3 Ring Binder

I enjoyed making and viewing my video from last year so much that I decided to do it again.  You can't do much better for free music than the USAFB's rendition of Vivaldi's Winter! Happy New Year, my friends.

But I can't imagine that anyone seriously believes that the current level of wealth inequality in the United States is good and worth maintaining, or that our government's first priority should be to spare a privileged person like myself the slightest hardship as this once great nation falls into ruin. This is a woefully wonderful encapsulation of the faulty logic and bad premises expressed throughout this piece of political, rather than principled, writing. The fact that it comes from a thinker I have truly admired makes it all the more disappointing.   In it, Mr. Harris wrongly assumes that it is the proper role of government to grant rights and spare people hardships, rather than to protect individual rights (even those of rich people). He allows his political ideology to trump his thinking. I can’t imagine that anyone seriously believes that someone is working to maintain wealth inequality !   People are striving to make and enjoy a certain lifestyle for themselves an...

On the short trip home from the gym this morning, I heard three interesting little tidbit news stories on our local “listener supported” classical radio station ( listener supported is the heinous euphemism given to the classical station’s new owners: the government). The first was about the chair lift accident at Sugarloaf Mountain .   In the brief, the radio announcer reported that the state safety inspectors had examined and approved the lift at the beginning of the year and that Sugarloaf staff allegedly inspected the lift each morning.   Why the difference?   Are the state safety inspectors beyond reproach?   And what is the proof of their diligence? Official looking paperwork? Is the staff at Sugarloaf incompetent?   Are the workers all stoners who couldn’t possibly understand the proper working of a chair lift which contributes greatly not only to their incomes but also to their way of life? Did they lack the official paperwork? The second story was ...

(From the Prelinger collection at archive.org) Don't bother hitting play unless you have an hour to spend on this delightful slice of 1939 America.  It was fun to watch even if I couldn't stand the kid protagonist. From an original ad for the film, Here's a family of folks you know - friends who live just around the corner from everyone. Doing the Fair - because that's what everyone is doing this year. Thrilled by its beauty . . . amazed at its wonders . . . the Middleton Family, from Everywhere, U.S.A.! There are Babs and Bud, overflowing with the exuberance of 18 and 14 . . . romping through Wonderland like two kittens across a rug. There are Father Tom and Mother Jane, trying unsuccessfully to be calm and judicious about it all. And there's Grandma, whose eyes, bright with the memories of other Fairs, grow brighter still with the vision of a new Tomorrow for her dear ones. Watch the pages of your favorite magazines for the diverting adventures of t...

You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose. An old friend of mine used to say that and laugh hysterically afterward. Sure, it’s a goofy expression, but it has a point.   We have the ability to make important choices for ourselves. We can choose our friends based on a variety of reasons, we can choose how best to live our own lives, but we really can’t choose how others should live their lives.   In friendships, if conflicting values far outweigh the shared ones, we can choose to end the friendship or, if no clean break is necessary, simply let it fade away. With family, it’s different. The same people keep coming around again making it nearly impossible to let it fade away, and a complete break with one person in a wider family is difficult to establish.   I was reminded of this problem recently. Within forty-eight hours I was an incidental party to two family rifts in two unrelated families.   While I’m one of the...

Is it possible for muscles to atrophy within seven days?   I hadn’t been to the gym since Monday and I felt weak – weak, I tell you! The only lifting I’ve done in a week is moving those various, Christmas-shaped, half-ounce forms of brightly-colored, refined-sugar sweetened, processed wheat flour from the plate to my lips (frankly, I’m surprised I haven’t sustained a repetitive motion injury)! By this morning, I was clearly experiencing the effects of an over-indulgent, low-energy, bad-attitude cookie hangover. Setting out for the gym during snow flurries this morning only contributed to my artificially-induced Christmas cookie high. Nearing the gym, however, I began to fear the particular manifestations of the loss of strength due to lack of practice and bad eating habits. I wondered if, while attempting a push-up, one’s wrists could actually snap under the hulking weight of additional Christmas cookies body mass. I still don’t know if such snapping is possible, but I’m happy to r...

1. Snow. Finally. Last night, while we decorated gingerbread cookies, we were treated to the sight of a lovely winter wonderland out of our back windows. We had to get out in it and stop the snow action with flash (in this photo I am sporting the magic scarf   and ever-popular Seussian Santa hat). 2. Red Delicious. This holiday season’s cocktail of choice . The red delicious is another Danny Meyer concoction straight out of last year's Mix Shake Stir : apple brandy, apple liqueur, apple cider, crème de cassis, lemon juice, cinnamon sugar rim, star anise garnish. It is as lovely to look at as it is delightful to drink. (Hint for entertaining: I divided the shaker contents into two and used small martini glasses.  A perfect potent potable present.) 3. Good ideas. Good work. Upon seeing some cute glitter paintings at the American Textile History Museum   last week, I was struck by how reminiscent the paintings were of costumes from the Nutcracker. Having a...

[I am pleased to offer today's post by guest blogger, Bettina Romberg. - Lynne] The Governments of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island have enacted laws mandating that health insurance plans pay for bone marrow donor testing. They passed this law with the intended purpose that bone marrow registries find more donors, and therefore, save more lives. The major donor registry operating in these three states is the Caitlin Raymond International Registry, a non-profit bone marrow donor registry organization at University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center. The Registry was recently placed under investigation for allegedly charging above-average rates for testing claims to health insurance companies. Cities such as Manchester, New Hampshire have found that the city worker’s health insurance plan has been charged $4,000 per person. Harvard Pilgrim and Blue Cross Blue Shield also stated that the number of requests for the test had tripled in 2009 and is expected to tripl...

Streaking the streets Daubing the yards Highlighting the trees Coating the roofs A palette of white, Opalescent in day, Without animating light, Turns shades of gray.

It just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it? Have you seen the fashion world ’s new guilt-free fur source , the nutria?  Once worn by such luminaries as Greta Garbo and Liz Taylor, i t’s enjoying a resurgence due to rebranding. The nutria , commonly known as a swamp rat, is now the poster pest of misguided efforts to square man’s use of his world with its jealous and cruel goddess, Gaia. Check out the Righteous Fur logo: It seems the problem is that even with their attempts at making fur “guilt-free” by explaining the rodents’ environmentally destructive habits, the House of Yes, who hosted the Nutria Fashion Show in November received some uncomplimentary comments from those who abhor the non-furry's use of fur – period. So they did what any self-respecting arts space and venue would do – they held a We’re Sorry – Let’s Get Naked party.   While their tongue-in-cheek reasons for holding the follow-up event is somewhat amusing, I find the original conce...

1. The Glee Christmas Album . The Island of Misfit Toys (aka: the Most Wonderful Day of the Year) is worth the price of admission. 2. White Christmas - on DVD!  Oh, yeah! Give it up for replacing VHS with DVD! (Let me live in my pre-Blu-Ray glory days for a moment, would you?) 3. Finding a magical scarf and buying one for every woman on my list (nearly - they were sold out when I went back for the third time, fifth scarf today).  What makes it magical? It glitters subtly and sounds a little like icy snow tinkling against the windows when it moves. Who could ask for anything more from a neck warmer?

I could hardly believe it! That was my daughter’s initial reaction upon seeing that our local ski area had used snow machines to cover the “mountain” in white. Instead of asking what she could have possibly meant by that, I began to lecture her on the achievement of man-made snow, about the business of running a ski area, and on the exceptional ingenuity of man. I then questioned her, rapid-fire of course, if she’d rather see cave people dancing naked around a campfire chanting to the snow gods, if she’d rather the ski area was boarded up and closed, how she could possibly see man-made snow as sad. I like snow that comes down from the sky.   I like to walk around in it. Oh. Still – I went on to explain the difference between the lovely serendipity of walking in the snow, which I also enjoy, and the business considerations of a ski area. I quickly began to question why I became so animated at her initial reaction. There are too many people who hold the attitude that man-made i...

Warm-up Scour every inch of 25 acre tree farm for the perfect tree, count RTR (rejected tree reps). Once found, take as many pictures of people you love in front of said tree. Try to exceed last year’s number. Strength Saw through tree trunk for time.   For added agility trial, don’t yell timber , see who gets clobbered and who can move like lightning.   Wrap and carry tree to car (men). Try to maneuver through stump-filled field without breaking ankle (women). Drag tree into house, throw in stand, screw the crap out of the four rusty stand screws into the stem for stability. Blizzard Wrap each child's new ornament with care and different color organza ribbon. Pull out all ornaments collected over twenty-eight years, hand-made and mass-marketed, handling all as if completely valuable. Using all your strength of character, pass out to children in equally metered fashion admiring each appropriately for time. Open new ornaments. Find schedule for tree-top angel placement withi...

Today I went with the girls and a friend to the American Textile History Museum to see an exhibit of Betsy Bloomingdale’s collection of haute couture . While fashion trends interest me because their sophistication, beauty, formality, playfulness, or lack thereof reflect social attitudes of a time, haute couture fascinates me because each dress is the physical embodiment of an original idea designed and created to dress a particular woman.    While the dresses are fancy and pretty, I find the design illustrations very attractive.  But it is seeing the apparent transformation from an idea sketched on paper to a body wrapped in silk in the very form of that idea that gives me quite a thrill. From this: To this: From this: To this: It’s a little bit of creative magic. To read more about the exhibit, and to see a slide show from whence these pictures came, see this WSJ article .

1.   If you Ask Jeeves why are children educated at home  you see an immediate set of excellent reasons as eloquently expressed by Lisa VanDamme and as reported in this very blog . 2.   Field testing cold water wash-and-wear wool (they’re still working out some snags). (REUTERS/Nigel Roddis) # http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/12/let_it_snow.html 3.   I have recently discovered that the less I volunteer, the more I hug. Who would have guessed? Watch out world - this could get scary.

Since I might not get a chance to print and send in time this year, here's a little holiday greeting from me to you. 

Song for Athene was written for a young woman who died in an accident, and was used as the recessional in Princess Diana's funeral.  I herein dedicate it to my mother-in-law who died Wednesday evening. Nearly two years after having been told she had perhaps six months to live, she surpassed all expectations -- not by merely outlasting medical predictions, but by her determination to live every minute fully and bravely. While the Tavener piece speaks of Christian afterlife, its spirituality lies in the grandeur of life itself: man's creative mind. For me, the slow, four-part harmony and droning mournful sound nearly perfectly express the wrenching sadness of dying and the finality of death.   More importantly, however, I have terrific memories of this subtly feisty, quietly wise, and generously caring woman. And while I knew her from the time I was very young, I was not then privy to her thoughts and desires (she was...

In an egalitarian effort to level the playing field, statists make claims on any source of wealth imaginable as belonging, at least partially, to the government. These claims are not for themselves, of course, but so that all men may live equally.   This government-sponsored equality under all conditions rather than equal under the law creates legalized theft of private property and an effective denial of free will. While Congress debates extending the Bush tax cuts, some strange commentary is coming out regarding those who do not think that grabbing more private funds to fuel public programs is a good way to get the economy back on track. What sounds the loudest gong in the cacophony is that the government can’t afford the tax cuts . What exactly does that mean? The government does not create wealth; it operates by taking money from those who do.   But why should those who make more money (i.e. create more wealth) have to give a proportionally larger amount of their earn...

A different take on that delightful Anne Taintor style. (via Bad Banana Blog )

This morning at our CrossFit gym, we did some crazy-ass, modified 4-station, 3-round Fight Gone Bad thing. (For definition of CrossFit Terms, see here – and while you’re there, check out some of the hero workouts.) At each station, you did as many repetitions of the exercise as possible in one minute, then moved to the next station. After you hit all four in four minutes, you rested for one minute and did it all over again, and then again!   The stations were the push-press (a personal weakness and therefore something I had worked on during warm-ups just prior to reading the WOD on the whiteboard – that’ll teach me), sit-ups, dumbbell clean and squats, and a 10-lb. slam ball. So I used the empty bar. So what? My arms were tired, I tell ya, and 45 lbs. is nothing to sneeze at when you have one functionally incompetent arm! Then I did sit-ups with the ABMAT, clean and squats with 20 lb. dumbbells, and then slammed the slam ball.   Frankly, for reasons I don’t even care to ...

Today’s post is prompted by this ad, Coupled with this article .   So without further ado . . . I am proud to introduce you to the face of electricity generation: My favorite scientist, the one, the only, Michael Faraday. Just look at him. A few years ago I became mildly obsessed with Mr. Faraday , requesting three books about him for Christmas, but that's a story for another time. Mr. Faraday was a self-taught scientist who discovered the connection between electricity and magnetism, electromagnetic induction, which paved the way for all electric motors. He was of very high, albeit religious in foundation, moral character and maintained a tremendous drive to understand the natural world.   His tradition of giving children’s Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution remains to this day.   In short, he is a scientific god (although I’m certain he would be displeased at the appellation). But I would be remiss if I did not bring in another face: tha...

It’s not just an exercise in health class anymore.   It’s for your own good. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act   bill (approved text starts on page 120) passed the Senate this week.   This bill, in addition to expanding the powers of the FDA and calling for more tax dollars to be used in effecting its provisions, is proposed to protect us from our dangerous, dangerous produce.   I’m not a farmer, a vegan, a healthy eating militant, or even a CSA member (yet), but even I know this is a very bad thing. A few weeks ago, I wrote to my Senators to let them know that it really wasn’t their job to protect me from the slight possibility of food poisoning at the very real expense of food production and distribution in our country.   I thanked them for their service, but told them I would far prefer if they spent their time and efforts reeling in the crushing colossus of capricious government spending and protecting, rather than violating, my individual ri...