Miscellaneous

I have about two dozen of these gourds, various sizes. I was bummed out that they weren't pumpkins, but I'm kind of digging them now. That's about all I have today. It's the football time of year, and Michael (8th grade) had

From the Notebooks The Nock on Babbitt? It's interesting that Sinclair Lewis labeled the repressed character in Babbitt after Irving Babbitt, the Harvard professor from Ohio who emphasized that men must restrain their appetites or America will fall. Lewis' use of the eponym was meant as an

The Campion/Waugh book came yesterday. I was pretty stoked. The days have been long: community bickering, lots of office projects, family issues. It was nice to settle in with this minor masterpiece last night. * * * * * * * Humanae Vitae Exonerated, Episode 3,291,042: Danish sperm donor passes genetic disorder to five

Great garden pic that I stumbled across yesterday (credit [http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/12768/crop-rotation-technique-1-rotating-plant-families] ). * * * * * * * Wow, I've reduced myself to admiring garden pics. Can the nursing home be far behind? * * * * * * * Great piece by Ross Douthat at the New York Times yesterday. He points out that Washington and

“If we indulge ourselves in vain, frivolous, or sinful speculations, our minds become incapable of choosing what is most proper for mortifying our disorderly affections.” Lawrence Scupoli

The Atlantic catches on . . . four years too late, but at least it's catching on: "This summer, many government officials and private investors finally seemed to realize that the crisis in the euro zone was not some passing aberration, but rather a result of deep-­seated political, economic,

BYCU Looking for new beers to try? Consider the "Rave" link [http://www.ratebeer.com/beer-ratings/1/] at Rate Beer. It's a constantly-changing list of beers that have most recently received great user reviews. But a warning: when I first clicked on it yesterday, the beer

Great. The nanny state keeps getting stronger and stronger. "New York's limit on sugary soft drink sales is one example of the steps governments must take to stop the rise of obesity, [New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley] said today at a press conference." Link

Finally, a national-politics yard sign I like. * * * * * * * Great quote, especially when you realize it came from a Federal Reserve Chairman: "John Maynard Keynes stated in his 'Economic Consequences of the Peace' (1919): 'Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist

The Wisdom of Crowds I'm really digging a particular Amazon Kindle feature that I never thought I'd use: the popular highlight. If you're not acquainted with electronic readers, most of them allow you to highlight passages. It's similar to the old highlighter