Excursions in Lateral Thinking from Amherst, Massachusetts and the ...
by Wig & Pen
“Squirrels nest in trees?—No way. I thought they lived in stone walls or in holes in the ground like chipmunks,” protested a friend in her early 40s. A similar response from a second friend suggested a pattern. (Both, of course, were referring not to short-tailed ground squirrels but to the ubiquitous grey squirrel that has adapted so successfully in our midst.) Both of my friends are graduates of fine colleges, but, remarkably, both have lived nearly their entire lives—nearly 95 years combined—in rural Hatfield, Massachusetts. Unlike neighboring Northampton and Amherst—both multicultural hotbeds—Hatfield—with its predominance of Polish, Irish, and Anglo-American descendents, is as ethnically homogeneous as the milk from its Holsteins. If I moved to Hatfield and its several Jewish families fled, I would be the town Jew. This year’s high school graduating class of about 40 sported one African American—a school-choice nonresident [Was she pushed or did she jump?] article by science writer Natalie Angier makes a splendid case for squirrel literacy and the squirrel’s—especially the grey squirrel’s—extraordinary adaptive fitness. According to Angier, they can leap 10 times their body length, and rotate their ankles 180 degrees, which allows them to grip with the tenaciousness of a reverse mortgage salesman at a senior center. Those assets combined with double-jointed hind legs allow squirrels to accelerate and change direction on a dime. If they played football, they’d be finesse backs, split ends, safeties. The surprisingly sophisticated squirrel brain allows for tactical deception. They’ll bury a nut/seed, dig it up, and rebury it, over and over again. If they suspect they’re being watched, they’ll fake the interment and move on to safer ground. Confession is good for the soul. As a five-year-old, I watched a squirrel bury an acorn from my backyard window. When the critter vanished, I retrieved the nut and jiggered the burial site to appear untampered. Then, at my back window, I observed the creature dig in frustration. In retrospect, I’m not proud of my behavior then and, for that matter, of my unkind words above directed at the good people of Hatfield. But for me, impulse control has no pride. Nutkin made a whirring noise to sound like the wind, and he took a running jump right onto the head of Old Brown!...Then all at once there was a flutterment and a scufflement and a loud "Squeak!" The other squirrels scuttered away into the bushes. When they came back very cautiously, peeping round the tree—there was Old Brown sitting on his door-step, quite still, with his eyes closed, as if nothing had happened. But Nutkin was in his waistcoat pocket! This looks like the end of the story; but it isn't.Old Brown carried Nutkin into his house, and held him up by the tail, intending to skin him; but Nutkin pulled so very hard...
By Pilot Pen Tennis Below are the finalists of the Pilot Pen Tennis Family Classic, sponsored by USTA New England, AT&T and Dalton Contracting Co., and more »
"With the stroke of a pen, a judge can say the statute is unconstitutional, as they have in Iowa, Massachusetts, California, and elsewhere," said Curt Smith and more »
Lewis Mumford, the architectural critic for The New Yorker, rarely dipped his pen in honey. He contemptuously called the Goelet design “an excellent period and more »
My friendship with 'The Boss' before he was anyone's bossIt would be inaccurate to say George and I were good friends, but we were now and again amiable pen pals. I read about his wild Yankee ownership days, and more »
Los Angeles TimesWASHINGTON • With a broad smile and the stroke of a pen, President Barack Obama on Wednesday capped a contentious 18-month struggle and signed into law the Obama Signs Wall Street Reform Bill Into Lawall 2,139 news articles »
Why is BallPoint Pen Art the most undeveloped art movement in history?
Jun 28, 2006 by Linda S | Posted in Other - Visual Arts
Why is BallPoint Pen Art the most undeveloped art movement in history?
The inventor of a ballpoint pen was Mr. John J. Load a citizen of the United States, residing at Weymonth, in the county of Norfolk and Common Wealth of Massachusetts, patented the first ballpoint pen. J.J. Load patented the first American ballpoint pen on Oct. 30, 1888, registration No. 392,046. In 1938 the Hungarian Biro brothers out of Argentina retooled and manufactured such an instrument worldwide.
The Bic Pen Company bought out that Biro patent and thus far sold 100 billion of those ballpoint pens worldwide. Needless to say Bic redesigned that pen and today it out sells all other models. A ballpoint pen is the most sold, used or popular writing or drawing instrument in history yet undeveloped as an art medium or movement. How can the most used art medium or instrument in history go unrecognized?
A ballpoint pen has the subtlest half-tone line, longest flowing lines and darkest rich multi-colored inks in history plus billions of users. How can such a great art medium go undeveloped?
Pen and Ink has been around fore the past four thousand years unlike other art mediums or movements. Pens have elevated all realms of society not just the fine art world. Literature, science, mathematics, graphics, commercial art, cartooning, advertising, marketing, sales, public relations and many other important aspects of society have been improved or elevated via pen and ink!
The Bible, all old manuscripts, books, documents, reports and many drawings were completed thousands of years before other art mediums came into existence. Society or mankind has benefited from the usage of Pen and Ink. Therefore, comparing other mediums such as paint is rather absurd if facts or realism is to be considered. How many treaties, checks, documents or books are drafted with paint?
The most used, sold or popular instrument is always the greatest medium if statistics plays into practice? History is defined by such facts because it’s real and something people go by! Bic alone has sold over one billion ballpoint pens not to mention all other companies involved. A ballpoint pen is one of the world’s greatest selling items therefore among the most popular or practical products in history.
The value of such is therefore remarkable or unparalleled. Over looking such facts or materials certainly is a silly notion or concept to say the least! A ballpoint pen’s extra-fine or fine line is the subtlest in history. No other camera-ready art medium can make that statement and be factually correct. The ballpoint pen also produces the longest flowing lines in history, which is fantastic, if spontaneous ness is important as an artist! ISO or DIN archival rated ballpoint pen inks are now on the market and that’s extremely important because of their brilliant colors and steadfastness.
BallPoint Pen art or drawings are undeveloped because the art world is slow to recognize new mediums. It’s also lacking artists willing to speck-out or present what they have!
Jerry | Jun 28, 2006
Nothing compares to painting.
C B | Jun 28, 2006
Because if a person actually has talent they can surely do the same thing on a canvas.
black_cat0814 | Jun 28, 2006
Because it's cheap, it looks cheap and no one would pay a hundred bucks for something that their 3 year old kid can do
KH | Jun 28, 2006
Car failed Massachusetts inspection, can you explain what they wrote?
Mar 29, 2008 by alexthegreywolfe | Posted in Maintenance & Repairs
My stepfather's car, a '95 Honda Civic 2-door failed Massachusetts inspection today, the parts that failed were as follows:
Tires Drive Wheels Visual
Suspension Drive Wheels Visual
Suspension Drive Wheels Funct.
In adddition they wrote in pen on the paper the following:
1. Check suspension front P/S
2. Front Tire P/S
Anyone know what my stepfather needs to repair? What does P/S mean?
the tire was either lacking good tread or had sidewall damage
susp drive wheels visual could be excess grease, oil or contaminates,
s.d. wheel function is he saw a part looked damaged or badly worn
the hand written notes are specific location of the issues
he is expecting your mechanic to check and repair any condition requiring repair on the passenger side front suspension and replace the passenger side front tire, I was trained to perform DOT inspections for a large trucking company and they are the same as you went thru
CARL G H | Mar 29, 2008
U know of any triathlon for teens (I am 13)in the Tri state area (NJ,Ny, Pen, Mry,)?
Apr 17, 2010 by Peaceful Warrior | Posted in Other - Sports
Don't give me that crap where u swim in a pool, or bike on some stupid park with no hills just flat and downhill, and the running is all flat and downhill, The bike thing has to be at least 20 miles running 10 miles, swimming 5 that's minimum
states: NEw JErsey. New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, rode island, Massachusetts
please check out http://www.trifind.net/nf/ny.html
Los Angeles TimesWASHINGTON • With a broad smile and the stroke of a pen, President Barack Obama on Wednesday capped a contentious 18-month struggle and signed into law the Obama Signs Wall Street Reform Bill Into Lawall 2,139 news articles »
