Month: July 2023

Living Space

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by JanieM

The picture was taken on December 11 of last year, just across the road from where I live. I wanted to catch the last bit of open water before it disappeared for the winter. 

In relation to the topic you’ll find below the fold, note that there are both year-round and vacation homes tucked under the trees all along the far shore of the lake. You’d never know it if you were to fly over this landscape; it mostly looks like unbroken forest. A lot of Maine is unbroken forest, or at least no one lives there, though a lot of the land is “working forest” and is  accessible by dirt roads. But along lakeshores, the forest cover is deceptive. Waterfront property, after all . . .

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A Day at the Coast

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by JanieM Rockland is my favorite of the string of lovely little towns known as “midcoast Maine.” It’s an easy drive for me, a little over an hour on mostly quiet roads. It’s the home of the Farnsworth Art Museum and hello hello books, which is owned by one of my family’s long ago babysitters. … Read more

Looking for the union label

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by liberal japonicus Being on the left of the political spectrum, I wish the members of SAG-AFTRA the best of luck. If you read the reportage, they do seem up against the cartoon villains of the Judge Doom sort in Roger Rabbit. Here is the Guardian's take. However, just following some of the discussions, I … Read more

Remember Snowy Days?

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by JanieM Was it ever really February? On a muggy day in July it’s hard to be sure. Given that the weather is a universal topic of conversation, I often find myself complaining about it, however kiddingly. In the winter the footing is bad, more dangerously so the older I get. In the summer the … Read more

Memories of Springtime

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by JanieM How about another open thread? And some pictures. This is “the school road” near my house. The middle and high schools that serve four towns are behind me, the main road and the lake are ahead, out of sight. The building hiding behind the white pines on the right is the school superintendent’s … Read more

Across the pond

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by liberal japonicus While our UKian contingent is not as large as one might hope, I always appreciate their insight to things British. So what to make of this? Rupert Murdoch was throwing a midsummer party at Spencer House, the palatial residence in St James’s, London, owned by Earl Spencer. Seated on a sofa in … Read more

And Now for Something Completely Different

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by JanieM I hope the discussion on the SCOTUS decisions keeps going, but I thought we could use an open thread in case anyone has anything else to talk about. Lighthearted topics are especially encouraged. In central Maine we had a couple of very hot days in May that made me think we were in … Read more

Err, seriously?

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by liberal japonicus Janie mentioned that she wanted to maybe talk about the wedding website decision so I'm putting this up. Here is the SCOTUSblog summary. What baffles me is that apparently, the request was faked This week, I decided to call Stewart and ask him about his inquiry. […] It took just a few … Read more

Affirmative inaction

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by liberal japonicus A continuation of discussion in the previous post. Nous suggested that And between this and Roe, I think the GOP is going to be in serious trouble with educated suburban women. While I believe nous is talking about larger problems of college affordability and college debt, in case anyone thinks that the … Read more