November 18, 2012

At the Sharing Café...

Untitled

... thanks for sharing.

(Enlarge photo. It may enable you to comprehend this interior space, found yesterday in a building on the Capitol Square here in Madison, Wisconsin.)

94 comments:

Hagar said...

Madison, WI is a strange place.

Chip S. said...

I'm guessing that the most frequently given item on that list is #6.

rcommal said...

But what if you've lost your marbles?

Wally Kalbacken said...

With the bars on the windows I'm thinking this is in the old sandstone bank building on the corner of East Washington and Pinckney.

purplepenquin said...

When did "sharing" become a value to be mocked?


edutcher said...

I have something to share, but I think I'll wait till said subject comes up in conversation.

Bob Ellison said...

Some of the items in that photo do not represent "sharing", but "giving". "Sharing" implies taking some and giving some of something. How do you share a cup of coffee, a cup of sugar, or volunteer time? You give those things.

Irene said...

Here, every space is a children's museum.

Bob Ellison said...

Maybe that's the true left/right divisor: do you understand the difference between "share" and "give", "take" and "tax", "donate" and "grant", etc.? I don't think lefties are clear on these things.

Oh, well. I'm way too politically lately. Gotta listen to more music.

chuck said...

Ah, it's the church of the new revelation.

xnar said...

I'm guessing it was funded by taxpayer money somehow.

Sorun said...

"Sharing" is a great concept to teach children. But who's teaching it? Parents = good. Church = good. City/state/federal government = less good, and much more mockable.

tim maguire said...

Many of those things aren't sharing. Too bad the brilliant idea of doing an art project showing what a wonderful caring person the artist is wasn't had by a more wonderful caring person. Or a truly deeply despicable person.

Either might have made for better art.

As it is, it's just...just.

purplepenquin said...

I'm guessing it was funded by taxpayer money somehow.

I'm guessing you're wrong. But I have a lil' more info to go on than you. ;)

Was sitting in a conference/meeting when this lil' shop/store was highlighted as one of their new things. I wanna say it is a bike shop, but ain't sure (been a busy couple of months and they tend to blur) but it is some type of private business rather than a public entity.

I wonder why our hostess didn't disclose the name of the place?

purplepenquin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rusty said...

urplepenquin said...
When did "sharing" become a value to be mocked?

When it becomes forced.

Rusty said...

purplepenquin said...
I'm guessing it was funded by taxpayer money somehow.

I'm guessing you're wrong. But I have a lil' more info to go on than you. ;)

Was sitting in a conference/meeting when this lil' shop/store was highlighted as one of their new things. I wanna say it is a bike shop, but ain't sure (been a busy couple of months and they tend to blur) but it is some type of private business rather than a public entity.

I wonder why our hostess didn't disclose the name of the place?

So it's a commercial establishment?

chickelit said...

When it becomes forced.

As when "sharing" is the gerund form of a certain religious law.

jungatheart said...

"City/state/federal government = less good, and much more mockable."

Why?

john said...

I would gladly share my house keys with a stranger.

(Or perhaps this is the key sharing they had in mind. Kinky!)

Rusty said...

deborah said...
"City/state/federal government = less good, and much more mockable."

Why?

the results of which are almost universally mediocre.

Renee said...

10: A child's play date?

Remember children could just hang out in the neighborhood, they didn't need to arrange a play date for their children?

My children who have friends from school, are old enough to call on their own. I have a few children, so the younger ones never get bored with one another.

"Play date" is profane language in my house.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I have shared a unit of corporate ownership with the people in my community.

Palladian said...

Hmm, I was looking for "11. Long, sloppy blowjobs". Maybe it's on the other side of that thing...

Bob Ellison said...

Lately I've been studying recorded musical pieces that have great openings, like "Sweet Home Alabama", "I Cover the Waterfront", and almost any rendition of the second movement to Dvorak's 9th ("New World") Symphony. One conclusion so far:

* The best openers often leave the main key/tonic of the song ambiguous. That's true for all of the above examples. (BTW, Professor, I can't think of a song in which Bob Dylan did this.)

* Some recordings start out great and then disappoint you terribly. The best example I can find is Everybody Round Here by Sharon Little. I can't find the full version online, but this citation gives you a taste. They took a nice, slow, thoughtful song and tried to turn it into a build-up anthem. Dumb production.

* Guitar. Probably should start with guitar, if that's in the orchestration.

Bob Ellison said...

Uh, *three conclusions.

Conserve Liberty said...

My mother once made me break a Clark bar I had purchased with part of my allowance into two pieces, and then made me let my younger brother choose which of the two pieces he would have me share with him.

That was the last time I shared anything.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

When did "sharing" become a value to be mocked?

When it is pretentious self preening.

Giving, charity and sharing should be done freely, quietly, be unannounced and with no expectation of congratulations or fame.

#7. Great idea. That is pretty subjective. One person's great idea is not always so great in the outcome or long run. I offer California as an example.

purplepenquin said...

If "commercial establishment" is defined as being owned/operated by a for-profit company, then yes. Well, not a definite yes, tho. More like pretty sure. While I can't recall the actual group that made the presentation, I do remember seeing a virtual tour of this space and thinking to myself what an interesting/different approach this was for this type of company. I keep leaning towards it being a local bike manufacturer, but confidence isn't as high on that being correct.


And my mother also used to make one of us brothers divide the snacks and the other choose...in retrospect, it seems like a very Solomon-like edict.

KCFleming said...

I have "shared" a large chunk of my income every year with "my" "community".
In response, they ask for more every year.

Now they want the keys to my house?
I think they mean "commune", not community.

KCFleming said...

The lesson of Solomon wasn't how to take from the haves and give 50% to the have-nots.

The wisdom was precisely the opposite. His decision to sever the baby in half exposed the liar between the two women.

Irene said...

It's the American Family DreamBank ... proving that corporations can manipulate even Madisonian heartstrings. In a former bank building.

Known Unknown said...

The floors are awesome.

Saint Croix said...

Here is Stephen Colbert giving a platform to Peter Singer. They don't discuss the Nazi stuff, the killing of infants, the elderly, or the handicapped. They don't discuss his desire to kill his own mother.

Why is he on the show? To make Peter Singer the new normal. It's why he's teaching at the Ivy League. Somebody--many people-- have decided that Peter Singer is right and good, and pro-lifers are radical and out of the mainstream. Respecting human life is out. Defining people as dogs, pigs, or cattle is in.

Liberals refuse to see this. For instance, Althouse characterized "after birth abortion" as satire. That can't happen! Nobody is going to start killing born children. Unless the baby is in a toilet or something.

I think Ann Althouse has a good heart. She's a nice traditional liberal who believes in things like free speech. And she listens and she's open.

But I also think there's a certain amount of obliviousness to the dark side of socialism. Althouse, like many liberals, is not prepared to see Peter Singer for what he is.

Professor Singer wears no swastika, and he firmly denies that he is a Nazi. While at the same time he advocates a government dehumanization of all human beings. We're all animals now. And he has already started a process of classifying which animals should be murdered by the state.

He is the Ivy League architect of a neo-Nazi way of thinking and viewing the world.

I don't think it's notable that there are Peter Singers in the world. What is scary and shocking is that he is teaching our best and brightest at Princeton. And what is appalling is that liberals in the media seek to give him an audience. Not to criticize him or confront him. No, they seek to make him famous, to give him a platform, to help him sell books and make a name for himself. They are opening doors for him, because they like what he has to say, and they are paving his way.

Anonymous said...

Ann Althouse dies and goes to hell.

purplepenquin said...

The lesson of Solomon wasn't how to take from the haves and give 50% to the have-nots.

Just to clarify, you do know we are talking about family members splitting a candy bar...right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giving, charity and sharing should be done freely, quietly, be unannounced and with no expectation of congratulations or fame.

I agree, but I fail to see how the display that is pictured (or should that be the picture that is displayed? American is such a weird language sometimes) does any of what you mention, but rather it simply encourages folks to share.

Seriously, I don't understand the "lameness" of that...even if it is being used to sell goods/services.

Chip S. said...

Want to encourage sharing?

Establish clear property rights.

Conserve Liberty said...

As a follow up, I have from time to time been known to give the Clark bar to someone else who wanted it more than I.

I humbly return annually to God's work through His church on Earth His portion of the fruits of my labor, which portion I individually and privately determine through prayer and meditation.

Further I cheerfully return annually to my community its portion of the fruits of my labor and savings through both ongoing and capital gifts, which portion is necessarily more publicly determined and recognized.

I return annually to my country, state, county and municipality through taxes its portion of the fruits of my labor and savings, which portion is determined both externally by those other than myself, and personally by the actions I choose to expose to taxation. That portion is returned somewhat more grudgingly.

McTriumph said...

There are two things you can bet the house on,

An Ivy Leaguer will tell you where they went to school within the first two minutes of meeting them.

An Ivy Leaguer will be the first in line to sellout their culture, family or country, they will with a strait face intellectually rationalise why it's the moral thing to do.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I hate Stephen Colbert with the heat of a million suns.

Patrick said...

Karlpoppersghost, I do believe you have perfectly captured Althouse's personal version of Hell.

Anonymous said...

OMG, that IS funny Karlpoppersghost!

edutcher said...

Considering all the old guys were in shorts and only the young guy wasn't, it's a view of Heaven while in Hell. how Dantesque.

William said...

Actually, the old guy in the photo is a member of the Silver Hunks. They're a group of adult entertainers who go around to nursing homes and strip for the residents. Sharing. From each according to their ability to each according to their needs.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Let's give trophies to every player! [what haven't libruls screwed up?]

Tim said...

Big win by Stanford football last night, beating Oregon, er, University of Nike, on the road.

Chip Ahoy said...

I shared my fast broiled meatball and fast sauce from tinned tomatoes idea last night. Fast food. But still excellent.

I think the idea is good enough for a regular dinner party so I tried it out. I'm thinking, a very simple salad, but a big one, and a meatball with sauce in a bowl. That's it.

A friend called in the daytime and said he's in town for a day, let's go out. I suggested my idea. He asked can he bring anything and I go sure, and gave him the whole list of items to buy, which is a short list. Now he's invested in the thing's success.

He made the meatballs by my instructions. I set him up at the work surface. I made the sauce and the salad in his presence while he did that right there so now he can duplicate what was done.

The meal is actually a lot better and satisfying than it sounds.

I had one meatball he had three! He kept remarking how fantastic the whole thing is. It was the simplest of meals but to him it was extraordinary the way it came together so quickly like that.

You know, to be that old and not 'get' the idea of salad dressing is very strange from my point of view. The last party I went to the hostess soaked the lettuce drowning it in acid and presented them already dead wilted. My guest last night saw me splash oil in a large bowl then reach over and tip in rice vinegar without measuring, just guessing how much goes into that large wooden depression for the pile of lettuce I have waiting for it. He saw the jug of honey but only a teaspoon tipped out. "That's all?" and then, "That's the mustard you made?" And that the mixture sits in the bowl covering avocado pieces protecting them from air, without any extra pooling, while the lettuce sits on top until serving, undisturbed by the acid beneath it. Then it's tossed when served. My guest didn't know any of that, senior that he is, so that's what I shared. He brought the whole thing, ground beef, lettuce, and avocado, and I showed him what to do with it. Sharing.

I asked, would it work for a regular dinner party, you think, a piled simple salad and a tender meatball in a bowl, and he answered, "Are you f'n kidding me? This is perfect!" Or something similar along those lines

Incidentally, he had three meatballs and they're big too. If you pick up this idea and use it, we agreed later the dinner really could use a dessert. Spumoni or something.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

When did "sharing" become a value to be mocked?

Sharing, to me, connotes consideration first.

First do no harm... for example.

Everything can be corrupted or distorted from its original course, meaning, or state.

rehajm said...

Today Greg Mankiw makes an interesting observation in a new CBO report - presently, the United States has in effect what amounts to a flat tax.

Tim said...

"[what haven't libruls screwed up?]"

Everything they haven't touched.

That list is, sadly, vanishingly small.

Freeman Hunt said...

Putting together a to go order. Want a burger.

These are the choices:
A double burger that comes with sliced steak on it. (Fat.)
A burger that comes with nachos on it. (Fatter.)
A burger that comes with pulled pork and onion rings on it. (Fattest.)
A "bleu cheese burger" that has bleu cheese dressing rather than bleu cheese on it. (Wrong. Just wrong.)
A burger with no standards. One is supposed to list everything that one wants on it. (Every place that serves burgers should have a standard burger--a burger that exemplifies whatever the place thinks to be the best in burgers.)
And a black bean burger. (As if.)

Those are the choices.

I have decided not to order from this place.

Rusty said...

purplepenquin said...
If "commercial establishment" is defined as being owned/operated by a for-profit company, then yes. Well, not a definite yes, tho. More like pretty sure. While I can't recall the actual group that made the presentation, I do remember seeing a virtual tour of this space and thinking to myself what an interesting/different approach this was for this type of company. I keep leaning towards it being a local bike manufacturer, but confidence isn't as high on that being correct.


And my mother also used to make one of us brothers divide the snacks and the other choose...in retrospect, it seems like a very Solomon-like edict.

That's good then. They're appealing to their customer base.

I was /am considering taking my recumbent tricycle,tadpole design-two steering wheels in front, business to Madison.

KCFleming said...

"Just to clarify, you do know we are talking about family members splitting a candy bar...right?"

That is, you don't understand the Solomon story.

Bob Ellison said...

Freeman Hunt, I feel your pain. My special beef (heh) is with the crappization of the classic Reuben sandwich. I've learned to ask now:

"Is the Rueben a closed sandwich, or open-faced?"

More often than not, the response is "open-faced". I want to reply "then it's not a Reuben, is it? nor even a sandwich."

Methadras said...

I try to stay away from places like this. They try to be cute in their leftist indoctrination. Distilling collectivist values into these ridiculous icons.

Paddy O said...

Went to REI just now, bought some walking shoes.

12.24% sales tax!

Paddy O said...

When did "sharing" become a value to be mocked?

Whenever it is really "telling" or "taking" but using the euphemism of "sharing".

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Sharing is not as simple as it is sometimes made out to be.

A guest comes to your house. He mentions that he collects and enjoys rare scotch. It happens that you have just received a bottle of rare scotch, and it sits, unopened, on your sideboard. “I’m not a big scotch drinker” you say.. “I wouldn't know one from another, but I just received this as a gift. It’s just going to sit there; please why don’t you take it?”
The guest may accept or decline the gift. Should he accept, he is likely to say: “Thank you, but only on the condition that you share it with me.” You open the bottle and the guest pours you both a shot, which you both enjoy with the appropriate comments. When the evening is over, it is not unlikely that the guest will leave w/o reference to the now-opened bottle. At this point you, the host, are likely to suggest that he take “his” bottle with him. He, again, may accept with thanks, or refuse gracefully. No social norms have been violated.
But consider a similar situation.
The guest arrives and notes the rare bottle of Scotch. You open it, and pour two drinks, and you both remark on its excellence. At the close of dinner you suggest that, as you are not a big scotch drinker, the guest should take the bottle home with him. This is now a gross breach of manners; the guest cannot accept without the taint of greed, he cannot decline at the risk of offence, and, indeed, he has been offended, for he has, now, not been offered a gift, but scraps from your table
.

David Mamet – The Secret Knowledge pg 19.

I hope i didnt break the quotation limit... I did buy the book... for what it was worth... and it was worth it.

Peter Hoh said...

Looking for an additional computer. Anyone have any experience using a Chromebook?

Freeman Hunt said...

A cup of sugar? Coffee? A play date? This must be the liberal version of charity. I wonder how many of the Advice recipients would rather have passed.

"Can I take you out for coffee? I think we need to talk about how you should be organizing the group's playdates at the community garden."

Plink. Plink. Plink. Plink. Plink.

Also, it's not sharing to give someone a key to your house. (Unless you're inviting them to use it to come into your house when they'd like.) Giving a neighbor a key is for your own convenience and security.

Bob Ellison said...

Interesting excerpt, Lem. Seems too English/Victorian for Mamet. I appreciate people who accept gifts with gratitude, and I try to do the same in return.

Perhaps a more modern, less underwear-pulled-up-too-high example would be this: you have lunch with a friend at a cafe. The server hands you the bill, and the friend takes out his/her wallet. You say "No, I got this." That starts down a potentially dangerous path.

I wish people would just be more honest and open about both (1) accepting a gift as a gift and (2) granting them as such, with no payback expected.

Freeman Hunt said...

Anyone have any experience using a Chromebook?

On one right now. Love it.

Bob Ellison said...

Peter Hoh, I have a beta-test Chromebook-- the un-labeled one that Google put out about a year ago (or was it two?). So my comments are of limited value, but anyway...

First, you have to be sure you can be wedded to web apps. I'm not ready to cut the cord from my own storage devices and native apps. Not at all. You're not gonna be able to do things like serious video or audio production on the thing.

Second, it seems to be a very efficient OS. Long battery life from my experience.

Third, I wouldn't go there without a data plan. That may seem obvious.

Also, I don't trust Google, and you must remember that the Chromebook is going to be wedded to your Google account. They're watching you. If it were Microsoft or Apple or AT&T or IBM, I might trust 'em. But not Google. Not FaceBook, either.

I've got Macs, Windows machines, multi-boot machines, one netbook, an iPad, and a few Kindles around here, and the Chromebook is probably the only machine that we never bother booting up.

Hope this helps!

Freeman Hunt said...

This must be the liberal version of charity.

(And yes, I'm teasing the liberals there. I know liberals who volunteer and give to charity. Well, at least one.)

Bob Ellison said...

My next-door neighbor has a roto-tiller, and I have a log-splitter. We share.

Freeman Hunt said...

I have a beta-test Chromebook-- the un-labeled one that Google put out about a year ago (or was it two?).

That's the same one I have. I don't use it with a data plan, just wifi. Not good as a main computer for organizing family photos, music, etc. Excellent as a secondary device.

Bob Ellison said...

My favorite current adjunct computer on the market is the MacBook Air. Stunning design, no hard drive to crash, fast operation because of that, beautiful and light. Should run fine for years and years, and if you don't like the OS, you can always install Windows or something else.

I don't have one yet, but I recommended it to a friend, and he loves it after several months of use. If you go that way, though, max out the RAM. Don't worry about the storage.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Sharing also connotes an indifference to impartiality.

If I cant share with everybody should I still share?

Choosing is on its way to becoming a crime.

Bob Ellison said...

I share Internet access when we have power outages. With MiFi, that'll probably become a common sharing experience.

I let a friend use a portable generator after Hurricane Sandy. That doesn't seem like sharing, though. We aren't using it simultaneously. It's not a loan, either, at least not in the Western sense. In the vast lexicon of English, we should have a specific word for this.

Bob Ellison said...

Who shared David Petraeus? David, his wife, or his mistress, or some combination of the three?

None, I say.

foolmeonce said...

I shared this post with a few friends. Was that bad?

Anonymous said...

When sharing became attached to a collectivist set of ideals and a political philosophy that has proven time and again that it doesn't work.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I shared this post with a few friends. Was that bad?

If you didnt share it with all your friends, that means you were discriminant.

Baron Zemo said...

President Obama help share the government of Egypt with his friends in the Muslim Brotherhood and now there will be a war between Israel and Egypt.

Good Job there Barry!

Baron Zemo said...

Anyone who won't eat a black bean burger is racist.

Against Brazilians.

foolmeonce said...

Lem...


or it could me I only have a few friends. But yeah, maybe I'm math impaired.

foolmeonce said...

me = mean

In the immortal words of Rick Perry. Oops.

Freeman Hunt said...

I'm surprised there was no Coke Cheesesticks Fries and Pie Burger. Concentrate a monster meal into one thing.

Freeman Hunt said...

"We also have a Tea Clam Chowder Steamed Vegetables Cheesecake Burger and a Coffee Fried Egg Bacon Biscuit Pancake Burger."

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Who shared David Petraeus?

These shares of mine on this tread in particular... I was channeling a friend of mine... the way he talks... not necessarily his words exactly.

Am I sharing him?

That's another thing about sharing now... exactitude, rigidity is incompatible with an ever changing concept like "sharing".

As we are becoming more technological... exactide is gaining more currency.

And yet the majority chooses to live in the mistery of the penumbras... myself included.

Its what Crack fights.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I cant be exact...

If I dont have control of everything... I'm figuring I'm only going to be approximate...

I'm hungry... I'm going to step out and get something to eat.

(I'm channeling Mike again)

I'm Full of Soup said...

It's almost Thanksgiving so I'd like to thank the commenters for sharing your great wits, IQ's, experience, knowledge and humor here with me all year!

Bob Ellison said...

Lem, good posts. Let me likewise share, say, purplepenquin:

You come in with arguments against sharing, but then you turn out to be a serial sharer yourself. Those cookies were yours. Who are you to share them?

Not very good. I'll have to read up.

Hey, here's an idea! An Althouse commenter imposter day! Every comment must be in the "voice" and style of another commenter, but must be signed by the actual author.

I really think this is good! Professor?

Bob Ellison said...

This idea'd be a lot better with audio comments, especially if augmented by the always-funny Google Talk speech-to-text conversion.

There's money here.

Rusty said...

What I don't like about sharing my stuff is that it often times comes back dirty or broken. The people I shared my stuff with don't want to share in the cleanup or expense of fixing it.
That is if I get my stuff back at all.

Peter Hoh said...

Bob and Freeman, thanks for your feedback.

Your "unbranded" Chromebook is the same as this one from Samsung, right?

Buying the computer for my kid who will be going away to college next year. I don't think she'll need a data plan, as wifi will be available throughout the campus.

I am recommending the Macbook Air. She's leaning toward the MacBook Pro with the optical drive -- she still watches movies from discs, in large part so that she can watch the movie in another language.

But we will take a look at Chromebooks before we make a final decision. I like the price.

Freeman Hunt said...

If she wants to use Word and Excel in college, she should probably skip the Chromebook. Chromebook is more of a secondary long battery, read email, surf the web, watch video, write rough drafts device. Like an iPad with a keyboard. Not sure what it would be like to do papers in Google Docs.

Peter Hoh said...

I use Google Docs for work, and my daughter uses it for school right now. Frankly, I prefer it to Word. It's great when a team of us has to work together on a document.

Her AP Government teacher uses it for homework and assigned readings -- he adds his notes in a column on the side.

I expect that the Chromebook will be what I buy instead of an ipad.

Bob Ellison said...

Peter Hoh: what Freeman Hunt said, but I'm very old-school. If your daughter is already cool with Google Docs, the Chrome OS is probably a good choice, and it's cheap. Also, it saves data on the cloud. Lots to be said for that.

The world is moving toward cloud-based storage, so I think you're right to think this way for your daughter.

Freeman Hunt said...

Well if Google Docs is the program of choice, I'd definitely go with a Chromebook.

bagoh20 said...

We adopted out all five of the lab/retriever puppies I unexpectedly brought home yesterday. We even had multiple applications for some of them. Yesterday they were sleeping in between two houses on bare concrete crowded with building materials and tools, sleeping in the rain and cold of the the last few weeks. Tonight they will be snuggling in warm homes with their new families. Five puppies adopted out in one afternoon because life is always easier for the young and cute.

At the same time, as every week, my Pit Bulls played with kids and their parents who thought they were wonderful, but would not adopt them because they are Pits, and they can't get their landlord to approve it or their insurance doesn't allow it. I have had a couple of them for a long time - some for years. One, named Sugar Lump is so sweet that she is the only dog not in a cage at our events. She stays tethered on a leash, where people including small children can come up to sit and play with her with no worries whatsoever. She has a fan club of people who come by every week just to see her. She is the most tender, gentle unassuming animal I have ever known, and she is a full blooded Pit Bull. Give us more mature dogs a chance too. We may not be as cute, but we know how to love.

Sugar Lump:
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19198585#

bagoh20 said...

I use Google Docs a lot to share spreadsheets with people. It's nice to be able to set up a document like that very simply and have people across the country edit with you in real time. The functionality does not have the depth of Excel, but for basic stuff, it's very easy, and you can't lose it...yet.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Ok. I'm going to share rh.

Fly by Wire.

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