3 Ring Binder

1. Good: this article about linguistic pet peeves.   As someone who has them, I enjoyed it, but I take issue with the author’s use of persons regarding the 5,000 fans.   Yes, the number is specific, but clearly, it is also an estimate, so non-specific at the same time.   More controversy here . 2.   Betta: Introducing our new betta,   Danny . (He’s red.)   3. Best: This “My Funky Valentine” episode of Modern Family . This is the best new sit-com I’ve seen in a long while, and this episode made me laugh until I could hardly breathe.   Oddly, this is a good thing.   Warning, the husband is often too stupid to be funny, but mostly, even he is worth watching. Give it a minute (or 22), but hurry. This episode is on Hulu for only another three days.

Borrowed considerations for my weekend of reading and reflection: To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. ~Edmund Burke I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves. ~E.M. Forster What people seek in thrillers is the spectacle of man’s efficacy: of his ability to fight for his values and to achieve them. What they see is a condensed, simplified pattern, reduced to its essentials: a man fighting for a vital goal—overcoming one obstacle after another—facing terrible dangers and risks—persisting through an excruciating struggle—and winning. ~Ayn Rand

A contract is a legally-enforceable promise or set of promises made by one party to another. A contract is a legally binding agreement concerning a bargain which is essentially commercial in its nature and involves the sale or hire of commodities such as goods services or land. (Wikipedia) The juxtaposition of the following two approaches to obligations under employment contracts should not be overlooked.   Despite the plain facts and heinous nature of the crimes,  Amy Bishop’s employer announced only yesterday that it was beginning the process of terminating Ms. Bishop.  Not too long ago,  AIG executives (among others) were subjected to the whims of a lynch mob, unconcerned with the facts, indulged, if not incited by the very government charged with protecting the inviolability and enforceability of their individual right to contract. The freedom of contract may be a complex legal issue; however, superficially at least, it appears that while t...

That's where you can find the collection of posts for this week's Objectivist Round Up . 

Cartoon by Gary Varvel posted at Café Hayek (via Thrutch , who points out that what the President is knitting would more likely be a single sock or glove.)

Until ten days ago – the day, to the best of my recollection, in which I lost my five-year-old point-and-shoot Sony Cyber-shot with its rechargeable AA batteries – I hadn’t realized how dependent I had become on my camera’s ability to record anything I found visually interesting, anywhere, anytime I felt like it.   Oh, how I have since suffered its loss!   Just today, for example, I wanted to record the three inches of snow/slush combo filling my driveway, the snorting, running, sleeping dog, the molasses design in the baked beans (blech), and the court surrounding the girl who announced, “But Mom, I’m God” – each a little vignette that together make up the visual fabric of my day – nay, my life. Sadly, today, there are no crystals, no snores, no artistic-outlet -starved husband, and no game playing children to put into my external hard drive of memories, and none to share. At first refusing to acknowledge that I actually lost my camera, I borrowed my daughter’s for our recen...

Not actual photograph of Bing, but could be his identical twin. Yesterday, after nearly three years of benevolent neglect, our daughter’s blue betta, Bing, finally succumbed to the ravages of living life in a liter of treated, but unheated water on the bureau in her bedroom.   We had a small but tasteful inland burial at sea moment for the crooner’s namesake, including a death mask photograph taken by my daughter. (Who could have predicted she’d want to have such a thing? My husband – she is just like him.) Three years is a pretty good lifespan for a betta.   We plan to get another one.   Soon.   Let's be Frank .  Maybe this one will be different.

First, there are two things you should know about me: 1) When I get excited my voice jumps up by two or three octaves, and 2) Sometimes, when I laugh with abandon , what I abandon is the integration of my proprioceptors along with sensory awareness of my immediate surroundings. This lack of integration often leads to me hitting my head on whatever is behind, beside, or sometimes, even in front of me. Back to the shoes. Today, when my daughter brought in the mail, a packaged Dansko shoebox was among the bills and catalogs. It was addressed to my husband, but this in no way stopped me from examining the box.   My love for my red patent leather Dansko clogs is well known, so when I saw the label claiming that these were women’s shoes, my excitement was only partially diminished by the fact that they were also purported to be one size too big for me and brown . Thinking it was odd for him to buy me shoes, let alone brown shoes and in the wrong size, I called him to ask. “Did you buy ...

8,300,000 The approximate population of New York City. 2,000,000 The approximate number of pieces of artwork in the Metropolitan Museum of Art 140 The sold-out capacity of Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola on Saturday night. Owing more than a little to the incomparable views, this is the most spectacular intimate setting in which to see live jazz. 43 The number of Craft Restaurant on East 19 th St. Don’t blink. You’ll miss it. 40 The number of degrees Fahrenheit at 8:30 in NYC Saturday night 16 The outside seating capacity in front of Blue Smoke . Number of patrons drinking a Bleu Smoke Martini there: 1.   I didn’t make it there before 2010 , but at least I made it in 2010! 11 The number of things I had the mad urge to touch but didn’t, including, but not limited to the marble nose and lips of a statue of a child at the Met, several fur coats, and the head of a man in front of us in line.   10 The number of art pieces we examined in our Met tour “ Fashion in Art ” 9 The number of di...

I kept seeing this book cover as a tiny advertising image on the sidebar of a web page.   Every time I saw it, without fail, I was unsettled by what I saw.   The elements of the cover that I could discern, t he woman’s exposed back, her right arm above her head, and the big hand pushing her forward added up to a disturbing situation. I had to check it out. Phew. Seeing the book’s title and the intense stare and left hand placement of the open-shirted vampire has lessened my agitation and cured me of my mistaken interpretation.   Sure.  The woman is about to have her blood sucked out by a vampire and become one of the undead for eternity, but at least I know she's not there for a mammogram.

Good stuff in today's Boston Globe :  The Museum of Fine Arts has installed its first painting in the new American Wing (scheduled to open in November). The article presents a few of the conservation efforts undertaken in order to unwrap and ready Thomas Sully's The Passage of the Delaware  for its new place of honor in the new American Wing.  The brief video below shows the large-scale efforts to get it in place. It's an interesting exercise to compare and contrast two artists' interpretation of the same scene in history, as well as the history of the two paintings themselves.  Thomas Sully's "The Passage of the Delaware" 1819 Emanuel Leutze's "Washington Crossing the Delaware" 1851 Leutze's painting ( Metropolitan Museum of Art ) has become an iconic image of Washington whereas Sully's was never given a proper viewing venue. Until now.

Once again, I’m really happy to be hosting the Objectivist Round Up. This blog carnival is a collection of posts written by individuals who are advocates of Objectivism : the philosophy developed and defined by Ayn Rand. If you are new to Ayn Rand and would like to discover more about her philosophy, I recommend you read her two great novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead . If you know her novels, I recommend her non-fiction starting with The Virtue of Selfishness , and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal . The Ayn Rand Institute and the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights provide relevant information and commentary. Following, in the order in which they were received, are the posts for this 136th Objectivist Round Up. Burgess Laughlin presents A writer's working library? posted at Making Progress , saying, “Among a writer's resources are several distinct kinds of books that help writers do their jobs. This article identifies five kinds for one writer, offers exam...

I’m not sure if it was a lack of dog-inspired snack foods, staying up late the night before, or expending all of our extra energy shoveling, but last night’s conclusion of the 134 th WKC Dog Show was pretty uninspiring to me and mine.   Hell – before it was over, I lost my other two judges (one dragging herself to bed during the final judging).   This lack of enthusiasm may impact next year’s plans to attend live. Be that as it may, here are the results: Sporting The variety of retrievers, spaniels, and setters is sort of amazing.   We all liked the Pointer , the Vizsla , and the Weimaraner , which clearly displays our penchant for dogs whose muscles can be seen.   Pointer, WKC Best of Breed photo But I surprised myself by also liking the English Cocker Spaniel and the English Springer Spaniel .   Our youngest judge fell in love with the shiny black of the flat-coated Retriever . The judge chose the Brittany , Irish Water Spaniel , Gordon Setter , and Labrado...

Right off the bat, let me tell you that David Frei did not keep us in suspense long. He talked about the Norwegian “Boo’ hoond” within the first four minutes of the show.    One mystery solved. Secondly, there were some minor announcer errors which I’ve never noticed in the past. One technical glitch, labeling the American Foxhound as a Basenji , disrupted my otherwise normal delight in the hound group.   Other than that, it appears a good time was had by all. Hounds While my family, predictably, went with the 13” Beagle , I was leaning toward the Greyhound, the Rhodesian Ridgeback , and the Whippet as paragons of their breeds.   The Whippet, Chanel, impressed me because of her very strange coat (apparently within breed standards).   She looked a little like she was wearing a coat of thin white granite with narrow black veining. Gneiss coat, Chanel! WKC Group Judging Photo The judge called Chanel the winner, followed by the Greyhound , the Scottish Deerhound ...

It's finally here - day one of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show 2010. So many dogs .. . So hard to believe they're all the same species! Here are three interesting articles regarding dog genetics. The first, from PBS, is about how the evolution of the dog from wolves may have occured from a few females over 100,000 years ago.  The last two paragraphs fascinated me. How and when this domestication happened has been a matter of speculation. It was thought until very recently that dogs were wild until about 12,000 years ago. But DNA analysis published in 1997 suggests a date of about 130,000 years ago for the transformation of wolves to dogs. This means that wolves began to adapt to human society long before humans settled down and began practicing agriculture. This earlier timing casts doubt on the long-held myth that humans domesticated dogs to serve as guards or companions to assist them. Rather, say some experts, dogs may have exploited a niche they discovered in...

Why is "primer" pronounced like "primmer" when associated with elementary texts, but like "pry-mer" for all other applications of the word? This particular oddity of the English language bothers me immensely. While my ears are less sensitive to it than the use of "off-ten", it seems as pretentious. But why? of·ten (ô′fən, ŏf′ən, ôf′tən, ŏf′-) Many times; frequently. [Middle English, alteration (probably influenced by selden , seldom ), of oft from Old English; see upo in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note : During the 15th century English experienced a widespread lossof certain consonant sounds within consonant clusters, as the (d) in handsome and handkerchief , the (p) in consumption and raspberry , and the (t) in chestnut and often . In this way the consonant clusters were simplified and made easier to articulate. With the rise of public education and literacy and, consequently, people's awareness of spelling in the 19th century, ...

I knew there was Gentian violet in the formula . Yet, somehow, I was not moved to put down newspaper when spraying the feet of one of my chickens who apparently had become the victim of something (most likely another chicken). Now I have this lovely modern art exhibit permanently installed in my mud room – until I repaint. Upon finding me laughing at my own stupidity while attempting to clean it up, my husband noted the titular truism and then said, “I’m just glad I didn’t do it.” And the chicken? She is getting personalized attention, exotic spa treatments (her name is Barbie), and should be re coop erated fully by Monday.  

Just in time for Valentine’s Day. Your mileage may vary. Top of the Heap The English Patient 1996 Wings of Desire 1987 Pride & Prejudice 2005 Pride and Prejudice 1995 Lost Love ( not lost hope ) * Truly Madly Deeply 1990 (500) Days of Summer 2009 Reheated ( movies made and remade, both wonderfully, in which food prep takes center stage ) * Eat, Drink, Man, Woman 1994 /( Tortilla Soup 2001) No Reservations 2007 /( Mostly Martha 2001) Some You May Have Missed ( as Romances ) Julie & Julia 2009 Slumdog Millionaire 2008 National Treasure 2004 Bourne Identity 2002 ( lesser known gems ) Elizabethtown 2005 Oyster Farmer 2004 Dear Frankie 2004 + Mumford 1999 Sliding Doors 1998 Ever After 1998 Teen Romantic Comedies ( worth watching ) What a Girl Wants 2003 She’s All That 1999 Say Anything 1989 Some Kind of Wonderful 1987 The Sure Thing 1985 Comments, questions, and complaints welcomed.   Fabulous romantic movies I’ve missed, requested. These titles ...

But in this case, I think a link is worth more. Guess who's hosting the Objectivist Round Up this week? That's right: Titanic Deck Chairs . Go there, relax, and enjoy. Don't worry about the icebergs.  They've all melted due to global warming. Okay. Now guess who's hosting next week? Oui. C'est moi. Don't be late.

In searching for my favorite romantic movies to list for Valentine's Day, I came across this bit of film propaganda involving Richard Curtis and Bill Nighy .   While the idea of a Tobin tax is not new, I am disgusted at the full court press by celebrities in pushing this envy-driven socialist agenda.   Is their involvement a symptom of their reckless morality, or is it because when times get tough, more people go to the movies as a means of escape and so their star power rises?   It makes me wonder: m ore than recession proof, is the entertainment industry recession fed? More on that another day perhaps. The article which led me to this video states that a proposed %0.05 tax on all financial transactions would be a painless way for banks to compensate society for causing the global financial crisis The campaign has already lived up to its outlaw image. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the question "Do you want to be part of the world's biggest bank j...