POWER

MULTIPLICITY OF POWER

natural-phantom-shopping

A GOOD BLOW

    California's central coastline is roiling with strong surf

     driven by the first of three punches of wind and rain 

     coming in from the north.  Storm #1 left a half inch in our gauge and debris on the beach.

      15 to 20 foot waves are expected through the weekend.

    The power of the sea rakes the kelp beds.

     Writers, painters and nature lovers take inspiration from
the seasonal brooding.

PHANTOM POWER

     Appliances in our homes and offices that remain in stand by (televisions, chargers, microwaves, computer boxes) cost us hundreds of dollars a year.  David I. Levine at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business wrote an eye opening piece for the LA Times. 

     Read and learn about "phantom power" by linking here.

OUR POWER TO SAVE LIVES

     Unraveling this string of circumstance may lead us to an uneasy truth.  Many clothing shoppers seek the lowest price, sometimes even over quality. Manufacturers seek to lower production costs. Clothes are made abroad, in nations with "cheaper" labor and without benefit of health and safety standards.  

     The 112 people killed by a fire in a Bangladesh garment factory were making clothing for Wal-Mart, Disney, Sears, Sean Combs, Teddy Smith and Edinburgh Woollen Mill as reported by the Associated Press. 

      When asked about these tragedies, and there have been several, retailers and even manufacturers often cite contract language and explain how they are sometimes duped by sub-contractors over which they have no control.  Some of that may be true, but it is also disingenuous and refuses to accept responsibility. 

      Retailers award contracts to those who can make their product most cheaply. That maximizes their profit while offering a product that we can buy less expensively. So we are back to our role in perpetuating sweat shops where humans are abused because of profits and low prices.  

      I've heard people explain how the poor of other nations are at least given work.  Yes, but under what conditions?  And at what cost to American workers, put out of work by out sourcing to cheap labor markets?  We really can't escape our blame in these tragedies.  Well, maybe my mom could have.  Before her passing, she made a habit of never buying any thing but Union and or American made goods.  She even returned gifts if they did not pass that test.  Wonder if that is even possible today?

      See you down the trail

       

CURRENTS OF THOUGHT

OPEN QUESTIONS

     ARE THE DEBATES WRONG?

     These may not be original musings, but they are relevant.  Anything that gets the candidates thinking and talking in front of a live format is revealing and a lot better than packaged and paid advertising.  But--  I wonder if we didn't cross a Rubicon when JFK and Dick Nixon opened the era of television campaigning and debates.  Charisma became a factor in Presidential Campaigns. Looks, style, manner and "appeal" became "values" by which Americans rate and choose their chief executive. Though it is more sinister than that.

     I know 2 or 3 men, who have played on the national and international stage and who were involved in the presidential sweepstakes who could have made good presidents, but they lacked something- media gloss and sizzle. Probably brighter and deeper thinkers than most of their peers, their intellect and experience got trumped by media appeal.

    Jim Lehrer tried to open a format to allow Obama and Romney to present and counter with some depth, but still the rigidity of debate forces the contestants, and we viewers, into an artificial frame of scoring points by attack,  defense, or presenting a zinger. The goal is to beat the opponent, as if that determines how a man or woman would serve.

     Perhaps the evaluation and revelatory outcome helps us to better understand and to decide, but it all seems like it is spawned from the same mind set of a Super Bowl, or World Series-winner take all.

     The Presidency demands more than presentation or debate skills.  Perhaps helpful in some way, it is still an example of the disconnect between the business, and now industry, of elections and the real job of governance.

    We can count on the media yak hacks to be pumped up

on scoring the next rounds, as though it means something.

     THE SEASON HAS OPENED

   Today delivers the first measurable rain of Central California's "rain season." 

    After an extraordinary year in 2010-2011, last year was under average, so we celebrate each drop.  Though, this is a dicey time of year.  Grape growers and vintners are someplace along in harvest and too much rain at the wrong time is bad news.  Stay tuned for an update from Wine Country where

EVERY DAY IS NOT ROMANTIC

     We may romanticize the life of a winemaker, but do so

at the cost of overlooking how hard is the work.  Case in 

point-during harvest there is an endless list of things to do.

One item is just keeping the equipment clean.  Here we see

premier wine maker John Munch and a colleague doing just that. 

A PARTING THOUGHT

    I had a relative who used the old bromide "There's a place in hell for people like that!"  I don't want to open a theological debate or a discussion about judgement, BUT as I read about the Taliban attack on a teen female who had been an advocate for full educational rights for girls, that old saw came back to mind.  Along with words like, idiots, cowards, ignorant, stone age ass holes and evil.

    Truth is, full equality for women in Islamic nations could do more to remove those evil mullahs and imams and their influence of ignorant fundamentalism than anything else.  Oh, a lake of burning sulfur comes to mind as well!

     Really hard to bring yourself to forgive someone like that isn't it? A struggle!

    See you down the trail.

WHEN IT FALLS

A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

"But methought it lessened my esteem of a King

that he should not be able to command the rain."

Samuel Pepys Diary entry 19 July 1662

 After an historically dry December and January, the 

rain has begun. Rain is a seasonal thing on the California

Central Coast and every inch is precious.  Last year's abnormally high rain fall broke a drought.  We started

this rain season well, then it dried up, so the storm systems

that are aloft are cause for celebration.

 Rain wasn't on our mind much in mid-west, unless

it was an unwelcome intruder on picnics, parties, ball games and weekends.

Here, I have seen grown adults dance in the rain, simply 

because it is.

 Sunshine and blue sky are so abundant here that

a little rain can make us giddy.

Yep-that's the way it is in California.

We love it.

Party on!!!

See you down the trail.

THE NEW KID & THE NEW RAIN SEASON

HELLO HEMINGWAY

 The family has grown by one.  Our new rescue adoptee

has joined us.  Hemingway is a polydactyly-a six toed cat.

When you visit the Ernest Hemingway home in Key West

you'll likely see several six toed cats. I'd never seen

a polydactyly until we were there.  Cindy at the HART rescue center named this little cutie after his "cousins" in Key West.

 So now we have a socialization process to observe

as this rambunctious and high energy little guy

gets to know his older brother Luke and Nesta the 

old gal and reigning fussy Queen.
Here he makes his first journey outside. 
Look at those paws.

"Big" brother Luke naps as he watches over the little guy.

Dinner hour has gotten more complicated.

 Luke still maintains proprietary rights to making sure

the food tin is clean to his inspection standards.

THIS WILL LEAD TO GREENING

Almost a half an inch of rain over night, accompanied by  thunder which most people noticed, though some of us
snored through it.  We had a splash in October, but 
now we may get a couple of rains in the next week and
ranchers, farmers and gardeners are ready.

It cleared as the Friday Lunch Flash Mob assembled
below the castle, joined today by nearby steers.
The post rain views were pristine.

The old William Randolph Hearst storage buildings
played in the sun as well.

See you down the trail.

SORTNG LIFE AND CREATIVITY-DUELING GAUGES & A NOTE FROM BOB

A PENSIVE WORK

          Terrence Malick's new film THE TREE OF LIFE is a large presence at the Cannes Film Festival. A few people booed, more applauded at the first screening and there is a buzz about the long awaited film.  

          Full disclosure here,  I'm a fan of Malick's work and think he is one of the great artists of cinema, much more than merely a great film maker.  He won me as fan with his film BADLANDS, which also featured incredible performances by Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. Malick's use of setting, nature, light and the mood they evoke in combination is an essential of his art.

          His other films are DAYS OF HEAVEN, THE THIN RED LINE and THE NEW WORLD.

          Here's the trailer for TREE OF LIFE that opens May 27.

          Malick studied philosophy at Harvard and Oxford and later taught it at MIT.  He has has worked as journalist and writer.

A FIND THAT ENCOURAGES
EVEN IF FANTASY

      A common thought must run through the minds of most creative sorts, writers, painters, musicians and poets.  What may, someday, become of an uncelebrated, unpublished, unpurchased piece of work? What might become of that rejected book, screenplay, unsold painting or unrecorded song?  Maybe there have been successes and that old piece becomes an orphan, shoved away in a desk draw or hidden in a garage or lost in a box or storage. It may have companions as well.  What happens, eventually?  When you are gone and your possessions become the ward of others, do you ever wonder what might happen to that piece or those works?

           LINK HERE FOR A STORY THAT COULD FAN THE SPARK OF A FANCIFUL IF NOT FANTASY THOUGHT.  HERE REJECTION  MAY ITSELF BE REJECTED FOR NEW MARKETS. READERS MARVEL AT THE FIND.

READYING FOR THE TRANSPLANT

AN UPDATE FROM BOB

Friends,

We have more benchmarks on our time line towards the BMT. I will undergo 
pre-transplant evaluation June 16-24 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. It 
is an extremely thorough combination of medical exams, testing and 
consultations. Once I pass that milestone, the insurance company will be 
in position to rule on final approval of coverage. An insurance approval 
is anticipated, but always something to pray for. After insurance 
approval, the donor will then begin pre-transplant evaluation and 
injections to boost her production of stem cells. The Mayo transplant 
coordinator advised me to be prepared to enter Rochester Methodist 
Hospital on July 1st.

In the meantime, Diane and I are getting logistics covered. We are on 
the list for accommodations at the Gift of Life Transplant House in 
Rochester. Diane will say there while I am hospitalized. I will join her 
there upon my discharge. We will live in Rochester for approximately 3 
months. Since I cannot be left alone at the transplant house, we will 
need help from friends and her family living in NE Iowa to give her a 
bit of respite. I'll be pretty weak. Adult visitors are allowed at the 
Transplant House, with some minor rules. Children 17 and under are not 
allowed as visitors.

As Dr. Laura used to say about commitment, "You're not engaged unless 
you have a ring and a date." We are getting close to total commitment.

Foster

This is the most recent of a continuing series of reports and observations from a long time friend and former colleague as he continues to live with Leukemia.

MORE THAN  MAY GRAY

Those heavy skies of evening produced another round of May rain.

An extraordinary season continues as the morning tally reveals.

One at a half an inch and the other at .7.  I'll log in .6.
That is 36.2 for the season.
See you down the trail.