3 Ring Binder

. . . to Kelly's blog, Reepicheep's Coracle , and git a gander at this week's Objectivist Round Up . If you're lookin' for it next week, look no further than right here ! Read. Think. Enjoy.

You’ve probably heard of a progressive dinner , a supper club , and/or a pub crawl , but in my neighborhood we now have our own version of a combination of all three: the Suppacrawl.   A few months back, during what I am sure was a riveting conversation at our neighborhood book club, remarks were made that a few of us grew up using the word supper instead of dinner . No doubt owing to my tendency to slip into a Boston accent when chatting casually, particularly over a glass of wine, we laughed at my memories of the evening peals that rang out “ Suppah! ” all over my neighborhood. In a fit of good cheer inspired by the camaraderie of my smart and sassy book club neighbors, I suggested that it might be fun to invite the husbands and wander from house to house for a little bit of dinner and drink.   A wee wassailing, if you will. Seriously, I don’t know what came over me. While I love these neighbors, short of short-order cook, bartender, or in-house responsible adult, I don’t...

We've recently added four feet to our home.  It’s not a dog (although the youngest is lobbying hard for another one and she’d prefer one that did not eat the Pug), but two zebra finches!  Have you ever heard these birds ?  They're so damn chirpy in the cutest way possible. Say hello to our newest feathered friends, Darcy and Elizabeth. Right now, Darcy is still in his quietly brooding phase; Elizabeth is quite garrulous. Although my husband bought them for me for our anniversary , the twelve year-old named them.

Paper Plate Pistol Projectile Pack Progeny Pumpkin Patch Press Partner Ponders Prolongated Produce   Proximal Pals Provide Particular Provisions More on tonight's Suppacrawl at a later date.  Right now, I'm pooped!

What do these three films have in common? 1978: Almost Summer 1983: Valley Girl 1987: A Woman’s Guide to Firearms You can see this fabulous moment in film history in its entirety here. Beside the significant impression each movie made on me when I watched it for the first time (or the fifteenth time as was the case for the first two), that is not a connection I’d expect someone else to make.   If you knew that Lee Purcell starred in each of them, you’re either a genius or someone who has nothing better to do than make tenuous connections between the wisps of twenty to thirty year-old memories shoved in odd brain recesses as they are excited into the conscious mind by new information (“A Woman’s Guide,” despite its age, was actually new to me as part of our basic gun safety class last night).   Obviously, I prefer to think I’m the former.

I didn't watch any part of the recent rescue of the Chilean miners, but it could not have elicitied a bigger emotional response from me than  this piece in today's Wall Street Journal. No matter how much you scoff at the idea, the capitalists who were able to contribute their free-market innovations to the rescue efforts are similarly fighting to survive under the crushing weight of government interference. I understand that mens' bodies survive even when the government destroys their motivation, but the incredible products of their minds, risks, and efforts may never see the light of day. The proper role of the government is to protect our individual rights which include the right to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. When our individual rights are protected, men thrive, not merely survive.

I did it. I completed the Whole 30 eating program.  Why the Whole 30?  From their website: First and foremost, this will change your life.  We cannot possibly put enough emphasis on this simple fact. This. Will. Change. Your. Life. It will change the way you think about food, it will change your tastes, it will change your habits and your cravings. It could, quite possibly, change the emotional relationship you have with food, and with your body. It has the potential to change the way you eat for the rest of your life. We know this because we did it, and hundreds of people have since done it, and it changed our lives (and their lives) in a very permanent fashion. That’s a pretty compelling claim. So what’s the deal with the Whole 30 ?  In a nutshell: Eat Real Food.  More than that, however, it’s an eating program designed to remove the triggers of inflammation and perpetual cravings you may experience as a response to grains, dairy, legumes, vegetable oi...