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Monthly Archives: August 2022

A vision of the Trumpian hellscape

Monday, August 29, 2022

The posthumous execution of Oliver Cromwell, 1661 My old friend Jonathan Rauch has an excellent piece in the Atlantic today, “We Don’t Have to Speculate About Trump’s Next Term: The former president and his allies have explained their plans quite clearly.” This piece is a must-read. I agree with everything Jonathan says except for one […]

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We’re overdue for a Sir Walter Scott revival

Sunday, August 14, 2022

I’ve written here in the past about how, when I can’t find newer fiction that appeals to me (often the case), I read a classic. It was back in 2013 when I read The Antiquary. Last year I read The Heart of Mid-Lothian, and earlier this year I started (but didn’t finish) Ivanhoe. I found […]

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Ink’s place in the retro movement

Monday, August 8, 2022

Up through the 1970s, this type of ink, made by Scheaffer, was available just about everywhere. As I recall, the available colors included black, blue-black, red, and green. Scheaffer also made inexpensive fountain pens that were sold into the student market. Just about everybody had one. I wore out (and lost) a great many of […]

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Garden chowder

Saturday, August 6, 2022

It’s really too hot for soup. But I’ve been making some fine chowders out of summer vegetables, centered around fresh corn. As always with my cooking, there is not an exact recipe. Just use what you’ve got. Coarsely chop some onion and mild peppers. Sauté them in olive oil with a little butter. Add corn […]

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Lying isn’t as profitable as it used to be

Saturday, August 6, 2022

Alex Jones. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Members of the reality-based community should cheer, gloat, and enjoy the schadenfreude after the jury’s decision yesterday in the Alex Jones defamation trial. Jones has been ordered to pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the […]

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In flagrante delicto

Monday, August 1, 2022

When one lives in the sticks, it is not uncommon to come upon wild things in flagrante delicto. These are eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina). These turtles are very common here and are often seen crossing the road. Roads are very dangerous for them, because their instinct is to close up and stop. More and […]

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