The Ordnance Survey
Posted: March 27, 2017 Filed under: Ireland, maps Leave a comment
A friend is going to Ireland to do some landscape painting. I’m like, amazing. Plus this is a guy who usually gets it with maps. One day I sit down at my desk which has under its top an Ordnance Survey map of the Dingle Peninsula.
And I’m like oh friend make sure you get the Ordnance Survey map for where you’re going!
Why, he says.
Look, the Ordnance Survey Ireland website doesn’t have the smoothest experience.
But the treasures within!
Ordnance Survey Ireland is headquartered in the Phoenix Park.
The origins of the Ordnance Survey lie in the aftermath of the last Jacobite rising which was finally defeated by forces loyal to the government at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Prince William, Duke of Cumberland realised the British Army did not have a good map of the Scottish Highlands to find the whereabouts of Jacobite dissenters such as Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat so they could be put on trial.
They just missed him here.
You don’t want to have a map that marks every stone row and holy well?
A map that shows the ancient druid stones and the ruined churches like something a wizard would have?
good to have a waterproof map
Legion
Posted: March 26, 2017 Filed under: bible, comics, Marvel Leave a comment
Consider Mark, chapter 5. Possible spoiler alert for the TV show Legion — keep hearing it’s awesome, that’s what led us here.
Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man
5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
near where this is said to have happened.
That’s the New International Version.
(Funny that Bible Gateway, at least on my computer, makes their money from ads for Theory.
The King James ends:
And all men did marvel.
A field hospital after a battle
Posted: March 24, 2017 Filed under: Christianity, religion, war Leave a comment
US Air Force Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron members monitor patients during a C-17 aero-medical evacuation mission from Balad Air Base, Iraq, to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. U.S. Air Force Photo/Master Sgt. Scott Reed
Something about the health care debate got me pondering Pope Francis’ quote in a 2013 interview that the Church should be like a field hospital after a battle.
“I can clearly see that what the Church needs today is the ability to heal wounds and warm the hearts of faithful, it needs to be by their side. I see the Church as a field hospital after a battle. It’s pointless to ask a seriously injured patient whether his cholesterol or blood sugar levels are high! It’s his wounds that need to be healed. The rest we can talk about later. Now we must think about treating those wounds. And we need to start from the bottom.”
“Savage Station VA field hospital after the battle of June 27” in the Library of Congress, photographer James Gibson
There’s a lot of good writing about field hospitals after battles. Walt Whitman and Hemingway both saw some firsthand. Or how about
I never really watched MASH tbh and got kinda sad when it would come on instead of something more fun.
Babylon
Posted: March 23, 2017 Filed under: news Leave a comment
forgetting who it was who told me the story of his Jamaican cab driver advising him that “the news is a Babylon thing.”
Above we see The Burney Relief. Allegedly Old-Babylonian. Do you believe it?
St. Pats, 2017
Posted: March 17, 2017 Filed under: Ireland, Irish traditional music Leave a comment
Some classic coverage from the Hely Times archive:
The Irish Language in Montserrat
Jack Yeats, Olympic Silver Medalist
Ainslie’s Complete Guide To Thoroughbred Racing
Patrick Kavanagh, and how to get a statue built of yourself
Can you help me ID Rob and Lou?
O’Donoghue’s Opera – The Quest for an Irish Musical
Try this ancient pickup strategy at the pub!
Be safe!
On KUSC
Posted: March 16, 2017 Filed under: music, the California Condition Leave a comment
our local classical radio station, the DJ just said (I’m paraphrasing)
if you like the classical music you’re hearing, roll down your windows and share it with your neighbors!
then he said, mild as all hell,
just a suggestion.
KUSC’s website.
Mirga! I swear I won’t forget
Ottensamer ist clarinet bae.
Clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer’s third solo album is dedicated to the Mannheim School: an 18th-century melting pot of musical revolutionary experimentation.
George Bellows
Posted: March 14, 2017 Filed under: art history, New York, the California Condition Leave a comment
Alabama, Mississippi, slavery, and voting
Posted: March 8, 2017 Filed under: America, politics, the world around us Leave a commentLook at this voting map of Alabama for President, 2016:
And this one of Mississippi:
Those are from Politico, 2016 county by county election results.
Compare them to these amazing Raven Maps (I love Raven maps, buy a Raven map) that show elevation:
Look at the Mississippi Delta:
My hypothesis is that the legacy of slavery can be seen in a simple voting map: black people still live in bottomland — cotton country.
You might double check that by looking at racial percentages by county.
No doubt there are factors I haven’t considered.
Compare too to this 1861 Coast Survey slavery map:
This might demonstrate:
- geography affects history
- historical legacies can last a very long time
- good maps are illuminating
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
Posted: March 7, 2017 Filed under: the California Condition, writing Leave a comment
Friends, this book is brilliant, hilarious and compelling. I recommend it without reservation.
My galley copy there is banged up because I ripped it in half so I could bring the unfinished half on a trip, and what a delightful companion it was.
Come see me discuss the book with Elif herself at the LA Public Library downtown:
Monday March 20th
7:15pm
Free but get a ticket
Here are some choice excerpts from The Idiot:
Patricia Lockwood highlighted one of my fav parts on Twitter:
Elif some years ago introduced me to the street cats of Istanbul: 
And showed me where to get corn: 
Now, I can return the favor in Los Angeles and YOU can join the fun:
MONDAY MARCH 20
7:15 PM
Mark Taper Auditorium – Central Library
The event is FREE but get a ticket.
ECLIPSE SAFETY UPDATE
Posted: March 6, 2017 Filed under: America Since 1945 Leave a commentAs the date of the August 21 eclipse draws near, keep this important safety information in mind: You MUST use special eclipse safety glasses to view a partial eclipse and the partial phases of a total eclipse. To do otherwise is risking permanent eye damage and even blindness. The ONLY time it’s safe to look at a TOTAL eclipse without proper eye protection is during the very brief period of totality when the Sun is 100 percent blocked by the Moon. If you’re in a location where the eclipse won’t be total, there is NEVER a time when it’s safe to look with unprotected eyes.
NationalEclipse.com sends that along.
Great info at their site. Plus Eclipse Classifieds:
Can’t help but note the Path Of Totality is pretty red. Then again, I guess any path is:
Map by the great Brilliant Maps.
The August 21 Eclipse
Posted: March 6, 2017 Filed under: science 3 Comments
What to do if you are in the PATH OF TOTALITY?
Found that at this wonderful site.
A good map from Xavier
You’re damn right I donated. Support Xavier who has done the entire eclipse community as well as the general eclipse-viewing public a great service by performing all the work necessary to bring us this wonderful tool.
NOW?!
Posted: March 6, 2017 Filed under: America Since 1945 Leave a comment
This appears in the News section of my phone.
LA after rain
Posted: March 6, 2017 Filed under: the California Condition Leave a comment
Looks cool
Coolness
Posted: March 6, 2017 Filed under: how to live, Japan Leave a comment
Is this a good definition? From my Zen calendar. Quick investigation suggests Buson was the real deal.
Buson, drawn by Matsumura Goshun:
Warren Buffett
Posted: March 4, 2017 Filed under: America Since 1945, business, writing Leave a comment
New Berkshire Hathaway letter is out. Free insight and humor for capitalism’s cheery uncle, a great read every year, even if I understand at most 1/12 of it.
Sunny American optimism:
The infectious, enthusiastic amateur style of writing reminds me of Bill James:
Some of the companies Berkshire owns:
9.3% of your Coke is Berkshire’s.
An unlikely hero:
Jack Bogle founded Vanguard, and created a simple, low cost index fund for everyday investors.
found that at JL Collins impressive website.
Buffett tells you, in simple terms, how to get rich:
Why people don’t do that:
On the other hand here’s the S&P 500 chart since 1980:
Doesn’t look like a washtubs moment to me.
Over at marketplace.org, Allan Sloan points out some of the things Buffett leaves out:
Allan Sloan: Two things are missing. One was how wonderful the management of Wells Fargo was, which he wrote the previous year. The second thing is he lavished praise on this company called 3G, what’s known as a private equity company, from Brazil, which manages a company called Kraft Heinz, which is Berkshire Hathaway’s biggest investment. And what it does is it goes around, it buys companies — now with the help of a lot of financing from Berkshire Hathaway — it fires zillions of people, the profits go up, and then after a while, it goes out and buys another company and does the same thing.
Buffett makes me think of Andrew Carnegie, a zillionaire of a hundred years ago who also had some kind of public conscience. If some percentage billionaires weren’t also lovable characters like Buffett, would capitalism collapse? Does his dad humor, like Carnegie’s library building, plug a dyke that holds back revolution?
At the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders conference, you can challenge table tennis champ Ariel Hsing:
Oscars Conspiracy Theory
Posted: March 2, 2017 Filed under: film, the California Condition Leave a comment
Let me be clear I don’t really believe this conspiracy. But I DID think of it.
If Moonlight had won, award would’ve gone to Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner, the producers. That’s who would’ve accepted and given the speech. White producers winning for a movie directed by a black man about black characters would’ve been a terrible look for an Academy terrified by its own dismal record on representation and diversity. So, the Academy deliberately staged a mixup. This had the added benefit of helping the Oscars’ other big problem, people tuning out of the telecast, by making wild unpredictable surprises a part of the experience — “you gotta watch to the very end to see what happens!”
Again, I don’t believe this theory, there’s no evidence for it and significant evidence against it. Still sharing it.
Speak Out!
Posted: March 2, 2017 Filed under: America Since 1945, the California Condition Leave a comment
WILD response to Hayes’ post on Measure S and California’s ballot cranks. Very cool.
Yes!
Source: the WPA
Do you have an issue you’re passionate about?
Make your voice heard! We have an easy format for posting, and welcome strong takes on California conditions.
Find us.
Which one of you jokesters
Posted: March 1, 2017 Filed under: America, America Since 1945, Middle East, politics, presidents, the California Condition Leave a comment
Ordered me two copies of The Complacent Class by Tyler Cowen?
Very funny.
Mission accomplished, it’s next up after I finish Tom Ricks:
Weird mood in Hollywood
Posted: February 27, 2017 Filed under: the California Condition Leave a comment
Based on a short walk around the physical area Hollywood in the middle of the day, I gotta say: a weird vibe! Hazy conditions contributing to an off-kilter mood.
No one likes to see their society’s most important ritual suffer a systematic breakdown.
Far the exuberance and confidence of 1996.
More Hayes is in the pipeline on California’s proposition cranks, and we have a report to come on a visit to the District 5 City Council Debate.
No On Measure S
Posted: February 25, 2017 Filed under: America Since 1945, the California Condition 11 Comments
Los Angeles in 1878 (and 2020 if Measure S passes). Source.
LA Is In the Middle of a Full-Blown Housing Crisis
Source: Legislative Analyst’s Office
But Measure S means LESS housing. And that means the crisis would get way worse. Rent would go up, affordable housing construction would plummet, and many, many more people would end up displaced and homeless.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties of Los Angeles have come out against it, along with the Mayor, the LA Times, and a lot of others.
A lot of actual experts have written much better stuff than I could about this.
A lot of California initiatives are like that: if you spend enough money, you can buy enough signatures to get pretty much anything on the ballot. Then, if you spend even more money, your proposal has a pretty good chance of becoming the actual law.
As a result, the state has a history of very wealthy, very angry people throwing cash around to get their own measures through the ballot initiative system, sometimes even successfully.
The angry person behind Measure S is Michael Weinstein.
Michael Weinstein’s website bio pic.
- Prop 61, which was supposed to lower the prices that public employees pay for drugs
- Prop 60, which would force porn actors to wear condoms
Two normal things for the people to vote on, as the Founding Fathers intended.
Michael Weinstein’s ballot initiatives are designed to benefit Michael Weinstein.
- The porn czar had to be Michael Weinstein.
- He would get paid by the state to do this job (watch porn and sue people over it).
- The state wouldn’t be allowed to fire him, unless it got a majority vote from both houses of the state legislature.
- Even then, he could only be fired with “good cause.” Like… not watching enough porn, I guess.
Weinstein’s drug bill, meanwhile, would have made it the law that the prices paid by state employee HMOs for drugs couldn’t be higher than the discounted price the VA pays. Sounds great! But it exempted certain HMOs from the rule… including the HMO Michael Weinstein himself runs. He also once again wrote in a rule allowing him to sue people who violated the law, while having the state pay his legal fees.
Rendering by Palladium Towers, found at Curbed
Michael Weinstein peers out the window of his corner office on the 21st floor. Hollywood is growing all around him. In every direction, there are construction cranes, dirt pits and street closures.
“It’s just ungodly,” he says.
Very chill, approachable guy. Not at all supervillainy.
Michael Weinstein doesn’t spend his own money on his political causes. He spends money donated by other people to the AIDS foundation he runs.
One name you don’t see among any of the donors is “Michael Weinstein.” It’s all foundation money. He has near-total discretion over how it’s spent. Far from costing him anything, he gets paid $400,000 a year by his foundation to do this.
- $10 – Be a Friend of AHF
- $50 – Help Purchase Medical Supplies
- $100 – Help Save a Life
- $500 – Trains a Physician in the Provision of HIV/AIDS Medical Care
- $1000 – Provides HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care to Five Patients for a Year
- $5000 – Provides HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care for 25 Patients for a year
- $10000 – Supports HIV/AIDS Prevention & Care Worldwide
Helytimes 
