Marginalizing Morons

Eco-Pagans Co-Opting Flavor!

2009-12-07T23:33:00.002-05:00

In September, I was at a local farmers market and someone set up a stand to sell their *organic* prime rib. They put out an electric grill(!) and with just salt and pepper turned out one of the most mouthwatering pieces of meat I've ever sampled.

I was really tempted to spend $22 for a sliver of it when I remembered that 1) my wife wouldn't eat it and 2) my kids don't deserve it!

It was really, really good. Yet I didn't think much of it until today.

The catalyst was some meatballs I ate at a homeschooling holiday party. They too were un-freakin' believeable.

I'm hardly shy. I researched and tracked down who made them and essentially asked for a step-by-step recipe.

It wasn't the seasoning of the meatballs - at least I didn't think it was. It had to be the meat composition. They were *lighter* so I definitely had to be tasting some ground pork or veal in there....I was eager to know which, and in what proportion.

Nope. I was told they were all beef. But not just any beef - Whole Foods ground beef.

Now I've never really even been in a Whole Foods, except once for a curious walk-through in Chelsea (NYC). And I've most definitely never knowingly eaten much of their food.

But after my two recent *organic* experiences I'm wondering whether or not there's something to this no-growth-hormone, free-range, whatever the bleep it is that can command such massive price premiums.

Sure, I've heard eco-pagan idiots say that organics *taste better*, but only about one-tenth as much as I've heard them talk about *chemicals* and *global warming*!

You see, I'll certainly pay up for TASTE irregardless of the packaging or within reason, how healthy the foodstuff may or may not be.

I guess I'm the Moron here - allowing the co-option and inarticulation of eco-pagans to have steered me off what could be real culinary delight!

I had built up the SAME INTELLECTUAL RESISTANCE to yoga before going hogwild over it - I pre-judged the sport by the bubbleheads that trumpeted it!

Of course I'm going to have to do some more research on free-range food. I'll be hitting Whole Foods later this week, really for the first time ever....and I'm planning on buying some ground beef.

Hopefully the sticker shock won't be too bad!

For a glimpse into my rookie blogging year, see what I wrote on Whole Foods a whopping 4.5 years ago:

Marketing Hilarity

Movie Rec - American Gangster

2009-12-07T23:19:00.002-05:00

I don't generally like Denzel Washington. I find him to be an in-credible actor - or maybe it was just that terrible movie of his Training Day that turned me off? What a stupid flick that was!

But American Gangster was good. I give it three out of four stars....and IMDB users give it 8 out of 10.

The film is, loosely anyway, based on the real-life Harlem drug lord - Frank Lucas.

Chicks Are Sheep!

2009-12-07T22:09:00.003-05:00

Around these parts, EVERY SINGLE *mom* wears black workout (stretch?) pants....ALL OF THE TIME.

Even the ones who don't workout - but should or don't need to - can be seen wearing them.

I recall that my kids' old obese, disheveled, sapphic babysitter and her grungy friends used to derisively refer to these animals as *Talbots moms* with their *$80 yoga pants*.

Let's not forget those hideous, pink Red Sox hats!

Now I may dress the same all the time - jeans, sneakers, and golf shirts - but at least in doing so I don't dress like all the other members of my gender species.

Why can't they make their staple outfit a skirt? They can even make it out of the same material for all I care.

And while we're on the subject, some of these chicks need to get up earlier so they have time to fix themselves up, lose those hats, and perhaps put a smart ribbon or bow in their hair.

After 15 minutes of searching, I finally found what I wrote on this subject some 3.5 years ago:

I may get in trouble for this, but it needs to be said.

Another thing I hate about Boston is how homely the women dress. Women up here hardly ever wear skirts, heels, or even blouses. Everywhere I go, ladies, young and old, are wearing jeans, sneakers, Red Sox hats, sweatshirts, and tee shirts. Underneath those hats is usually unkempt hair.

No DA, it is not a lesbian thing. ALL WOMEN UNDERDRESS UP HERE.

I chock it all up to the groupthink contagion. It's easy to walk around dressed like a slob college student, if only because everyone else does.

Nostalgia For Budding 'Old Coots'

2009-12-06T23:16:00.003-05:00

Go ahead, kids....laugh at the eighties cheese.

Twenty-five years ago, me and my age-mates thought the sixties was the ne plus ultra of queerness!

In 2034, your children will most surely be laughing at your obtuse iPhones, your groovy windmills, your President, etc.

AND they'll have *video* of you to boot!

I'll never forget seeing Splash at the theater - I was ten.

I vividly remember that on the way out, we walked past all of the cool teenagers; they were lined up to see Footloose.

Magic Tree House Books

2009-12-06T23:13:00.000-05:00

5.00 year old Prince C-Nut has been reading, mostly with Mom, the Magic Tree House series.

There are about 43 total books (80-110 pages apiece) and the Prince only has about 6 left to go. Things are moving along much faster now that I'm reading to him each morning/day in addition to the bedtime narration with his mother.

Are the books any good?

I don't know. I can't stand adult fiction so the kids' variety is particularly hard for me to digest.

But my son loves them and my wife does as well.

The premise is, well, two young kids who have a *magic tree house*. In it they get zipped around the world and through time to complete *missions* during which they bump into famous people, experience historical events, and learn some basic life lessons - I guess.

My son has probably absorbed a mega-ton of information from these books - not to mention achieving significant literacy along the way. The kid asks me so many questions while I'm reading that I often have to cut him off!

Do you know what a selkie is?

I certainly didn't - and had to look it up.

What about the Unicorn Tapestries?

Reading one of these Tree House books I realized that I had not once, but TWICE, seen them at The Cloisters in NYC.

And I didn't know the Eiffel Tower was built solely for the 1889 World's Fair - which featured luminaries like Thomas Alva Edison, Louis Pasteur, Gustave Eiffel, and the work of Alexander Graham Bell.

Etc.

If I'm learning along with my son....then that must say something about their educational quality - I guess.

Pretty much anything we come across in the books that piques Prince C-Nut's interest or that he doesn't understand....I will email him links, images, Wikipedia....or even YouTube clips as I did this week of *Sumo Wrestling*. (Which came up in Book 37 Dragon Of The Red Dawn - where the twerps traveled back to 17th century Japan.)

It's just common educational sense to do whatever I can to make the stories relevant, memorable, and come alive, no?

The other day he and his mother mapped out where each of the journeys took Jack and Annie:

Now here's something that crazy. We're on Book 39 at the moment.

But go ask my son, "What was Book 9?" or "What was Book 17?", and in an instant he'll tell you the title!

There was no *assignment* to memorize this list. The kid just retained it all on his own. My wife and I were dumbfounded today when, after quizzing him on several books, he breezily answered them all correctly.

Note that neither of us can even remember the last 3 of these silly books - AND WE'RE THE ONES READING THEM!

As I typed this post up I've become convinced the series must be pretty darn good.

Borrow them from your library if you can - since you already bought them once via property taxes.

Paid Up For The Droid

2009-12-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my cheap clamshell phone broke in half. The hinge had been hanging by a thread so it was inevitable.

Luckily my phone contract was up.

As I discussed previously, I'm one of these suckers who overpays for cell service because, well, I don't really use it enough to justify even the cheapest bundle.

I strongly considered going the pre-paid route and trying to make do with that iPod Touch that I just fell in love with recently.

The only problem was, I loved it too much. I figure if merely having occasional pocket email access was soooo much more productive....then a souped up PDA phone might be well worth the expense.

I really hadn't made up my mind which way to go when the situation came to a head in the form of my bisected phone yesterday.

So today we went to Verizon store and just anteed up for the snazzy new phone. $150 (after rebate) for my Droid - then they sucker you in to buy a case, covers, etc. My wife got a new cheapo phone for nothing with her rebate. All told we are paying $100 a month for 700 cell minutes on the two phones, my email and data, and however many texts $5 buys me per month. My wife has a corporate discount so the monthly bill would otherwise be $125.

It does seem like a lot, but effectively the bill only went up $25-$30 per month.

I must say it was a delight to go into the Verizon store this time. They took my old, severed phone and transferred all the contact info into the Droid; and did the same for my wife's new phone. If memory serves me, they used to charge for this, didn't they?

Though I'm still fumbling my way around with the tiny pull-out keyboard and the Droid's functionalities....so far I'm loving it!

But now we have a superfluous iPod Touch that we'll probably sell...

For background, see:

C-Nut Ventures Back To The Future

Luddite Convalescence

And my semi-presicent post from one year ago:

The Three Horses

Saturday Night Nostalgia

2009-12-05T23:23:00.003-05:00

The other day was the first time I ever watched this supposedly famous guy:

Shoot, the guy can dance!

Why have I never seen this 'old coot' icon before?

Well, YouTube is relatively new and my curiosity had been non-existent, I guess.

Also, from Wikipedia:

Clips showing Astaire's filmed dances are rarely shown in public today, although they have recently featured in films such as The Green Mile and, more controversially [1], in 1997 Dirt Devil commercials. Astaire always retained the sole rights to film clips of his dances and after his death, these rights - which are essentially rights of publicity - passed to his widow Robyn Smith Astaire - who charges a fee schedule for the airing of these clips that some program producers consider uneconomic. Mrs. Astaire has contended that the license fees are moderate and are used to help fund litigation to defend against copyright infringement of her late husband's estate.

In recent years, following the issuance of most of Astaire's films on DVD and the advent of sites such as Youtube which feature many of his most famous dance clips, the public is becoming increasingly exposed to his work.

I think this one with 'old bag' Ginger Rogers is even better - particularly the ending:

Freedom Is Brown

2009-12-05T23:07:00.002-05:00

So apparently right now there's a *Climate Summit* going on in Copenhagen.

Bill's not there but they took precaution nonetheless...

Prostitutes Offer Free Climate S*x

Copenhagen Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard sent postcards to city hotels warning summit guests not to patronize Danish s*x workers during the upcoming conference. Now, the prostitutes have struck back, offering free s*x to anyone who produces one of the warnings.

Copenhagen's city council in conjunction with Lord Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard sent postcards out to 160 Copenhagen hotels urging COP15 guests and delegates to 'Be sustainable - don't buy s*x.'

SUSTAINABLE???

What exactly isn't *green* about the business of prostitution?

Must be the petroleum-product latex, right?

Well I just googled....and it turns out that latex is supposedly organic, from trees or something.

And utilizing prostitutes has to be greener than going home all bottled up, and possibly impregnating one's life partner, right? Link:

Families with more than two children create an unbearable burden on the environment and is ‘irresponsible’, says an environmental adviser to the U.K. government quoted in the Sunday Times.

The chairman of the U.K.’s Sustainable Development Commission believes that in order to seriously combat global warming, population growth needs to be curbed through the usage of contraception and abortion.

"I am unapologetic about asking people to connect up their own responsibility for their total environmental footprint and how they decide to procreate and how many children they think are appropriate," Porritt said.

Porritt, a father of two children, even went so far as to say that the government should be shifting some of their funding from the curing of illnesses to paying for contraception and abortion.

So, what the heck could 'Be sustainable - don't buy s*x.' possibly mean???

I'll tell you.

This inanity means nothing.

It's just MORE proof that the entire eco-pagan agenda has been co-opted by global statists - Morons who simply want to control every aspect of human behavior. Anything these pinkos don't want people to do is simply branded *not green*.

Go back a couple thousand years to the Roman Empire.

Remember at first, Christians were viciously persecuted as a threat to the Emperor. Early believers were crucified, stoned to death, and became lion meat in the Coliseum.

But, as time wore on, and the religion kept growing....subsequent rulers actually ADOPTED Christianity as the new state religion!

They didn't do this because they were all of a sudden imbued with the Holy Spirit.

No, they sanctioned Christianity to help maintain control of those wretched plebes.

I do wonder if there is in fact *scientific consensus* on the brownness of the world's oldest profession...

Remember This One?

2009-12-05T18:27:00.004-05:00

The Fifteen Puzzle

Click the link. Seems a whole lot easier as an adult!

Might see if my five year old son is interested in it...

Bank Of Deception

2009-12-04T22:24:00.002-05:00

I guess I have to keep commenting on my buddy Ken Lewis and his circus act departure.

Two days ago, BAC annouced they would *repay the TARP* money that was half-forced on them by the government.

Now there're a whole lot of things happening here so the event has to be carefully dissected.

Earlier this year, as BAC stock spiraled to $2.50 a share (!), Ken Lewis was out there saying that he *never should have taken so much money* that some of it was *forced on him*....and that they'd *pay back the money by the end of the year*. Most of this whining was ridiculous; a CEO shouldn't care about stock price fluctuations. It's simple, if your stock unfairly goes to 2.50, then management (or private equity) should be buying it back - at least all of those dilutive shares it grants itself each year!

So here it is the end of the year and it Ken is paying back the TARP money.

Or is he?

More accurately, I submit that CURRENT SHAREHOLDERS are paying it back since they are being diluted to the tune of $19 billion.

At this very moment, Bank of America is trying to find a successor to the embattled, Moronic Lewis. The details of which were covered in - Titanic Can't Find Willing Skipper. Essentially, a cadre of idiot pundits and whatnot believe that having borrowed (more) money from the Federal government, that such a yoke was making the open CEO job unattractive to the *good candidates*.

Side Note - Do y'all think ANY veteran from the banking industry, ANYWHERE, over the past several years has displayed the acumen needed to head Bankrupt of America?

I certainly don't. They need a perspicacious, Captious outsider.

You see, whether BAC shareholders(!) pay back the TARP money now or not is beside the point. The Feds have demonstrated that they can be tapped, whenever, with impunity, henceforth!

Okay, moving on to the dilution.

I'm no forensic accountant, but apparently even those dudes can't understand the financial legerdemain that's being passed off by the likes of BAC, JPM, WFC, C, et al.

But think of it this way - BAC needed $19,000,000,000 in NEW CAPITAL - over and beyond what it had left from the initial Fed, TARP loan.

Minimally, that implies that Bank of America LOST $19 billion in the past 12 months or so.

I say 'minimally' because these banks are leveraged - probably at somewhere between 5 to 10 times its capital base (if not way more).

So a $19 billion capital injection, to my amateur accounting intellect anyway, implies that BAC LOST or *wrote down* at least $95 billion in its assets over this period.

And, mind you, these are merely the recognized losses in a time where the banks have been given license to mark-to-myth their assets. Just imagine how big this dilution would be otherwise.

I've read a bunch of the media reports on this recent news and clearly, nobody really got what happened.

The idea that BAC paid back the money because *they no longer need it* is a complete joke.

As was this little *can't find a new CEO....ergo we have to dislodge from the Federal teat* soap opera.

The fact is, Bank of America is losing money hand-over-fist; they raised capital because they NEEDED CAPITAL - and they'll need plenty more.

Luckily for shareholders, the stock has magically tripled off its March low - otherwise the dilution would have been exponentially far worse.

Another important thing to remember is that this wasn't a classic case of *raising money...to invest money*. No, the money they raised is already gone, already sent back to the Feds. BAC's balance sheet hasn't improved a lick from this transaction.

All it did was jam the shareholders....

And give the board/management the cover to go on doing the things they did which got them into this mess in the first place!

An Obvious Right-Wing Nutjob

2009-12-04T19:45:00.003-05:00

I wouldn't let this guy *adjust* me...

AND I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T LET HIM *ADJUST* MY KIDS!

Yoga and golf are two sports(!) that I don't think kids should be partaking in anyways.

....Will Break Your Bone(r)

2009-12-04T18:36:00.005-05:00

Women joggers chase man with pants down through Vancouver Island Park

NANAIMO, B.C. — Police say a man who exposed himself to two female joggers in a Vancouver Island park may "think twice" before doing it again after the women chased him with sticks and stones while calling him a coward.

Ann Holroyd and her year daughter Leann, 19, were jogging in a Nanaimo park on Saturday when they saw a man, about 30 years old, with his pants down around his ankles. He was dancing from side to side with face partially covered with a tuque pulled down over his eyes, Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O'Brien said in a news release.

"The two initially turned to leave but decided against it and made a decision to not let this incident ruin their afternoon," said O'Brien. "The two picked up sticks and stones and charged at the male yelling 'Coward, coward.' The male quickly decided he had enough and hastily pulled up his pants and ran out of the park."

Sticks and stones???

Hard to find pics to go with this story so I improvised.

From Wikipedia:

The hippopotamus is recognizable by its barrel-shaped torso, enormous mouth and teeth, nearly-hairless body, stubby legs and tremendous size. It is the third-largest land mammal by weight (between 1½ and 3½ tons), behind the white rhinoceros (1½ to 4 tons) and elephants (3 to 7 tons). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. Hippos have been clocked at 18 mph (29 km/h) over short distances. The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive creatures in the world and is often regarded as the most ferocious animal in Africa.

Could be why there are no pokey white dudes indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa!

Razing Kids Via Faulkner

2009-12-04T18:34:00.000-05:00

I saw that curious headline last week in my parents' local agitprop rag over Thanksgiving.

HC is The College of the Holy Cross, probably Worcester, Massachusetts' best and most widely known attraction.

The summary quote:

The demolitions are part of a strategy by college officials to cut down on rowdy behavior and partying by students, which have driven a deep wedge between the Jesuit institution and its neighbors.

The college said it will aggressively seek to purchase other homes that come on the market, preventing absentee landlords from buying those properties and subsequently leasing them to students.

So let me get this straight, the college punks are rowdy....so the school is going to demolish nearby buildings?

Doesn't that strike y'all as a pretty *blunt* solution?

Now that same holiday I got to spend extensive time with two of my intellectually superior uncles, both of whom happen to have attended Holy Cross back in the 60s, before it went co-ed, and when it was allegedly ranked *up there with Harvard*.

On Thanksgiving, one of them told me about a professor of English he had at Holy Cross. Every week, the instructor, a priest I believe, would, in addition to a class, meet individually with each student for a half hour or so.

During that time, each pupil would generally have to present/read the paper they were assigned the week before.

So after one such meeting, Rev. Thomas Grace said to my uncle,

"For next week, I want you to read the Snopes trilogy by William Faulkner. And I want your paper to compare imagery, symbolism,...across the three books."

My uncle pooped his pants. Those books spanned *1300 pages* - and not just any 1,300 pages...1,300 PAGES OF WILLIAM FAULKNER with his drunken run-on sentences!

For example, from Absalom, Absalom!:

From a little after two oclock until almost sundown of the long still hot weary dead September afternoon they sat in what Miss Coldfield still called the office because her father had called it that-a dim hot airless room with the blinds all closed and fastened for forty-three summers because when she was a girl someone had believed that light and moving air carried heat and that dark was always cooler, and which (as the sun shone fuller and fuller on that side of the house) became latticed with yellow slashes full of dust motes which Quentin thought of as being flecks of the dead old dried paint itself blown inward from the scaling blinds as wind might have blown them. There was a wistaria vine blooming for the second time that summer on a wooden trellis before one window, into which sparrows came now and then in random gusts, making a dry vivid dusty sound before going away: and opposite Quentin, Miss Coldfield in the eternal black which she had worn for forty-three years now, whether for sister, father, or nothusband none knew, sitting so bolt upright in the straight hard chair that was so tall for her that her legs hung straight and rigid as if she had iron shinbones and ankles, clear of the floor with that air of impotent and static rage like children's feet, and talking in that grim haggard amazed voice until at last listening would renege and hearing-sense self-confound and the long-dead object of her impotent yet indomitable frustration would appear, as though by outraged recapitulation evoked, quiet inattentive and harmless, out of the biding and dreamy and victorious dust.

And not only did my uncle have to read all those pages...

He had to PAY ATTENTION, UNDERSTAND, and COMPOSE A PAPER that would *take about 20 minutes to read* - all in a week's time!!!

(Not to mention keep up with his other classes.)

Do you think he and his classmates were throwing raucous keggers every weekend? Do you think they constituted a public nuisance?

Now this is Massachusetts, and I'm sure the *rowdy off-campus* behavior of today's Holy Cross students has been blown way out of proportion...

But still, if that school wants to sedate its student body, all that's really needed are a few more manly book assignments!

Shoot, that's Ted Williams at Holy Cross' Fitton Field!

WILLIAMS, FIRST at BAT, Holy Cross April 1939 - Baseball great Ted Williams at Fitton Field, Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts taken on April 14, 1939. According to popular historical information, the occasion was a pre-season exhibition game which turned out to be rookie Williams first day in a Boston Red Sox uniform in the team's home territory. In his first time at bat, shown here, Ted Williams belted in a Grandslam homerun, driving in three famous teammates and future hall of famers Jimmie Foxx, Bobby Doerr and Joe Cronin.

Another Oft-Asked Question

2009-12-04T08:55:00.000-05:00

My MIL forwarded this email to me from one of her 'old coot' jabronis:

Speaking about learning, does C-Nut have any resources for Math & Science? I'm looking for some for [grandson] in 6th grade. He's bored to death, gets straight A's and isn't challenged at all. Even in the gifted program they don't do much. He reads at a 12th grade plus level and loves to read. I feel he'd do well and like Math & Science if he were challenged to do higher level work. I hate to see his capabilities go to waste. They tried to get him in the only good private school there. He passed all the academics but there were no openings. Even in this economy, because the public school budgets are cut way back, people are keeping their children in the private schools. When China and India lead the world, we can blame ourselves for the paucity of interest in our educational system. At least in the NY suburbs, you have better schools.

Hmmmm....

So what should I say?

Should I recommend supplementary enrichment in the form of specific books, websites, and maybe inter-scholastic competition?

Won't that just make the kid even more bored in his age-graded classroom?

That seems like sort of a cruel thing to do, both to him and his classmates!

Now I don't know this kid in question at all, but the idea that a *private school* or a *better public school* would solve everything is fatuous, a mirage at best. The system was never designed to meet the needs of students - never mind the needs of individual students.

First and foremost, a kid with the above profile should skip a grade, or two.

Now I know the parents will never go for this, for unfounded *social reasons*. Still, if they asked, that's my best answer.

Secondly, I would advise him to, like I said above, carry on with advanced math independently. Just BUY the higher level books, READ THEM, and self-propel. Check out Singapore Math. Mine the web for its cornucopia of educational resources. The kid and his parents should create their own curriculum or course of study. He should strongly consider competing in the spelling bee, the geography bee, some of these competitive science fairs, and regional/national math competitions. (The latter is where I did the bulk of my ~~education~~ self-education - before blogging anyway.)

But the problem with *supplementing* is that the child's time has already been co-opted by factory, government schooling. Just the getting-ready and commuting time alone wastes a tragic amount of energy - never mind the tedious school day itself. And think for a moment about *homework*. Realize that homework is yet another intrusion into the family and intellectual life of students. Heck, they already had your kid for six freakin' hours that day! It's an intrusion in the sense that homework will impede not only extracurricular intellectual interests, but also parental time, and opportunities to WORK or learn a trade. I can't tell you how many *moms* I've heard whine about having to *help their kids with their homework each night*!

I know a local homeschooling parent who spent six long years trying to work with their child's government school, and other parents, at developing a strong *supplementary curriculum*.

Obviously, they gave up, ultimately choosing the path of home education - BUT only at the cost of precious time and energy. The child went from being *bored* at school to now being *behind* (somewhat) the other kids who were homeschooled from day one.

I genuinely like to be helpful, even if most askers will never, ever take my advice.

But these repeated questions kind of exasperate me.

I don't really want to talk about how to make marginal improvements within Big Education any more than I want to offer suggestions on *how to better wage war in Afghanistan*.

At root, these aren't really questions....they're COMPLAINTS.

Relatively Funny

2009-12-04T07:25:00.006-05:00

Check out these pics:

Kid is wearing a scrunchy on his wrist!

The Dad of both?

And I just loved this last one! Even though the eldest daughter has turned her snot-nose at *conformity*....that's not going to deter Mom from those traditional family photos! Hey, at least she smiled.

They're all from a blog titled Awkward Family Photos. Now there's a site with potential unlimited supply!

It also contains a hilarious Thanksgiving Letter:

From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.

Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney

Decent Documentary

2009-12-03T23:42:00.002-05:00

Watched this 75 minute documentary on HBO OnDemand this week.

I just love everything about NYC history. It wasn't nearly as good as those PBS shows, but it's still pretty decent.

On this same general subject, I highly recommend reading that tremendous book on Robert Moses - The Power Broker by Robert Caro. I just can't imagine anyone who's spent any time at all in the metro NY area not having read it.

It was truly one of the best, most fascinating books I've ever read. I took the tome with me on my honeymoon to Hawaii....and the entire trip felt like a threesome with me, my first wife, and Robert Moses!

Three In My Inbox Today

2009-12-03T20:20:00.006-05:00

Did anyone get emailed more *Tiger's Christmas cards* than that?

And, not for anything, but all of mine came from 'old coots'.

As for Tiger's admitted transgressions...

I have to think that when he married this Elin broad, that he had an *understanding* with her. That's the whole point of going for a Euro, no?

You just know that the pool guy and the gardener over at the Woods plantation are all geeked up to partake in a, less violent, act of *revenge*...

Art From My Butt

2009-12-02T22:26:00.005-05:00

Click that image to enlarge.

That was today's *drawing* session.

I've decided to incorporate sketching into our daily homeschool regimen - even though I myself can barely churn out legible handwriting!

The 5.00 year old Prince has already learned his shapes in those Kumon geometry books, so I figure a little side-door reinforcement can only help.

My son's assignment was to draw each of the figures on the list; and he did so with rapt enthusiasm and only a modicum of coaching. Almost everything now seems fun and easy after the torturous long division of decimals!

"You want to draw SpongeBob?"

"Well we're going to first have to sketch a square, and then two parallelograms attached to it..."

Though first, we had to learn how to draw parallel lines, congruent line segments, etc.

I'm no artist by any stretch. But I do remember from my youth, that there were a few things that I could sketch a bit. And those few things were what I drew over and over again as no doubt a mask for my incompetence.

After contemplating art a bit recently, I've come to see its importance as a PARTICIPATORY endeavor. Any big mouthed Moron can stare at a picture and wax provoked...just like any fat slob can second guess a play-call on his television - but that doesn't make him an athlete!

One thing that appeals to me about these *lessons* is that teaching kids to draw is progressive - not at all unlike going from the alphabet to composition or from finger counting to combinations and permutations. They really just need to learn the building blocks, practice a bit, and accept nudges from sagacious adults.

So how to go about getting my brood climbing the art learning curve?

Outsourcing?....that's inefficient AND expensive.

Which would only leave insourcing, to the aforementioned art-tarded parent(s).

I submit that educators have only a small chance of imbuing a child with enthusiasm for a subject that they themselves don't manifestly love.

In other words, how could I ever convince my kids of the importance of art if they have never witnessed Dad wielding chalk on a blank slate?

So I've made a point to sit down with them, and their crayons, and get about teaching AND learning.

Don't laugh at, well, probably my first sketch in the past 20 years.

My kids thought it was awesome....wicked awesome!

There are a ton of resources out there that, obviously, I will have to tap down the road.

And who knows, maybe I'll discover that there really was a flamboyant little artist in me - one that was suppressed by inferior methods of instruction?

Larry Brown - Price Fixer

2009-12-02T21:31:00.005-05:00

Consider this *outrage*:

CHARLOTTE -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown, a longtime confidante and former coach of Allen Iverson, expressed disappointment that the 76ers reportedly offered Iverson a one-year, non-guaranteed deal Tuesday. Iverson has yet to accept the contract but Philadelphia is the lone team to publicly express interest in Iverson after his messy departure from Memphis.

"That upsets me a little bit," Brown said. "I’m just looking at how that looks. But he just wants to play. I get worried about that message personally. But I also admire Philly for giving him a chance, that’s more meaningful for me. I look at a [player] that’s scored 20,000-plus points, played hurt and did so much and now he’s got to play for a non-guaranteed contract. That’s pretty troubling for me..."

Let's see, Allen Iverson is a pass-fourth point guard, who's over-the-hill, a thug, and a proven team cancer. Nobody wanted him this summer when he was a free agent. And nobody, save for an irrelevant and injury-riddled Sixers team, wants him now.

Yet for some reason Larry Brown thinks we should all feel bad about the *diss* of a non-guaranteed contract?

Last I checked, Larry is coaching the Bobcats. Why the bleep aren't they opening up their checkbook for the Answer?

Somebody please remind Larry Brown that Allen Iverson was paid $153.3 million over the course of his career - so what difference would an additional guaranteed 800k make?

FURTHERMORE, the guy with his antics, obviously hasn't earned any such rights!

Let me ask y'all something.

Telling others to sign and pay Iverson - when his organization most hypocritically won't...

Lamenting about what some two-bit thug *deserves* in the face of the marketplace clearly asserting otherwise...

And wielding emotional arguments about *career achievements* and what entitlements should follow...

My question is this:

What types of politicians do y'all think Larry votes for?

It's not so hard to discern, now is it?

Hold Those Kids Back - Lest They Amaze You

2009-12-02T10:50:00.000-05:00

Fresh from my personal inbox:

Interestingly, my sister runs a daycare....she was complaining about a parent who pulls her kid out of daycare early to take him to reading lessons (the kid is 3). My sister says (no joke), "What's the point of learning to read when you're 3 years old? That makes no sense. When the kid gets to kindergarten, he's just gonna be bored, sit there, and probably cause trouble for the other kids." I tried to offer enlightened alternative perspectives, but she firmly believed (and argued with passion) that learning to read before kindergarten is wasted effort.

There's nothing outstanding about that Moronic email...

Except that I believe it's the THIRD TIME in the past few months where I've been relayed THE EXACT SAME line of *reasoning*.

What's sad about those parents, who intentionally hold their kids back, is that they are merely trying to game the useless and harmful system of academia.

All of the millions of kids and parents out there hellbent on getting *good grades*...

I look at them with sad eyes. What a tragedy of wasted effort and wasted humanity.

Go ask any 'old coot' out there. Ask them how supremely pivotal their report cards were for the course of their lives.

There's simply ZERO EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE for today's exaltation of grades and degrees.

It's merely a triumph of social propaganda and institutional inertia. Once a degreed and certified class is raised and ascendant, it's near impossible for them to ever look objectively at the BS system from which they graduated.

In fact I was thinking about this the other day. I've read a ton of people, smart ones to boot, but I've NEVER read one person like myself who Marginalizes their own inadequate schooling. I believe my rare capacity speaks to a poverty of genuine self-analysis amongst the population.

Yeah, I do have such a massive ego that I can rip myself apart and keep my chin up.

But still, it should be no wonder that since most everyone has been inculcated with the mindset that only *others* (third parties: teachers, experts, gov't agencies) are capable of assessing them....it should be no wonder that we now have an entire populace allergic to a good hard look in the mirror.

See also - Coddling For Growth?.

And for one good, classic post where I Marginalize myself, see - Sheep To Slaughter.

Ruining Kids For Vegetables

2009-12-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

Daddy, what happened to her?

Son, she ate a lot of vegetables.

Now what's going on here? Is she obese or is this Baal-worshipper pregnant?

Can vegans, given their oh-so-healthy diet, even cultivate such a paunch?

And who, in their right mind, would ever impregnate one?

Complicating the mystery is the fact that a *turkey baster* is probably off-limits as well to these carnophobes.

Don't misunderstand, I don't have a problem with vegetarians.

In fact, many of the animals I consume are in fact strict vegans!

See also - On Vegetarians.

Potato Gnocchi

2009-12-01T23:23:00.003-05:00

Or, as my wife's Italian cookbook calls them, *Gnocchi di Patate*.

They're not that hard to make from scratch and taste soooo much better than the store-bought variety.

Bake or nuke 2 med-large russet potatoes. Bake for 50 minutes at 375 degrees. Nuke for maybe 6 minutes. Before baking cut a long slit in the skin. Before nuking, poke some holes with a fork. However you do it, the potatoes need to be *soft* to be done.

These babies need to cool. Get the peels off and set aside.

When cool enough to handle, rice them. Or, if you don't have one, just break them up on your hand-held grater like I do.

Combine the potatoes with 1.5 cups of flour, one lightly beaten large egg yolk, and 1 TB salt in a bowl. Use a wooden spoon to get the mixture started - and then your hands if necessary.

When mixed, make into a large ball with you hands. This won't stick so great so here's where the artistry comes in.

Cut the ball into 8 pieces. Halve if three times for precision! Take each one and stretch/knead/gently roll it into a stick as wide as feminine thumb. Then take a knife and chop it into pieces maybe .75-1 inch long. I believe some show-offs will use a fork to make'em pretty. Whatever.

Remove pieces to a wax-papered tray, plate, or whatever - perhaps very lightly floured.

Repeat with the other 7 pieces until the gnocchi are all made.

Obviously, all of the work is working the dough. It does take some practice to get a feel for the process.

You can leave them out for a bit, or refrigerate even overnight I believe.

When ready to cook, boil a large pot of salted water and drop them in. Be ready with a slotted spoon to scoop them off the surface. Pretty much, as soon at they rise up, they're done.

We serve them with homemade pesto since they are pretty *heavy*. The internet is teeming with recipes for other sauces.

Pasta is indeed my favorite food on planet Earth. Though, IMO, homemade pasta doesn't really taste that much better than boxed Barilla unless one is in Italy.

But outside of the gnocchi, I've never really made pasta myself. I do want one of those rolling machines....and my MIL has maybe four in kitchen....

BUT she's a total female chauvinist when it comes to food. She won't give me one!

We have about 8 or 9 pasta dishes in our rotation. Just about every Sunday I make a batch (or a sauce). The kids and I both love it and it's pretty easy to nuke for meals in a busy household.

Rude Is Taught!

2009-12-01T21:42:00.004-05:00

Very good article here on how humans are biologically disposed towards *help*:

We May Born With An Urge To Help

What is the essence of human nature? Flawed, say many theologians. Vicious and addicted to warfare, wrote Hobbes. Selfish and in need of considerable improvement, think many parents.

But biologists are beginning to form a generally sunnier view of humankind. Their conclusions are derived in part from testing very young children, and partly from comparing human children with those of chimpanzees, hoping that the differences will point to what is distinctively human.

The somewhat surprising answer at which some biologists have arrived is that babies are innately sociable and helpful to others. Of course every animal must to some extent be selfish to survive. But the biologists also see in humans a natural willingness to help.

When infants 18 months old see an unrelated adult whose hands are full and who needs assistance opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin, they will immediately help...

Time forbids me from summarizing it and commenting with due justice. So read it for yourselves.

I may have to look into these sources some more; a couple seem like they really *get it*.

I'm sure I've said it before - it's the *planners*, economic and social, whose institutions and agitprop turn naturally humane beings into selfish, rude, sons of b*tches.

Furthermore, if the lumpen masses are inherently social and compassionate....then that obviates the need for Big Government paternalism, redistribution, AND its very existence!

This is a subject at the forefront of my brain these days.

You see, I just recently realized that I've spent my entire 35 year existence in the furtherance of MY dreams, MY pleasure, MY self-amusement, MY education, and MY future.

I can darn well teach my kids academic subjects with the utmost competency.

But it hasn't been demonstrated that I know the slightest thing about living a charitable or others-centric life.

So on this subject, I'm going to have to learn and teach at the same time.

Later this month, I'm scheduled to do my very first act of off-my-ass, non-financial charity in one of the local hoods.

I have to start somewhere...and better late than never, right?

Tiger Woods, Caught With Naked Feet!

2009-12-01T21:19:00.004-05:00

Officers are examining whether any crime was committed, and looking into suggestions that Woods may have been driving without shoes, which is illegal in Florida, and that he may have been assaulted by his golf club-wielding wife, Elin Nordegren, before the crash.

Now, for those of you who missed it...

There was quite some debate about the legality (not to mention the propriety and health) of barefeet. See the lengthy comment section of - Is Your Brood Shod?

And the link for the Tiger Woods situation is here.

Meanwhile, the odds are now posted on Tiger's marriage surviving December!

See also - The Risks of Marrying Down.

And the lovely semi-related, visual over at - Foot Nudists.

Complimenting Barry Ritholtz - Consistently Ignorant

2009-12-01T19:53:00.006-05:00

From my buddy Barry Ritholtz's recent post - Fed Reserve Endorses "Crony Communism" For Wealthy:

My pet theory is that all of the anger about Health Care Reform is misdirected rage at the corrupt Bailouts. I don’t want to get too Continental on you, but the conversation in Europe I encountered repeatedly was the sheer perplexity at why people are protesting health care coverage for all. One fund manager said to me in Berlin, "You give trillions to rogue bankers, yet you have 40 million uninsured American. Why is that?"

My answer: I haven’t the foggiest idea why.

He's right!

He really DOESN'T have the foggiest idea about healthcare economics.

Dear Barry Ritholtz,

The problem with having Big Government just health insure 40 million Americans...

Well, for a hint, just take a look at a look at freakin' Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA!

Fannie:

The company was carrying $198.3 billion(!) in non-performing loans in its guaranty book of business on September 30, up from $171.0 billion on June 30 and $119.2 billion at the end of 2008. The carrying value of foreclosed properties was $7.3 billion in the third quarter, $6.2 billion in the second and $6.6 billion in the same quarter last year.

Freddie:

Freddie Mac said it didn't need any additional federal aid for the second straight quarter as it reported a loss of $6.3 billion for the third quarter on Friday.

But the company said it expected to ask for more handouts from the U.S. Treasury in the future as rising unemployment and falling home prices continue to drive higher credit-related losses for both Freddie and its larger rival, Fannie Mae.

Together with Fannie Mae, which said on Thursday it would need a $15 billion capital injection, the tab for the U.S. government's bailout of both mortgage-finance giants has climbed over the past year to $112 billion, making it one of the costliest government interventions ever to stabilize housing and financial markets.

The U.S. Treasury has agreed to provide as much as $200 billion in capital to each company by buying preferred stock that pays 10% dividends. Regulators took control of Fannie and Freddie through a legal process known as conservatorship 14 months ago

.

FHA:

Defaults spiked. About 24 percent of FHA loans were in default in 2007 and 20 percent in 2008, according to the agency. The agency's reserves kept tumbling.

As mortgages continue to sour, the Federal Housing Administration's reserve fund continues to deteriorate. That's not a big surprise. What might be a surprise is the fact that the FHA can get bailout money from the U.S. Treasury without seeking approval from Congress.

An automatic FHA bailout is part of the 1990 law under which the FHA turns over to the Treasury any excess money the agency collects in insurance premiums after it pays out its losses. This excess money goes into an FHA emergency reserve fund. Whenever the FHA needs money, it can draw from the reserve fund. The surprising thing is that there is no limit on the amount that can be withdrawn from the the reserve fund. All FHA loans are backed by the full faith and credit of the government, so if the FHA needs more than the amount of funds in the emergency reserve, it gets it, without the need for Congressional approval.

Meanwhile, Barry Ritholtz is musing among his Euro comrades, "What could possibly be wrong with merely granting everyone a house and a mortgage? With granting everyone a government job, a government pension, and a taxpayer-subsidized education????"

Amazingly, he complains aplenty about the broad daylight theivery on Wall Street - even wrote a book on the subject. Yet Barry hasn't the slightest idea that it's a government sanctioned and subsidized crime zone.

That's right, the stock exchanges, i-banks, and money management business are born of *public*, er regulated, securitites' markets, the 401k income tax exemption, *fractional reserve* lending, the venal political connections of Goldman Sachs, etc.

I smacked the poop out of Ritholtz, and touched upon this very issue of his encyclopedic ignorance in - A Fight Where No One Got Hurt.

Only three minutes after publishing the blog post featured atop, Barry posted this addendum in the comment section:

Don’t get boggged down discussing Health Care — it isn’t my bailiwick, and I don’t have a professional interest in — but the Europeans are utterly perplexed by the debate.

The real issue is what will the Fed’s largesse and our collective refusal to hold people accountable for their actions lead to?

Hah!

Why doesn't he just say *I don't understand basic economics....it isn't my bailiwick*?

The sad thing is, on politicized Wall Street, economics is irrelevant. It's all who you know, self-marketing, momentum, and luck. And relatively speaking, in all honesty, Barry knows a heck of a lot more than most of the Morons out there allocating billions of soon-to-be-worthless dollars.

[Click that last link above "A Fight..." as it contains considerable overlap to this post.]