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.

WHEN LIFE IMITATES ART

IT HAPPENS

      Around America there are running conversations about Aaron Sorkin's new HBO drama The Newsroom.  

     I posted earlier about the superb "ballistic monologue" by Jeff Daniels as a cable net news anchor in responding to a question about America's "greatness." The truth was withering. 

      Episode 2 provided its great moment when the same 

character opened a broadcast and apologized for the failure of American journalism.  Again Sorkin speaks truth.

      Lana asked if seeing the drama made me miss my days as a news executive or news anchor.  It did fire those synapses that John Chancellor, the late NBC anchor, used to call "the fire horse instinct,"  answering the bell.  Seeing the election night scenarios brought back memories of many such nights.  Election night was always the most "fun" and it required a decompressing that only those who have been there can fully understand.

      There were other memories, however.  The battle between the head of the news division and the network president over the network's need to curry favors with congressmen because their votes were vital to the network's business interests. It was a scene familiar to me. Been there and done that. Stood my ground on ethics and common sense.  Further comment would do no one any good, except a few lawyers. Some things I don't miss.

     Sorkin wrote of something conscientious broadcast journalists have said for years.  The news should be void of sponsors, it should be provided as a public service.  That would help remove it from the tyranny of playing to the ratings. Networks and television stations make plenty of money, even in recessions and they can afford to staff and air news without selling out.  Oh, the budget battles! There's another memory.  Something else I am happy to live without.

      It is merely a drama and an entertainment show, but there is truth in this fiction.

DAY FILE

THE ROCKER IN SHADOWS

      As the afternoon light was beginning its transition to 

that magic "golden hour" I noticed how the oak rocker in

my study was being lit and how it was caught in and cast shadows.  A perfect lightbreeze moment.

See you down the trail.