ENTERTAINED OR INFORMED?

TEXTURE

An Uncertain Road

    The road to November 8 will exhaust us but this juncture of the journey hints that something is coming true. The test of the hypothesis is Trump and Sanders.

     In lectures and addresses audiences have been told of what I call a divide between the informed and the entertained. As Americans became more media dependent,  consumption of entertainment eclipsed serious information gathering, either by book, magazine, newspaper, documentaries or broadcast news, which has morphed into something less serious, more personality and ratings driven. 

     To the point, more people "follow" Kim Kardashian than President Obama. More know her than the Speaker of the House or the Defense Secretary or Scott Pelley, Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer or Megan Kelly, even combined. 

      Teachers and professors thanked me for speaking of the eventual divide between those who are entertained and those who are informed.  Those who use media like fast food and those who seek intellectual nutrition. Consequently those who would be led and those who would lead.

       About Donald and Bernie-both are in their own way populists. This is not to demean followers of either candidate, but to draw a generalized comparison. People in both camps  fall outside these definitions, but they are exceptions to my rule. Both men seem to channel an anger, a resentment with the status quo. 

       Trump channels those who don't like government, worry about immigrants, fear federal over reach, are upset with gridlock and inaction. Trump, who offers no specifics but plenty of bombast is "the man." They are unlikely to look deeply into an issue, including Mitch McConnell's pledge to make government stop working and John Boehner's failure to make the House function, the nexus of gridlock and the failure to fund enforcement efforts to keep the money hustlers in check and out politics. Trump even brags about how he bought politicians.

        Sander's followers know the nature and genesis of "the problem" and agree with Bernie's articulation of the disparity and role of big money. Their anger is at the 1% precisely, investment banks and the way Congress has specifically rolled over for big money, in their individual PACs and wallets and to the influence that has been purchased by lobbyists and special interests who also write the legislation that becomes law.

THE CHAYEFSKY PRINCIPLE

"Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore"

        Both groups are angry. One is just mad and fed up in general. Their candidate offers no tangible solution. The other is studied, specific and understand what kind of legislative remedy is needed. In a very real sense these two populist movements underscore the point-entertained or informed? 

         We have become an increasingly frivolous nation, less well educated than historically, though we are certainly entertained. The nation is materialistic and consumption oriented, with little sense of history, exhibits poor critical reasoning skills, is more fragmented and with a dangerous lack of a sense of commonweal. We can be selfish and too often our religion is mean spirited, judgmental and exclusionary. Madison Avenue appears to have had more impact than Academia. Entertaining diversion trumps educational vigor.

       Traditional Republicans are sick that someone like a Donald Trump or a Ben Carson can be taken seriously when others with relevant experience, regardless of what people  think of them, can hardly move the needle.  Who are the wind in Trump's sail? The entertained.

       Hillary Clinton, a traditional, professional politician is being nudged, feeling a bit of the Bern. Like her or not she is the old fashioned pol in this fight. Who are the people empowering Sanders? The informed.

       Sure, there are informed followers in the Clinton camp as there are in the supporters of Bush, Christy, Paul, Fiornia, Kasich.  The sad joke however is Republicans are now reaping McConnell and Boehner's influence and that of the Tea Party. Recent Republican strategy has so empowered evangelicals, freedom caucus wackos, conspiracy theorists, birthers and the one issue mouth breathers they now have an orange haired, impolite, hate mongering, ego freak of a  clown running strong. Scary stuff when low information voters can also do more than pose for all of those weird Walmart shopper photos.

      There's a lot to be said for being informed, even if it requires using the brain and bumping up against hard questions, complex issues, challenges and difficulties that elude simple solutions or rehearsed sound bites. Gaining knowledge and being informed is not a simple as sitting and staring.
      Being upset with the way things are is a good thing. It's a start. Ideas need to follow.
     History is a relentless scribe, though it could be such a nurturing companion if we were but to embrace it.

    See you down the trail.
      

        

FOR THE BIRDS AND THE MEATHEADS

BIRDS

      Shades of Edgar Allen Poe or the Mystery Writers of America.

   These guys are the "power crew."

      Free flight

     Posing.

     A congress gathers.

    The right wing…

    The left wing

   Hey, I'm talking to you.

MEATHEADS

   We had to chuckle when one of the meathead/terrorists in Oregon took the money they raised, went to town and burned the cash on booze and a motel.

    What they've done is an act of sedition. It behoves us all to study up on their alleged "grievances." They are losers, free loaders and want to be further subsidized by tax payers. Their sense of history and knowledge of government is lacking. They complain about government but gladly have taken subsidies and are trying to raise cattle  at a 93% lower rate than say ranchers in my neighborhood or anywhere else in the west. Meatheads!

     Not sure what the Feds will eventually do with these domestic terrorists. As Stephen Colbert said the other night-leave them alone as they invite all other militias to share their isolated wilderness compound in the dead of winter. What better place could there be. Now if only Quentin Tarantino could direct their final act.

   See you down the trail.

TALES AND TAILS

Flowing

  Creeks and waterways are beginning to resemble their old selves again. The vaunted El Nino has been producing rain in California, including on the drought stricken Central Coast.

 Driving in the rain in California is akin to driving in snow or on ice elsewhere. Since rain is about the only diversion from sunshine and blue skies in most of California, rain is a big story.

    But after four years of drought, every drop is a cause celeb.

   Here on the Central Coast, half way between LA and San Francisco, it looks as though we are in for a week of rain, with a few hours between cells that allow the ground to soak it up.

   Back in Indiana we never gave much thought to rain, unless it was ruining a picnic, ball game, wedding or etc. due in large part to the fact there is so much rain. Here it is a seasonal oddity and some people and most animals are frightened by it. Really!

THE CATS TALE

   So we begin with the end, before the tail, or tale.

 Joy, on the left and Hemingway are young enough to have missed what a California Central Coast winter is like. All they know is the abnormally warm and dry winters of the past couple of years. So this year, cooler temperatures and rain have them in a dither.
  Because of allergies, they spend their time on the deck and porch and in the garden on the hill. They sleep in the garage.

     To help them through their first real winter and recognizing their love for boxes, Lana made a Cat Condo. They've taken to it. The connecting "door" allows cuddling.

   Hemingway was perturbed I disturbed his nap for a photo op.

   Nighty night!

   See you down the trail.

THE WINNER IS…&…AND DEFINING LOVE

THE WINNER

   At dinner the other evening our friend Jill Turnbow, an actor and director said the Academy might as well hand out the Best Actor Oscar now to Eddie Redmayne.  She's right. 
   We see a lot of films and it is hard to imagine how anyone can top the job Redmayne did in the DANISH GIRL
   His portrayal of Dr. Stephen Hawking won him the Oscar last year in a performance of a lifetime-that is until he portrays Einer Wegener a Danish landscape painter who becomes Lili Elbe in one of the first sex change operations.
    As Einer and then as Lili, Redmayne is extraordinary and that word is hardly sufficient. So much of the emotional story is portrayed in his face, his looks and takes and hesitations. His eyes are an acting force unto themselves. 
    There is a contemporary political charge to the story set in the 1920's. Redmayne's acting and that of Alicia Vikander as his wife Gerda reveal the psychological trauma of transgender  metamorphosis. It is a pivot in life fraught with unimaginable torment and distress. Still this is a love story that at least stretches if not redefines love. Vikander as the wife who looses her husband but who still loves the person creates a cinematic allegory that all of us can learn from. Oh how I wish narrow-minded and judgmental self appointed moralists would open their minds the slightest sliver to see and take in the truly human dimension of those who suffer as Wegener did.
      At least we no longer declare transgender people insane and we may be gaining a better sensitivity. Redmayne and Vikander under director Tom Hooper (The Kings Speech and Les Miserables) offer extraordinary testament to the human saga. And Redmayne creates a role that must be seen to know sheer genius and acting as a force of nature.

THE NFL AS A FORCE OF EVIL?

   Cinema as Truth

     It is a wonder the film CONCUSSION was made. If only a portion of what we read is true, the NFL and its henchmen and minions have done what they can from allowing this moment of truth to sneak out of their dark empire. What we read is true, of course and the NFL has finally come to grips with the fact their "game" is causing its players to loose their minds, health and lives.

    Will Smith deserves a nomination for his portrayal of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who made the link of serial concussions to the brain disease that was driving former NFL players into madness, despair, violence and suicide.The condition is CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) This is all true, though the NFL did everything they could to discredit Omalu, his research and the work of others.

    "This is not medicine, this is business" is a line from the film at a time when Omalu and a former team doctor confront an NFL medical representative. It is a huge business and if there is science that links the serial head jarring of football to later CTE the impact would be/will be massive. From pee-wee leagues to the pros, players are subjected to force that leads to a disease state. The statistics are staggering, though the NFL tried to cover it up.  Their settlement with the players, after years of denial and lies, further seals the information on what they knew about concussions and when they knew it.  

     Full disclosure here; I watch professional football. I have worked and socialized with active and retired NFL players and executives. I've had professional contact with a couple of NFL owners. With the exception of the owners, the men I know are good guys, competitors, athletes and are driven. Some players are thugs, criminals and tolerated because of their talent. Good guys or thugs the bottom line is money-big money. Players have a small window and know they will likely end up with ailments and thus want to earn as much as they can for using their bodies as they do. 

     Despite the spin they blather, the owners are rich men and women who extort money from cities for stadium and concession deals, who covet the big TV money, and are not above lying or heavy handed tactics to protect their pile of money. Even bigger money is their bottom line, adding to their pile despite who gets hurt, fired or trampled in the process. Truth is not a part of their modus operandi, as they have proven time and time again. 

    Albert Brooks, who is brilliant as Pittsburgh Coroner Cyril Wecht, says the "NFL owns one day of the week, a day that used to belong to the church." There is no doubt Americans love professional football. It follows then that all of us bear a responsibility in the spread of CTE and the pain and death it leads to. 87 former NFL players, now deceased tested positive for CTE. Those 87 are out of 94 who's brains were tested. The research is still in it's infancy. Imagine where this will go. 4,500 former players have sued the NFL.

     Former stars, Mike Webster, Terry Long, Junior Seau and Dave Duerson committed suicide. It was the horrible fall from fame into a life of darkness of Pittsburgh's iron man and community hero Mike Webster in 2002 that started Dr. Omalu on this trail. What did the NFL know before that? We'll likely never know because their commissioner and his masters, the team owners sealed the information as part of a package settlement. 

     CONCUSSION is a good film with moments of uplift and faith. It is also a speaking of truth to power. In this case the power is the NFL and in this role it is a powerful force of evil and greed.

      Will Smith, Albert Brooks, David Morse as Mike Webster, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Alec Baldwin turn in great performances, but are also courageous for taking the roles in this very important film.

   See you down the trail.

WHEN MEMORIES BREAK LOOSE

 BALANCING THE YEAR

     Memories seem to escape when the brain is between taking balance of the past year and resolving for the new year, about to dawn.

      I think when we get to a certain age we need to just let them fly, enjoy what they bring and leave their significance to the Fates. Our threads are woven as they are.

     A raw damp chill had descended like a shroud over the city, locked in winter's bleakness, painted by dirty snow and dark gray skies. It made the old wood framed house with peeling paint and a tilting porch look more desperate. It was a neighborhood in decline. Once big old homes were now boarded, abandoned or cut into squalid apartments. We'd come to the right address.

     We were making a benevolence delivery. Weeks of food supplies, clothing and gifts for a matriarch, her grand children and her mostly absent daughter, fighting addiction. I heard commotion as I knocked on the door, some desperate voices then in a flash the front door opened and a tall, stout man-boy grunted something at me and ran off into the snow and street without  shoes, wearing only a t-shirt and underwear. 

    "Oh my God, he's running" a small and worn older woman yelled. "Get him, don't let him get away!" 

     A sad eyed little girl, our delivery sheet listed her as 7, looked out from behind the frantic woman standing in the doorway. "Please help!"

     Lana, standing by the car holding the first box to be delivered was startled as I ran down the steps and gave chase.

     The lad ran with a strange gait and yelled something guttural as he zig-zagged into the street then into piles of dirty snow. Not sure what to do, I caught up with him and found that standing in front of him caused him to turn and run back the other way.  

      "Hey, we've got presents for you. Let's get back inside" I chided as he loped. He stopped and I was able to put a hand on his shoulder and take an elbow to guide him back to the house.

      Grandmother was relieved but confessed as to how she could no longer handle him. I was concerned she was near collapse. Lana tended her and got her to sit. I stood by the front door and the man child went to a chair and sat looking at  the television.

      "He can't help himself" the sweet brown eyed girl said.

"He was born that way. He gets too excited sometimes." In that moment something deep inside convinced me she spoke with a wisdom that far surpassed her years. "Gramma does the best she can."

      We made the delivery, bringing in the other boxes and food. Handed out the gifts. Gramma made tea and offered us a cup as she related the heart breaking history that brought us all to this moment. The girl helped her brother open a gift. Calm returned and there was food and a modicum of cheer in the threadbare home.

      "Now we'll have a beautiful Christmas and this house will be happy" the little girl said as we departed. She hugged Lana and shook my hand.

      That precious child came to mind as I watched JOY the remarkable David Russell film starring Jennifer Lawrence as Joy Mangano who went from a tough beginning to being a successful inventor and entrepreneur. 

       Russell says he drew not only from Mangano's life but also from other extraordinary women. It's a powerful film and certainly the story of perseverance and overcoming. Mangano is pleased with the film. Even though creative liberties are taken, it hews closely to fact. 

       Jennifer Lawrence is again brilliant. She's on a path to be the Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren of her generation. Robert Di Niro, Diane Ladd as grandmother, Isabella Rossellini, Dascha Polanco as Joy's life long friend, Virginia Madsen, and Bradley Cooper are all wonderful in major roles.  Isabella Crovetti-Cramp as the young Joy makes a stirring debut.

      Joy is superbly entertaining, funny, poignant, informative and fresh.

     Michael Caine says his work in YOUTH is his best ever.

It could be. He is compelling in his every scene in Paolo Sorrentino's art film of finding meaning or significance regardless of age. This is not your typical movie. An Italian director, Sorrentino brings an artistic and creative tool set to the film. It is the best of a European sensitivity with Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano and Jane Fonda. 

      This is not a film everyone will enjoy, but if you like creative and artistic uses of cinema and solid acting this is worth your time. Men of certain age will find some of the Caine and Keitel exchanges hilarious. 

     We found that seeing YOUTH which is really about age and hope, certainly appropriate as we approach the turn of the calendar. 

Time does fly

      Photo by Bruce Taylor aka Catalyst

A kid version of Lana and Tom 

    I've often spoken of perhaps the most beautiful snow fall. It was in Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona. The flakes dropped silently, peacefully as we drove into the canyon, covering the ground in a blanket and filling the pine and oak boughs without wind. It was all gentle and serene as though being in a snow globe. It was in the winter of 1973. When I touch that memory it seems as close as a couple of months ago, certainly not 42 years. A vivid moment of life.

    Ah, yes. The closing of a year when memories break loose.

Enjoy!

    See you down the trail.

     

BOXING DAY LEFTOVERS

GOOD

    Christmas dinner was cleared from the table and we were ready for a walk on the beach when we spotted this from the front deck. At some point there was even a small pop up shower. All interpreted as a good sign.

TRADITIONS

     The plastic icicle below is from Lana's childhood. She remembers when her mother brought home the glow in the dark speciality. It was 1950 and 65 years later both of our daughters have expressed an interest. Looks like the items are on the way to being antiques.

     The somewhat worn angel below is a second generation tree topper and comes with a bit of mystery. 
    

  It is a "new" version of the angel that topped the Christmas trees of my youth. It was my dad's favorite ornament and each year it was placed atop the pine with appropriate decorum and good vibes. I inherited the original, taped together, the spun glass barely recognizable and really a somewhat pathetic sight. Then in a Christmas shop with the kids one year I found her, the only one in inventory and even a mystery to the manager who was unsure of the price.
I took that to be a bit of Christmas magic. She has taken her place of honor for many years.

A TRADITION BEGINS

    A couple of years ago our eldest, Kristin, produced a heavenly batch of Yorkshire Pudding popovers. They immediately became one of her dad's favorites. Younger sister Katherine, who share's Kristin's culinary talents, has followed suit.  Though Kristin, weeks from becoming a mommy, could join us only by phone, those of us on the West coast enjoyed her recipe done expertly by Katherine. 

    PEACE.

    See you down the trail.

FOR EVERYONE

Peace and Cheer

    Wrapped up in this time of year is the annual palaver-how much Christmas is in Christmas?

     There's revulsion by some about commercializing  Christmas. Keep Christ in Christmas is a generational mantra. Of recent we hear volumes on the propriety of wishing a Merry Christmas instead of the neutral "happy holiday." None of this would assail our ears if not for the tradition of celebrating the birth of Jesus. All of it from decking halls, festive celebrations, gift buying and giving, faith observances, choirs, carols, Frosty the Snowman to Rudolph and parties and more share a nexus.

     Christmas observances this year vary widely from 1915 as it did from 1815 and so on for 2000 years. Culture changes how we celebrate and remember. 
     An offer of "Merry Christmas" is both aspirational and universal. Everyone is entitled to hear or wish and to enjoy a Merry Christmas. One need not be Christian to have a Merry Christmas nor even to wish that for others be they Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Taoist, Buddhist, Sikh, Wiccan, agnostic, Deist, atheist, Christian or whatever.

     Merry Christmas are not fighting words, they are words of peace.

  Christmas 1863 was hard for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The poet's wife died in a fire and his son, against his admonition, went to the Civil War. Longfellow wrote CHRISTMAS BELLS that year. The poem was published in 1865. Despair, loss of faith and hope and then something in the bells….

   It has become an oft recorded carol, though unlike most.

      Merry Christmas!  PEACE.

      See you down the trail.