Sunday, December 28. 2008
ABC Carpet in NYC has a major antique rug sale going on. It's fun to flip through the examples they put on their site. Real antique oriental rugs are made with vegetable dyes and not modern dyes which weaken the wool fibers. Few man-made things are more lovely, and you hate to put them in places where people will step on them with shoes because they can easily last a few more hundred years if treated properly. (Thanks for corrections of my errors of fact, Commenters. I should never say anything about something I only know a little bit about...but if I stuck with that rule, I would never say a thing. The word "dilettante" has two connotations.) On the left is an antique Turkish Konye; on the right is an antique Iranian Bakhtiari.  
Saturday, December 27. 2008
Our thanks to Gene Expressions for finding the way cool Strange Maps. Two samples: Jeopardy watchers: 
The 2008 Pres election, by county: 
Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer this week. We posted on her performance on April 13 of this year, when she was in fine fettle. Here is our post: I had the remarkable pleasure and privilege of being invited to a small fund-raiser gathering last night at which Eartha Kitt performed a dynamite set. At 81, she is in great shape, a wonderful and sexy performer, and she still can sing ferociously - and in Japanese or Turkish when she wants to. She has a gift for languages. She surely gives the impression of enjoying the whole thing. Got my photo taken with her. She lives in Westport, CT and will be doing her usual gig at the Cafe Carlisle again this year, after a two-week stint in Paris - God bless her. This is C'est si bon from 1961:
A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries. This one is the Biblioteca Geral University of Coimbra, Portugal (h/t, Samiz): 
Thursday, December 25. 2008
Thanks for all the kind words from our visitors over the past week or so. Your appreciation is our reward - along with our own pleasure and education. 
Luke 2:1-20 1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi, The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1440-1460 
Tuesday, December 23. 2008
 Dennis Prager. A quote:
...women need to recognize how a man understands a wife's refusal to have sex with him: A husband knows that his wife loves him first and foremost by her willingness to give her body to him. This is rarely the case for women. Few women know their husband loves them because he gives her his body (the idea sounds almost funny). This is, therefore, usually a revelation to a woman. Many women think mens' natures are similar to theirs, and this is so different from a womans nature that few women know this about men unless told about it.
Apparently some, or many, women do not always fully appreciate what a special, deeply emotional (yet also physical) gift we sensitive fellows are offering to share with them when we seek their attention. Photo: Scientificalistic research experts indicate the female Elf in the photo has an 65.6% chance of being in the mood at the time of this research photo, and a 34.4% chance that she is faking it. Computer models say that global warming, if consistent with IPCC heat predictions and mathematically scientificalistic computer models, would almost instantly melt the ice and snow and increase those odds to a heart-warming 92.3%, which explains the cars and trucks men chose to drive. It's only natural to want to warm things up in this cold world.
 The proverbial expression has nothing to do with Advent. Here's Wiki:
The Dog in the Manger is a fable attributed to Aesop, concerning a dog who one afternoon lay down to sleep in the manger. On being awoken, he ferociously kept the cattle in the farm from eating the hay on which he chose to sleep, even though he was unable to eat it himself, leading an ox to mutter the moral of the fable: People often begrudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves.
Sunday, December 21. 2008
 Thanks to Vanderleun for linking a review of a new book on Goya by Robert Hughes. A quote from the excellent article:
(The black paintings) are the climax of Goya's work as a painter. We sense this even though we don't really know what the hell they are about. If one of the characteristics of modernism, and modernism alone, is its privacy, its lack of public address, then Goya's Pinturas Negras are just about the first paintings by any great artist to fulfil that criterion. Goya painted them for himself, and himself alone - an audience of one. If anyone outside his small family did see them, no mention of them, no commentary, survives. Here it is, one of the weirdest and scariest image-cycles in all art history, and nobody wrote a syllable about it. The Black Paintings obey no perceptible narrative. But they sum up certain obsessional themes of his art - pilgrims on the march, dances, demonic events -but now pushed to the orgiastic limit, and rendered in terms of the broadest, quickest gestures of the brush. Sly, autistic, crazy, leering, howling, glaring . . . a world of moral chaos, evoked in radical slashes and alla prima daubs of paint.
Image is Goya's Christ on the Mount of Olives, 1819
Hannukah begins tonight. Our guest poster Bruce Kesler offers us a daily series for the eight nights of lights for Jews, Christians, and anybody else who might be interested:  In prior years I’ve written serious posts about the meaning of Chanukah, for Jews, for Christians, for Americans. I thought of doing something like that for this year, or excerpts from prior columns, but instead looked for a new way to express the meaning of this holiday.
Each night we add a candle to the Hanukiah menorah. How about some fun for each of the eight nights, and a brief note, that together convey some lessons of Chanukah. The Chanukah lights represent the miracle of the one-day’s quantity of sanctified oil remaining in the Temple in Jerusalem -- reconquered by the Maccabees from the defiling Syrian-Greeks -- lasting for eight days, until a new quantity could be prepared. The lights are, also, symbolic of scripture’s description of Jews as bringing light unto the world. One of the best ways to light up the world is in humor we can all enjoy sharing. First Night: In light of today’s difficult economic times, a Christmas-Chanukah merger: Continuing the current trend of large-scale mergers and acquisitions, it was announced today at a press conference that Christmas and Chanukah will merge. According to reliable industry sources, the deal has been in the works for about 1300 years, ever since the rise of the Muslim Empire.
While not all details were available at press time, it is believed that the overhead cost of having twelve days of Christmas and eight days of Chanukah was becoming prohibitive for both sides. By combining forces, reporters were told, the world will be able to enjoy consistently high quality service during the Fifteen Days of Christmukah, as the new holiday is being called.
Massive layoffs are expected, with lords a-leaping and maids a-milking being hardest hit. Under conditions of the agreement, the letters on the dreydl, currently in Hebrew, will be replaced by Latin, thus becoming unintelligible to a much wider audience. Also, instead of translating to "A great miracle happened there," the message on the dreydl will be the more generic: "Miraculous stuff happens." Jews and Christians share a belief in miracles, that creates an openness toward discovering what is not known, which creates progress. Another point of light: Albert Einstein once said: "There are two ways of looking at the world: Either you see nothing as a miracle or you see everything as a miracle." Chanukah reminds us that Judaism sees everything as a miracle. But Hellenism saw nothing as a miracle. To the Greeks, a miracle was an absurdity. To them, only what was reasonable, logical, and rational could be real. Miracles were illogical and, therefore, not possible.
The Greeks could never see the light of Chanukah, the light of miracles, because they only believed in the light of logic and reason. According to the Greeks, the world always existed, it never was created. History is an inevitable process — the present and the future are linked to the past and are the necessary outcome of the past. Nothing unusual will happen or can happen. History will march on, a consequence following consequence. Similarly, their view of G-d or gods was of super-beings detached from the world. Their gods didn't care about man. Therefore, miracles were impossible…. Judaism believes that G-d created the world, cares about us, and invites us to be His partner in making history and perfecting His creation. The Greeks assumed that the world is perfect already. Everything is as it should be. The world is eternal, the events of history are inevitable and G-d is impersonal. Therefore, don't expect any favors, don't expect any novelties, don't expect any divine interventions, don't expect miracles, and have no hope. Life is just one big Greek tragedy. Therefore, the Greeks wanted to do away with the Jews and their commitment to Torah (religious) life….
I count myself a very fortunate person - a blessed person - to have some good friends. Why they put up with me is beyond me. An excellent Christmas present: A Christmas card enclosing a $1000. blank check to be made out to the charity of our choice. That is a fine, joyful and welcome gift. It deserved some thought, but it will go to our church. First things first. And more. Last night, another gift from another pal: "Let's hunt on Friday morning. Yesterday in the snow we got two Gadwalls, two Brant, 4 Mallards, and a Canada on the marsh inlet." (I suspect he got some Buffleheads too, but he knows I don't approve of shooting them.) And, last week: "Let's go for some pheasants on the Saturday after Christmas." Thank you, friends.
Friday, December 19. 2008
Human evolution and music. It's interesting, but it misses the magic. "Scientific research" generally does.
 We were long overdue for a bit of driveway repair, and finally got it done yesterday. The guys did an excellent and careful job.
But can concrete cure in the cold temps we're having in New England these days? (We have a big snow today.) No, not very well. I forgot to ask them whether they used the "antifreeze" mortar, but they seemed like they knew what they were doing. I have always found cement and concrete to be an interesting topic. We posted about it here. For some FAQs about cement and concrete, try this.
Last minute Christmas present idea, recommended by a cigar afficionado friend: Hacker's The Ultimate Cigar Book. In my opinion, expertise often leads to wanting things that cost too much, and damages the enjoyment of ordinary pleasures. (And thanks, friend, for the box of Montecristos.)
A quote from Dalrymple's The Quivering Upper Lip, on how Brit culture has deteriorated (h/t, Driscoll): Gradually, but overwhelmingly, the culture and character of British restraint have changed into the exact opposite. Extravagance of gesture, vehemence of expression, vainglorious boastfulness, self-exposure, and absence of inhibition are what we tend to admire now—and the old modesty is scorned. It is as if the population became convinced of Blake’s fatuous dictum that it is better to strangle a baby in the cradle than to let a desire remain unacted upon. Certainly, many Britons under the age of 30 or even 40 now embrace a kind of sub-psychotherapeutic theory that desires, if not unleashed, will fester within and eventually manifest themselves in dangerous ways. To control oneself for the sake of the social order, let alone for dignity or decorum (a word that would either mean nothing to the British these days, or provoke peals of laughter), is thus both personally and socially harmful.
Bad for the body, good for the soul. How about a coupla cartons of Luckies for Christmas? 
Wednesday, December 17. 2008
Looking for Christmas books? Check out Bolano. One quote from the Chronicle review of his work: Such is the craze around the world for Bolaño's oeuvre that almost everything he wrote is being made available in translation at a dizzying pace. In English, his luminous short stories — Last Evenings on Earth — and his masterful novellas — Distant Star and By Night in Chile — have made it into the canon in Spanish departments and creative-writing programs. In 2007 his magnum opus, The Savage Detectives — which had been awarded the Rómulo Gallegos Prize, the highest distinction for a novel in the Hispanic world, in 1999 — was offered in translation. The story of Arturo Belano (the author's alter ego) and another visceral realist, who search for the mysterious founder of the movement, it has been embraced by critics as proof that literature might be losing readers, but it isn't losing its guts.
He's not for everybody.
Monday, December 15. 2008
Sunday, December 14. 2008
We had the pleasure of attending a private showing of the Holiday Train show at the New York Botanical Garden yesterday, followed by a fine group brunch at the Cafe. As the Daily News says, You want to get bowled over? You want to see something spectacular? Get to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, where an only-in-New York holiday show opens..."
The highlight of the annual show isn't the trains - although they are set up wonderfully. It's the 140 architectural constructions of NY landmark buildings, past and present, constructed entirely from plant material collected in the woods by Kentucky artist/designer Paul Busse. Even the windows are made of plant resins and saps. The rustic nature of the structures makes it more of a fairyland than slicker models would do. Yankee Stadium of course: 
The Apollo Theater. See the acorn caps in the molding?: 
More below the fold -
Continue reading "The Holiday Train Show in The Bronx"
Saturday, December 13. 2008
I tend to avoid the f-word in polite company, but that is what this celebratory season of the birth of our Savior can bring out in anybody if we aren't careful. Shopping, when one should be hunting. I journeyed forth out into the cold with the puppy in the front seat (dog driving, natch) to fetch a special antique item, finally found after 5 years of searching. A 5' long, shallow-depth gen-u-ine Queen Anne hunt table. A Christmas season addition to the Farm pile of heirlooms. They sold the thing yesterday. I thought times were tough. Maybe not. Wasn't cheap but not expensive either: $1450. A fine but phony-looking repro could cost triple the real deal. Got a nice happy tree on the way back, but I am still still f-ing right now, which I do not wish to be doing today. I tried to teach my kids that life's opportunities are an endless, but non-repeating, conveyor belt of chances. Life keeps reminding me of that fact. To tell the truth, I really did like that table, dings, sags, cracks and all, but not quite worn-out yet. It contained many stories of Olde England. Of course, it's not really important...just a bunch of black 1690 oak which some barbarian might start a fire with. But perfect for the open spot, and perfect for pre-hunt rows of sherry glasses and a hearty toast to our huntsman, the stalwart Col. Reggie Smythe. Lady at the antique consignment store said biz is great. But why the f- didn't Mrs. BD take the plunge and just buy it when she first saw it? She must know by now that I like anything Queen Anne. F-.
From the piece on time we posted yesterday, which I felt deserved an enticing quote: In Rovelli's scheme, a clock's hands do not point upright because the universe says it is 12 o'clock; they point upright because of the location of the pendulum. Therefore the notion of time is meaningful only in a small range of physical situations in the universe, such as human experience. In most cases, however, time is meaningless. "In general, there is no time at all," Rovelli says. Though this approach might seem radical, many researchers share Rovelli's sentiments. For example, Harvey Brown, an expert on scientific interpretations of reality from the University of Oxford, has argued that we "construct" time from the physical properties of the things around us. Newton and Leibniz debated this very point. Newton portrayed space and time as existing independently, while Rovelli and Brown share Leibniz's view that time and space exist only as properties of things and the relationships between them. It is still not clear who is right, says John Norton, a philosopher based at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Norton is hesitant to express it, but his instinct - and the consensus in physics - seems to be that space and time exist on their own. The trouble with this idea, though, is that it doesn't sit well with relativity, which describes space-time as a malleable fabric whose geometry can be changed by the gravity of stars, planets and matter. If the central property of space-time is the result of the existence of matter, how can we be sure that space and time exist on their own and are not convenient illusions? "Hence my hesitation," Norton says. How can we be sure that time and space exist on their own and are not convenient illusions?
I suspect that only the present exists, and that time is a property of matter, and not a thing in itself. Words are symbols, and just a pale reflection of reality. Including the word "reality." But what do I know? And, by the way, what time is it?
More importantly, re Time - how many shopping days 'til Christmas? I do not shop. Except for guns.
An annual repost: The Beeb decided to censor this classic 20 year-old song by The Pogues (with Kirsty McColl) last year. Lyrics here. Due to presumably overwhelming pressure, the Beeb reversed itself.
Friday, December 12. 2008
A deeply insightful list, at Theo
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