Maggie's FarmWe 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. |
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Thursday, January 4. 2024Thursday morning linksLeft to Rot, Bedford Springs Celebrates Regaining Its Former Glory "How many American cats live largely or entirely outdoors? (More than a hundred million.) What proportion of them kill birds? (More than half.)" We stopped taking Ozempic and Wegovy — and regained more weight than we lost Letting Anorexics Die, or Not NY Times Has Already Decided What The Stories Of Climate Doom Will Be In 2024 The 'Risky' Business of Showing All Sides Biden’s Hidden Re-Election Advantage Comes Into Focus for 2024 and Should Worry the Republicans The Blue-State Exodus Could Have Profound Effects on GOP Power Dehumanizing Anti-Civilization Dogma Behind DEI’s Destruction Of Universities - It's time to build the alternative NY Times Moron Defends Ousted Harvard President Claudine Gay: ‘This is an Attack on Diversity’ VDH: Harvard—Out the Frying Pan Into the Fire - Gay’s removal is not the end of Harvard’s dilemma. Rather, it is the beginning. CNN anchor assures viewers that Claudine Gay did not plagiarize, she’s only accused of ‘copying other people’s writings without attribution’ Bill Ackman: How to Fix Harvard. Claudine Gay’s ouster won’t change things. The college needs a complete overhaul, starting with a resignation of the board and the removal of DEI from every corner of the institution… Ramaswamy Destroys WaPo Reporter Over Dumb Gotcha Question About ‘White Supremacy' The Day The Dollar Dies? Ukraine's Leopard 2 Tanks Are Nearly All Destroyed Or Broken Thursday, January 26. 2023Thursday morning linksVenison: Free the meat Lunch Atop A Skyscraper: The Story Behind The 1932 Photo Vermont Supreme Court Upholds Measure That Allows Non-Citizens To Vote Deborah Birx Openly Admits to Lying About the COVID Vaccines to Manipulate the American People The Crypto Token Economy Is Second-Order Fraud. The entire industry is artifice built atop artifice. If everyone in North America dropped dead, it would do no measurable good for the world’s climate, if you believe the Leftists’ numbers. The Problematic Arrival of Anti-Obesity DrugsFat activists say they’re tools of coercion. Celebrities are taking them to get slim. Is this really the road people want to go down? Exhibit #1 in why it’s so hard to build housing in New York City Pete Buttigieg: “Every Transportation Decision We Make is a Climate Decision” Biden And Trump Classified Documents Scandals: Progressive Talking Point Falls Apart How America's Abrams, Germany's Leopard 2 and Britain's Challenger compare to Russia's outdated T-72 tanks as they are sent to help defend Ukraine Sunday, July 15. 2018New England: Mowing, Scything, Brushwacking
Men, and some women, love these activities. I do not mean lawn-mowing, I mean meadow maintenance without grazing animals on the land. Yeah, ideally you want cattle. Have you even found a pile of snake eggs beneath a cow pie? I did, once. In New England, we have become so accustomed to the pastoral sight of meadows and fields that we forget that they are not natural. These were created out of the wilderness with tremendous effort for grazing and farming. Neglect them for 5 years, and they will be beyond repair because nature wants them to become woodland again. At the farm, we have had meadows suitable for haying or grazing, areas that require annual brushwacking (because more brush than grasses in those areas), and steeps that need scything or something similar. These sorts of land maintenance are deeply satisfying and, with machines, deeply relaxing with a cold beer or three. No lifting, work gets done. Somebody observed that open field maintenance is like running one's hand over the curves of one's beloved. Haying for real hay is tricky. Timing is everything. Around here, July for commercial haying. You need the hay to go to seed, and then you need to let it dry after cut before the baler. No rain. Stored wet hay can spontaneously combust in storage, or, at least, turn moldy. You know that already. With the dairy business moving out of New England, and horses fewer and fewer, we had no market for hay. We switched to conservation mode which is a non-economic mode. The non-economic conservation mode for open-space maintenance is based on the idea that meadow critters (meadow-nesting birds, rodents, snakes, etc) are pretty much done by late July. However, many wildflowers are at their best in July and August and the bugs and butterflies rely on them. We recommend mowing/brushwacking non-commercial, ungrazed meadows once per year in early September or late August. Let the mowings lie. They will mostly disintegrate by April. If you like walking paths, keep them mowed like lawns, about 8' wide paths so you can stroll around your grounds with a coffee or whisky and ceegar without getting soaked with dew or infested with ticks while bird-watching. We had a wet meadow in a flood plain along our trout stream (with trout pool for swimming) where the grasses and sedges grew so thick that once/year was not manageable. We had to brushwack that 5 acres patch twice/year or the machine could not handle the density of the lush growth. I was sadly aware, though, that the wetland meadow critters (Wood Turtles, Leopard Frogs, snakes, toads, etc) did not appreciate that at all and I felt bad about damaging that habitat and sometimes killing them. I wonder if it might have been left well-enough alone, but it's just what we always did.
Tuesday, August 16. 2016Il Gattopardo
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. Read the book. See the Visconti movie too with all-star cast.
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Tuesday, February 9. 2016Mardi Gras morning linksMichelangelo's house for sale Indian leopard injures six in Bangalore school Something Slimy: The Signs of Bad Science Check out how this health nut eats 3 mistakes to avoid in your first 3 years of retirement The LGBT mob UConn completely blows off civil rights group complaint How the Leftist Monoculture Took Over the Campus White liberals and black careerists vigorously reject the MLK ideal of a color-blind society. New Hampshire serves democracy well AVI in New Hampshire Obama admin accused of forcing bank to pay baseless racial settlement Why I Hope DeRay Mckesson Wins the Baltimore Mayoralty Bernstein Finds White House 'Terrified' Clinton 'Blowing Up Own Campaign,' Invokes Nixon Hillary's Voice Dooms Her Campaign Hillary Not Truthful About Wall Street Speaking Fees Lefty pressure building on Hillary to release transcripts of talks to Goldman Sachs Krauthammer: Youth Attracted to Sanders Because Promise Of "Utopia Where Everything Is Free" Williamson: The real race is between Cruz and Rubio, and conservatives are asking themselves whether they can elect Cruz and whether they can trust Dick Morris: Bill Clinton on Campaign Trail is 'Counterproductive' FBI formally confirms its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server Commenter at Surber:
Pentagon Forced To Prioritize ‘Climate Change’ In All Military Actions "We Can Put Refugees On Buses": Leaked Memo Shows Erdogan Blackmailed Europe For Billions Is Europe worth saving? ernstein Finds White House 'Terrified' Clinton 'Blowing Up Own Campaign,' Invokes Nixon - See more at: http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/brad-wilmouth/2016/02/06/bernstein-finds-white-house-terrified-clinton-blowing-own-campaign#sthash.SMUMtUcb.dpuf ernstein
Finds White House 'Terrified' Clinton 'Blowing Up Own Campaign,' Invokes Nixon - See more at: http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/brad-wilmouth/2016/02/06/bernstein-finds-white-house-terrified-clinton-blowing-own-campaign#sthash.SMUMtUcb.dpuf Wednesday, November 25. 2015Not the Dos Equis Guy, But I'd Share a Beer With Him
It takes a special breed to be a rough and tumble sort. I recently stumbled on the story of Carl Akeley, who brought taxidermy into the modern age. His adventures seem like dime novels. He crossed a crocodile infested river on a carcass, and beat a leopard to death with his hands. I doubt that could be repeated today, but maybe these stories are fairly common for men who wind up dead. What made Carl unusual was his survival. His stories live on, much like his taxidermy and dioramas. In that survival, I believe, comes the official stamp of 'badass'. His career path didn't start out as one which put him on the path as a most interesting guy. He had been fired from his taxidermy jobs for napping. It wasn't until he met P.T. Barnum and stuffed the elephant "Jumbo" that his life changed and he began taking an intense interest in making his creations more life-like. It's doubtful you could get away with living a life like his today, given the current political environment surrounding animals and hunting, in general. In fact, Akeley himself shifted his views later in life and began to promote conservation and nature preserves. I guess anyone's life can change at any point and take a turn for the exciting and adventurous.
Thursday, November 19. 2015Bring Back Alec LeamasWe used to be rather better at this cloak and dagger stuff. Perhaps it was because we were all sure we were on the same team back in the day. Kennedy was a bit of a dolt compared to Eisenhower, but he wasn't any kind of friend to the commies. The Bay of Pigs was about as dumb an attempt at exercising American power as you could come up with, but he didn't mess it up on purpose because he was secretly hoping the other side would win. I'm not sure you can count on that brand of My mother, drunk or sober patriotism anymore. Not too many years earlier, Eisenhower was able to go on national television and admit he was the one that sent Francis Gary Powers to spy on the Soviet Union from the edge of space. He knew that everyone on the other side of the aisle wouldn't impeach him over it. It was, after all, in the United States' best interest. Well, if it worked it was. While terrorists are raging all over the landscape, our intelligence experts are busy in nondescript buildings in Virginia rifling through Tea Party tax returns. Anyone that understands opportunity cost knows that when some tasks get done to the last jot and tittle, others get the back burner. The Rumford Meteor japed that the massacre in Paris had an effect: France Finally Uses the List of Terrorists They’ve Been Keeping at the Bottom of a Locked Filing Cabinet Stuck in a Disused Lavatory With a Sign on the Door Saying Beware of the Leopard If that's funny, it's because it's true. France had a list of 168 locations they had identified as possible terrorist hideouts. They used the list to conduct raids the day after the bloodbath. What exactly was a more important use of their time the day before the massacre? Putting someone in the clink for working 36 hours a week? Even the entertainment about dealing with an implacable enemy used to be better. I'm sick of rogue CIA agents. I long for the good old days of CIA agents who were rogues. Not the same thing, is it? On to today's news: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15
C'mon, admit it. Public School is obsolete. It serves only as an academy for depravity at this point. Police Civil Asset Forfeitures Exceed All Burglaries in 2014
Yeah, and the burglars are 100 percent less likely to shoot your dog. Is Sex Once A Week Enough For A Happy Relationship?
Once a week? Maybe. I'll reserve judgment until they clarify whether that means at least two people are in the room. Addyi, Libido-Boosting Pill For The Ladies, Not A Big Hit
You're not allowed to drink alcohol when taking this drug. No one's getting any action under those circumstances. A Missed Business Opportunity: Senior Centers That Are Actually Fun
You mean Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun aren't nursing homes? Writers in the Storm: How weather went from symbol to science and back again.
There's always plenty of weather in bodice rippers. Otherwise Fabio's pectorals wouldn't glisten with sweat as his hands slowly made their way up inside her chemise, the faint aroma of the sodden garden surrounding them like the perfume of Aphrodite, and all that sh*t. Philly cop arrested for attacking Dunkin Donuts employee, bystander
In his defense, he did say, "No sprinkles." The First Taco Bell Will Be Saved from Demolition!
I'm fairly certain the first and only taco I ate at Taco Bell hasn't moved an inch since I swallowed it. Man jailed over music piracy website
No one should ever go to jail for copyright infringement, which is a civil violation, or should be. Same goes for tax evasion. If you can't collect the money upfront, willingly, you're not entitled to it. Jailing people for owing money is medieval. The Double Life of John le Carré
"The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" with Richard Burton and Claire Bloom is the best spy movie ever made. Discuss.
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Wednesday, August 5. 2015Wednesday morning linksFDA Report Finds Food Prevents Hunger 98% Of Time When Properly Used
How do we know the age of the Universe? 1936 Film Perfectly Explains How a Manual Transmission Works (h/t Insty) Giant gates to Goliath's home discovered: Monumental fortification belonging to the Biblical city of Philistine Gath unearthed Why Millennials Are Still Living with Their Parents Uber Battle in New York Shows the Problems and Promise of the Sharing Economy From Milton Friedman’s greatest hits
How to Read a Legal Opinion: A Guide Discouraging News on College-Bound Black Students New York’s grade-fixing scandal was entirely predictable — and predicted Not enough boys in college? The Immigration Onslaught Continues The H-1B Visa Program Gives American Workers a Raw Deal Netherlands abandoning multiculturalism Gov't watchdogs urge Congress to reverse Obama administration IG crackdown Has the Justice Department Seized Hillary’s Server? If Not, Why Not? German critics blast Berlin over economic minister’s ‘scandalous’ trip to Tehran Saturday, August 30. 2014The Leopard turns 50 Il Gattopardo. A wonderful novel which will help you understand Sicily when you visit (which you should - it's not the same old Italy - it's not really Italy at all). Wonderful place, insanely governed (like most places) but the people seem to ignore the government. They have been ignoring governments for thousands of years, despite constant invasions by everybody - including the Vikings. The movie starred Burt Lancaster. I haven't seen the movie. By coincidence, I have just finished a birthday book, Di Lampedusa's novella, The Professor and the Siren. It reads like poetry.
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Monday, April 21. 2014Hyla crucifer and the Springtime Frog Chorus in the Eastern USSpring Peepers. They aren't called Hyla crucifer anymore, but I stick with the old name. They are the first musicians in the spring chorus emanating from the vernal pools, swamps, and ponds at night as soon as the ice begins to melt. People rarely see them because they are so tiny, and nocturnal. After breeding, they leave the water as do Wood Frogs, Grey Tree Frogs, Leopard Frogs, and of course the toads. Those two pics are Spring Peepers. They are usually grey-brown, but I have seen them turn green on a leaf. It's worth living near a marsh in the Eastern US just for the two months of free nachtmusik from our amphibian friends. By mid-May, the toads and larger frogs will join the chorus. Here are the frogs and toads of the Eastern US. Mostly northeastern. I've never seen a Mink Frog, but we have all of the others at the Farm. The Grey Tree frogs make a racket, but they are rarely seen because their camo on trees and bushes changes to match the bark. All you can see are their eyes. I think it's fun to identify them all by their Spring mating calls, especially because (like owls) you rarely see them. This site gives a brief description and a recording of their individual calls.
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Saturday, January 18. 2014Timballo for dinnerA reader advised us that the Macaroni Pie in The Leopard was one local version of Timballo (or "Timpano"). There appear to be numerous local versions. I've never heard of it, but I want to try a good one. Sometimes it's made with eggplant (aubergines), sometimes not. The version I had read about had hard-boiled eggs and chicken liver in it. Sounded delicious. Here's a good post about Timballo. Lots of recipes pop up if you google "Timballo recipe." Many of the recipes are made with Tagliarini, and almost sound like a molded Mac and Cheese with goodies inside, while some seem more like a molded lasagna. Off topic, but during my research I stumbled on more tagliarini - the well-molded Bianca Tagliarini. Saturday, January 26. 2013The LeopardI have gotten deep into The Leopard, and I can report that I think (for what it's worth) that it is a masterpiece of modern literature. No, of literature. I've read a lot of books. I have not seen the movie with Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale, but I don't need to. It is sensual in imagery, poetically-written. Guiseppe di Lampedusa finished it shortly before he died, but, sadly, could never get it published. The story is set in Sicily in the 1860s, during the time when Garibaldi's forces were constructing the nation of Italy, including the invasion and annexation of Sicily. It's a vivid portrait of Sicily which, even today, seems Italian in name only. Lampedusa warned readers to keep track of the Prince's dog, Bendico. While trying to research the rich Macaroni Pie the prince served as a primi (with chicken liver and hard-boiled eggs etc. in it), I stumbled onto this piece about the book and the food described in it.
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Saturday, December 29. 2012My Christmas booksThe books from the people who know my reading tastes and tendencies but are always trying to nudge me towards a slightly higher fiction ratio. Having been rid of TV for the past few months, my reading rate has not increased at all because I never turned the thing on anyway. Who has time for TV when there is life to be lived, and a website to be edited? I prefer dead-tree books to digital. Precious things. This is all great stuff to nourish brain and soul: Mark Helprin: In Sunlight and in Shadow Leonardo Sciasia: The Wine Dark Sea Tom Reiss: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo Guiseppi di Lampedusa: The Leopard (I can't believe I've never read this classic, but Mrs. BD decided it was time that I did) Andrew Motion: Silver: Return to Treasure Island Giles Foden: Turbulence Orhan Pamuk: Snow Sandra Benjamin: Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History Louise Dickinson Rich: We Took To The Woods Frank Oppell (ed): Tales of Old New England (Who knew that Boston used to export ice to India?)
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Thursday, March 15. 2012Thursday morning linksThis is a vacation week for lots of people in the US, isn't it? Not for me, though. The town is empty. New species of Leopard Frog discovered in New York City Do Statins Make It Tough to Exercise? Evangelicals’ Collapsing Cultural Influence Gay Man Sues Over Thong Discrimination IRS to Mom and Pop: Drop Dead. What’s the Left-Wing Case for Federalism? The Incredible Shrinking Postal Service Use of pigs in training classes sparks protest If you want to be treated with respect by The New York Times and the rest of the multiculti establishment, make it clear you’re willing to kill them An Excellent Article from Politico and some Thoughts about any Biases at Politico NY Suicide Caucus Votes Down Cuomo Pension Reform CBO: New 10-year projected cost of ObamaCare is … $1.76 trillion ObamaCare: If Possible, The News Is Getting Worse Scarce Oil? U.S. Has 60 Times More Than Obama Claims Texas vs. California - Why so many people are moving from the Golden State to the Lone Star State. Thursday is 'Poolmageddon' for trial lawyers Mearsheimer’s Anti-Semitism Scandal WaPo: Obama’s troubled handling of Afghanistan Too many wars, too few U.S. soldiers Morning Bell: Obama’s New Regulations Cost Billions From a commenter at Zero Hedge:
Saturday, May 28. 2011Our marsh and its crittersRe-posted - No man loves marshes and bogs more than I do. The variety of life they contain, protect, and support, from protozoans to minnowsto bass to amphibians to snakes to deer to woodpeckers to geese and ducks to eagles to bears is astonishing, and feels primeval. Except for river-fed or run-off-fed marshes, though, most sizeable fresh-water marshes are ephemeral geographical features. In the northern US, most are the remnants of post-glacial ponds and lakes, gradually filled in with plant detritus and, just before they become the damp meadows that the Moose enjoy so much, the sphagnum bogs which, in Canada, are the source of most of our soil-enhancing peat moss. The only sources of new marshes in the US are man (who is more inclined to fill them for building lots than to create them or rehabilitate them - except for Ducks Unlimited), and the Beaver: And that is one reason we appreciate the remarkable beaver so much. He not only creates marshes, but he recycles them. I doubt that there is a single beaver marsh in the US which has not been used, on and off (until they have eaten or cut down everything they can find) over the several thousands of years since our last Ice Age buried Manhattan under a mile of ice. Here are some of the critters I see (or hear) most often in the immediate vicinity of our small (8 acre) beaver marsh in western MA over the past few years - off the top of my head and probably omitting some: Beavers (of course) Bullfrog I like to keep track of our wildlife. It is one way of loving and embracing this world.
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Monday, January 31. 2011What to wear (at Wal-Mart)If the weather permits me to get to Ohio for a quick visit this weekend, I will of course try to stop by my favorite 24-hr WalMart in Mt. Vernon. Who knows, might run into Mr. Hardin in a leopard skin suit. But what to wear? Does everybody at WalMart look unusual? Is this "fashion-forward"? I wonder what Janet Napolitano wears when she goes. Dressing subversively for WalMart is a challenging task for uninventive folks like me. (h/t, Moonbattery):
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Thursday, February 21. 2008Thursday Free Ad For Bob"Well, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat," from Blonde on Blonde. Versions from 1966 and 1996 are below. Friday, December 9. 2005The Latin Beat
Chile: Madame President?
As reported here several weeks back, Michelle Bachelet, a divorced mother of three, an atheist and a member of the Socialist Party, looks to be elected as the next president of Chile. Read more about this interesting lady and nation as they are about to show us what real change is. Read further here: "How has this happened? Chile, more than ever, is proving itself to be the polar opposite of Lampedusa's Sicily: in order for things to change, they have to stay the same - or rather, they have to look as if they are staying the same."Seora Presidente? - New York Times. If your are interested in Sicily and curious aboutwhy Mr. Gamucio used it to compare Chile read here: From Best of Sicily - The Nobility "Giuseppe Di Lampedusa's book, The Leopard, described these events at some length. Nobody could have predicted that his novel, written almost a century after the unification war of 1860, would rise to the bestseller list on both sides of the Atlantic. If nothing else, the book's popularity indicates that there was still some interest in the Sicilian nobility long after its demise."
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