Thursday, January 17. 2008
Wednesday, January 16. 2008
Quoted from Prof. Deneen's Let the Good Times Mold: Observing the people seeking accelerated intoxication and wandering in herds looking this way and that hoping to see actual outbreaks of ecstasy, I couldn't help but be struck by the forlornness of the appearance of revelry, the desperation that underlie the efforts to appear joyous, the unexceptionalness of the now-unremarkable female ululations and the wholly predictable male whoops. The celebration seemed more a set of expected and dutiful going through motions, all actual meaning of the original purpose of the celebration lost to the unbroken hedonism of our culture and, more importantly, the overarching disbelief in any actual "structure" that could sustain genuine outbreaks of "anti-structure." A mockery instead of a celebration, a self-consciously mimiced charade rather than an outbreak of overturned or reversed roles, in a concentrated form my encounter with Bourbon Street over the weekend helped me to understand better my dissatisfaction for much of what passes for apparent celebration in our culture.
Sounds like a fun class. Tyler Cowen. I don't know whether I'd rather take the class or teach it but, were I teaching it, I would include Bleak House on my reading list.
Monday, January 14. 2008
Bach's Double Concerto, 2nd movement. It's more from Heifetz' Master Class, with Heifetz inviting "student" Eric Friedman to play first violin. Life does not get any better than this (if you have half-decent speakers). I think Heifetz wants it sped up a bit, but it's fine with me as is.
A street scene from one of Knoxville's old bungalow neighborhoods. These houses, probably built for the city's lower-middle class residents back in the 1920s, provided working class families a first chance to have a place of their own, complete with indoor plumbing, electricity, heat, and a modest backyard. The homes were probably kept quite tidy at that time, but the entire neighborhood suffered during the postwar move to the suburbs, and by the looks of things has not yet really got back on its feet. My neighborhood of Edgehill in Nashville, only a block or two from Music Row, once had dozens of blocks of small but dignified bungalows such as these, virtually all of which were bulldozed in the 1960s for public housing, the expansion of Vanderbilt and Belmont universities, and Interstate 65. (The somewhat wealthier streetcar suburbs, just a little further out, were spared the wrecking ball, resulting in a sad situation today where there are very few affordable single-family homes in the area, but plenty of dead-end Section 8 housing). For some reason, urban renewal was not as prevalent in Knoxville, and many of the poorer bungalow neighborhoods may still be seen, lying in wait for some enterprising individuals to restore them. 
In CT, last night (thanks, reader) 
Sunday, January 13. 2008
A true teacher pushes you to your limits, and teaches you humility with perhaps a slight touch of kindness - when earned. "Which one do you have in your fingers?" "None of them." "Can you play 17?" "Not now." "OK, play #17."
Saturday, January 12. 2008
Froggy Mountain Breakdown. Yes, I like to call it "froggy" instead of "foggy." That's some dang band Earl has with him (thanks, reader). As somebody commented, how did my old Auntie Bertha get in that band? What fun they have. The piano isn't bluegrass, but it does add something to the mix.
As I recall, this is what it looked like when I was there. It is fun, for a Yankee skier, to find seriously challenging hills without icy patches. A daughter snapped this shot up on Telluride last week, while taking a cranium-endangering, high-mountain, virgin-powder run through the trees: 
 I have been a fan of Pollan since I read his Second Nature, which tells his story of a city-dweller buying a country house in northwestern CT and learning about the land, the local critters, and especially about gardening. Suburban and country folk have long-known what he slowly learned, but his fresh eye is illuminating, especially his take on gardening as a war with a nature which wants to return his man-altered spaces to woodland succession - via the weed phase.
He has a new book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. One of his points seems to be that nutritonal "science" is in its infancy, and that it has little to tell us about what to eat. He recommends eating whatever you grandmother would have cooked. Sounds like my kind of book. He is an engaging writer on any topic. New Yorker quality, but no politics. The Frontal Cortex has more on the book.
Some good folks have gotten together to produce a daily, blog-based, non-partisan and non-ideological online newspaper, called The Issue. They are notable for their "Issue of the Day," analogous to a front-page story in a newsmagazine, which takes a look at the sides of a controversial issue. Today: Smoker's rights. Give them a look. I am sure that they would welcome Dr. Merc's critique of their site.
Grow a Brain is planning to quit that site, and perhaps begin another of a different sort. He is kind enough, though, to leave us with the screenplay for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Intentionally or not, Thompson's book, with its black, chemically-addled humor, depicted the dead end of the peace, love, hedonism and drug youth "culture" of the time.
Friday, January 11. 2008
 OK.
Due to popular demand, we give you babes, blues, and booze. Charming babe courtesy of Theo, and your beer du jour and yer good blues via Dust My Broom - click on his Friday music selection. If we get too PC around here, we will lose our hearts and souls. We can't help it if we like pretty girls: we were born that way.
This oldie came in over the transom: Scenario 1: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack. 1967 - Vice principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his own shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lockdown, the FBI is called, Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors are called in to assist traumatized students and teachers.
Scenario 2: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school. 1967 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police are called, SWAT team arrives and arrests Johnny and Mark. They are charged with assault and both are expelled even though Johnny started it.
Scenario 3: Jeffrey won't sit still in class, disrupts other students. 1967 - Jeffrey is sent to the principal's office and given a good paddling. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra state funding because Jeffrey has a disability.
Scenario 4: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt. 1967 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.
Scenario 5: Mark gets a headache and takes some Aspirin to school. 1967 - Mark shares Aspirin with the school principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from School for drug violations. His car is searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario 6: Pedro fails high-school English. 1967 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is racist. Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.
Scenario 7: Johnny takes apart leftover Independence Day firecrackers, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up an anthill. 1967 - Ants die.
2007 - Homeland Security and the FBI are called and Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. Teams investigate parents, siblings are removed from the home, computers are confiscated, and Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Scenario 8: Johnny falls during recess and scrapes his knee. His teacher, Mary, finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him. 1967 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in federal prison. Johnny undergoes five years of compulsory therapy with a sensitive social worker specializing in sexual abuse. Editor comment: re Scenario 6 - What's wrong with mowing lawns? It's good, clean honest labor, in my opinion. And the result is more measurable than most. Our modern world is too disparaging of real work. Useful effort is ennobling of any man or woman.
After Carrie Underwood's Jesus, Take the Wheel. Christians can take a joke (especially if it involves fishin').
Thursday, January 10. 2008
Wednesday, January 9. 2008
Tuesday, January 8. 2008
For cat-lovers, a handy-dandy new contraption at Mr. Free Market.
From Ken Rockwell's opinion on the subject: Just about any camera, regardless of how good or bad it is, can be used to create outstanding photographs for magazine covers, winning photo contests and hanging in art galleries. The quality of a lens or camera has almost nothing do with the quality of images it can be used to produce.
It's boat-buying season. The charming but sturdy Annabel Lee is for sale at Yacht World: 
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