LETTING THE CHIPS FALL...

IN THE ARENA OF THE MIND

     "It may be different elsewhere. But a democratic society-in it the highest duty of the writer, the composer, the artist is to remain true to himself and to let the chips fall where they may."

      John Kennedy said that a little less than a month before he was killed.  He was speaking at Amherst College October 26, 1963.

       "In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves his nation."

       I wonder how many writers today concern themselves with such lofty concerns. Maybe they do in little pieces and then over time, taken in mass, it adds up.
        It's  harder to get your voice heard through the mass of signals that fill the public square. Digital media, social networks, cable, broadcast, the whole universe of film and print are choked with content, much of it simply trying to out pace the others.  In some cases outrage and anger get attention. Those may be genuine, but are they the visions of truth JFK spoke of?

       The more I watch Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom the more convinced I am he is serving his vision of truth. Here's why I think so.  
       The modern media, in all of it's iterations, does more to shape our sense of reality, expectations and vision of government than most people make themselves aware of. As consumers of the din we rarely give ourselves the time to ponder the impact of what we consume.  We think more about what we eat, than consider what we put into our heads though we spend hours a day consuming information flow.

        Sorkin's work cuts to the quick.  Some criticize the "preachiness" of it.  I don't see it that way.  I think he is offering a valuable insight into the media machine that shapes our attitudes and affects our sense of destiny. Yes, it is entertainment, but it also holds a mirror to a powerful element of modern life and Sorkin, as President Kennedy opined, lets the chips fall where they may.

DAY FILE

A FUN "SCHOOL"

     Each year, since our move, we make a point to attend

Coastal Discovery Day up at San Simeon.  The Discovery Center, joined by a host of other nature, environmental, park and educational groups hold a kind of carnival overlooking the Pacific.  It's for kids with lots of hands on activities, but each year we learn something and pick up a few interesting shots.  This year I learned about the hearing chambers and ear drums (bulla) of whales, elephant seals and dolphins.  Amazing technology at work in those sonar sensitive relatives.

  The Falcon expert had a couple of beautiful friends.

    An injured wing has grounded this Pelican, now in the custody of a rehabilitation specialist.  He eats 3 pounds of sardines or smelt each day.  He'd eat more if he were burning calories by flying.

    Here are a couple specimens of Elephant Seal skulls.

     In the frame below is the skull of a Dolphin.  The bottom piece, in the shadow, is the kind of sensor bone that transmits sounds from long, medium or short distances, using a different portion of the bone to do so.  The differing signals are then processed in a sophisticated brain.

      Skulls of native wild life.

  While it was sunny and bright up at the cove, south toward
Cambria, another micro climate existed, in the fog.

See you down the trail.

A DAY THE WORLD CHANGED

NOVEMBER 22

LOSING LIONS

1963.  Senior year of high school. The bulletin

came before our last class of the day, sociology.

Stunned as we filed into the class room, no one spoke, a few were in tears. Teacher Wendell Roberts, usually at his desk, was not there.  A kid, a member 

of Young Americans for Freedom and a Goldwater supporter

went to the chalk board and wrote Revolt!

Roberts walked into the classroom, saw the board and asked who did it. The kid lifted his hand.

Roberts moved to the boy's desk, grabbed him by the collar

and walked him into the hall.

That was how the emotional and tragic weekend began for me.

I was stringing for the Indianapolis Times and our 

high school basketball game with a southern Indiana team was not, like most, cancelled.  I covered the game and called in the score.  A kid by the name of Kennedy scored a lot of points.

JFK was young, dynamic and he engaged a generation.
Politics and government was no longer the province
of only gray men.

I couldn't believe that he, or any American President

could be gunned down, not in modern America.

The world changed that day in ways we would not 

understand for years.

CS Lewis

Pretty much lost to history is that Author CS Lewis passed away on that same November 22, his death overshadowed by the assassination of Kennedy.  My appreciation for Lewis came later.  He was one of the 20th Centuries most remarkable thinkers as well as writers. Most know him

for the Narnia Chronicles.  He wrote and lectured volumes
of more important work; philosophy, classical scholarship,
theology and adult literature.
In the halls of history, Lewis touched and will touch and will have more influence than the man whose passing eclipsed news of his own.
And on this November 22nd I sadly note the 
passing of Ann Dennis, our neighbor on
the ridge top.  She was a gracious, vibrant community activist and leader.  Lana saw her yesterday as she
was leaving to teach a stretch class at the community 
center.  Ann was 92, perhaps 93.  It was never 
polite to ask. Her wonderful smile was ageless.
DAY BOOK
MORNING LIGHT &
RAINBOWS

SOMEWHERE, OVER

See you down the trail.