Scenes from South Deerfield, part 4

It's been awhile since we posted pics of the neighborhood, so here's a few shots of New England in fall...


Took this shot from our backyard last weekend after a brief storm had just come through. The "hill" in to the right side in the background is Big Sugarloaf, and Mt. Sugarloaf is just out of the frame to the right.
Some views from the top of Mt. Sugarloaf. This is looking south - Connecticut River is in the foreground, Mt. Holyoke range in the distance approx. 10-15 miles.
A few shots looking more south-easterly, across the river towards a town named Sunderland.

Looking nearly due east from Mt. Sugarloaf. Mt. Toby in the background -- supposed to have great hiking trails; we haven't checked it out yet, but it's on our to-do list.

More late night games?

Yes, it appears that we have become Red Sox fans. The Twinkies will still be first in our hearts, but it's hard to resist the spirit of Red Sox Nation. And with Chad and Laurie in Colorado (when did they get a baseball team?) the series should be even more interesting. Will any games be snowed out? Tell us what you think!

How is analysis of Marxist theory like a Marx brothers movie?

As I was reading for my social theory course one of the passages reminded me of the famous contract scene from "A Night at the Opera". You be the judge...

Dialogue from "A Night at the Opera":

Driftwood: Now pay particular attention to this first clause because it's most important. It says the, uh, "The party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the party of the first part." How do you like that? That's pretty neat, eh?
Fiorello: No, it's no good.
Driftwood: What's the matter with it?
Fiorello: I don't know. Let's hear it again.
Driftwood: It says the, uh, "The party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the party of the first part."
Fiorello: (pausing) That sounds a little better this time.
Driftwood: Well, it grows on ya. Would you like to hear it once more?
Fiorello: Uh, just the first part.
Driftwood: What do you mean? The party of the first part?
Fiorello: No, the first part of the party of the first part.
Driftwood: All right. It says the, uh, "The first part of the party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the first part of the party of the first part shall be known in this contract" - look, why should we quarrel about a thing like this? We'll take it right out, eh?
Fiorello: Yeah, it's a too long, anyhow. (They both tear off the tops of their contracts.) Now, what do we got left?

Text from my theory reading:
"However, the reader will not have failed to note one thing. We have discussed the reproduction of the means of production--but not the reproduction of the productive forces. We have therefore ignored the reproduction of what distinguishes the productive forces from the means of production, i.e. the reproduction of labor power." If you really want the citation (and it's good reading, I tell ya) let me know.

Maybe I'll just put the two together and let the party of the first part discuss the reproduction of the conditions of production. It's not like it could get any more confusing than it already is...

Where are the pretty leaves?

We've been patiently waiting for the famously glorious New England fall colors to "pop", but things have been rather muted so far -- lots of green still on the trees -- perhaps because we haven't yet had a first frost. Still planning to bring the camera out on some of the local trails to grab a few shots.

Thanks to all who participated in the "Is it seafood?" poll. The end result, 5 to 5, didn't bring the sought-after closure to this dilemma, but maybe that's okay...

Until next time,

- JBC

Mountain Day

Today is Mountain Day at Smith College – woo hoo! The college’s president selects a nice fall day, traditionally in late September or early October, and cancels all classes and academic events so that students can go out and enjoy the weather. The actual day is a surprise, so there was much speculation on campus that it was going to be last week.

Some residence houses have trips planned to pick apples at local orchards, and others go hiking, canoeing or just out for picnic lunches. Staff do not get the day off, although campus offices are closed. A good, low-key day to catch up on things!

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Heidi and I went to Bub’s BBQ with Boone, Sarah and Rose last night. Out of curiosity I tried the Gator Tail, which turned out not to be the best decision – it was sort of like really tough chicken. This led to a lively discussion about whether I was breaking our plan of ‘no meat, but okay to eat fish and seafood’. The gator tail was listed under Seafood on Bub’s menu, which was good enough for me, but the rest of the dinner party was unconvinced.

Which leads to the audience participation part of our post: please give us your opinion on this weighty matter using the poll to the right of the screen.

- JBC