Mary & I recently decided to try raw milk at a local farm—Deerfield Farm. It's delicious!
I'm still learning about the benefits of raw milk vs. non-fat milk. Of course, whole raw milk has more calories than the non-fat milk I had been drinking. However, that's offset by my regular exercise regimen. As long as I'm not gaining weight (unless it's muscle) while remaining healthy and strong for my uphill runs, I'm good.
Caveat: I'm not trying out raw milk because of any affection for "going green" nonsense. In my hierarchy of values, man is first; bugs, critters, vegetation, etc. are much lower values.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Undercurrent
A friend suggested I take a look at this Objectivist student newspaper. I like what I see so far. Happily, no blips on the Libertarian radar showed up.
Check it out. If you see anything noteworthy, especially good things to report, please do!
Check it out. If you see anything noteworthy, especially good things to report, please do!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Art as a Concretization of Metaphysics
Last week, I had the special pleasure of attending my friend Barry's seminar entitled "Art as a Concretization of Metaphysics". The distance he traveled to deliver this seminar was far greater than the thousands of miles between Istanbul and Boston. The distance is also measured in years poured into maturing his understanding of Objectivism, of art, of beauty, of cultures, of the languages used to express them, of so much more—in short, of life itself.
Among the measures of success of his seminar were the many positive comments I witnessed as one student after another approached him after each class. Another measure included Mary, who, as a non-Objectivist with sharp disagreements with much of the philosophy, enjoyed Barry's seminar very much. That fact spoke well of the universality of his themes and how well he covered them.
One of those themes was to speak to this question: "What is it in the nature of man that gives rise to art, to his need for it across all times spanning all cultures?" Ayn Rand touches on this question in the Romantic Manifesto. Her description of the function of art can be read here. Barry's seminar did a solid job of fleshing out this idea, of showing how your metaphysical value-judgments affect your choices in things as simple as what to eat for breakfast to career decisions.
A critical point his seminar highlighted was this—man cannot not generalize. His interactions with the world over the course of his life covers countless details. Try to hold them all in your conscious awareness at once. You'll fail, of course. Generalization satisfies man's conceptual faculty, his need to sum up not only what he sees, but also his evaluations of what he sees.
Of course, summing up means leaving out some details. If you try to retain everything, you're back to the original problem—i.e., that you can't hold it all in your conscious awareness. What to leave out necessarily implies what to leave in—i.e., a selective recreation of reality.
There's much more to this topic, of course. Later, I'll refer you to Barry's seminar which should be available on CD some time soon. For now, I just want to make a note of something.
During the seminar, someone asked whether or not an exceptional personality could go without art to fuel his soul in his pursuit of some great value. Barry answered it well, though I don't have good notes on exactly what he said. As I thought more about the question, it dawned on me later that one way to respond would be to make this observation: can you pursue a great value without food or sleep? Yes, for a short time, in an emergency. But, barring an emergency, why would you want to?
Incidentally, this question, too, can give some insight to your metaphysical value-judgments—e.g., do you possess a malevolent universe premise or a benevolent universe premise? For example, do you think emergencies are the norm of life or the exception? Your answer will determine your answers to many concrete specifics—e.g., what career choices you make or what to have for breakfast?
Personally, I was moved by the way Barry ended his seminar. Being deeply reality oriented, he had to share with his class examples of the rubbish that passes for art today. Being deeply reality oriented, he also had to share with his class the hope for the future in romantic art via the romanticism upheld by Ayn Rand's powerhouse ideals. To put it another way, he showed things not only as they are but as they can and ought to be. It was inspiring.
Among the measures of success of his seminar were the many positive comments I witnessed as one student after another approached him after each class. Another measure included Mary, who, as a non-Objectivist with sharp disagreements with much of the philosophy, enjoyed Barry's seminar very much. That fact spoke well of the universality of his themes and how well he covered them.
One of those themes was to speak to this question: "What is it in the nature of man that gives rise to art, to his need for it across all times spanning all cultures?" Ayn Rand touches on this question in the Romantic Manifesto. Her description of the function of art can be read here. Barry's seminar did a solid job of fleshing out this idea, of showing how your metaphysical value-judgments affect your choices in things as simple as what to eat for breakfast to career decisions.
A critical point his seminar highlighted was this—man cannot not generalize. His interactions with the world over the course of his life covers countless details. Try to hold them all in your conscious awareness at once. You'll fail, of course. Generalization satisfies man's conceptual faculty, his need to sum up not only what he sees, but also his evaluations of what he sees.
Of course, summing up means leaving out some details. If you try to retain everything, you're back to the original problem—i.e., that you can't hold it all in your conscious awareness. What to leave out necessarily implies what to leave in—i.e., a selective recreation of reality.
There's much more to this topic, of course. Later, I'll refer you to Barry's seminar which should be available on CD some time soon. For now, I just want to make a note of something.
During the seminar, someone asked whether or not an exceptional personality could go without art to fuel his soul in his pursuit of some great value. Barry answered it well, though I don't have good notes on exactly what he said. As I thought more about the question, it dawned on me later that one way to respond would be to make this observation: can you pursue a great value without food or sleep? Yes, for a short time, in an emergency. But, barring an emergency, why would you want to?
Incidentally, this question, too, can give some insight to your metaphysical value-judgments—e.g., do you possess a malevolent universe premise or a benevolent universe premise? For example, do you think emergencies are the norm of life or the exception? Your answer will determine your answers to many concrete specifics—e.g., what career choices you make or what to have for breakfast?
Personally, I was moved by the way Barry ended his seminar. Being deeply reality oriented, he had to share with his class examples of the rubbish that passes for art today. Being deeply reality oriented, he also had to share with his class the hope for the future in romantic art via the romanticism upheld by Ayn Rand's powerhouse ideals. To put it another way, he showed things not only as they are but as they can and ought to be. It was inspiring.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Kindle & Victor Hugo
Just taking a moment to geek out about Kindle. Specifically, I just bought the Works of Victor Hugo. Among other things, it includes The Man Who Laughs.
For years, The Man Who Laughs was out of print. I was pleased by and grateful for the work of those who brought it back into print. Having read it several times, I'm thrilled now to have a copy of it in my Kindle, where I can search on keywords for passages that are important to me.
For example, I mentioned to Mary how someone I met recently reminded me of Barkilphedro, a vile, hateful, little man who manipulated his way into some degree of power. With some important details lost in a foggy memory, my Kindle copy of The Man Who Laughs can now quickly dispel the fog.
And that's just my current focal point! The Works of Victor Hugo collection includes Toilers of the Sea, Les Miserables, Hugo's poems, his non-fiction, and more. And all this for less than $5!!
Un-freakin'-believable! Man, I love capitalism. Even as the knee of this mighty Atlas buckles under the growing weight of a socialist world, it still produces gems like this.
For years, The Man Who Laughs was out of print. I was pleased by and grateful for the work of those who brought it back into print. Having read it several times, I'm thrilled now to have a copy of it in my Kindle, where I can search on keywords for passages that are important to me.
For example, I mentioned to Mary how someone I met recently reminded me of Barkilphedro, a vile, hateful, little man who manipulated his way into some degree of power. With some important details lost in a foggy memory, my Kindle copy of The Man Who Laughs can now quickly dispel the fog.
And that's just my current focal point! The Works of Victor Hugo collection includes Toilers of the Sea, Les Miserables, Hugo's poems, his non-fiction, and more. And all this for less than $5!!
Un-freakin'-believable! Man, I love capitalism. Even as the knee of this mighty Atlas buckles under the growing weight of a socialist world, it still produces gems like this.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Virtual Museum Online
My friend, Barry, introduced me to a German web site that presents sculptures in 3-D (thank you QuickTime!). I don't understand a word of German but I know what 360° means. And that's enough in this case.
Specifically, when you visit the site, just click a thumbnail picture. Then, look for 360° beneath the picture. Click it. Then, drag the picture left or right to see it rotate 360°.
Very cool. Enjoy.
Specifically, when you visit the site, just click a thumbnail picture. Then, look for 360° beneath the picture. Click it. Then, drag the picture left or right to see it rotate 360°.
Very cool. Enjoy.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
LoseIt!
One of the wonderful things about my new iTouch is this—LoseIt!. I started using this free app on March 13. With its simple assistance, in the space of almost 2 months, I've lost 15 pounds!
As with any tool, you get out of it what you put into it. The tool itself is not magic. If there's any magic, it's the wonder of asserting your free will—i.e., I'm gonna do this: period. In my case, "do this" refers to my goal to lose 20 pounds.
Being very conservative, I gave myself all summer to reach that goal. I'm simply amazed to see myself 75% of the way toward my goal within 8 weeks. So, I gave myself the summer and spring is not even over yet. Not too shabby.
In my case, I haven't been simply watching what I eat. I've also been working out. In particular, I've been taking advantage of a local hill. For weeks, all I did was walk up and down. Lately, I've advanced to jogging down the hill and walking back up as quickly as I can. I slow down to keep my heart rate between 150 and 160 bpm. It's easy on my aging joints. I burn a helluva lot more calories more quickly than just walking up and down a level street.
Long story short: LoseIt! has inspired me to cut down on sweets significantly, eat far more fruits and veges, and simplify the challenge of counting calories day to day. The end result is not just weighing less, but improving my quality of life in many, many ways.
As with any tool, you get out of it what you put into it. The tool itself is not magic. If there's any magic, it's the wonder of asserting your free will—i.e., I'm gonna do this: period. In my case, "do this" refers to my goal to lose 20 pounds.
Being very conservative, I gave myself all summer to reach that goal. I'm simply amazed to see myself 75% of the way toward my goal within 8 weeks. So, I gave myself the summer and spring is not even over yet. Not too shabby.
In my case, I haven't been simply watching what I eat. I've also been working out. In particular, I've been taking advantage of a local hill. For weeks, all I did was walk up and down. Lately, I've advanced to jogging down the hill and walking back up as quickly as I can. I slow down to keep my heart rate between 150 and 160 bpm. It's easy on my aging joints. I burn a helluva lot more calories more quickly than just walking up and down a level street.
Long story short: LoseIt! has inspired me to cut down on sweets significantly, eat far more fruits and veges, and simplify the challenge of counting calories day to day. The end result is not just weighing less, but improving my quality of life in many, many ways.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Amtrak
This past weekend, Mary and I paid another visit to Philadelphia. This time, we went by train. Our last visit was by car. That was a high stress option. The train proved to be a very comfortable, decidedly low-stress option. As such, the price—about $50 one-way—was a bargain.
Among other things, it meant shunning one of the busiest traffic corridors in the nation—i.e., through NYC. You can navigate around that, of course. But it adds hours and miles to the drive. For my money, being able to sit back in a comfy chair, listening to my music, reading a good book, enjoying the views out the window once in a while while someone else drives is worth every penny.
Also, Amtrak features something called a "quiet car". What that means is no gabbing on cell phones or loud talking. Take it to another car if that's what you want. And, happily, fellow passengers are not shy about enforcing the quiet car rules. We enjoyed one of these quiet cars all the way from New Haven to Philly. Ahhhh.
Among other things, it meant shunning one of the busiest traffic corridors in the nation—i.e., through NYC. You can navigate around that, of course. But it adds hours and miles to the drive. For my money, being able to sit back in a comfy chair, listening to my music, reading a good book, enjoying the views out the window once in a while while someone else drives is worth every penny.
Also, Amtrak features something called a "quiet car". What that means is no gabbing on cell phones or loud talking. Take it to another car if that's what you want. And, happily, fellow passengers are not shy about enforcing the quiet car rules. We enjoyed one of these quiet cars all the way from New Haven to Philly. Ahhhh.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
HDTV <> PC Connection
Today, I was happy to find that for a mere $13 I could hook up my laptop to my HDTV!
Sound and picture work seamlessly. Specifically, instead of the sound coming though the laptop's built in speakers, it's transmitted to the HDTV via the earphone plug. The picture connection is via the laptop's built in monitor plug.
The connection is via a product called an HD15 (SVGA) Male + 3.5 Stereo Male at both ends. I bought it via Amazon.com.
To be precise, this cable doesn't work as is for my laptop. It works for Mary's laptop. The reason is this—the sound connection is part of the picture connection; to put it another way, they're on the same cable. As such, it requires that the distance from your laptop's earplug connection to its monitor connection be about 12". On my laptop, that's not the case (at least not cleanly). On Mary's it is.
That said, I can remedy it easily by buying an extension cord for the earplug connection. No biggie.
The payoff for this effort is this—now we can watch Netflix and Hulu.com on TV instead of exclusively on a laptop monitor. Nice!
Sound and picture work seamlessly. Specifically, instead of the sound coming though the laptop's built in speakers, it's transmitted to the HDTV via the earphone plug. The picture connection is via the laptop's built in monitor plug.
The connection is via a product called an HD15 (SVGA) Male + 3.5 Stereo Male at both ends. I bought it via Amazon.com.
To be precise, this cable doesn't work as is for my laptop. It works for Mary's laptop. The reason is this—the sound connection is part of the picture connection; to put it another way, they're on the same cable. As such, it requires that the distance from your laptop's earplug connection to its monitor connection be about 12". On my laptop, that's not the case (at least not cleanly). On Mary's it is.
That said, I can remedy it easily by buying an extension cord for the earplug connection. No biggie.
The payoff for this effort is this—now we can watch Netflix and Hulu.com on TV instead of exclusively on a laptop monitor. Nice!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Greenspan is no friend of capitalism, no friend of freedom
Alan Greenspan effectively renounced his standing as capitalist, let alone as an Objectivist, in his years as the Fed chairman. He made his renunciation explicit by blaming the semi-free economy on which he inflicted himself for years at the Fed helm for its current state. He went the distance recently by adding his voice to calls to nationalize banks.
Granted, Bush confessed the same thing when he said:"I've abandoned free-market principles in order to save the free-market system." But the bar is set real low for him. I don't expect much from him.
Greenspan, on the other hand, should know better. It's literally his job to know better. For him to come out for nationalizing anything, let alone the banks, is no different, in principle, from saying this: "It may be necessary to temporarily bring back slavery in order to facilitate a swift and orderly return to prosperity." It's a deeply offensive idea and should be met with moral outrage.
”It may be necessary to temporarily nationalise some banks in order to facilitate a swift and orderly restructuring,” he said. “I understand that once in a hundred years this is what you do.”This remarkable confession demonstrates what it means to fail to grasp the concept principle—i.e., either we're free or not. Greenspan is saying, in effect, "Yeah, freedom is important, but not now; not after my policies and those of the US government across decades spawned this historic mess."
Granted, Bush confessed the same thing when he said:"I've abandoned free-market principles in order to save the free-market system." But the bar is set real low for him. I don't expect much from him.
Greenspan, on the other hand, should know better. It's literally his job to know better. For him to come out for nationalizing anything, let alone the banks, is no different, in principle, from saying this: "It may be necessary to temporarily bring back slavery in order to facilitate a swift and orderly return to prosperity." It's a deeply offensive idea and should be met with moral outrage.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Istanbul Cafe
This evening, I treated Mary to a good Turkish meal at Istanbul Cafe in New Haven. The food was very good.
I had Kuzu Şiş Kebab—"Lean cubes of lamb marinated and grilled over a charcoal fire. Its simple preparation allows you to savor the exquisite, smoky flavor of the coal-fired lamb." True to its word, it was simply prepared and simply delicious.
Mary had Patlican Musakka—"A dish of pan-fried eggplant laden with a rich meat sauce decked with potato, tomato and sautéed onion and then smothered with melted kasar cheese." Yummy.
With the meal, I was delighted to indulge in a rare glass of Kavaklidere white wine. Of course, I'm a bit biased, having enjoyed the wine first at Barry's wonderful wedding in Istanbul. The taste of this excellent wine brought back those sweet memories as well as pleasing me in the here and now with Mary.
With dessert, I enjoyed a cup of apple tea, a simple, delightful beverage I enjoyed often in Istanbul.
The Istanbul Cafe is has a large parking lot right next to it. I took advantage of that, not wanting to waste time searching for a parking spot on the busy New Haven streets.
To sum it up, Mary and I will be back...with friends!
I had Kuzu Şiş Kebab—"Lean cubes of lamb marinated and grilled over a charcoal fire. Its simple preparation allows you to savor the exquisite, smoky flavor of the coal-fired lamb." True to its word, it was simply prepared and simply delicious.
Mary had Patlican Musakka—"A dish of pan-fried eggplant laden with a rich meat sauce decked with potato, tomato and sautéed onion and then smothered with melted kasar cheese." Yummy.
With the meal, I was delighted to indulge in a rare glass of Kavaklidere white wine. Of course, I'm a bit biased, having enjoyed the wine first at Barry's wonderful wedding in Istanbul. The taste of this excellent wine brought back those sweet memories as well as pleasing me in the here and now with Mary.
With dessert, I enjoyed a cup of apple tea, a simple, delightful beverage I enjoyed often in Istanbul.
The Istanbul Cafe is has a large parking lot right next to it. I took advantage of that, not wanting to waste time searching for a parking spot on the busy New Haven streets.
To sum it up, Mary and I will be back...with friends!
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