You know it's different when...

 You know things have changed when: 

            Snoop Dog and Peyton Manning are team mates covering the Olympics

            A French new "new wave" cinema turns Paris into the "Opening Ceremony" featuring a menage a trois and a building with windows full of a beheaded Marie Antoinette as Olympic images

            When a Presidential campaign is waged as a battle of memes and regarded as entertainment. (And when media covers it that way)

              When MAGA has the old white man with signs of mental instability as the fuhrer. (And when he is a winy old felon)

You know it's crazy time when:

             The winy old felon drones on about doing away with elections because he will "fix things." (And when crowds who call themselves Christians are all in)

You know it's "Come to Jesus" time when: 

            Christians who are not right wing evangelical dominionists are blowing the whistle and calling a cult a cult. 

            When Christ followers remind the world it is about love and acceptance-not hate, judgement and dictatorships.

            

    You know there is hope when:

            A man puts nation above self, patriotism above ambition, and listens to the people. (Joe Biden will remembered as a great American President and honored public servant.)

            When millions of US citizens are signing on to the Presidential election in record setting ways. (And when millions more are now looking at the MAGA criminal network and laughing at how pitiful, pathetic and pathological they are!)

    It will be even better when:

            The rest of us find a way to build bridges, renew friendships, and express understanding to the poor victims of MAGA and Fox brainwashing, lies, conspiracies, manipulation, and anti American cultism. They too have hopes, dreams, and hurts. 

            When people understand that tolerance, respect and human dignity is for everyone. (And when people understand Love is an action and a choice!)

     See you down the trail.  

 

Resurrection Turtles

 

    Rainbows are one of those natural prompts that seem to always lift our spirits. We captured this one during a recent storm.

            

    Another natural phenomena that prompts human behavior is the calendar of our revolution and rotation in the solar system. 

        For as long as there is a human history, solstice and equinoxes has prompted response. Do you wonder when and how humankind first calculated a solstice or equinox. How did those ancestors harness observation and calculation? How was the knowledge, the "science," shared?

   It didn't take long for humans to turn the Spring change into ritual and events.

    Some regard spring as the new year, others call it a resurrection of the sun. Egyptians, Persians, and Chinese  advanced celebrations with eggs. Anglo Saxons celebrated fertility and the "moon goddess." Druids too celebrated a goddess of fertility, known as a Flower Woman.

    The Dionysian Mysteries were one of the Greek's mystery cults observing spring rites. They essentially drank or drugged themselves to the point of "loosing control," so the power of their gods or the universe could enter them. 

    There were elaborate observations of the solstice at ancient stones and archeological mystery sites. Some dug up decayed pigs. Cultures picked flowers and danced around around poles. 

    Islam celebrates Ramadan. Jews observe the feast of the Passover. Christian's observe the passion of the Christ. Holy week features Palm Sunday, a triumphant entry, marred by Maundy Thursday a betrayal and arrest, Good Friday when Jesus is executed on a cross, Easter Sunday when Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Son.

    It seems we cannot see the greening of the season, blooming of trees and flowers, the warming of the sun and not think of life, maybe new life from the dead of winter or more.

    Well, here's a little anthropological story. I call it 

THE RESURRECTION TURTLES

    My brother John and I somehow won a couple of little turtles at an elementary school Ice Cream Social. It might have been one of those fishing games, or musical chairs, I can't recall. We went home with two turtles, in little boxes along with turtle food. 

    We acquired an old fish tank, and built our turtle "biome" with clumps of dirt, grass, twigs and leaves. The turtles flourished and we lavished them with attention. They were our first pets and we loved them.

    As fall came on we noticed they were getting sluggish, not eating all of their food and we worried. One morning we discovered the turtles had crawled under some of the dirt clods and were not moving. Mom said they must have gotten old and died. She promised to bury them near the back stoop and put a rock on the ground so we could remember them. We got on and eventually the loss had less sting.

    Spring came and one day my younger brother John, a bit of a rascal, even at that age, suggested we dig up the turtles so we could have turtle skeletons. Sounded interesting to me so we proceeded. We moved the rock and began to dig. Instead of finding skeletons, we found a turtle, fully intact and it seemed to be alive. It turned its curious head our way. We dug on and found the second turtle, not as animated, but clearly not a dead skeleton.

    We called them our Resurrection Turtles and went about the neighborhood telling about it. Our turtles were Resurrection Turtles.

     Mom, somewhat amazed and somewhat embarrassed soon realized the turtles had been merely hibernating. She did a good thing in burying them by the back stoop. 

    Soon she and dad began to explain to us, the difference between death and hibernation and advised us the turtles were not really resurrected. But still, after all these years, I can remember the surprise, the elation, the wonder and the chuckles about our "resurrected" turtles.

    To this day the grass still seems greener, the flowers more beautiful, the world a little brighter and more joyful at Easter. However you observe or reflect at this time of year, I hope it brings a sense of renewal, energy, cheer and warmth.

       Our celebratory inclination is as old as the first human spring.

     See you down the trail.

Q quarreling...Roses...Tomatoes

   Roses to you, in fact roses to all of us who have endured the horror show of 2020. Living through the pandemic has been demanding enough, but the political/cultural skirmishes have pushed us to new and uncomfortable places.

    Economic woes, as personal financial crises, concern over children's education and well being, and personal health worries have driven far too many in the nation to the brink.

    So, enjoy the roses from Lana and a diversion about tomatoes. The analysis piece of this post comes later. 

the crop report 

    Growing tomatoes is a big deal when you grow up in Indiana. 

     Bless her heart, my mom set out tomato plants every year but I am hard pressed to remember there ever being a bounty of the summer fruit. We ended up buying them from farmers and growers or were gifted them by neighbors who had more luck.

      Luck changed when Lana entered my life. Her mother was a master gardener, and it must be in the genes. Lana has lamented that living on a hill side on a ridge affords precious little flat ground. So she has taken to what I call the Frank Phillippi school of tomato growing.

        The crop is distributed in pots. My pal Frank amazed me decades ago when he was living in an apartment in Georgetown with a tiny balcony and a couple of sunny windows where he introduced his tomatoes in pots technique.

     A few years later when he owned a home in Alexandria, but with limited sunny garden space, he upped his game by putting the pots in wagons and moving them into the sun.

       People from Indiana will swear the best tomatoes and corn are their province. They are indeed joys of an Indiana summer, but we've found excellent corn and tomatoes here  in the California Republic.

     If you are a long time reader you will recall we've experimented with our tomato crops. We've sheltered them in visquine "huts," wrapped them in plastic, and have tried raised beds. This summer it's pots, in sunny and warm zones on the back hill and at the back of the house.

      I'm a devotee of the San Marzano and yellow varieties.

      Lana is not overly fond of tomatoes, except in cooking, but she put out a variety this year and they seem to be flourishing. She complains that she's not growing enough to "put them up" or can them as she did when she gardened Indiana's flat land.

      Another favorite is the cherry tomato. And again she's got a prolific pot. Next year though, she's got designs on a piece of the hillside where flowers may make way for a new tomato bed. "They need to be in the ground," she insists. That means some ground work, flattening, perhaps roto tilling and soil amending will be on the fall and winter do list. 

a mask-less confab

     Generations hence will find this time fraught with lunacy and perhaps inexplicable behavior. 
      In unpacking how we got to a Trump, they will learn he is the poster boy for a fractured culture where self indulgence   and entertainment challenged thoughtfulness and a common good. 
      There were some during the Spanish Influenza pandemic in 1918 who refused to wear masks. There were super spreader events even then. 
      Xenophobes, nationalists and white supremacists have always been with us, but usually marginalized by an intelligent society and a conscientious political code. 
       Science has had its doubters forever, but for most of our history the ignorant have lacked political power.
       Conspiracy theories probably began with the dawn of humankind. 
       What makes this time different is the ubiquitous hum of media, mass and social, and combined with the intellectual decline of the nation. It is exacerbated by the tectonics of media economics that has left us with fewer gate keepers, fact checkers, time tested aggregators, trusted delivery systems, and the rise of the importance of opinion. We forget everyone has one. The value of opinion was once commensurate with the quality of a life experience, training and education. Now blowhards make their living bloviating and sad, weak, easily led, ill informed people, challenged with thinking, allow others tell them what to think.
      And so we have Trump, and now Q. 
    

textures and shapes

     

battling Q's 

      I would not be surprised to learn that Steve Bannon is somehow a godfather to the Q silliness. It fit's his MO of cultivating fringe and marginalized and intelligence challenged demographics.
     He may have nothing to do with it. Maybe Bill Maher was not joking when a couple of years ago he admitted to being Q.
     I'm sorry, if you think there is a shred of credibility in any of the QAnon goofiness, you have just relinquished your privilege to speak about anything other than fairy tales, and cleaning out horse stables.

     a true Q?

      If you are interested in intrigue about the idea of the letter Q, then do a little reading about the Q source used in Biblical criticism and scholarship.
      For some 120 years scholars and theologians have discussed, debated and studied what is called the Q source-a compendium of statements and thoughts attributed to Jesus, the radical, reformist rabbi for whom Christianity owes its origins. Some hypothesize these thoughts of Christ were drawn from the faiths early oral tradition and thus explains how and why some of the Gospels are similar.
     The research, scholarship and debate is fascinating and endlessly more stimulating that thinking Donald Trump is the savior of the world, doing battle with pedophiles, the deep state and aliens. 
      I've been saying for almost 4 years, Trumpism is fascism, and authoritarianism. Some of you Trumpists and/or QAnon devotees may read this as Trump is the Anti-Christ. I'm not saying that. But believe it if it will help you come to your senses. 
     Jesus might get a kick out of that.

  

    Stay safe. Take care of each other.

    See you down the trail.

WHAT ABOUT THEM?

photo by Kristin

   Children are at the center of this season, the holy infant at its nexus and millions of dear ones in families. But there are places where the festive lights are dim or gone.

Photo by Meredith Kohut for the New York Times

      Children in Venezuela are dying because they can not get infant formula or food. In the scene above a mother mourns her three month old, who died for lack of food in a modern nation.

       Many of us will spend these days feasting, celebrating, enjoying home and family. Not everyone is so fortunate. I hope you will take a couple of minutes during the holidays to watch these very short videos. They will move and they will inspire you.

       This first short is heart warming. I call it Newborns in a Basket

       There is a beauty in the faces of children, a true gift this season. Listen to Liam Neesom as you watch. 

        Storms and fire have devastated the lives of US children this year. War and displacement is at historic levels and the greatest victims are the children. The baby who's birth Christians celebrate would later as a rabbi say one of the greatest offenses possible is to harm a child. Ignoring children in need does great harm.  The singer Pink takes up their case-What about Us?

       Children are indeed the center of this time, but that rabbi also reminded us about the downtrodden and heavy burdened.

Photo by Jae C. Hong, AP

          Share your joy. Even a word or a smile can be a gift.

          What about them? What about them all? Charles Dickens said it well when he had Tiny Tim close the Christmas Carol, "God bless us, everyone!"

          See you down the trail.

CONVERSATIONS-

THE VIEW FROM HERE

JESUS AND THE DONALD

    It is one of the strangest political videos ever, at least from my view.  Donald Trump being "prayed over" by an ecumenical group.

   And so it prompted an imaginary conversation between Jesus and the Donald.

"Hey Donald?"

"That yew Jezus?"

"Yes Donald.  Follow me"

"What'cha mean?  I got this thing going on?"

"Follow me.  Become a fisher of men?"

"Whatcha talkin bout? Fishin' for men?"

"Follow me.  Give away your wealth.  Give it to the needy."

"Hey now, yer gettin' inta my expertise.  You see we can cut their taxes and then they can get jobs. Low paying' at first, but you know how that works"

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, give to the Lord what is the Lords?"

"You Crazy? I'm tryin to do something here about greatness. That aint giving the government anymore. We got these laws you can use. And who you talking about being the Lord. That's who I thought I was."

"The first will be last and the last will be first."

"Now you ain't makin no sense!  Didn't you read the art of the deal?"

"It is harder for a rich man to attain heaven than it is to drive a camel through the eye of a needle."

"You are one crazy bastard."

"Will you sacrifice yourself as an atonement?"

"Uh, hey, Security.  We got an issue here.  How'd this guy ever get into this room?"

TWILIGHT OF REASON 

   We are continuing to watch the old Pine in a neighboring field, hoping it will survive until rainy season.  So many of its forest mates have not.

    I am challenged to understand how those who argue that climate change is not real can explain away what is remarkable change by disputing data, arguing the government is fudging on technical data, or that it is a conspiracy. Intelligent people, even some who have science backgrounds dispute that change abounds.  

    Undeniable occurrences of "super storms" longest droughts in history, migration changes in wildlife, temperature variances, warmer oceans and more are real and not made up.  In the face of that how can one argue something is changing?

    There is a condition today that explains a lot, about this argument and in fact so much of political discourse today.

     CONFIRMATION BIAS-

     From Science Daily-in psychology and cognitive science, confirmation bias (confirmatory bias) is a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one preconceptions, leading to statistical errors. Confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias and represents an effort of inductive inference toward confirmation of the hypothesis under study.

    From Psychology Today  A Confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias that involves favoring information that confirms previously existing beliefs or biases. 

     There is a lot of that going on today in many arenas.  There's another way to get to root issues, political alliances and economic agendas.  Who pays for "studies?"

     And there is observation, pure observation. When we see weather that is in fact historic-the breaking of records-the most, the first, the most severe of something and we see how rapidly and frequently these historic levels are coming at us and when we see data about repercussions that are dire, simply to err on the side of caution seems only wise. That is my bias-better safe than sorry.

     See you down the trail.

MAHER'S MOUTH AND SELF INDULGENT MIND &SANTA ROSA CREEK

PROFESSIONAL WISE ASS 
LOOSES COOL AGAIN
If TV whiner Bill Maher had said about a Muslim and
Mohamed what he said about Tim Tebow and Jesus,
there would be a fatwa issued and a price on his head.
If you've not seen the tweet in question you
can read about it here.
Fortunately we live in a democratic republic where even
insensitive and offensive comments are tolerated.
I don't care for Maher, don't think I'd like to spend anytime with him, though I watch his HBO program REAL TIME.
Why do I watch a smug and self absorbed, sometimes humorous and occasionally clever, tiresome, trite, smarmy, pretentious, pseudo hip master of snark?
For the sometimes and occasional referenced above plus
the better moments which almost always come from
one of his panel of guests. He at least invites
differing points of view and he lampoons political
pomposity and fools.  He also explores the edges of
social humor. Years of journalism have prepared me to know
it is important to consider a divergence of views.
Nothing is gained by burying our heads in the sand.
I am comfortable enough with
my views and beliefs not to be rocked
by coarseness, vulgarity and mocking. 
It is here on this point that the wise ass betrays 
his own Achilles heel. Often, usually always with
religion, spirituality or faith he is a tired old act, sure not to
listen nor conceptualize on a deeper scale. He
insults, demeans and belittles. He is as 
tiresome as the nutty old Madeline Murray-Ohare
got to be, like a rusty old gate making a useless noise.
Still there is a place for him in the public square, even
if it is to be pitied. And there is a place for those
who wish to boycott his network.
What there is no place for is intolerance.
Even the Jesus who Maher demeaned said
we should forgive our enemies.
DAY BOOK

REFLECTIONS ON SANTA ROSA CREEK

See you down the trail.