Friday, April 6. 2007
Re-posted from April, 2006 "Now the bricks lay on Grand Street, 
where the neon madmen climb, they all fall there so perfectly; it all seems so well-timed..." Photo yesterday, at Ferrara's on Grand St., NYC, to pick up some Easter wheat pies. Creamy, with just the right amount of Citron. Not exactly Yankee food. Kind of sad to see Little Italy slowly being absorbed by adjacent Chinatown - but Chinatown is great, too. In fact, wonderful. Feels like Asia. Any woman who carries a genuine Gucci or Prada or Kate Spade bag is a big sucker. This is knock-off city, for the folks with brains. These days, the third-generation Italians have taken the Holland Tunnel and moved out to Soprano-land to try to capture the American Illusion of suburban bliss. But the suburban kids all come back to NY, not to mention the ambitious rural kids from across the USA, and across the world. What fun it would be to own a little pied a terre in Little Italy, or on University Place, or in Gramercy Park, or anywhere near Zabar's. Thanks to Rudy and now to Bloomberg, NYC is as good as it has ever been - probably better. Why? The parks have all been re-done, and are welcoming, friendly, with all sorts of stuff going on. The tourists, and the "bridge-and-tunnel" crowd, are back with a vengeance. Interesting things to do and places to see - endless. Places to eat - fuggedaboutit: good everywhere. The cops - out of their patrol cars and just walking their beats like the old days, and seeming reasonably friendly although they have to maintain their NYC cool. The whole place is gleaming, busy, happily crowded, ethnic as anywhere in the world, and full of the usual new construction everywhere. One heck of a town. (Only complaint: Bloomberg says we can't smoke in bars. That is truly nuts, as bad as the UK. If I can handle life, I ought to be able to smoke in a bar without a Mommy telling me what to do. How about having smoking and non-smoking bars? Hmmm, I predict the non-smoking would go out of business.) We did not forget the cannolis.
Tuesday, April 3. 2007
I am re-posting this essay because I think it got a bit lost in the mix over the weekend. Why so important? Because it makes clear that our civilization and our culture - including our religion - are what we have going for us. These things are precious, and more fragile than we'd like to think. The noble savage is a child's dream.
World violence is diminishing. A History of Violence - a speech by Steven Pinker. A sample: In the decade of Darfur and Iraq, and shortly after the century of Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, the claim that violence has been diminishing may seem somewhere between hallucinatory and obscene. Yet recent studies that seek to quantify the historical ebb and flow of violence point to exactly that conclusion. Some of the evidence has been under our nose all along. Conventional history has long shown that, in many ways, we have been getting kinder and gentler. Cruelty as entertainment, human sacrifice to indulge superstition, slavery as a labor-saving device, conquest as the mission statement of government, genocide as a means of acquiring real estate, torture and mutilation as routine punishment, the death penalty for misdemeanors and differences of opinion, assassination as the mechanism of political succession, rape as the spoils of war, pogroms as outlets for frustration, homicide as the major form of conflict resolution—all were unexceptionable features of life for most of human history. But, today, they are rare to nonexistent in the West, far less common elsewhere than they used to be, concealed when they do occur, and widely condemned when they are brought to light. At one time, these facts were widely appreciated. They were the source of notions like progress, civilization, and man's rise from savagery and barbarism. Recently, however, those ideas have come to sound corny, even dangerous. They seem to demonize people in other times and places, license colonial conquest and other foreign adventures, and conceal the crimes of our own societies. The doctrine of the noble savage—the idea that humans are peaceable by nature and corrupted by modern institutions—pops up frequently in the writing of public intellectuals like José Ortega y Gasset ("War is not an instinct but an invention"), Stephen Jay Gould ("Homo sapiens is not an evil or destructive species"), and Ashley Montagu ("Biological studies lend support to the ethic of universal brotherhood"). But, now that social scientists have started to count bodies in different historical periods, they have discovered that the romantic theory gets it backward: Far from causing us to become more violent, something in modernity and its cultural institutions has made us nobler.
Read the whole thing (link above). Sounds like Freud's Civilization and its Discontents wasn't too far off. Civilization has its challenges, but the alternatives aren't so hot. Image: Mor's Feast of Attila the Hun
Monday, April 2. 2007
Unbelieveable but real. Youtube
This pretty boat has twin 350 Crusader engines. Speaking of boats, Sippican Cottage does Boatyard. Many can relate, I am sure. 
Sunday, April 1. 2007
 About 5000 anti-war protesters from the US, Britain, France, and Germany braved the dangers to assemble in Baghdad yesterday to protest ongoing Al Quaida activities against the people of Baghdad.
"As long as Al Quaida and Iran continue to create mayhem in Iraq, there can be no peace or security. The good people of Iraq do not deserve this," said a press statement issued by the organizers of the march. It went on to state "We urge the Islamic terrorists to lay down their arms and bombs and to get a job, get married, open an Individual Retirement Account, and help build the economy of this fine country so all can have happy, normal, peaceful lives." Carrying placards reading such things as "Stop the war," "Al Quaida sucks," "Nice people aren't suicide bombers," "Iran Go Home," "Al Sadr is a Nerd,"and "Guys with bombs won't get dates," the marchers followed a route through the main thoroughfares of downtown Baghdad for about five hours yesterday, and will hold a press conference this morning before returning to their homes. The march was entirely peaceful, and thousands of curious but supportive Iraqis emerged from their homes and shops to watch the marchers as they banged on pots and pans and chanted "Bombs aren't cool - let peace rule," "Don't be a fool - freedom is cool," and "One, two, three four - we don't want your Jihad war." As the marchers broke into John Lennon's deeply moving hymn "All we are saying...is give peace a chance," we asked Omar, a bread merchant whose shop was along the route, for his reaction. "Veddy nice hats," he observed. Photo of the Baghdad peace march borrowed from Dr. Sanity's piece on the peace movement.
Saturday, March 31. 2007
An old southern Baptist country preacher had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it. One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects: A Bible
A silver dollar
A bottle of whisky
A Playboy magazine "I'll just hide behind the door," the old preacher said to himself, "and when he comes home from school this afternoon, I'll see which object he picks up. If it's the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a businessman, and that would be okay, too. But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunkard, and, Lord, what a shame that would be! And worst of all, if he picks up that magazine he's gonna be a skirt-chasin' bum." The old man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house whistling and headed for his room. The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table. With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them. Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped it into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink while he admired this month's Centerfold. "Lord have mercy," the old preacher muttered in disgust, "he's gonna be a Congressman." (h/t, Alpha Patriot)
 Talked with a friend last night who had just returned from Africa, and who spent ten days at Singita's Ebony Lodge in South Africa's huge Kruger National Park.
It sounds like a trip of a lifetime, and Singita's lodges (each with a small number of guest suites) sound like the most comfortable places in Africa with service which silently anticipated their every want. They even had his favorite cigars in a humidor waiting for him on arrival. They got to the lodge by chartering a plane from Johannesberg, which he described as becoming a lawless, white-hating and frightening city. The famous Saxon Hotel is surrounded by walls, barbed wire, with dogs on patrol and armed guards. We may be fated to watch this amazing country deteriorate into a third world country. You can fantasize about, or plan, your trip to Singita here. The lodges here. Conde Nast Traveller named Singita the 2004 Best Hotel in the World.
With Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, David Crosby, and Bob. YouTube The Byrds, I'll feel a whole lot better when you're gone. YouTube
Friday, March 30. 2007
As an amateur-expert on charities, here's a very interesting one which is worth looking at: Kiva - Loans that change lives. Their concept is right, because every little new business has a ripple effect that magnifies and spreads wealth. The NYT's Kristoff video report (quite remarkable) on Kiva is here.
Wednesday, March 28. 2007
One more photo of our friend fishing the Upper Malleo River in Patagonia this past January. 
Long-time readers know that Maggie's Farm doesn't do ads. I suppose we'd consider it if the money were big enough, though. Anyway, we sort-of linked up with the Pajamas Media team (without taking their ads) and have added their button to our sidebar. Thanks to Roger Simon for expediting.
A new bio. Review by Louis Auchincloss in the NY Sun.
Tuesday, March 27. 2007
 From Tom Shales' review of the "Planet Earth" series on the Discovery Channel:
Beyond its technical and aesthetic achievement, the film is so rich in spectacle that you won't want to take your eyes off the screen (except during commercial breaks, and it appears there'll be lots of those). One is bound to gain a new appreciation and feel a new respect for the planet, which, even in times of heightened environmental awareness, we tend to take for granted.
The whole review here at WaPo.
Monday, March 26. 2007
A propos of Dr. Bliss' recent approval of spanking and corporal punishment (A Good Spanking), a friend offers the following alternative to the humiliation of spanking: When my kids act up, act disrespectfully, or disobey orders repeatedly, we never do physical punishments. Instead, we take them for a nice little car ride to calm them down. Here's a recent photo of our disciplinary technique, which is designed to keep them out of jail in adulthood:
Sunday, March 25. 2007
Here's one way to solve those problems. (thanks, Luther)
 Walter Turnbull, founder and conductor of the Boy's Choir of Harlem, died Friday at 62.
Judy Collins with the Harlem Boy's Choir. YouTube. That old Scottish bagpipe tune will get you every time - even though Judy's version is a bit too white bread for my taste.
Thursday, March 22. 2007
A case of mistaken identity, below, on continuation page. Don't waste your time with it. Plus I think it is 100 years old.
Continue reading "Dumb joke"
by our friend: 
Wednesday, March 21. 2007
Readers have asked about the equipment used for this week's Patagonia photos. It's a Canon 20D EOS body with a 70-200 f2.8 L series Canon lens, with Singh Ray polarizing filter.
 Here's a succinct description of the Prisoner's Dilemma, from this site:
In this hypothetical situation, two accomplices to a crime are imprisoned, and they forge a pact to not betray one another and not confess to the crime. The severity of the punishment that each receives is determined not only by his or her behavior, but also by the behavior of his or her accomplice. The two prisoners are separated and cannot communicate with each other. Each is told that there are four possible outcomes: - If one confesses to the crime and turns in the accomplice (defecting from a pact with the accomplice), his sentence will be reduced. - If one confesses while the accomplice does not (i.e. the accomplice cooperates with the pact to not betray each other), the first can strike a deal with the police, and will be set free. But the information he provides will be used to incriminate his accomplice, who will receive the maximum sentence. - If both prisoners confess to the crime (i.e. both defect from their pact), then each receives a reduced sentence, but neither is set free.
It's fun for two people to play this game repetitively, and see who wins over time. My idea was to write up something about that Prisoner's Dilemma game, but then I got lured away by the topic of the Tragedy of the Commons. Game Theory ties these subjects together, and so those subjects may need to wait a bit. My calculus is not what it used to be but, as an attorney, I still find that Game Theory has its appeal for me. Appeal, if not too much practical utility, because Game Theory tends to assume some degree of rationality, and humans are only rational on occasion. Indeed, one reason for hiring an attorney is to apply some degree of objective rationality to a situation. Still, I believe that formal Game Theory - as opposed to normal legal strategizing - can inform legal practice. Here's a nice summary of the book Game Theory and the Law, which has some good references at the bottom. People are often gaming things, aren't they? There's a survival instinct to make the most of a situation to best achieve your own goals. Only conscience, character, tradition, care for others, and the desire for the respect and trust of others stand in the way of humanity's being a pure gaming, calculating, scheming, strategic machine. We consider people who operate that way all the time as sociopathic. When I studied calculus in college, the teachers were all into game theory. Their heros were von Neumann, Morgenstern, and of course the great John Nash, who elaborated the Nash Equilibrium - and who can still be seen wandering around Princeton - about whom Sylvia Nasar wrote the fascinating book, and then Ron Howard produced the wonderful "Best Picture" Beautiful Mind. The spiritual home of Game Theory is the RAND Corporation, where very smart people work on interesting economic, military, and policy problems. I was interested to find that they have a graduate program. That would be one cool place to hang out for a while, in Santa Monica. OK, this is already long enough and, as usual with my occasional rambles, I arrived both nowhere and somewhere. I will do the Tragedy of the Commons - more accurately termed The Tragedy of the Unregulated Commons (since, historically, all commoners (those with the right of commons) were of necessity highly regulated either by tradition or by law) - sometime soon. And eventually work my way back into the Prisoner's Dilemma.
From our Maggie's Farm photographer friend. In case you wondered, she does not use a point-and-shoot. 
Tuesday, March 20. 2007
A JFK ground traffic controller, maintaining his sense of humor. Keep listening through the silent bits. What a job! The guy is a real New Yorker.
 A review of Louann Brizendine's The Female Brain, in The Daily Male Mail. A few quotes:
Many men find post-menopausal spouses suddenly cool, selfish and impatient - like completely different people. Pharmaceutically, we do become completely different people. As for menopause, here's what really depressed me: Between the ages of 42 and 52, 50pc of women lose interest in sex altogether. That's primarily because by 50, women lose up to 70pc of their testosterone, the driver of sexual desire for both genders.
and In the professional sphere, you often can't be both - perhaps that's why so few major companies have women at their helm. A woman's instinct to seek approval puts her at a disadvantage in a position of power. Women are driven to achieve consensus, and to keep social bonds intact at all costs. Thus, they always try to get their way through 'agreement', without telling people directly what to do. Brizendine points out that women assert themselves in the form of questions, which made me laugh out loud. Since reading this passage, I've started to notice how I compulsively email my editor with constructions such as "Why don't we do that?", or "Might it be better if we didn't do X, but Y?" I constantly round off a potentially harsh demand with a timid, solicitous 'OK?'
and Men want to be respected. Women want to be liked.
Read the whole review here. Funny how, if you say outloud the things that everyone's Mom and Grandma knew, you could get fired as President of Harvard. I think this book runs up against Cultural Marxism. Our Dr. Bliss wrote on this subject a while back: Cowboys and Cowgirls Image: William Blake's Adam and Eve
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