Naturally

If you want to differentiate between nature and wild, be my guest.

I have made a few enemies in my life stating that there is nothing unnatural. This truth is so obvious and yet so ire inducing to modern paradigms.

Be that as it may, I do like to take a walk in the woods or on a beach… and separate myself from the present dins and whatnot.

So I did, with my two sons, on president’s day.

And it was glorious.

I got the idea the morning of president’s day as I knew my wife would be out all day and I would have to come up with things for us to do.

So when it became apparent that my youngest wasn’t going to nap as he yelled “papa” for what felt like eight hours, I coated, hatted, and gloved them up and told them “rule number one for walking in the woods”:

                Stay close to papa

On the drive there I mentioned rule number one again and quizzed them.

                Stay close to papa

We get there and my oldest darts off like a dragon fly in heat.

Rule number one might as well have been cruel cummerbund for all he cared.

Of course he finds himself in a pricker bush and I have to get my little guy to come back and I ask my eldest “are you in no man’s land?” I extricate him from the prickers and most of the remainder of the walk was spent avoiding the bear-claw like horror of the prickers. Never mind that the path is about six feet wide in most areas and the prickers only lie at the edges.

My youngest won’t be three until the end of march but he was such a trooper: running to catch up, never complaining, and being an all-around joy with his curved, brittle walking stick.

My oldest was inquisitive, excited, and steered clear of those prickers at every turn, straightaway, and reverse.

So maybe I don’t think there is anything unnatural. Maybe you do. When you find a square circle, let me know.

In the meantime, I’m going to walk in the woods with my boys, naturally.

How Many Your Lips Do?

I have to share this.

Why?

Because I laughed my ass off.

At 5 in the morning.

With no coffee in my system.

I had started Bill Bryson’s A Walk In The Woods a few days back, based upon Stephen King’s list of recommendations at the back of his On Writing.

Thoroughly enjoying the book I decided to heed my 5am alarm last Saturday morning and, instead of playing guitar in the basement, read at the dining room table as feet of snow awaited shoveling outside.

Soon thereafter I was laughing so hard I was worried I was going to wake the tots. Just howling in the light of the dining room with the rest of the house cloaked in darkness and silence.

Bryson is so very funny and is so because he is so unassuming in his voice. 

The book is simply about his experience hiking the Appalachian Trail, most of it done with his childhood friend Katz.

Read on and try not to laugh:

 

In What?

As new England recovers from feet upon feet of snow

I cannot dig out, it seems, from the/a trauma (a subjective term I accept) that is my past

A recent past? Or a past from long ago?

Or a past that forever flows like a river in the present?

For a trauma/present/de facto life/existential crisis that never ceases?

Faith might be what I need...

But in what?

In people?

Seems a dicey prospect at best given my knowledge of that species...

What else to put faith in?

Maybe not people in the plural but her in the singular.

Sigh, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts but is the person greater than the people for a faith-in test?

March!

“I’m not a smart man but I know what love is.”

            -Tom Hanks, pleading with Bosom Buddies costar Peter Scolari

Well smart is a relative term as we all know and we all know about Marches on Washington. 

Only a few of us smart people know about Fredric March’s portrayal of Matthew Harrison Brady (based on William Jennings Bryan) in the movie Inherit The Wind.

A must see I must say.

Back to marching. So now, Scientists are going to march on Washington.

Some people think this is NOT, repeat, NOT, a good idea.

http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/2/7/14458608/science-march-on-washington-pros-cons

Or at least, there are some cons to scientists marching on Washington. But you have to admit scientists marching on Washington is better than cons marching on Washington. Our cons are in, not on…

I kid. Sort of.

Well science is a dicey thing at best and in our (wink, wink) post-factual world, hasn’t science been taken down a peg? Or 100 pegs?

I say that science is a dicey thing at best because of one of my favorite phenomena: cognitive dissonance (CG).

In a nutshell, CG happens when a person feels discomfort because they hold contradictory beliefs or holding a belief and committing a contradictory action.

[in Jules Winnfield voice] Example?

Believing and espousing (to children) that cheating is wrong, but doing it (on your taxes)

Believing that you die but espousing eternal life

Et cetera, et cetera.

What does this have to do with scientists marching on Washington or Tom Hanks?

I’m saying that science isn’t the be all end all…to humans. 

We are a kooky species and while science is great, it won’t necessarily change beliefs.

Consider this little thought experiment:

Jack Scientia espouses that 2+2=4.

Jack Scientia uses science to inform the world of such.

Now, Jill Contraras comes along and says that if you believe 2+2=4, your soul will burn for eternity.

Which one you gonna believe?

Not so simple is it.

So should scientists march on Washington?

Do you think it will change Trump’s mind [sic]?

Reminds me of a few lines from Woody Allen’s Manhattan

Stirring With My Emotions

What's your soup du jour?

That's our soup of the day.

Mm, that sounds good. I'll have that.

It's hard people, real real hard.

It's soup season so I found a pic of this:

So I go to the website, naturlich as the Germans say.

http://damndelicious.net/2015/03/21/slow-cooker-sausage-spinach-and-white-bean-soup/

And I'm reading...

Slow cooker soups are the best. There’s absolutely no sautéing or stirring involved, and you can simply set the crock-pot and forget it, letting the slow cooker do all the work for you.

I can dig it.

I keep reading...

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage, and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.

But I thought you said...absolutely...

What's In a Name? Google It.

I don't want to reveal too much dear followers but yours truly is working on a little suh-em suh-em and in the course of working on said suh-em suh-em, I wanted to give a female character a last name that would strongly signify that she is of a certain sort. This certain sort being: white, probably blond, in a sorority in college...you get the drift.

So, drawing a blank, I, naturally, turn to google, because, that is what we do now.

Then below happened:

Guess I need to cool it on the slang when I use the google.

Straight Ahead

Every variable, varies, some very much, others not very much at all. Some might say verisimilitude varies but others might say this is redundant. Under a red ant, while, rare, could certainly be redundant. Though this would be as rare as literally being under a red ant. One supposes a dead ant under a red ant isn't rare, perhaps ubiquitous. To us, non insect laymen, an entomologist is rare but, it has to be presumed they have conventions. There must be conveniences at conventions, even ones for entomologists, be they famous or infamous entomologists. Fame cuts both ways, one supposes. But suppose it didn't cut both ways, like scissors. Much to the dismay of left handers, scissors only cut one way. And that way is straight ahead.