STRIKING A BALANCE- THE WEEKENDER

AN ISSUE OF OUR TIME
REEL NOTES-THE FIFTH ESTATE

     In a nutshell the film revolves around a line spoken by Julian Assange "editing reflects bias."

     That is a great premise for a debate and reminds me of  countless conversations by journalists. A variation of the theme is do we reflect the culture, like a mirror, or do we shape it by our very presence? Such philosophic pondering and navel gazing seems hopelessly old century by comparison to director Bill Condon's treatment of the Wiki-leaks story.

      The idea of Wiki-leaks is profound, but its impact on the world is more shattering.  Screenwriter Josh Singer took a book by a former Julian Assange colleague, Daniel Berg and created a rich pastiche of culture, journalism, legal boundaries, personality and a dramatic timeline that centers on Assange and his desire to strip bare all pretense and leave us with a world of transparency.  In his world all organizations loose proprietary control of information and only whistle blowers and leakers are protected.  That's a helluva conversation to have.  But there are intersecting points of view including those of news organizations like the New York Times, Der Spiegel and The Guardian, plus agencies like the State Department with privileged and covert information.  It makes for a compelling film that transcends mere entertainment and approaches an ethics tome or philosophic debate.

       Condon infuses the work with a strong international accent, with a particularly heavy dose of Berlin artistic, avant garde and hacker culture.  Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant, nuanced, conflicted and spot on as Assange.  Daniel Bruhl is compelling as Daniel Berg who fell in and then out with Assange in his quixotic mission.

      The production style and graphics are as contemporary as your Droid or iPhone.  In a few years they may seem dated, but now they are slick and help move the story.  The opening montage is incredible.  I told a professor friend that he could use that as a history of communication set piece.

       The on screen debate over the release of the Bradley Manning documents is a good microcosm of the larger debate implicit in the film-the philosophic gist of hacking, complete transparency and openness and who gets to set the rules and control the information.

       Cumberbatch, and Condon's direction do a good job of portraying Assange's personal journey of commitment or obsession. Assange says the film is a propaganda attack on Wiki-leaks.  I don't agree.  As major news organizations battle against release of un-redacted cables, Laura Linney, as a State Department official says, "He's bigger than the Times."  And that is the core of the premise.  

        If you care not about the underpinning premise, it's still a fine film, just for the drama and entertainment value.  Condon has directed God's and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey and Dream Girls.  He is a gifted film maker.  Singer wrote many episodes of West Wing and Law&Order and has talent and experience at making the complex move through good dialogue and strong characters.

        This is one of the most important films I've seen and is sure to add to what is a needed and clarifying debate.  

AND THIS TOO IS POWERFUL

THE WEEKENDER VIDEO

      See you down the trail.

SEAL TEAM STEEL-YOUR NEWS IQ AND IT TAKES A VILLAGE

SEAL COOL

    REEL NOTES CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

    A couple of extraordinary things struck me in an otherwise excellent film, directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks, who seems incapable of anything but masterful. Hank's acting when he portrays Captain Phillips in shock, and the extraordinary low key cool of the real navy personnel who play acted their real life roles, are more than worth the ticket.

     Hanks emotional volume and visceral acting in this act were stunning. 

      As the operation drama reaches a peak, the screen fills with military and medical staff who are the real deal, apparently getting a pass to portray a role. They evince an élan. It is all about mission-efficient and in control.

     You see technology and intel being brought to conduct in the planning and execution of the operation. These touches are an additional layer of film making skill.

      The film is an enthralling adventure.  There are present issues with the real Captain Phillips' navigating and some of the Phillips' behavior was directorial interpretation. Though not unimportant, they do not affect the storytelling or power of engagement in Greengrass' film. For his part, Hanks has such a facile way of digging into a character and making them live he trades on credibility and you believe.   

 LOW DOWN ON LOW INFORMATION 

     How do you define a low information voter?

     If the recent work of Pew Research is indicative "low information" might be giving too much credit. Is stupid more appropriate?   How do you measure up?

     Link here to take a quick News IQ Quiz.  You may have your own editorial comment after you've seen your results and those of fellow voters.

LOCAL COLOR

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

    We treasure village life.  

    The simple pleasures are magnified, as when the grounds of the Cambria Historical Society became the gathering center for a Harvest Market-a kind of tag sale, ice cream social and music venue.  For those who do not know our village nestled in Monterey Pines between the Pacific and the Santa Lucia mountains, here are homespun autumn snapshots. 

a desert that is an appetizer

    See you down the trail.

THE CURSE OF OBAMA and BEAUTY ONLY A FEW EVER SEE

WITHOUT PARTISAN DEFERENCE

    My first big city newsroom boss told me we weren't doing our job unless both democrats and republicans were mad at us. As you read on, know that I invoke that principal, as I have over the decades.

     President Obama has himself to blame for many of his problems.  And he has the mutant spawn of the old Gipper for the balance.

     Obama emerged as America looked for and needed a change.  He was fresh, historic, appealing to new generations and with communication savvy. David Axelrod read the mood of America, fashioned a political campaign in response and unleashed a passion for change.  Hope, you remember.  

      But there were two shortcomings.  Obama himself, a smart young man, but without the wisdom that comes with years of survival in Washington or the learning that comes with being knocked down a few times. The other was the naive belief that controlling the White House meant you had the most power, or the biggest club in the fight.

      When they had the chance, back when American was sick and tired of W and Cheney, and as the economy was coming undone, Obama, Axelrod and team should have built a true political movement, a gradual revolution if you will.

      They could have, in fact should have seen that a compliant congress was necessary to affect the CHANGE they promised. Instead of the White House only, they could have been effective in bringing about a wholesale change-House and even in the Senate.  There was a time in America when a campaign for the Presidency was a product of a top to bottom party movement-state legislative races, Congressional Districts and Senate campaigns. A full package. More than anyone in the last couple of decades, they had that potential and capacity.

      And there is the diffident, distant, professorial and even arrogant style of Mr Obama himself.  Had he been around the Senate a little longer, he would have learned the wisdom of the old boys and girls.  Collegiality, friendship, schmoozing.  For those of you old enough, think of Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Johnson, John McCormack, Carl Albert,  Tip O'Neil, Ronald Reagan, Ev Dirksen, Charlie Halleck, even the depraved and aberrant Newt Gingrich. They could deal, horse trade and find a way to make things happen.

     In addition to their shortsightedness and inept use of power there is the buzz saw of the Tea Party. Here's where I lay its ancestry to Reagan.  The great communicator spent years telling people the federal government was the problem. He was very effective at selling that point of view, even though all the while he was himself adding more debt and growing the government.  But one thing he and his guru Michael Dever understood was that it's all about appearance and image.  So the great Conservative/Neo Con progenitor unleashed a couple of decades of a "the government is the problem" mantra until latent generations believed it. Enter the disgruntled if not overly bright Tea Party players.

      Old fashioned traditional Republicans worry the Tea Party, who represents a strident, loud, belligerent and obstinate base, minority though they are, will continue to make the once GOP a laughing stock or kill it by a suicide of ignorance.

       I agree that Speaker Boehner is like a besotted eunuch  when it comes to political combat, with his own charges even. The recent SNL parody which had him parading around in panties and vamping was brilliant. But I am not so sure my Republican sources aren't a little out of phase. I sense that an increasingly tribalized American body politic, fed by an increasingly stupid media, mainstream and partisan, and a growing number of low information voters only plays into the hands of those who's intellectual depth goes to bumper sticker slogans.  Currently I fear that thought, analysis and a sense of history has been eclipsed by volume, rancor, selfishness and presided over by inept government.  It is a bit as though our highest level of aspiration or accomplishment is to look like a Greek or Italian government in search of yet another spiral down. 

       Maybe it is time to give each member of the house a walking stick and to urge them to use it as a tool of persuasion.  We have a long history of Congressional fistfights. Link here as you ponder if it might not be time to let them rumble!!  By the way, my money would be on Barry Obama to take crybaby Boehner down, quickly!

FROM THE PROFANE TO THE SUBLIME

   After enduring that rant you deserve something nice.  This is about as nice as it gets.  Included here are scenes from a hike that began at about 9 thousand feet and continued around alpine lakes and mountain streams to just below 11 thousand feet.  This is from Rock Creek Lake, in the eastern Sierra over the Mono and Morgan Pass trails to some of the most pristine sights on the planet.

   The frame above and below was our view as we paused for a back pack lunch.

     We were impressed by the "landscape painting" in the striation of this boulder.

     This is where the trail ended for us. Lana had a bad altitude headache.  I had no desire to hike alone as you can see the trail was becoming a little more difficult.

    So we decided to settle in and simply be overwhelmed by the quiet, serenity and beauty of creation.

    See you down the trail.

A SPECIAL FEELING-THE WEEKENDER

DOES IT WORK ON YOU?

     It was a late autumn afternoon when mom told me to put on a jacket and my tennis shoes.  She said we were going for a walk, one I'll never forget.

     I was a typical pre-teen boy, interested only in basketball and football and never seemed to see much else in the world.  On this afternoon we walked to a city park, full of oaks, elms, maples and sycamores.  It is the first time I remember seeing leaves afire in oranges, reds, yellows and rust.  Honestly, never noticed the colors before, at least not in a way that registered.  Sure I remember raking dry old brown and crisp leaves and building leaf forts, but on this particular afternoon my world gained a sense of color.

    I still enjoy the color and again this year our drive took us to the eastern slope of the high Sierra.

A MELLOW WEEKENDER

VIDEO DOUBLE PLAY

   Here are a couple of versions you may not be familiar with, but they will provide you with a quarter hour of memories.

   First the incredible Eva Cassidy illustrated by the paintings of Leonid Afremov. 

    And the styling of Eric Clapton

   Happy leaf hunting.

   See you down the trail.

A GOVERNMENT OF STOOGES

HE SAID IT RIGHT

     As soon as I started shooting the sign this morning, more than a dozen others got out their cars and began doing likewise. I felt like a translator at the UN, explaining the best that I could.  Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Swedes, Italian and French.  Those who spoke or understood English then translated to a growing crowd of others who swelled the road side crowd.  

     The Ranger Booth at the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite was under siege. No one, except those with printed reservation forms were being admitted. The Rangers were doing their best to remain cool and apologize. More than once they sympathized with foreign visitors who were here for what is likely their once and only visit to the iconic American vistas.

     We were saddened for those who will miss the views that should be on everyone's bucket list.  We visit frequently and it was easy for us to shake it off, not so for the others.
     He must have been a Russian, at least by my guess of his accent.  He was explaining to traveling companions, loudly as he walked back to his car.
      "To close this park.  They are a government of stooges!"
Agreed, I thought to myself.

    We drove on to other destinations.  On our way out we passed the group of Brits who shared our lodge dining room only an hour or so earlier.  A group of 20 or so had rented Corvettes and are touring California.  There they were, bright, shiny convertibles, in a caravan headed west on 120

toward the gate where the besieged ranger probably wished he could tell the increasingly long line of cars that he worked for a government of stooges.

    See you down the trail.

IN THE SIERRA

UPPING THE ALTITUDE

     Tall pines and towering peaks create a jagged and spired frame. The night is deep, a sky rich with stars.  Wind rakes through trees and the night hums with a Sierra wind as pines whisper sing and aspen rattle. The air is crisp, intoxicating with energy and mountain scent. A meteor rips the star field, and leaves a shinning trail. My legs quake as though the mountain electrifies.
      This part of the range is between 9 and 12 thousand feet. Rock and granite peaks that nestle high meadows and alpine lakes. 

    Three hours of climbing put us a little shy of 11 thousand.  Both of us felt the altitude.  The payoff though was majestic scene after scene and moments for precious meditation.

MOUNTAIN ENERGY

      Evening clouds in the eastern Sierra, south of Yosemite
near June Lake. 

     Wake up sunshine.

A CLASSIC

       A recent moment in the Carson Peak Steakhouse, a mountain staple.  For more than 50 years diners have enjoyed  steak and trout in this eastern slope hide away, in the  forest outside the mountain village. 

GOOD ENERGY

      At a lodge a waiter from Hawaii who came here in a snow storm many years ago, says this part of the Sierra is a kind of energy vortex.  He seems to be a mellow and happy man.
     There are more happy notes, coming.

      See you down the trail.     

    

THE WEEKENDER-CAPTURING THE MOOD

UNDER THE STARS

    As the sun dropped from the painted sky it pulled in thousands of stars on jet blackness over Harmony California.

    Jim Conroy and the Mystery Brothers sweetened the air, a further desert at the Harmony Cafe, alfresco.

     It was a CD release party and the California Irishman logged in stories behind the songs he wrote-Gypsies by the Sea, Celtic Cactus, Walking Down the High Road, Universal Prayer, Mystery of Life and more including the haunting Volcano Lullaby. 

     Conroy's music is accomplished, deep, rich in texture, mood and life.  And like his stories, his creations evoke images.  He finished telling of driving hours in the Baja desert, crossing a ridge with a volcano to the right when suddenly the peaceful blue bay comes into view, as though singing to the smoking volcano.  

     A September night on the California coast, minstrels casting a spell as the quiet Santa Lucia Mountains slumber in the moon light and the Pacific roars its own lullaby.

Harmony indeed.

     See you down the trail.