It was a warm and green day in the spring of my junior
year of high school when a line from Shakespeare became a
kind of emotional anthem. It captured the Easter green and fragrant blooming world of the exterior and the still unplumbed, mysterious joy and stirrings of young hormones and puppy love.
It was a lover and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey-nonny-no, That o'er the green cornfield did pass In spring-time, the only pretty ring-time, When birds do sing, hey ding--a-ding-ding, Sweet lovers love the spring. From As You Like It William Shakespeare
DAY BOOK
A GLISTENING WORLD
I got a little damp getting these shots, but what a magnificent spring view!
The sculptures at the Hoover Dam are the centerpiece of a tile inlayed plaza that is a type of earth calendar and cosmic communication piece. It places the Hoover Dam in a league with the Pyramids and the Roman Coliseum. And there is some truth to that.
More than a hundred humans lost their lives in the building of the Boulder Dam from 1931 to 1935. Later dedicated to former President Herbert Hoover, it was the largest concrete project ever undertaken and employed thereto for untested techniques. It remains a colossal achievement.
Built in Black Canyon on the Colorado River, it impounds Lake Meade. Constructed under President Franklin Roosevelt, it is a hydroelectric generation source. A consortium of parties, Six Companies, won the bid and built the project for around $42 Million. They finished almost a year early. Nearly a million people visit the Hoover Dam, now a tourist site as well. Highway 93 used to run across the top of the dam, but the traffic has now been diverted to another amazing construct, the by pass bridge, just recently opened.
Here on the border of Nevada and Arizona are a couple of examples of human endeavor, built large and indeed planetary markers.
EXCUSE ME MR. JUSTICE KENNEDY GO BACK UNDER YOUR ROCK
There are good arguments to be had over the Supreme Court decision allowing jailers to make more invasive searches. It resolves what has been conflict in other courts about the balance of privacy and security.
As a journalist I've been in prisons, jails, detention centers and lock ups. Those places are populated by some who indeed are dangerous. But I've also encountered people in control of those situations who are A)not the most elite of their corp and B)who seem to "enjoy" having people under their control. In fact I've met some jailers who are simply brutal and sadistic. Allowing them to operate without control is not a good idea. I doubt if they've read the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.
What is heinous, offensive and, to my way of thinking dangerously ignorant behavior for a Supreme, is the position of Justice Kennedy that the circumstances of the arrest (in the case being heard) were of little importance. Read that again, the circumstances of the arrest were of little importance! I'm sorry Mr. Justice, but the circumstance of every arrest, regardless of whether petty or a major crime is important. Yes, the Supremes make high altitude decisions about principles and interpretations, as in this ruling, but they should never overlook, forsake or take for granted the circumstances of an arrest.
The power to arrest, or the act of being arrested, is a pivot point in the very Constitutional relationship of individuals to a government. Our rights as people are affected by our granting of power to governments. The individual good submits to the greater good of the commonweal. This is the stuff of political science, philosophy and theory and the debates cross history.
In this particular case, it was a bad arrest, not called for and simply one more example of inefficiency, poor record keeping, bad police work and perhaps even racial profiling.
For Justice Kennedy to overlook such "circumstances" so he can sink his teeth into what is truly an important matter to decide is wrong. For him to say circumstances don't matter is stupid.
I'm sure some students of the law or the Supreme Court will find my logic to be that of a rube, but right is right regardless of whether you are wearing a black robe, or being falsely arrested. Circumstances matter. They are real.
Theory is born of real experiences.
DAY BOOK
EVENING LIGHT
Shooters-photographers, videographers, cinematographers-call it "the golden hour," that evening light, saturated with color. It is as though the light is playful and magical. It's one of my favorite times to shoot.
The sun acts as spot light, or sets up interesting shadows.
So maybe it just takes the curiosity and questioning nature of an old journalist, but I've got to wonder what the federal government, or at least a sliver of it, is up to with the legendary and notorious Area 51. BACKGROUND:The National Atomic Testing Museum,an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is a first class and highly informative museum. (Link to it above to see that is so.) It deals, in detail, with the history of American nuclear development and testing. It is a credible, balanced and historic record, done in an accessible and even entertaining way. I've been there before and urge all visitors to Las Vegas to leave the strip and the usual Vegas past times for something very special. Yes I know telling Vegas visitors and habitue's to visit a science museum is a kind of odd duck drill, but I persist none the less. It is of course next door to where the testing was done, so despite the Vegas address, it is a serious place and good for the public record. NOW THE CURIOSITY: As you see above Aliens are hanging around the somewhat staid and straightforward museum. It is part of a brand new AREA 51 MYTH OR REALITY exhibition. Here's the teaser video.
I think the exhibit is a bit on the hokey side, but it also
contains some surprising documentation and data about
the air base, facilities, history and air craft of Area 51, Groom Lake Airbase.
The exhibit is a blend of serious and silly. The tone of the display is Men in Black, but inside are documents, records, displays and video pieces that weave an intricate fabric of
flight research, reverse engineering, investigative journalism, testing programs, schematics of the compound,
maps of the runway, including what is perhaps one of the world's longest, the government's flip flop on the infamous Roswell incident and campy culture, plus more.
It is this curious mixture of pop culture, UFO conspiracy ideas, military flight experimentation and serious science that has raised my curiosity. There is a more open acknowledgment of Area 51 history, fact and achievement than I have seen in decades. And that the museum and the cooperating government agencies mix it with the popular lore of the Area 51 myth is even more curious.
A couple of the stronger video elements include an
interview with the director of the SETI-Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, program and an appeal by a former Air Force General and scientist saying it is time to allow the military and science to consider UFO's and aliens in a serious way that does not damage reputation or credibility.
So I ponder, what is the real message here?
But then again, it is Las Vegas, and maybe this all should stay there. What do you think?
POST CARDS FROM THE EDGE
My buddy Jim is standing next to the cut out of the actual
Miss Atomic Bomb of 1957. And for those of you with visual problems, her cover up is indeed the mushroom cloud. As a kid, I had nightmares about the mushroom cloud, especially on those days we'd see a film strip of nuclear blasts and then do a "duck and cover" drill beneath our desks.
I remember Mrs. Rogers threatening to give me a "paddling if I didn't get under my desk like all of my class mates." I protested that if a nuclear bomb was to hit anywhere near Muncie Indiana, the desk would be scant protection, so what was the point? I'd rather watch the windows blow in than get under the desk.
However, I might have been less anxious if I had seen a film strip of Miss Atomic Bomb. It's all in the spin isn't it? See you down the trail.
Spring brings thoughts of travel and places to explore.
For that part of the world locked into a winter mindset, the return of warmth triggers thoughts of summer vacations.
The WEEKENDER :) presents a couple of 21st Century travel brochures. Even if you have no intention of visiting either place, you may enjoy the pitch. Here is a marvelously beautiful piece from Alberta Canada.
Or a stateside option from a the old hometown.
Back in elementary school we'd write the chamber of commerce of a potential place to visit and hoped for a color brochure in return.
Now, you need to travel no further than your screen for
a display of more color, courtesy of the California Central Coast.
DAY BOOK
SPRING ENERGY
Have a great and colorful weekend. See you down the trail.
There is a lot about Las Vegas that is, can we agree on the word "excessive?" The Scot's blood in me can't help but swirl about a bit. The place is a haven of money-spent. But at the Bellagio it has purchased beauty, on a grand scale of course. The garden is a marvel and so too is the Dale Chihuly glass art. They provided this blogger a chance to reprise some color for you.
The frame below is a tribute to the Monet exhibit on display at the Bellagio Fine Art Gallery, an affiliate of the Boston Museum of Fine Art. BTW, seeing that show is money well spent, according to this tightwad. It is nicely curated and presented.
And as you know, you can't go anywhere without going through the Casinos. That's just the way they design and lay out the foot traffic. So, despite what is a prohibition from shooting in the gaming rooms, here's an accidental snap. While it is lacking in players, don't you think it looks a bit anemic, by comparison?
