• books - politics - Thinking

    The Second Sex, The New Translation

    Thanks in part to articles like this one from Jessa of Bookslut fame, The Second Sex, the Second Time, I’ve been keeping my eye open for the promised new translation to come out. If you want the short history of the translation issues, Maitresse has a good summary — apparently Knopf is publishing it in the US in April, but when I couldn’t find any evidence of this on Amazon US, I went over to Amazon UK and ordered a copy. (Thanks to my Aunt Daphne for the Christmas check.) I first read The Second Sex as a 21 year…

  • economics - politics - Thinking

    The facts about food and farming – latimes.com

    Agriculture is a business. Farming without a financial motive is gardening. I use that line a lot when I’m giving talks, and it always gets a laugh. But it’s deadly serious. Not only do farmers have expenses to meet just like any other business, but they also need to be rewarded when they do good work. Any plan that places further demands on farmers without an offsetting profit incentive is doomed to fail. via The facts about food and farming – latimes.com.

  • Living

    Merry Christmas Everyone …

    I’m packing up Santa’s sleigh and heading out for the holiday — first Xmas Eve pizza with my favorite pack of little kids, then down valley where my beloved sweetheart will be cooking a turkey at the cabin. We have half a foot of new sparkly fluffy snow, and for the first time in too many years, I’ll be waking up in a house that isn’t empty. Which is all the Christmas present I need … Here’s hoping all of you have a wonderful holiday as well …

  • domestic life - Making

    Homemade Christmas, What Do You Give?

    It’s now the beginning of December and I’m starting to think about Christmas boxes. For most people on my list, I recycle books I’ve read this year, and send homemade edible goodies — we’re all grownups, and we all have too much stuff, and my ideal Christmas is one where there isn’t much Stuff at the end of it. I was watching Martha today, and her Miniature Golden Fruitcakes looked wonderful — I spent a semester in Ireland as an undergrad, and I loved English Christmas Cakes — heavy with fruit and booze with that snappy white hard frosting on…