Sunday, December 21. 2008
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
Thursday, December 11. 2008
 Is a Christmas Tree a fire hazard?
Yes, if it's near flame or frayed wires (as in photo). No, if it's kept watered, and you use common sense.
A commenter let us know about this comprehensive Calvin and Hobbes site. I didn't see the one we were looking for, but I did like this one: 
Christmas Dog 
Hannukah Venison Deer 
Wednesday, December 10. 2008
This is an annual re-posting These wreaths -- some 5,000 -- are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992. A wonderful guy. Also, most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one the poorest parts of the state. 
Tuesday, December 9. 2008
Monday, December 8. 2008
A comment from an active-duty SEAL in our comments section, on our post about Jason Redman's Sign on the Door last week: For those of you who don't know Jason Redman, he was shot twice in the face and once in the arm while serving in western Iraq. He is making an amazing recovery undergoing his 4th surgery for facial reconstruction. His arm is slowly returning to full functionality. My name is Carl Higbie. I am a Navy Seal and had the opportunity to serve with Jason and have him as a close friend for the last 5 years. He is a model of how the teams work, and how we WILL NOT fail the American people. All we ask in return is that you support for what we are doing, and spread the support to those around you for that is what makes it worth it for us to hang our ass on the line for those of you how love this great nation. Thank you.
True American
Carl Higbie IV
Thanks for writing, Carl. And God Bless you and your buddies.
Saturday, December 6. 2008
via Dr. X. I'd be more interested in knowing how our American readers' kids do on this test than on how our readers do.
Dino revisits his topic of the "lazy, easy" lives we have been leading in recent years. Can we awaken from the dreams? One quote: “The American boy of 1854 stood closer to the year 1 than to the year 1900.” Soon, almost no one in America will have a visceral understanding of what 1854 was like, and what the heck Henry Adams was talking about.
Another: A typical boy of 1854 knew what farming was like and may well have worked on a farm, knew horses and other animals, and learned how to maintain and fix things, from houses to wagons to furniture. A typical young man of 1947 had been in the army, knew people who lived on farms, could tune and maintain his own car, and could change the fan belt on the refrigerator and refill it with Freon. Both the boy and the young man had some feel for the technologies that were developing and changing around them, since the technologies were often sized on a human scale and involved mechanical processes that they had some acquaintance with. To an important extent, this is no longer true. You can’t fix an iPod the way you can fix a record player; indeed you can’t even easily open up an iPod to understand it, as you could unscrew the turntable cover to figure out how 33 1/3 rpm became 45 rpm. Nor can you fool around with a Toyota Prius the same way you could try to replace a 283 with a 327 in a ‘57 Chevy.
Read the whole thing.
Does the average person really lie three times per ten minutes of conversation? If so, I may too trusting, or too gullible, for this world. Psychologist Paul Ekman studies emotions and deception, and has Evaluating Truth training seminars. He is the expert on micro-expression of emotion. Some of his online training programs are here. Cool stuff. Useful, too. A new FOX TV show based on Ekman's work, Lie to Me, will begin airing in January. From the clip below, it looks to be darn interesting:
Friday, December 5. 2008
I have skied quite a bit and have had my share of fun/dread with some reckless things and silly drops, but never experienced these drops of 210, 230, and 245 feet (h/t, Theo). If I had, I would not be here to post this:
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