3 Ring Binder

I know it has made the rounds already, but really, it's that good.  (I couldn't help but notice that its production values are better than those of a much maligned, but nonetheless entertaining, movie I'd seen lately.) It really is very, very clever. Note the end result of the bout: Who wins and who is declared the winner by the government and acknowledge by the press? Even Keynes is surprised by the declaration! You bail out the losers, there's no end to the cost!  My favorite touch is the cornermen: Ickes (?), Malthus, Say, and Mises. The civility of discourse is simply delightful against the background of what I generally find to be ugly yelling to rhythmic base line. The boxing - not to mention dancing! - economists are priceless.

Fun with Wordle

In yesterday's New York Times, Mark Bittman calls for more regulations! Shocking, I know. This time he’s doing it not for the children , but for the animals .  He really is a champion of the disenfranchised, isn’t he?  No. He’s a food personality who has earned a national pulpit from the owners of the New York Times to spout his out-of-touch – money is no object, the expansion of government is good – bullshit. The problem is the system that enables cruelty and a lack not just of law enforcement but actual laws. Despite his utter devotion to the regulatory state, it really is the group of individuals involved that is the problem. Not all individuals who work at animal processing facilities are immune to the sentient nature of animals; a person who purposefully mistreats animals should become an outcast among his peers and seen as a company liability to be dealt with by management.  And that should be the extent of his punishment. While Bittman disdainfully point...

( chirp .) Can't think of a one right now. Be back when I remember or think of something to say.

The sarcasm that had repelled, the harshness that had startled me once, were only like keen condiments in a choice dish: their presence was pungent, but their absence would be felt as comparatively insipid.  Charlotte Bronte (21 Apr 1816 - 31 Mar 1855) in Jane Eyre This was the last in a list of detailed instructions left for me on the kitchen table by my husband one morning after I asked what I should do to assist in the food preparation for that evening.  I think his  Good Wife's Guide  sarcasm is a direct result of the fact that his recipe for apple pie comes straight from the American Woman's Cook Book (c) 1956.  And I find both his sprinkling of sarcasm and apple pie delicious! 

Today is brought to you by the lovely, vocal-like lilt of Gabriel Faure 's sweet Berceuse, Op. 16. Enjoy.

1.        Kale chips (crisped with bacon fat, sprinkled with sea salt - CRUNCH!) Seen here with faux-tatoes, butternut squash, and chicken? 2.        Mixed berry tropical freeze (coconut milk, oil, mixed berries, and apples - YUM!) A perfect summer treat.  It's incredibly creamy and delicious! 3.        Guggenheim* (who knows what convenience food treasures this beauty may yield) Still naming his small kitchen appliances, but this one asked for it.

It’s not quite right without the tie. It begs that distinct formality. Burnside is calling, I’m not sure why. Talk ends with dismissive finality. But some days later, within my quick glance, A tie’s seen worn 'round his neck; In front of his ear, not merely by chance, Hirsute patches meet my peck. Recognition dawns in an adoring smile, You’re so wonderful! , I cry. He’s taken aback at my reaction a while, Thanks , he says thinking, I try . It’s not the superficial: not manner nor dress, Certainly not in his trying to please. It’s his benevolence, his very being, no less: Rationally selfish – the rest is at ease.

For the past year or so, I have been receiving one, two, sometimes three quotations about liberty in my inbox each morning courtesy of Liberty Quotes . Some I've heard before, some I don't really understand the context in which it was said (a problem with receiving only the pithy parts), and some really hit home. My favorites are the ones I've never heard before from the infamous. Today's are so good I needed to share them all: Education is a weapon,  whose effect depends on who  holds it in his hands and  at whom it is aimed. -- Josef Stalin (1879-1953) Communist leader of the USSR The education of all children, from the moment that they can get along without a mother's care,  shall be in state institutions at state expense. -- Karl Marx (1818- 1883) Father of Communism, Author of the 'Communist Manifesto' Source: The Communist Manifesto Give me four years to teach the children and  the seed I have sown will never be uprooted. -- Vladimi...

Earlier this year a bill requiring ALL DOG OWNERS in the state of New York to successfully complete an obedience class with ALL DOGS OWNED or risk losing the animal, was introduced in the New York state legislature. Seriously: Section 4 Amends Section 118 (1)(h) to allow a dog to be seized should any owner fail to complete a basic obedience course with his or her dog. Justification: The goal of this bill is: to minimize vicious dog attacks, the destruction of property and unnecessary human or canine deaths; to better acquaint dog owners with their dogs; to teach dog owners proper obedience techniques, which will help owners to have better control of their dogs; and to minimize aggressive dog behavior and negligent dog owner behavior.   Does the government need to force a  dog owner into obedience classes in order for the owner to become better acquainted with his dog and techniques to control it? Happily, the bill was recently defeated, but its mere introduction shows ho...

Fifteen days after feeling a little SNAP! CRACKLE! POP! in my back while doing back squats, and no fewer than seven weeks after pounding the crap out of some bone in my foot (right below my big toe) while doing tuck jumps, I'm on my way back to being able to join the human race as someone with a normal range of motion. Oh, I attempted to rejoin immediately after both incidents, but that didn't work out so well. My foot seemed to heal quickly, until that second set of tuck jumps within a week. It hasn't healed since then.  In fact, the second time I injured it, I became unable to do even regular rope-jumping or running (such as it is). This, in everyday life is not too much of a problem, but to someone currently enjoying the challenges of CrossFit, my lessening mobility brought me a little closer to hell. After the foot injury, I had to do something for warm-up, so I had to the opportunity to row instead of jump rope or run.  As bad as I am at running, I am at row...

From the American Heritage dictionary, 4th ed. com·mer·cial·ism (kə-mûrshə-lĭz′əm) n. 1. The practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. 2. An attitude that emphasizes tangible profit or success. Enjoy this commercial which is as far from crass as sublime can get: I'll freely admit that this  particular piece of music  has long been quite close to my heart, but to use the unique sound properties of wood when trying to convey its familiar, textural comfort is brilliant.  I don't know if it will help sell more units, but it certainly makes me want to touch the product. Thanks to Christina for bringing it to my attention. If you missed it before, be sure to check out the Words that Transcend Time series of commercials from UBS.

With some trepidation, I did something Wednesday night that I’d never done before and I’ll tell you – I can hardly wait to do it again. Stephen and I—not to mention about 225 other people whose median age was well over 68— sat in a dark little theatre for over four hours simply captivated by the Metropolitan Opera’s encore presentation of Lucia di Lammermoor , Donizetti’s tragic opera, Live in HD ! My early introduction to opera was something on PBS my father suggested I watch, “It’ll be good for you.”  He probably escaped to another room leaving me to sit through thirty grueling minutes of gray, non-descript scenery with strange over-actors practicing extreme vocal sounds in an attempt to tell an incomprehensible story. “It’s like a musical for cultured people.” Yeah, right . Armed with that keen experience, I have successfully avoided opera, except for the random piece heard here and there, until Wednesday night.  Ever since getting all teary-eyed hearing Andrea Bocelli...

Stuck in what seemed like an interminable red light queue (at the first, and one of only two actuated traffic lights in our town) my husband and I were distracted by a mini drama occurring in a parking lot bordering Main St: Someone had locked his keys in his car. There was a young man with dreadlocks pumping a thick wire rigorously down into the door of a car, while another button-down-shirt-wearing man bent over the front of car, looking anxiously through its windshield. I wondered aloud if the man peering into the car foolishly thought he was helping to direct the guy with the wire when the lock mechanism he was searching for was inside the door. Then, with the appearance of two ears and a tail, his concern with the interior became apparent. “Ooooh. There’s a dog in there.” And so I became more invested in the vignette of the button-down man trying to get his dog out of the car. Questions ran through my mind: How long had it been in there? Why did the man call the local lock c...

By Emily Dickinson (656) I started Early – Took my Dog – And visited the Sea – The Mermaids in the  Basement Came out to look at me – And  Frigates  – in the Upper Floor Extended  Hempen Hands  – Presuming Me to be a Mouse – Aground –  opon  the Sands – But no Man moved Me – till the Tide Went past my simple Shoe – And past my Apron – and my Belt And past my  Boddice  – too – And made as He would eat me up – As wholly as a Dew Opon a Dandelion's Sleeve – And then – I started – too – And He – He followed – close behind – I felt His Silver Heel Opon my Ancle – Then My Shoes Would overflow with Pearl – Until We met the Solid Town – No One He seemed to know – And bowing – with a Mighty look – At me – The Sea withdrew – I am currently reading Kate Atkinson's latest book, Started Early, Took My Dog .  Of course, I had to look up the Dickinson poem that inspired the title.  I enjoy the implied meanings and subtlety of her poetry, a...

Actually, I could care less about holding the fort , and it bothers me that I've used it incorrectly in the past,  but I won't make that mistake again. It's the  could care less  that makes me crazy when I hear it!

After a week or so of being unable to work our On-Demand movie delivery system—near as we can figure, I broke the box with my incessant demands—I headed to our local cable company to get a new box as was recommended by the Help Line folks. The snow/rain mixture yesterday was perfect for a New England April Fools, but since my car was in the garage, I didn’t really pay attention to the weather conditions outside. Upon arriving in the cable company parking lot, I realized that I didn’t want to return my reportedly faulty cable equipment wet, so I slipped the 10"x7"x1" black box into the front of my coat and walked to the door. Once inside the lobby, I was greeted by the receptionist who asked if she could help me.   As I reached into my coat to retrieve my broken cable box in order to explain the situation, I must have hesitated in my explanation of needing to return it for another. When I finished my one sentence, she looked at me, startled, and finally said, “You scare...

By the way things look, as well as the way they perform, our homes acquire new grace, new glamor, new accommodations expressing not only the American love of beauty, but also the basic freedom of the American people which is the freedom of individual choice.  Is it any wonder that I love mid-century modern design? Yes, the very idea that Americans have cornered the market on love of beautiful design is ridiculous, but the pride in having the freedom of choice and the embrace of modern convenience is what makes me want to tie on my polka-dotted apron and celebrate it every time I encounter it. Some of the cool beans designs shown: Ericofon  (Swedish) Bertoia chairs Eames rocker and chairs  (and cards ) Barcelona chair (German) Troppo table (looks like a new design) And tons of other Danish designs. And then there's Zooey Deschanel. Click on the speaker icon to hear my favorite designer  (clip can be viewed if you click on her words).