WHAT DO YOU SAY?

it's complicated

   The rigging on the tall masts anchored in Morro Bay symbolically captures the mood of complexity in the US these days-lots of angles.

     And so does a scene from Hamlet, especially the lines

      "Let me see. (takes the skull) Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! 

      An explanation in a moment but there is a fascinating detail about the image above. The actor is David Tennant from the 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company Production and the skull is no mere stage prop, it is the skull of Pianist Andre Tchaikowsky. Tchaikowsky's skull was used by Tennant at the Courtyard theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. When the production moved to London's West End, the skull was replaced by a prop as the company thought news of Tchaikowsky's skull distracted the audience.

   The painting above by Philip Calderon is from 1868 and depicts the young Lord Hamlet riding his beloved jester Yorick one of those thousand times. 

    Now here's the link. Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, and Kevin Spacey- "...and now, how abhorred in my imagination..."

Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard
by Eugene Ferdinand Victor Delacroix

      I suspect our revulsion at the revelations about these media stars abusing women and misusing their influence is because we had admired their talent. That is for Rose and Spacey, in my opinion.

what do you say to your kids, matt lauer?

     It was reported the first thing Lauer did after being fired was drive to the private school to tell his teen son. How do you explain your perverted behavior to your offspring? What could he have said to offset the news of his disgusting behavior?

     I'd like to hear Lauer square his treatment of women colleagues with the fact he has a daughter. Someone should ask him what he would think or do if someone did to his daughter what he did to someone else's daughter?

     I was never a fan of Lauer. I was surprised he got the job after Bryant Gumble departed the Today Show. On his best day he was only a middling talent. There are many more effective communicators, hosts and news anchors working on local television stations. Even in the NBC stable there were more talented people.

     what do you say to all your high falutin' friends charlie rose?

    What a painful series of calls, visits and conversations for Charlie Rose. As a journalist and interviewer he had the respect of the worlds best, brightest, most powerful, creative, beautiful and important. People seemed in awe of finally being a guest on his long running interview program. It must be a huge fall. I watched Rose for as long as he did his PBS program and over the years learned and gained insights. Rose's behavior surprises and disappoints as much any on the list of fallen.

     It seems no matter the level of their wealth, a wealth that can allow them all to live more comfortably than a majority of people, they cannot escape the ignominy their vile behavior earned them. 

    It proves again, you can't always trust what you see-especially in a celebrity conscious media.

    revolution?

     Revolution is costly. I hope we are in the early days of a new era in interpersonal relationships in the work place. Perhaps a greater awareness of past abuses will guide us to more appropriate behavior and fairness, but I also hope that it will extend to race, ethnicity, gender identification and age as well as sexual behavior. Equal=Equal, period!

the pence coup?

     Atlantic's new opus on vice-president Pence contains revelations he and other republicans discussed a coup to depose trump after the Access Hollywood tapes were released. The piece documents the Pence "nod and wink" approach to supporting trump, as though saying-don't worry, I've got this covered.  I wonder how long before trump starts blasting his loyal servant?

      Like all those ropes and lines. Angles. Power. It's complicated.

     See you down the trail.

ENTERTAINED OR INFORMED?

TEXTURE

An Uncertain Road

    The road to November 8 will exhaust us but this juncture of the journey hints that something is coming true. The test of the hypothesis is Trump and Sanders.

     In lectures and addresses audiences have been told of what I call a divide between the informed and the entertained. As Americans became more media dependent,  consumption of entertainment eclipsed serious information gathering, either by book, magazine, newspaper, documentaries or broadcast news, which has morphed into something less serious, more personality and ratings driven. 

     To the point, more people "follow" Kim Kardashian than President Obama. More know her than the Speaker of the House or the Defense Secretary or Scott Pelley, Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer or Megan Kelly, even combined. 

      Teachers and professors thanked me for speaking of the eventual divide between those who are entertained and those who are informed.  Those who use media like fast food and those who seek intellectual nutrition. Consequently those who would be led and those who would lead.

       About Donald and Bernie-both are in their own way populists. This is not to demean followers of either candidate, but to draw a generalized comparison. People in both camps  fall outside these definitions, but they are exceptions to my rule. Both men seem to channel an anger, a resentment with the status quo. 

       Trump channels those who don't like government, worry about immigrants, fear federal over reach, are upset with gridlock and inaction. Trump, who offers no specifics but plenty of bombast is "the man." They are unlikely to look deeply into an issue, including Mitch McConnell's pledge to make government stop working and John Boehner's failure to make the House function, the nexus of gridlock and the failure to fund enforcement efforts to keep the money hustlers in check and out politics. Trump even brags about how he bought politicians.

        Sander's followers know the nature and genesis of "the problem" and agree with Bernie's articulation of the disparity and role of big money. Their anger is at the 1% precisely, investment banks and the way Congress has specifically rolled over for big money, in their individual PACs and wallets and to the influence that has been purchased by lobbyists and special interests who also write the legislation that becomes law.

THE CHAYEFSKY PRINCIPLE

"Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore"

        Both groups are angry. One is just mad and fed up in general. Their candidate offers no tangible solution. The other is studied, specific and understand what kind of legislative remedy is needed. In a very real sense these two populist movements underscore the point-entertained or informed? 

         We have become an increasingly frivolous nation, less well educated than historically, though we are certainly entertained. The nation is materialistic and consumption oriented, with little sense of history, exhibits poor critical reasoning skills, is more fragmented and with a dangerous lack of a sense of commonweal. We can be selfish and too often our religion is mean spirited, judgmental and exclusionary. Madison Avenue appears to have had more impact than Academia. Entertaining diversion trumps educational vigor.

       Traditional Republicans are sick that someone like a Donald Trump or a Ben Carson can be taken seriously when others with relevant experience, regardless of what people  think of them, can hardly move the needle.  Who are the wind in Trump's sail? The entertained.

       Hillary Clinton, a traditional, professional politician is being nudged, feeling a bit of the Bern. Like her or not she is the old fashioned pol in this fight. Who are the people empowering Sanders? The informed.

       Sure, there are informed followers in the Clinton camp as there are in the supporters of Bush, Christy, Paul, Fiornia, Kasich.  The sad joke however is Republicans are now reaping McConnell and Boehner's influence and that of the Tea Party. Recent Republican strategy has so empowered evangelicals, freedom caucus wackos, conspiracy theorists, birthers and the one issue mouth breathers they now have an orange haired, impolite, hate mongering, ego freak of a  clown running strong. Scary stuff when low information voters can also do more than pose for all of those weird Walmart shopper photos.

      There's a lot to be said for being informed, even if it requires using the brain and bumping up against hard questions, complex issues, challenges and difficulties that elude simple solutions or rehearsed sound bites. Gaining knowledge and being informed is not a simple as sitting and staring.
      Being upset with the way things are is a good thing. It's a start. Ideas need to follow.
     History is a relentless scribe, though it could be such a nurturing companion if we were but to embrace it.

    See you down the trail.
      

        

CHIMES, FALLON, WATER

WHAT'S THE AFFECT OF 

CHRONIC CHIME LISTENING?

     Santa's gift to Lana, Sunrise Serenade Grace Note Chimes CDFGAC f/maj 6/9, have become a distinctive element of my daily soundscape.

       They are always appreciated, never distracting and somehow magic or hypnotic. They "score" the study view and are omnipresent.  Wonder how the vibrational harmony works on mind and body? They are made in Mariposa Ca, near Yosemite, some of the planet's most beautiful grandeur. They sound with a beauty and invoke a feeling of grandeur.

       There is a compounding effect as well. Both neighbors up the hill have their own chimes. There are afternoons when the Pacific breeze tickles the chimes here on the hill and we are treated to a rich symphony.  Never a bad note and always a sense of peace and calm, even when the breeze morphs to wind gusts.  Thanks to the person who gave us wind chimes.

  MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A RAIN DROP

    Drought mindful and water appreciative Californians find infinite ways to conserve, especially precious rainwater.  As we plan a larger water catchment system, Lana has ingeniously split rain drops into a portable and convenient sized irrigation system.

   Out of the spout into former kitty litter containers.

   She dutifully attends the containers in a rain and produces

portable reclaimed water for use on the hill. Since our flora is drought tolerant, the water goes a long way.

LIKE JOHNNY DID IT

     Jimmy Fallon is juicing the TONIGHT SHOW and is following the Johnny Carson game plan. 
       Some of you will recall when a young Johnny took over and won fans with his energy, wit and youthful humor, especially the bits he patented over the years. Ditto Fallon.  

       His New York set is reminiscent of Carson's era and the entrance from curtains is very much Johnny. Carson was quick and witty and so is Fallon. The Roots crew band is killer. Johnny visibly enjoyed his NBC band, especially the regular or guest drummers. Jimmy evinces that style of  relationship with Roots and he works them into sketches, much as Johnny did with Doc  Severinsen or Tommy Newsom.  

      He's using quick video inserts and bits in the knit of his monologue and in his work from home base. He's getting into the studio audience as did Johnny. He works his A list guests into bits and great moments at the desk. His enthusiastic manner, deep talent as a singer and impersonator combine well. He's creating his own signature skits. He's a generational shift, but then so too was Carson.

      Another great vibe is New York. 

      The difference at 11:30 from when America seemed to "wait up" to watch Johnny, is that we record and watch whenever. That of course means you don't have to abandon an old friend like Dave Letterman or forgo conversation with Charlie Rose.  

      See you down the trail.

     

KNOWING AND OPTIMISM & THE ALMOST EATEN BY A WHALE VIDEO

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

    Tools, advances and new research are coming rapidly now in the area of brain science.  Discoveries in the last couple of years are astounding but because they are technical and complex they have not been widely reported nor understood by the public.

      PBS presenter and host Charlie Rose with Nobel Winning neuroscientist Dr. Erik Kandel have presented 14 programs over the last two years that can provide a breathtaking and mind charging survey of this extraordinary new science of understanding. 

       Here are a couple of ways to learn more or gain access to the series.

 LearnOutLoud 

(this links to the full series and program descriptions)

Charlie Rose watch

(the final program in the series-looking at the new federal Brain Initiative)

     This is fascinating and informative television with special relevance to an aging boomer population.

A JULY SEA SIDE WALK
PACIFIC LULLABY

Napping seals without memory foam.

SOME KIND OF NEAR MISS

   Posting a video here that was shot just down the coast. It captures a moment where a couple of snorkelers come precariously close to being whale food.  They are swimming with a school of small fish when something happens they'll never forget.

     Whew!!!

     See you down the trail.

AN IDEA, ARCHIVE AYN RAND & KISSING THE BEACH

PERPETUITY OF IDEA

A WORLD WHERE IDEAS MATTER

Back in University someone said trying to speak

philosophy to the masses was akin to standing

at the shore and trying to stop the waves.

Maybe it is only nostalgia, but it seems there 

was a time when people would debate, discuss

and explore ideas and politics with an open mind

and with respect.

Today it seems everyone has their mind made up,

convinced in the rightness of their view and the

absolute absurdity of those who disagree.

And, there was a time when the media seemed to

see its role as a place to prod, examine, discuss and 

consider even deep philosophic constructs.

Can you imagine a news anchor today

interviewing Jean Paul Sartre on 

on Existentialism?  Well, Charlie Rose perhaps.

A GREAT FIND FROM THE ARCHIVE

Indeed there was a time. Consider this-

Mike Wallace with Objectivist author Ayn Rand

Here, in part 2 they discuss

Rand's belief in limiting the right and power of voters

Incidentally there is more than an historic example in these clips, since many of the Tea Party and conservative

members of congress are followers of Rand's thinking.

Do you think a future blogger will someday

pull a clip of Kim Kardashian, or an interview with

Stephen King to demonstrate how popular media

explored something deep?

DAYBOOK

CARESSED BY WAVES

From tumble to foam

The shore is constantly in change.

Without pressing my point too far, each wave, not unlike an

idea, tumbling, turning grains of sand

into perpetuity. What if we could track

the evolution of our thinking that way?

See you down the trail. 

WHERE DID THEY GO & TROPICAL DELIGHTS

WHAT HAPPENED TO 

PEOPLE OF STATURE?

Seeing Marvin Kalb the other night 

served to remind me how far we have slid.

Kalb, the former CBS News Correspondent and his daughter Deborah have authored Haunting Legacy 

an examination of the foreign policy  of the

seven US Presidents since Viet Nam.

As he spoke with Charlie Rose he demonstrated the 

intelligence, sense of and respect for history and experienced knowledge that characterized not only his career but that of his generation of broadcast journalist.

That generation of correspondent and analyst

is vastly superior to most of what we get today.

It is the same with politicians as well.

Here's a little fun to make the point.

Read these insults and try to picture any of the current Washington crowd of being capable of such verbal skill.

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the
gallows or of some unspeakable disease."
· "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies
or your mistress

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with
great pleasure." Clarence Darrow 

 "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I
approved of it." - Mark Twain 

· "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring
a friend, if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
· "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second ... if there
is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.

He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder 

I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." -
Groucho Marx 

DAY BOOK

TROPICAL SCENES

Palms in Florida evoke a real sense of the tropics.

 Floral blooms abound.

An exotic sense fills the air and your eyes.

As you travel to new climes, the native vegetation

helps establish that sense of vacation. 

Can we send official Washington to a summer boot camp?

See you down the trail.