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Monthly Archives: December 2020

Life in Squares

Monday, December 28, 2020

I would have to watch this BBC mini-series at least twice to have any hope of following it. Those who have recently read up on the members of the Bloomsbury Group, or who have recently read a biography of Virginia Woolf, might be able to keep up a bit better. Still, it’s great fun to […]

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Fire, smoke, food, and drink

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Pie from roasted pumpkin, baked in an iron skillet with fire and smoke Since it was the week before Christmas, I splurged on a Scotch that cost twice as much as what I usually pay. When I first tasted it, I was a bit shocked at how smoky the Scotch was. I usually prefer a […]

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Lapwing: a Glasgow Christmas

Saturday, December 19, 2020

The Herald of Scotland has a story today about two schoolteachers whose Christmas song is climbing on the charts. The video is shot in Glasgow. The Herald writes: “‘It’s really hard for the grandparents,’ said physics teacher Mr. Kwant, who has two young children. ‘Not getting to see their grandkids is a big thing, and […]

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Industrial art

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Click here for high-resolution version. From the moment I took these guys out of their boxes, I was eager to shoot their portraits. Justrite has been in business for 115 years. You can buy Justrite oil cans as antiques, including, of course, on eBay. The new cans seem to be even better made than the […]

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Amateurs?

Monday, December 14, 2020

I came across this video on Facebook. A friend posted it with the comment, “Give it a listen. You will be surprised.” These two look like such amateurs — even hicks — that I expected my ears to hurt. But I was surprised. I am repeatedly astonished at the musical sophistication of which children are […]

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Falling Skies, and The Mandalorian

Sunday, December 13, 2020

As you can see, it usually takes me a while to get around to watching things. “The Mandalorian” just started its second season. “Falling Skies” premiered in 2011 and ran for five seasons. Some people seem to stay up to date on what’s being released, and they watch things when they’re new. I can’t imagine […]

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Village-building

Friday, December 11, 2020

Whether we approve or not, Amazon is now important for rural people, just as the Sears catalog was many years ago. We recently put up new signs to help keep the Amazon trucks from getting lost. I usually think of myself as a hermit, hiding down in the forest, ruled by a bossy, devoted, and […]

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The Duchess of Duke Street

Saturday, December 5, 2020

In 1971, when Alistair Cooke began hosting Masterpiece Theater on PBS, the quality of American television went up several notches. Though series such as Upstairs, Downstairs were enormously popular, this wasn’t television for the American masses, who still preferred the networks to PBS. It was an elite sort of thing for liberals and the literati. […]

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