"National Parks and American Values: A Field Guide"

The National Park Service is nearing its centennial! Look forward between now and 2016 to a massive advertising campaign targeting young Americans-- seems the kids from the cities just aren't going to our National Parks in droves as they once did. If that trend continues, it would spell disaster for Retailers of Gear. Remember the ads with the talking baby giving investment advise? That's from the same Madison Avenue Advertising Firm that the National Parks Service contracted to get those kids to our parks and learn a little American History and perk up sales at R.E.I.*

~~
I don't think that was supposed to be the take-away message from Director Jonathan Jarvis' public talk at State this evening, but that's some of what I heard. 

It was a well-attended presentation. And in all seriousness, it did focus on American Values. One small quibble-- I don't think the sense of "happiness" in the good Ol' Declaration had as much to do with "fun" as Jarvis does. But he got Freedom & Liberty right! And he loves him some history!

The discussion was good. He struck me as extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of his agency, which is, you know, something a good executive officer should be. I suspect he comes by it naturally, having climbed the Ranger ladder.  And he with only a lowly Bachelors Degree. (To be fair, he has an "honorary" Ph.D. from his alma mater.)

My Libertarian Brain is still thinking about what I think about a National Parks Service. 

I do know that if you have a chance to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway, you should. 

It's a lovely drive. No commercial vehicles. I hear our weekend guest will be arriving via the Natchez Trace!

My ignorance shows below the fold.

Ah... Those Texans Are at It Again. Good for Them!

via Mr. Big Food's Dad, the Press Release from United States Representative Steve Stockman (TX-36): 

Stockman warns Obama: Push for gun control will be met with White House budget cuts, possible impeachment

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Stockman (R-Texas 36th) released the following statement Monday afternoon.

The White House’s recent announcement they will use executive orders and executive actions to infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is an unconstitutional and unconscionable attack on the very founding principles of this republic.

I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment.

The President’s actions are an existential threat to this nation.  The right of the people to keep and bear arms is what has kept this nation free and secure for over 200 years.  The very purpose of the Second Amendment is to stop the government from disallowing people the means to defend themselves against tyranny. Any proposal to abuse executive power and infringe upon gun rights must be repelled with the stiffest legislative force possible.

Under no circumstances whatsoever may the government take any action that disarms any peaceable person – much less without due process through an executive declaration without a vote of Congress or a ruling of a court.

The President’s actions are not just an attack on the Constitution and a violation of his sworn oath of office – they are a direct attack on Americans that place all of us in danger.  If the President is allowed to suspend constitutional rights on his own personal whims, our free republic has effectively ceased to exist.

[my emphsis]

Stockman's site here.

Productivity

Mr. Big Food referred to it as "Prison-Striped Wallpaper." It is quite possibly the most hideous wallpaper with which I've ever lived.

I won't go so far as to say, "There ought to be a law"-- because there are far too many laws as it is-- but people who wallpaper sheet rock walls without first swiping some cheap paint or Kilz or something on the walls should be made to remove said wallpaper, and clean up after themselves.  

It's been a while since we stripped wallpaper. On all previous occasions the wallpaper papered plaster walls, so I was forced to poke around the world-wide wed to learn how to strip paper from paper. Vinegar + hot water in a spray bottle. Sounded reasonable in principle. ...  In practice, I thought Mr. Big Food was going to pull his hair out which would really have been something since I buzzed his head last weekend.  

Thanks to Brother Mike-- not the preacher at the local Baptist Church, my actual blood brother-- who turned me on to Downy Fabric Softener! Bro Mike is an expert in these things. A solution of Downy + hot water works very well, and is much more fragrant than vinegar + hot water. But here's the curious thing. Bro Mike cautioned several times, "Don't use too much Downy, it's toxic."

I don't use fabric softener in our laundry but I have to wonder about this. If Downy + hot water in a spray bottle is toxic how is Downy + hot water in a washing machine not? 

Shoot. There I go again being skeptical.

Friday Night | Pizza Night

Prepared vegan pizza

Prepared decidedly non-vegan pizza

Ready to eat vegan pizza

Ready to eat decidedly non-vegan pizza

See how well we ☾☮ ૐ ✡ ☥☯† ??

We watched the first episode of the first season of the Dick Van Dyke Show. I did not know that Dick was a raging alcoholic, did you? The first episode was funny-- but not all that funny.

It's too early to say anything definitive. But my sense is that Ricky is a snot nosed little kid. Laura pandered to him in the first episode.

~~

So for all of y'all who are trying to put your finger on where culture went wrong-- skip Dick.

Crappy Old Furniture / If Chairs Could Talk

As you know, we have a lot of crappy old stuff here at the Farm.*

Years & years ago, before I began collecting crappy old books in earnest, I collected crappy old chairs. One of my greatest finds was at a yard sale in New Bern, North Carolina-- a set of four caned chairs. The cane was broken on more than one, and they were going for the gawdawful price of $100-- that's $25/chair!-- well more than I had ever paid for a crappy old chair, but I bought them. 

They have lived in the dining room in New Bern, in various corners of other towns in NC, in the sunroom in Cincy (is there such a thing as a "sun"room in Cincy?) and now they are in the corner of the living room, here on the Farm, busted cane & all.  

From time to time over the years, I've devoted 30 minutes or so and 1/4 can of Scott's Liquid Gold at a single setting to caring for them. They seem none the worse for wear.  

What caught my attention at the time-- more than 20 years ago-- and what (in part) made them worth $100, was the stamp on the underside: 

Some dude in New Bern made these chairs. That's cool. 

Suter, John, furniture, 63 Middle

I dare you to tell me that's not cool. From the

Business Directory of the City of New Berne, N.C.: To Which is Added Historical and Statistical Matter of Interest (Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards and Broughton, 1893), 91 p.

One of New Bern's earlier city directories, this volume includes detailed information about the city's businesses and citizens. With the absence of the 1890 federal census, this book constitutes the largest printed listing of the residents of New Bern for that period.

And now, after all these years of faithful service-- of late holding piles of "Cotton Farming" and assorted pillows-- it might be time to re-cane these chairs so they can fulfill their proper function. 

If chairs could talk. 
~~

*What I really need to do is represent all of this crappy old stuff in two-dimensional space: one axis for crappy (vs not crappy), one for old (vs new).  Tada! Four quadrants-- each with its own space. Every crappy old item belongs in some part of one of those four quadrants. For the politically minded-- think about the space defined by social conservative/liberal issues on one axis plotted against economic free market/planned issues on the other.  (See this recent post about a book published in 1975 to understand the dilemma with respect to crappy semi-old books.)

And now for your morning chuckle

Thanks to Mr. Big Food's Dad for sending this along!

BCC: Anonymous@nobodyknowsyourname.com

Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes the source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1949

[From The Story of America, Carroll C. Calkins, ed., 1975, The Reader's Digest Association, p501]

Although I endeavor to preserve as much of American history and culture as I can afford, this is not a crappy semi-old book that I would have spent good money on. Don't get me wrong-- it's worth having if for no other reason than to examine differences in the presentation of American history compared to crappier, older books. (Oh! And now I have one more copy of the Declaration of Independence.)

When in doubt, check it out!

But as I did not spend one red cent on it, I'm glad it's now in my library.
~~

I received a multiply-forwarded email the other day. I'll not dwell on the content other than to say it was intended to alert recipients to some government-sponsored shenanigans. (Please refer to Amendment I of the Constitution of the United States of America. It's okay to do this.)

The multiply-forwarded email ended with two items. The first, a quote from Franklin:

"Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither" --Benjamin Franklin

[My newest crappy semi-old book has it as

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" 

as does The Founders' Almanac.]

This was followed by a reminder to "Be Kind to Your Email Friends":

"... a country where everyone lives in fear." 

Respecting folks' privacy is admirable. But something about asking people to live as if we should all be living in fear just don't seem right to me. Does it to you?

Well, Thank the Lord!

There's no excuse to not finish cleaning & redecorating!

On the other hand... . 

Poor Missy! Poor Rocky! Cleaning and redecorating entertains them for only so long.

I should find some jobs for them to do.

Biscuit, anydog?

Rocky reading-- just to be sure he was given the right one

Missy waiting-- because that's what I make her do. She is a dog, afterall.

"Finally! Thank you, Marica!"

Photos of Miss M making people and doggie biscuits here.

Recipe: Alabama Spoon Bread

S.E.C.! S.E.C.!

(Link has a photo. Mr. Big Food made only one-half the recipe. Plenty for the two of us.)

ALABAMA SPOON BREAD

1 quart milk

1 C corn meal

2 tsp salt

Water

4 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 300^o. Scald milk. Mix cornmeal and salt with enough water to moisten, and add mixture to milk, stirring constantly. Cook in double boiler (or over medium-low heat) “until a thick mush is obtained.” Remove from heat and quickly stir in beaten egg yolks (taking care not to curdle yolks). Beat egg whites stiff and fold into cornmeal-yolk mixture. Turn batter into a greased baking dish and bake 45 minutes. “If a wait is necessary between end of baking time and serving, do not remove bread from oven until serving time.”

Recipe: Alabama Fried Chicken

Roll Tide!

Alabama and three other variations (including croquettes!) below the fold.

“Nothing is ever so welcome as chicken Maryland.”—The Encyclopedia of Cooking Complete in 24 Volumes, Volume 4: 250 Ways to Prepare Poultry and Game Birds (1953)

FRIED CHICKEN MARYLAND AND SOUTHERN FRIED, HAWAIIAN, CROQUETTES, AND ALABAMA FRIED CHICKEN AND TURKEY VARIATIONS

Allow ¾ lb each

2 young frying chickens, cleaned, cut into halves or quarters, washed carefully and dried

¾ C flour

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

3 Tbsp fat

1 C water

Cream Gravy (see recipes in Basics section)

Corn oysters or small corn fritters (for serving; see recipes in Vegetables section)

Broiled bacon (for serving)

Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a bag, add chicken pieces, and shale to coat well. Brown chicken pieces quickly in fat. Reduce heat, add water, cover skillet, and cook slowly until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove lid and let chicken fry slowly. Serve with Cream Gravy.

An Eggstremely Interesting Project!

A clue as to what Mr. Big Food and I accomplished over the break.

 Did you know that United Egg Farmers and several large egg producers (where large modifies producers, not eggs) were sued multiple times for alleged price fixing? That's some chicken s&^* isn't it?

More to come. We're working under a deadline!!

"It's only weird if it doesn't work."

Alabama Fried Chicken

Alabama Spoon Bread

It worked!

College Football: The Great Distraction

A Thought with Three Examples

"Wise men following the star" p.409 of Bible Story Book: A Complete Narration from Genesis to Revelation for Young and Old by Elsie E. Egermeir, published by The Warner Press, Anderson, Indiana in 1922.

The thought-- which I'm sure you have thought many times-- is that kids these days just don't know very much of their own histories, customs, heritages.

Example #1: Today is January 6-- Epiphany, the customary day in many Christian circles to take down and put away all of your Christmas decorations. I simply don't understand the confusion. "It's December 26th. It's over! Be done with it!" Geeze. Even that infallible source Wikipedia has an entry on Epiphany.

Example #2: Mr. Big Food and I watched the final episode of the 2nd season of Saturday Night this evening. The episode aired in May 1977. During "Weekend Update," Jane referred to the 50th anniversary of a singular event. There was then an entire skit devoted to this event: Lindbergh's non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. I'd wager no one had to explain to viewers in 1977 who Lindbergh was. Today?

Example #2': Not that SNL is all that remarkable in the very grand scheme of things, but shouldn't everyone know who "Jane" is?

Example #3: This week, Mr. Big Food will have occasion to watch Shane with some younger folk. Over a year ago I posted this:

I was in the company of a handful of folks this afternoon. We watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Most of the folks were 21-22; three of us were 50 or 50+. (Apologies, Michael, if you are only 49.) 

The question, "Who's seen the movie Shane?" came up. Three less-than-perfectly-smooth hands went up.

  

~~
I was thinking about these examples today in the context of all of the hand-wringing on the World Wide Web about changing the culture. 

For crying out loud! It ain't all that difficult. Grab some kids, pop some corn, read some Bible stories, watch old episodes of SNL and a few crappy old Western movies.

What a beautiful scarf!

Sit.

Miss M is the only person I personally know who endeavors to make a fashion statement-- of a certain sort-- while walking the dogs.

Paper Buildings, Paper Buildings

[Updated. I do know Frank Lloyd Wright's last name!]

In between watching what passes for football these days and being thoroughly disgusted by commercials, I began putting Christmas back in boxes. 

What remains to be packed is on the dining room table.

There are a few items, however, that I cannot bear to hide away. Rather, I'll showcase them on the buffet for all of the Farm's Winter and early Spring visitors to see.

I speak of some crafts the kids made earlier in the season using old file folders, wax paper, exact-o-knives and various other implements artists and architects just happen to carry around in their vehicles.

Some paper buildings, each with a fascinating story.

On the right, we have Miss M's Golden Rule Store with swinging doors, and paned-glass windows 

papered with snow flakes.

Long time readers may recall that The Golden Rule Store was Mr. James Cash Penney's first retail establishment. I've shared many thoughts about Mr. Penney and his stores before.

Second from right we have Mr. Bow Tie's intriguing contribution. It was intended to be one of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses in Chicago.

Mr. Bow Tie spent a lot of time measuring.

Unfortunately, despite his precision measurements, Miss M and Daughter C thought it looked more like a Sweat Shop. Perhaps one that supplies T-shirts to JCP stores.

Second from left we have the first of Daughter C's

modest two-story homes.

Associates of The Golden Rule Store could have afforded a lovely home such as this. Nowadays, it's probably owned by a JCP employee. Note the condition of the chimney. An associate of The Golden Rule would have had the wherewithal to get that fixed. I don't think JCP employees got Christmas bonuses that would cover the repair cost.

In terms of number of structures, Daughter C was the most productive. Here is the first she constructed.

The moment she set it up, it fall over.

It was immediately condemned by the Authorities (although it really just needed some minor repairs). The Sweat Shop workers descended upon it, propped it up with a piece of plywood, and proceeded to Occupy it. 

I'm not sure, but given the rock-shatter second story window, and the number of bullet holes near the front door, I assume that-- like Mr. Bow Tie's Sweat Shop-- this property is also located in Chicago.

Now That's More Like It!

Top to bottom: Rocky, Missy

You should have seen Missy last evening when Rocky walked into the house! And you should have seen Rocky this morning when Missy surprised him in the Pasture!

Rocky is a good influence on Missy. She was a mess in his absence. All told, I'm down one pair of glasses, one pair of slippers, and many pencils. And I had no idea one dog could eat that many pine cones. 

Miss M. and I tried our best to keep her in line but you know, we aren't dogs! Rocky is a dog. A good-dog influence.

Missy is in a Sad State

"A Cowgirl and Her Dog"

I just checked and both Missy and Miss M. are now in their respective boxes. Mr. Big Food has put away all but one of his computers. I am still working on my part of our little project. (We need chickens of our own.) I have no idea where Daughter C. is or when Rocky is coming home and oh crap. It's my mother's birthday.

Wish me luck 'cause last time I had a protracted conversation with Mom I learned that the whole entire WWII thing could have been adverted if only guns were illegal. Lord.

1.5 People

For your amusement, via Breitbart:

Full image here

Wonder what becomes of the other half?

Happy New Year!

May 2013 bring you and yours ever closer to Happiness, Excellence, and Self-Reliance.

~~
And speaking of Self-Reliance, New Hope Seed Company is having a sale! Plus, free shipping on order $25 or more.