding need not be a major imposition on your guests' lives. - People do not realize that your wedding is not the only one they are obligated to go to this year. For them, it seems like a Big Deal. - You get seated with people you have to make small talk with. Dull, usually. You keep wondering "Can we leave yet?" - You have to pretend to have 'fun," and to be grateful for the abundant food, drink, loud music, and the opportunity to dance like a teenager. I do not need any of those things but the youngsters might. - Old Yankee Rules: Excess and display are tacky. Old Puritan Rules: weddings are not religious matters. Marriage is not a Protestant sacrament but is a solemn, witnessed vow, and a secular contract. - 67% of American marriages end in grisly divorce - Weddings without children attending are just no darn good. - Weddings are an industry today. $10,000 for flowers? For one afternoon? I don't mean to sound like a curmudgeon (or do I?). Marriage is an essential institution and God bless all who partake and whose vows are deadly serious. My idea of a wedding event for my kids would be old-time, slightly post-Puritan New England. Bring a fiddler and an accordionist to the town green with a pig roast, with kids crying and running around. Don't even get me started on beach weddings, mountaintop weddings, black tie weddings, and golf destination weddings. But we have boys so I will be mercifully out of the loop. The "Honored Mother of the Bride"? Gag me. Here's a traditional New England wedding:
The percentage of pregnant brides is said to have been quite high amongst the puritan Congregationalists, maybe 50% or more.
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
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Wednesday, June 17. 2015A Brief History of Documentary
Today, the documentary world is full of nonsense. Outside of Ken Burns, whose work usually captures my eyes and ears, there aren't many documentary works which are interesting at all. Most documentaries today seem to be paid for by either corporations or left-wing nutjob organizations. They are more propaganda than documentary. Which is a shame. The term documentary used to mean something, and not just mean "telling you a story I'm paid to tell you because it's what my paymasters want." "Nanook of the North" was one of the first documentaries, and this work comprised at least 3 full classes in one semester of documentary study. Even then, much was known about how much Robert Flaherty had scripted, rather than actually documenting 'Nanook's' life. Flaherty defended his position, pointing out the issues a producer has in trying to recreate reality. As a class, we agreed that Flaherty's limitations, based on the bulkiness of his equipment and limited capacity for being in the right place at the right time, gave him some leeway to play somewhat fast and loose with the generally accepted rules of documentary film-making. Even so, his work perpetrated and reinforced some stereotypes, rather than helping to inform people about how accustomed to modern life Eskimos really were. Continue reading "A Brief History of Documentary"
Posted by Bulldog
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The Esential Hayek
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