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.
I'm not sure how to define a great book, but Wolfe's novel, depicting NYC life in the 1980s, is a darn compelling read, a page-turner. Educational too, about law and government.
While banging around Provence in October, we checked out the de Sade family castle in Lacoste. It was ruined during the French Revolution. I can't find those photos right now. The Marquis liked it there.
de Sade represents the dark side of human nature, unleashed. The guy definitely was not in tune with bourgeois morals - but he was not bourgeois. A good writer. You can read Justine if you want to take a walk on the wild side.
Task Rabbits are excellent help in cleaning out attics, basements, garages, and closets. Most of us have accumulated stuff that will never be used or wanted.
It's no wonder that fish is so expensive. What does "fresh" mean? Usually that it was flash frozen, then thawed out. Nobody wants days-old fish. Almost all fish at the fish market was flash-frozen. It's not as if some local fishing boat goes out for a day and delivers fish to your fish market.
If never frozen (say, 5 days just on ice), quality deteriorates quickly. If you want fresh (same day) fish you had best go fishing yourself.
Generally I don't care about this stuff...but at a lunch recently some coworkers spent a good portion of the time talking about Harry and Meghan. I simply stated I don't generally pay attention to the details of this stuff, all humans are flawed and hero-worship isn't something I go for, generally speaking.
That said, I am a huge Anglophile, which may seem odd as I'm of Irish/German descent. Of course, the Saxe-Coburgs, or Windsors as they care to be known as now, are German, so maybe it's that part that has my pay any bit of attention. Standing in front of paintings and statues of William of Orange or Cromwell (as I have many times on my visits) leave me a bit cold, but I can appreciate the history they represent. Even Churchill, whose relationship with the Irish is tenuous at best, is one of the few politicians I look up to.
Being an Anglophile doesn't mean I'm a royal-watcher or a fan of the monarchy. I've often joked they are the wealthiest welfare family on the planet. This is a bit of a stretch, of course. The family does generate quite a bit of income on their own, with their holdings, and as a result of tourism and fandom. It would be a significant impact to the UK economy to see the end of the monarchy. That said, even today children grow up dreaming of being kings, queens, princes and princesses. As a child, I remember talking of being an astronaut, a fireman, a policeman, etc. So royalty, as a child's dream, is certainly not as awful as one may think.
The question came up in a dinner conversation. I love Youtube.
How to fix a leaky faucet? How the Spanish Armada failed? How to back a boat into a slip with a strong current? How to make a good pasta fagiole? Sure, it can be a time-waster but it's a great resource.
Here's the story. They should have made more money from it.
We’re only beginning to figure out how AI will change society, and I will leave the prognostications to others for now. What I’m interested in is how humans have been laying the groundwork for bots to take over, even in areas where we are meant to be inimitable - in ideas, music, storytelling and democratic discourse. AI-generated culture and human-made culture are converging from both ends. As the machines learn how to emulate us, we are making it easier for them, by becoming more like the machines.
We feel that these cards are important links with people in our lives today, and with people who have been important in our past. The photos are fun to look at. Many send email cards. I do not like that very much.
We lapsed in this tradtion the last year or two, for various reasons. Shame on us. I have the task of updating. Deaths and births, and new pals that matter to me or the Mrs. The deaths and lost people are the worst parts of it. Going through the old cards, I found the last card from Mrs' uncle, the Archbishop, who died since. Great guy. Some have retired. Why?
Another challenge is keeping track of all the people who have moved - often to Florida but some to Maine or California or Cape Cod. I prefer to stay put, where my life has been built.
I wish I could put all of these beloved people in one great room, for a day or more.
Berger and Luckmann published their now-classic text The Social Construction of Reality in 1967. It is/was a wonderful book, sparking endless half-stoned college dorm debates and discussions back in the day.
I used to like to offer the question of whether the sociologists and social psychologists accept that they are also constructions.
If you take the general concept to an extreme it becomes insane. Human nature, physics, biology, and chemistry, are not imaginary. Even the occasional academic falls off a ladder and breaks a neck. Fortunately for us, our culture recognizes such things even though we do risky things daily.
The Youtube links at this article are remarkable. The lady thinks that sexual motives are constructed. She has strong opinions. It is all about power. Really? Women have huge power over men.
"Modulation is the essential part of the art. Without it there is little music, for a piece derives its true beauty not from the large number of fixed modes which it embraces but rather from the subtle fabric of its modulation."
Charles-Henri Blainville (1767)
If a reader has a more comprehensible explanation than Wikipedia has, let me know.
In Germany, the Protestant religion was sometimes dismissed as “the Tannenbaum religion.” (The Vatican didn’t put up a Christmas tree until 1982.) Americans today buy some twenty-five million Christmas trees a year, but Puritan settlers once viewed the trees with suspicion. In 1659, the government of Massachusetts Bay passed a law that “whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labour, feasting, or any other way . . . shall pay for every such offence five shillings, as a fine to the county.”
We routinely use a lot of phrases in English which derive from the days of sailing ships.
This lengthy list does not include "true colors," which refers to the naval warfare trick of sailing under false colors (false flag), and the gentlemanly tradition of raising your true flag before firing a first shot. My error - it does include that term.
I am reposting this because I had a chimney fire yesterday morning, shortly after our men's Bible study group left my study. This has been my second chimney fire here. Fortunately, I am not too far from the firehouse. I had this flue cleaned last winter, and my sweep was scheduled to come again next week. (I use my fireplace daily.) I climbed a ladder and sprayed the top of the chimney with a lawn hose. Seemed to work.
If you use a fireplace regularly, you need a chimney sweep. In the past 20 years, we have had two chimney fires here, and one at the Farm. It's not a joke.
Spring and summer are the cheapest times to get it done.
And those are just the ones that were reported.