Category: Activities (Page 9 of 33)

Activities are gatherings that occur on a regular schedule, usually weekly, to enjoy a specific pastime.

Book Club: Grant by Ron Chernow, September 14, 2022 @ 2:00

July 25, 2022 /

 A massive biography of the Civil War general and president, who “was the single most important figure behind Reconstruction.”

Most Americans know the traditional story of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885): a modest but brutal general who pummeled Robert E. Lee into submission and then became a bad president. Historians changed their minds a generation ago, and acclaimed historian Chernow (Washington: A Life, 2010, etc.), winner of both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, goes along in this doorstop of a biography, which is admiring, intensely detailed, and rarely dull. A middling West Point graduate, Grant performed well during the Mexican War but resigned his commission, enduring seven years of failure before getting lucky. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was the only West Point graduate in the area, so local leaders gave him a command. Unlike other Union commanders, he was aggressive and unfazed by setbacks. His brilliant campaign at Vicksburg made him a national hero. Taking command of the Army of the Potomac, he forced Lee’s surrender, although it took a year. Easily elected in 1868, he was the only president who truly wanted Reconstruction to work. Despite achievements such as suppressing the Ku Klux Klan, he was fighting a losing battle. Historian Richard N. Current wrote, “by backing Radical Reconstruction as best he could, he made a greater effort to secure the constitutional rights of blacks than did any other President between Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson.” Recounting the dreary scandals that soiled his administration, Chernow emphasizes that Grant was disastrously lacking in cynicism. Loyal to friends and susceptible to shady characters, he was an easy mark, and he was fleeced regularly throughout his life. In this sympathetic biography, the author continues the revival of Grant’s reputation.

At nearly 1,000 pages, Chernow delivers a deeply researched, everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know biography, but few readers will regret the experience. For those seeking a shorter treatment, turn to Josiah Bunting’s Ulysses S. Grant (2004).

 

An excellent summary by Tom Igoe:  DMA Book Club — Grant by Ron Chernow

October 20th at 2pm DCA and Zoom Global Warming/Change/Armageddon

July 11, 2022 /

John Wolcott will lead the discussion that was originally planned for Part 2 of our CA last spring.  His presentation remains unchanged.

Last February, Vince Arguimbau led a discussion entitled, “Agreed carbon emissions cause global warming, but is it an existential threat?” continuing to say, “If scarce resources were maximally devoted to reducing emissions then would the result be worth the cost? If not then how do we efficiently allocate resources to ameliorate and adapt to the changing environment?”

The first IPCC report on the existential threat of global warming was issued in 1990. Since then the debate has degenerated into two polar opposite factions battling from ever more distant ends of the spectrum to the point where each is talking past the other at increasing volume and vehemence.

Accordingly, let’s not debate whether GW is settled science or merely religion, but instead begin a conversation as to how the Global Warming/Climate Change/ Existential threat might be more fully addressed

Articles of Interest

Babcock Ranch Survives Ian 30 miles from Ft. Meyers 

Libertarian vs Authoritarian
Post: Europe’s version of the burning of the Amazon rainforests

US oil industry MOCKs Bideo after OPEC announced production cuts: Energy groups say administration now has no choice but to come “crawling back” to domestic producers. 

Mark Mills, physicist and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute

https://dariendma.org/wp-content/uploads/All-Elec-Cars-by-2035-2.mp4

China’s Coal Power Boom 

ESG Does Neither Much Good nor Very Well

The Coming Global Crisis of Climate Policy

Climate Gains are ‘inconvenient truth”-It’s not all bad news for the environment.

The real-world consequences of green extremism. 

The net-zero transition: What it would cost, what it could bring

Humans Can Adapt to Climate Change Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates
The dangers of climate change are “no longer over the horizon.” Humanity may soon pass the “point of no return.” These are the phrases U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used to describe what he called an “utterly inadequate” global response to rising temperatures. But if we were to decisively act, and restructure our global economy with the climate in mind, who would shoulder the burden? Or should our collective focus orient more toward humans’ capacity for adaptation?     Podcast: Arguing in favor of the motion are Bjorn Lomberg and Michael Shellenberger. Arguing against the motion is Kaveh Madani and Michele Wucker. Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What If scarce resources were maximally devoted to reducing emissions then would the result be worth the cost?  If not then how do we efficiently allocate resources to ameliorate and adapt to the changing environment?

DMA Golf Outing at CC of Darien Thursday, August 4, 2022

July 1, 2022 /
Attention DMA golfers.  Once again this year, we have the opportunity to play at the beautiful and challenging course at CC of Darien, site of the upcoming 2022 Women’s MET Open.  Our CCD outings the past three years have been well attended and a lot of fun.  We’ll again have a shotgun tee off in the morning and meet back in the Clubhouse for an optional lunch.  Greens Fees will be $105; Cart fee is $40; lunch is $25.  More details to follow.
 
If you want to join the action, save the date and notify Bob McGroarty, (rgmcg@me.com), of your interest.

Wander Grant’s Tomb, Thursday, May 26, 2022

May 10, 2022 /

On Thursday May 26, the Happy Wanderers will travel on Metro-North to the upper west side of Manhattan. We will visit Grant’s Tomb where Mamundi Subhas (who spoke to the DMA two months ago) will be our guide. We will also visit the site of the 1776 Revolutionary War battle of Harlem Heights. Nearby is The Riverside Church built by the Rockefellers and also the Columbia University campus. Time permitting, we will walk down to The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. We will then take the bus across 125th Street and return to Darien on Metro-North. During our wandering we will eat lunch at the appropriate time. Since this outing will likely be popular among DMA members, we will ask anyone interested to reserve a space with Joe Spain or David Mace. If we have openings closer to our time of departure, we will open participation to spouses and friends.

Wander Flushing Queens – Thursday, May 5, 2022

April 19, 2022 /

Happy Wanderers are planning a trek to Flushing, Queens on Thursday, May 5; the group will depart by carpool from the DCA parking lot at 9 am. Among its other distinctions, Flushing is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of New York City, with large Chinese, Korean and Indian populations. The early Quakers settled here and built the second oldest public high school in the country. Wanderers will have lunch at a local dim sum restaurant before returning to Darien. If you have questions, contact Joe Spain, David Mace or Sunil Saksena.

1) At the enormous Chinese market on Flushing’s Main Street, featuring vegetables of all kinds, meat cuts both familiar and unfamiliar, fish, etc.
2) The group in front of one of New York’s oldest houses, that of John Bowne (1661). Bowne was an English immigrant who moved to what was then New Netherland. He and fellow Quakers were persecuted, Bowne was banished back to The Netherlands, made his case for religious freedom, and returned to Flushing two years later
3) The group at the entrance to Flushing High School, a 2,000 student, architecturally impressive high school built in 1912 and set on a five-acre campus. (Hard to capture the size of the building, so we took a photo at the entrance).

Hike Greenwich Audubon Center, May 23, 2022, 10:00

April 15, 2022 /

HIKING GREENWICH AUDUBON CENTER

GREENWICH, CT
10 AM MONDAY MAY 23, 2022

Greenwich Audubon Center is a 285 acre sanctuary which opened its doors in 1943 as Audubon’s first nature education center in the country. Located on land donated by Eleanor Clovis Reese and H Hall Clovis the center includes over 7 miles of trails through a rich diversity of hardwood forest, meadows, lakes, streams and vernal ponds. Also on the property are an expansive Nature Education Center, an old apple orchard and original New England homestead buildings. We plan to meet in the main parking lot at 10 AM and hike for about two hours over varied terrain including one steep climb and several sections of rocky trail. We rate this as a hike of moderate plus difficulty. We hope to see migrating birds but our wildlife scorecard has not been
good! As always, guests and spouses welcome but NO DOGS. Probably no lunch but more later on that. The Center is located at 613 Riversville Road in Greenwich on the north side of the Merritt Parkway. Exit at Round Hill Road and use GPS to get you to the center.

CONTACTS: Dave McCollum or Bob Plunkett

 

On a windy, but mild, morning 9 DMAers and 3 spouses hiked about 3 miles over varied terrain in just over 2 hours. The hike took a little longer than anticipated due to two navigation errors by the hike leaders. The first was due to a sign issue which seemed to direct us one way but meant the other. The second was a total lack of any signage at a fork in the trail. We, of course, took the fork but it turned out to loop us around onto a trail already hiked! Once we got that figured out, the rest of the hike went smoothly. One would think that the pre-hike we made two weeks ago would have ironed out any confusion but it did not! The conversation among hikers tends to distract navigation despite efforts to stay focused. 

On the plus side, the wildlife sightings were way above average. Birds, butterflies, frogs and deer tracks were seen but the best was near the end where a mother duck and her 8 tiny ducklings were swimming in a pond. 

This hike concludes the 2021-22 hiking season. Since September of 2021 we have gone on a hike every month for a total of 9. Thank you to all who participated. We will resume hiking in September.

 

Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett

Current Affairs: May 12th at 11am Zoom and at DCA: Nationally there are book banning calls from the left and right. Kiera Parrott, Director of the Darien Library will be joining us to review Darien’s policies. What’s on your mind?

April 10, 2022 /

Kiera Parrott, Director of the Darien Library will join us to  talk about Darien’s policy for adding and removing books and other materials to the collection, also known as a “Collection Development Policy.”

We are postponing to the fall revisiting our discussion on alternative points of view on Global warming, Some told us we missed points of view. When we return in the fall John Wolcott will give an alternative point of view for us to discuss.

Then, if we have time,  we are going to wrap up the year by discussing what the headlines are on May 12th. What’s on your mind? What is being discussed around the dinner table or golf course or wandering or hikes or bridge table, bowling alley, or the Pickleball court?

Some subjects have been suggested below. 

Book Banning

These are books school systems don’t want you to read and why

Public Libraries Face Escalating Book Challenges 

Book Ban Efforts Expand Across the United States 

Book Banning 

Banned Books Display in Maryland disturbs parents 

In Some States “Don’t Say Gay Bills Have Been Around for a While 

“Unparalleled in intensity-1,500 book bans in US School

Global Warming

Unsettled? What Climate Science Tells Us, What it doesn’t. 

Net-Zero America: Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts

Psychological Strategies for the Long Haul of Climate Action  I Opinion  Newsweek

With what we know when we meet,  what is your view of Darien”s purchase of Great Island? 

 

 

 

 

Money Matters Meeting on April 11, 2022 at 9:00 am

April 9, 2022 /

On Monday, April 11, 2022, commencing at 9:00 am, Doug Campbell will host a virtual meeting of the Money Matters group when attendees will be joined by Eric Monies and Brandon Vaughan to discuss the topic of cryptocurrency and “NFTs” (non-fungible tokens that are part of the Ethereum blockchain).

HIKE MIANUS RIVER GORGE PRESERVE, BEDFORD, NY MONDAY APRIL 18, 2022 10:00 AM

April 8, 2022 /

HIKING MIANUS RIVER GORGE PRESERVE
167 MIANUS RIVER ROAD
BEDFORD, NY
MONDAY APRIL 18, 2022
10:00 AM

This hike should take us 2.5 to 2.75 hours. NO DOGS ALLOWED.
No lunch after due to the Monday date when many restaurants are closed.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If Monday turns out to be a rainy day the hike will be postponed. If in doubt, please contact one of us below.

DIRECTIONS: Google maps or Waze both recognize “Mianus River Gorge Preserve, Bedford”. The Preserve is off of Long Ridge Road.
Do not confuse with a similar named place in Stamford.

CONTACTS: Dave McCollum or Bob Plunkett

Hike recap:

Twelve hikers spent a delightful 2.75 hours traversing over four miles of trails at Mianus River Gorge Preserve today. We started out with thirteen but one very wise DMA’er realized that his knee was acting up near the start and retired for the day. A good plan for him as the trail climbs steeply in spots to over 400 feet above the river. The halfway point is back down at the reservoir that the river feeds before it is distributed into the water systems of Greenwich, Rye and Port Chester. The return trip follows a mostly different path through terrain very unlike that directly along the gorge. This area has almost open fields and many stone walls, a result of the farming that took place well over a century ago. 

This hike is one of the more spectacular venues we visit with its river views and water features along the way. Some glacier certainly distributed a million rocks around the preserve! Alas, no wildlife seen again.  Thanks to Marilyn Parker for her consistently fine photography, and great hiking!

 


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