THE WEEKENDER :)

DIFFERENT STREAMS OF TIME

We are constantly reminded of the almost

schizophrenic tone of our age of communication.

We rely on satellites in more ways that most of us know

yet we can not be sure when or where they may fall.

We love the convenience of social media

but must worry about the implications.

Here's a clip from Reader Supported News

What Facebook Really Wants

Nicholas Thompson, The New Yorker 
Nicholas Thompson writes: "The more our online lives take place on Facebook, the more we depend on the choices of the people who run the company - what they think about privacy, how they think we should be able to organize our friends, what they tell advertisers (and governments) about what we do and what we buy. We'll rely on whom they choose as partners to give us news and music. Real issues are at stake, in other words - not just the size of photos and whether you can poke."
READ MORE

And there is another good weekend read here

in this link to a thoughtful and provocative article by Nat Hentoff.  What freedoms have we lost or are

in danger of loosing when our desire for safety,

security and technology combine?

BUT THEN-

there is the technological reach into the past

that was not imaginable in our youth

when things were more simple.

Or were they?

Thanks to Moto, my "mad archivist" for 

finding this ditty.

Enjoy

See you down the trail.

HEART BREAKING

LOSING EMMY 

 Those of you who follow this blog know
we adopted two kittens after the loss of Ziggy
our black cat of 16 years.
Well, we lost Emmy on Thursday.
We suspected she was not well.  She had been
lethargic and loosing weight.
She had Feline Infectious Peritonitis an
incurable virus with a nasty pathophysiology.
The vet said the most compassionate thing to do
was to put her to sleep.  We bid a tearful farewell to a very sweet little  gal.
Emmy was an extremely affectionate and cuddly kitten.
She' loved to cuddle and purr and felt no compunction
about jumping right up into your lap and crawling to your shoulder or neck.

EMMY WAS EVEN A LEG CLIMBER

The vet said often kittens with
FIP are the most affectionate.
It is as though they want all the cuddling they can
have because they may know their time is short.
FIP hits kittens the hardest.  The suspicion
is she inherited it from her mother and carried it when she was adopted.
Frightening however is the vet's statement that it is
highly contagious.  We worry now for our old Nesta
and our kitten Luke.
We hope for the best.

 Luke is a pretty laid back character

 until he begins to stalk like a jungle ocelot

We hope he remains healthy.
We also worry about all of the other kittens
at the HART shelter.
Keep them in your hearts.
See you down the trail.

GOOD NEWS IN WINE COUNTRY

PASO SHINES

IN ALL SEASONS

Living in the Paso Robles Appellation has its

obvious advantages, but it also has made us

partisans, or provincials.  

We love the beauty of the area, certainly

enjoy the outstanding wine and

we love to share it with friends.

We are also excited when the wine

or the image of area wins awards.

As is the case in the Wine Spectator video contest that you can read about by linking here.

The producer/director is Dina Mande of Juice.

Though it is not my favorite of her work

here's a link to her most recent video which is 

a lot of fun.

After watching this on YouTube, you 

can also access her award winning video

plus her other work.

Congrats to Dina, Christopher Taranato and cheers to all

in the Paso wine district.

See you down the trail.

ABSOLUTE

FREEDOM & COMMUNICATION
On first amendment issues, I am an absolutist.
Congress can not make laws prohibiting the
freedom of religion, speech, press or the right to assemble
to petition government for a redress of grievances.
If Congress can not prohibit those freedoms,
then no one, certainly not a commercial enterprise,
can.  Which makes what appears to be a Yahoo based
censorship program wrong. It is maddening and frustrating
in this age when we rely on communication platforms.
There is every indication that is what Yahoo was doing
with people who were trying to communicate from
the Wall Street protest demonstrations.
Here is video of what appears to be Yahoo's censorship.

Here's background on the story.
Look for updates on the story.
In this cyber age when speech and communiclation
are relayed via information platforms, we need to be
vigilant that our freedoms remain intact and 
are not encroached upon by powerful commercial
interests, who in essence control mediums of communication.
Reference an earlier post here on the new form of 
thought police. 
These are challenging times and we must not allow
disregard or lack of care to undermine what is much
too valuable to a representative democracy. 
DAY BOOK
JUST SNACKIN' AND NAPPIN'

See you down the Trail.

FOUNDER'S GARDENING

DOING IT LIKE

THOMAS JEFFERSON

An idea launched itself in Lana's head

as she read Andrea Wulf's Founding Gardeners.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams used

kelp to enrich their fields.

 We now had a mission-collect

kelp from the shore.

 Chinese kelp harvesters worked these Central
California shores with great productivity.

 We didn't mind being the only modern

shore harvesters.  The Abalone farm in Cayucos

uses a harvest boat to work the beds in regions

for which they are licensed.

 We found a practical purpose for those

noxious plastic bags that never seem to go away.

 There was something else the Founders

used on their gardens. To collect it

we made a quick dash just up Highway 1 to a side road.

 In about a mile and half we were

entering a new micro climate as we drove

 into the Santa Lucias along San Simeon Creek.

 The road took us into sun and to

 the area of our next hunting

 with the prize being just

 across the cattle gate.

 The founders used manure and we knew of a

great field of cow chips.

 With a collection gathered, 

 we headed back toward the ridge

 and the awaiting compost

 about to be recharged,

first with the chips and

then with the kelp.

 I asked Lana if she thought TJ used a garden hose

to rinse his kelp.

 Now we have an enriched compost heap

thanks to offal of Pacific kelp beds,

 grazed open range cattle

and the Founding Gardeners.

See you down the trail

EVENING IN THE VALLEY, THE DEBT & POOR COLTS

REEL THOUGHTS

THE DEBT
I've been a Helen Mirren fan since I first saw her work.
Prime Suspect, which PBS aired in the US sealed the deal, so  I start with a bias. Despite that, and even if you were to
replace Mirren with another actress, the Debt is still
an intriguing and intricate story.  The directing by BBC veteran John Madden (Shakespeare in Love)
 weaves a story through a pattern of past to present unraveling and is superb.  The wrestling with truth and how to deal with it is powerful and searing.  The honor and 
well being of a nation, as powered by a deceit, is a
strong mind game that will probably have you pondering.
Well acted, taut pacing and suspense, great script,
Tom Wilkinson and Helen Mirren.  Two thumbs up from here.
DAY BOOK
EDNA VALLEY EVENING

POOR COLTS
Regrets for my Indianapolis friends and fellow Colts fans.
After weathering the uncertainty of a football season and thus Super Bowl, which the city hosts, now they've lost
Peyton Manning, maybe for the season.  I know folks who were dreaming of Peyton leading the Colts to a hometown Super Bowl, which would have been a first. Now I just
hope Peyton will recover so he can continued his historic 
career.
See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER :) CALIFORNIA THINGS

A JAM

It is just one of those "California things."
Rick Auricchio, THE Mac Man of Cambria and a great
bass player as well pal to many, let us know his new
band RUMBLE was making its debut at the
historic CAYUCOS OLD TOWN TAVERN.
Cayucos is one of the last of the old ungentrified beach towns and just minutes down the coast.  The Old Town Tavern is historic and heaven only knows what its walls have seen and heard over the years.
After a great dinner at Hoppes, only a block away, we sauntered in as the sound check was wrapping up.
The Old Town Tavern is also known for it's Card Room in the 
back and we watched an interesting parade of players file past.  There were a couple of wedding parties in town and
they looked like they could have been from separate planets.
Then RUMBLE started to rock and from the first rip of the guitar, blast of the sax and trumpet and vocal from Katrina it was clear that a tight, skilled, band was laying out a great funky mood.  Soon all the wedding participants, a few of the card sharks and a couple of seasoned  local hullabaloo style dancers were creating their own show.
But the band, wow!  I was stunned to learn from Rick, during a break, they only recently met.  All seasoned players, they immediately found a groove where each of 
their considerable skills combine into a great new
north coast band.  If you are on the Central Coast
and see that Rumble is playing near by-it will be a good show and will get you bopping.
AFTER ROCKING
TRY ROLLING
THROUGH SAN FRANCISCO BAY
THIS IS AMAZING
ENJOY

See you down the trail.