We 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.
Mr. Lind's faith in government is like a religious faith. It worries me that some people think that way given a life's experience of how governments function. Governments do not do charity.
The era of the stock-picker - those without inside info - is past. Or mostly-past. If you get lucky or smart and ride a big wave of a single equity, good for you. More likely, you would not gamble enough on it to make a big difference. Today, retail investors are the muppets of the big money world. I know, because I am a muppet.
Not really a triptych, a polyptych. Friends took a train over from Amsterdam last week to take a look at it. They said Ghent had lots of creepy-looking immigrants but that it was worth the trip.
The first post on this website years ago, an utterly unknown site at the time (and still not too well-known) was my pics of Christo's Gates in NYC's Central Park.
Art? Don't ask me. Fun and interesting for sure. An attraction for sure too. A gay spectacle that you moved through.
Posture is complicated, because it involves habit, training, psychological attitude, and muscle strength. Further, good posture makes you more presentable and makes you look more confident even if you do not feel that way.
Medically, good posture helps prevent back problems.
Computer monitors, age, shame and shyness, muscle atrophy, and general slovenliness are the enemies of good posture: shoulders back, head up, no slouch, belly tucked in, etc. Look good, not proudful but self-respecting.
I hate sunscreen. I at least should use it on my nose when I expect to be outdoors for hours, but I often forget to.
In recent years, Americans have become so heliophobic that they become Vit D deprived, raising the risk for many diseases. My dermatologist told me that many American kids are now Vit D-deprived due to excessive sunblock use. Oral Vit D is an unreliable source. Your skin produces sufficient Vit D via exposure to the UV rays in natural sunlight for about an hour per week (assuming your body is not mostly covered up).
Nobody wants skin cancer, but the scary one is the rare but dangerous Melanoma. It seems to be associated with sunburn. Do dark-skinned people get Melanoma? Yes.
Can you get sunburned on cloudy days? I did an experiment on myself last week. After 4 hours of kayaking on a hazy day with thin clouds, I got semi- scorched. Can You Still Get A Sunburn When It’s Cloudy Out?
I think it makes sense to get some time in unprotected sun but if you are going to be outside all day nude or in a bathing suit, spray the stuff on after that and use a hat. It can't hurt.
Many Americans live for hours in virtual realities at least part of the time. You might be amazed to learn that many Americans without enough to do spend over an hour daily playing computer simulation games. It's sickening and pathetic when you think about it.
Nothing against games themselves because chess and checkers are also war simulations, but there is a mental difference between chess and Sim City. Or is there? Movies and fiction are virtual realities too. So are gas fireplaces and the Pokemon Go fad.
What prompted this survey is that a friend's parents recently moved to The Villages in Florida. This place is 100% phony, to the point of being creepy. The people are real, but in a fake place. It is as fake as Disney World, but people go to Disney for a day or two to try to enjoy the fakery, not to live in it. Many resorts are experiences in fake realities.
Many of my pals enjoy fake hunts. They plant 30 pheasants in a hayfield then send the dogs after them. It's a fake hunt, a virtual hunt. Those "flying mattresses" have never even flown before in their lives. I am not saying that it is not fun, but it is a fake hunting experience.
Pic above: A di Lampedusa sitting room in the family palazzo in Palermo
Il Gattopardo -The Leopard (1956) - was the only novel the Sicilian aristocrat Giuseppe di Lampedusa wrote. It is a world masterpiece, but he did not live to see it published.
At the Maggie's HQ we are partial to giving experiences as presents. This means things like theater or concert tix with fancy dinners, surprise trips, a spa trip, or especially special outings which you might not prefer but which the other loves.
We all are done with trinkets and toys and gadgets, and just want more life in our lives. US Open tix for her this year. She loves that. A good surprise for her.
What sorts of things do you like to give your spouse for presents, but especially birthday presents?
Actually, at the Maggie's HQ we are fortunate to have several Personal Chefs. Among them, Thai take-out, Costco rotisserie chicken, Subway, etc. Nobody has time to cook at home more than once or twice a week these days. In olden times, at-home Moms and wives used to plan and cook dinner every night. Not so many at-home Moms these days.
My Mom used to. And she always had a cocktail ready for Dad when he got home. Usually a Gin and Tonic. After supper, we kids would do the clean up and Dad would go outside to gaze at the stars and ponder man and God and law with a beer and a smoke.
Times have changed, but not for the better. I do the cooking at least once a week, specializing in red meat and general outdoor grilling. I can also make a heck of an omelette, and lots of other things. Nevertheless, home-cookin is a form of love
By New England puritanical standards it feels sinful or weak to be as attached to possessions as I am. So be it, because I never claimed to be sinless. I never claimed to be entirely free of superficiality either. Appearances have an effect on me and on everybody.
Artifacts from my life and from my family and my ancestors give me pleasure and comfort. Much of it probably has minimal monetary value (for example, you have to pay people to take away brown furniture today, even mahogany furniture, because nobody wants it) but it has meaning to me with memories attached.
I have even been accused of being a “public intellectual,” which sounds too much like “public nuisance” or even “public enemy” for my taste.
My point is that people who specialize in the life of ideas tend to be extremely atypical of their societies. They — we — are freaks in a statistical sense. For generations, populists of various kinds have argued that intellectuals are unworldly individuals out of touch with the experiences and values of most of their fellow citizens. While anti-intellectual populists have often been wrong about the gold standard or the single tax or other issues, by and large they have been right about intellectuals...
In 20 years, we have had two significant water pipe leaks and at least one mess from very heavy rains.
The first post on this website years ago, an utterly unknown site at the time (and still not too well-known) was my pics of Christo's Gates in NYC's Central Park. 