Do your politics have to agree with the politics of the bus-driver?

No, of course not. But do you shop at stores that are owned by, say, someone with extremely divergent political beliefs (Whole Foods comes to mind)? I do. Do you go to gyms whose owners profess an ideology inconsistent with your own? But of course. Do you read and admire books written by authors with reputations that are nowhere near where you see yourself on the political spectrum? Sure!

Someone asked me today if I followed the politics of the author (Virginia Postrel) of the book I’d been amusedly blogging about recently. My answer: enough to know that she has taken some *interesting* positions on a number of political issues. That does not detract from, or even speak to her writings on the topic of aesthetics.

Ocean and its author do not discriminate on the basis of which ocean we’re talking about. We here even like an occasional sea once in a while (love that cold splash of the Baltic on the ankles, so long as we're in the middle of a heat wave). And lakes have a considerable amount to offer as well. So peaceful, serene (I'm thinking of little lakes). Not salty enough you say? But how else can you develop your palate if you don’t examine, swim in and savor all bodies of water? [I’m not a fan of excessive chlorine in swimming pools though, just so you know.]

UPDATE: Oh come on, I should NOT have to say this: obviously I avoid cosmetics that use animals for testing and I'm not a fan of sweatshops. And I draw the line at dealing with fascists, racists and many other extremists. So, not too much chlorine and no thank you to any of the above.