Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun
Showing posts with label Cambria Historical Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambria Historical Society. Show all posts

Monday, October 14, 2013

SEAL TEAM STEEL-YOUR NEWS IQ AND IT TAKES A VILLAGE

SEAL COOL
    REEL NOTES CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
    A couple of extraordinary things struck me in an otherwise excellent film, directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks, who seems incapable of anything but masterful. Hank's acting when he portrays Captain Phillips in shock, and the extraordinary low key cool of the real navy personnel who play acted their real life roles, are more than worth the ticket.
     Hanks emotional volume and visceral acting in this act were stunning. 
      As the operation drama reaches a peak, the screen fills with military and medical staff who are the real deal, apparently getting a pass to portray a role. They evince an élan. It is all about mission-efficient and in control.
     You see technology and intel being brought to conduct in the planning and execution of the operation. These touches are an additional layer of film making skill.
      The film is an enthralling adventure.  There are present issues with the real Captain Phillips' navigating and some of the Phillips' behavior was directorial interpretation. Though not unimportant, they do not affect the storytelling or power of engagement in Greengrass' film. For his part, Hanks has such a facile way of digging into a character and making them live he trades on credibility and you believe.   

 LOW DOWN ON LOW INFORMATION 
     How do you define a low information voter?
     If the recent work of Pew Research is indicative "low information" might be giving too much credit. Is stupid more appropriate?   How do you measure up?
     Link here to take a quick News IQ QuizYou may have your own editorial comment after you've seen your results and those of fellow voters.


LOCAL COLOR
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
    We treasure village life.  
    The simple pleasures are magnified, as when the grounds of the Cambria Historical Society became the gathering center for a Harvest Market-a kind of tag sale, ice cream social and music venue.  For those who do not know our village nestled in Monterey Pines between the Pacific and the Santa Lucia mountains, here are homespun autumn snapshots. 










a desert that is an appetizer
    See you down the trail.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

DIVING THE MONTEBELLO

SEARCHING THE DEEP
 Deep sea exploration begins today six miles off shore of
Cambria at the wreck of the Montebello.
The ship was was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese
U-boat on December 22, 1941, a couple of weeks after
the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 The tanker had taken on 3 million gallons of Santa Maria
crude oil at Port San Luis and was bound for a refinery.
Today the Montebello rests on the ocean floor, 900 feet 
below the surface. It is that oil and the condition
of the hold that is at the center of the exploration.
A remotely operated vehicle will take sediment samples,
and do a procedure called a hot tapping.  A small hole
will be drilled through the hull and samples from inside
will be pulled.  Scientists speculate the crude oil,
which has spent 70 years in the dark and 40 degree depth, will likely resemble peanut butter, but no one knows for sure.  When the hole is drilled, a valve will be attached to prevent leakage.  
The Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Game hired Global Diving and Salvage based in Seattle.
I hope they have their act together. Drilling into an old ship at that depth is fraught with risk.
The objective is to determine what potential environmental risks are posed by the aging ship and the oil.
State Senator Sam Blakeslee has taken the lead in spurring federal and state officials to investigate and monitor the wreckage.  
A series of flights have been launched using a thermal spectral technology to measure the viscosity of sunlight on the Pacific in the area of the wreck.  If oil was leaking, the readings would indicate such.
At the time of the sinking, the War department tried to cover it up, buying up copies of San Francisco Newspapers.
They did not get the local San Luis Obispo Telegram Tribune
and though largely overshadowed by other war news,
the story remained in the minds of Central Coast Californians.
You can read an account and narrative of the event by
linking  here to the Cambria Historical Society.


So for the next couple of weeks,
modern technology reaches deep and
into history, to touch an artifact
of one of the rare shellings of the American
mainland. While the Japanese U-boat fired on the
crew of the Montebello as they scrambled in lifeboats, the survivors escaped their hostile action but
the primary target that night could still pose a threat.
Stay tuned.
See you down the trail.