Celebration

Paella and Pinot Fest

     Just ahead, we'll visit a civilized retreat from the world, the 15th Pinot and Paella Fest at the park in Templeton Ca.

from the jungle 

      A knock on the gate interrupted my preparation of tea as I listened to a report on yesterday's vote.

      A young man, wearing a name badge with something in his hand stood in the sun at the end of the walk.

      "Can I help you" I said cranking a kitchen window open.

      "Yes, my name is Rob, I'm running for election," he smiled holding up a flyer. "Am I too late?"

      "Looks like you are starting early," I said.

      

       Actually Rob was a realtor, prospecting. But they do start campaigning early in California. 

      Yesterday was what we call a jungle primary. In this jungle the top two vote getters in every elected position moves on to the November general election. 

      The jungle is open, not a party preference vote. One can vote for independents, greens, democrats, republicans, libertarians and a few other iterations. 

       So our election to replace the mostly respected to beloved Jerry Brown features Gavin Newsom, Brown's lt. governor and a Trump Republican Donald Cox, a businessman.  LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was sidelined with the rest of a big field. 

      Newsom is liberal, Cox is conservative and the Trump government has been and will likely be one of the issues here.

      I suggest, this is why life also offers sweet refuge.

diversions

    Songwriter/singer Jill Knight is a tonic. Playing with extraordinarily talented musicians her lyrics take you to many places and moods.  

and then there is the fest

      Fifteen years ago Marc Goldberg and Maggie D'Ambrosia of Windward Vineyard put Pinot and Paella together as a celebration of Paso Robles wine makers and chefs to the benefit of the Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation.

    There is a clear benefit to patrons as Paso wineries pour and chefs compete in a paella cook off.

Maggie and Marc
Photo from Paso Robles Daily News

Cheers!

    See you down the trail

     

Questions---Aliens---The Answer

    Wild mustard has painted the California central coast this spring.

     The pastoral settings are a "safe zone" to contemplate the profound most recent film from Paul Schrader, First Reformed.

      The veteran writer/director (written 24/directed 23) has given Martin Scorsese some of his best scripts and has directed films that carry impact; Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Last Temptation of Christ, American Gigolo, Light Sleeper, The Canyons, Mishima:Life in Four Chapters, Rolling Thunder, Affliction, Dying by the Light, City Hall, Cat People and others. 

     In First Reformed Schrader wrestles with climate change, responsibility and theology. Yea, that's a heavy agenda, but he turns in a story that fully engages mind and heart.

     Ethan Hawke's portrayal is superb and as a minister he asks a question of our age-can we be forgiven for what we have done to this planet? For those who do not hew to a faith or spiritual cleave in how you regard life, the question can be reduced to what does it say about our intelligence and our regard for life. Atheist, agnostic or person of faith the question and the drama that carries it in First Reformed is valid and viable. 

      A character discusses his unborn child and recites likely environmental conditions on her 30th birthday. 
     "Will she look me in the eyes someday and ask, did you know this was coming? Did you know this would happen?"

     Schrader has a career of brilliant, penetrating, probing and unforgettable work. This is no less. For those who take theology, philosophy or faith seriously, you will marvel at the dialogue and the juxtaposition of individual responsibility and matters of action and belief. The ending is a mind blower and will likely be taught in film schools.

answers follow below

but first, the aliens are back

   The most recent San Luis Obispo Succulent and Cactus show offered more dazzling specimens and I wonder again what planet are they from? 

the answer is

the cool pool

   Yes, as you surmised the answer to the question in the previous post is a swimming pool changing hues.

   See you down the trail.

TOUGH SPOTS---BAD MOVES---AND CATCHING UP

     Scottsdale sunset

     John choked back tears. His grandson had been a floor above the most recent school shooting. The students hiding in a closet heard gun shots below. John, a fraternity brother of 50 years had spent the day on the grounds of the school, including a desperate time waiting with families for the children to emerge. He was spent, drained by the tension and emotional.

      "What are we going to do to stop this? What can be done?" he asked.

    A 13 year old 7th grade girl was shot repeatedly. 29 year old science teacher Jason Seaman ran at and tackled the shooter, a student. Seaman was hit by several bullets.

    John's grandson was unhurt by gun fire but, are the kids of school shootings uninjured? John teared up as he spoke of seeing "all these beautiful children, people's babies" being brought out of the school, terrified. 

    Children should not fear for their lives when in school, but they train in sheltering drills. We, all of us, no matter politics or bent, regardless of our station in life, philosophy or belief, all of us have failed them. 
     There has been approximately one school shooting a week this year.

what is this?

    I was struck by the hues and shape. Tell us what you see.

bad moves

    Though they are within their rights and can muster the power, NFL owners resemble plantation owners with their edict about standing during the national anthem. 
     Don't you believe a free country means freedom to think and act, within the law? Kneeling to express concern over the imbalance of incarceration, or the all too frequent police shooting of unarmed black skinned people seems a respectful way to honor the flag that flies over the land of the free and the home of the brave.

bad moves aplenty

     My contempt for the Trump administration is a matter of record here. I agree with dozens of Republican, Democrat and non-partisan former CIA, NSA, State Department, Defense Department and National Security Council, directors, officers, executives, brass, agents, analysts, cabinet officers and former Presidents who have said Trump is unfit and unqualified to serve.

   While I think he is despicable and unlearning, most agree he has blundered. Leaving the Paris climate accord and the Iran deal are foolish and costly in their own right, but when measured in the dawn of a Korean peace deal and a standing down, they are incompetent. This administration has a signature-amateur and forever at war with itself. In runs on whims. This time is it Bolton or Pompeo? And isn't that either/ or the bottom of the barrel?   

    Here is what Tim Shorrock of the Korea Center for Investigative Reporting said to interviewer Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. 

TIM SHORROCK: Well, this is a terrible insult to the South Korean leadership and President Moon, in particular, the fact that they did not tell him in advance, though he’d been there just a few hours before. That’s an incredibly—I mean, it’s really historic incompetence, colossal incompetence, on the part of Trump, on the part of Bolton, on the part of Vice President Pence, to repeat these—you know, Libya solution, which is basically regime change on steroids for the North Koreans. And they keep talking about this sort of Libya option, as if it’s not going to faze North Korea. Well, of course it will. And they spoke out very strongly. 

    I take strength in the thought of how historians, political scientists, novelists and film makers are going to treat the Trump administration. What material! This nation may well spend the next 25 years, measuring and repairing the damage. We can find solace pondering how he and his supporters will be ridiculed, and how the ridicule and shame will be part of our healing and recovering. History is brutal to idiots and it is the last word.

in the family

   Some of you are readers of Bruce Taylor's Oddball Observations blog. You know Bruce and Judy have been our friends longer than any of us may want published. Bruce posted about our visit recently. Here are a few snap shots.

        The Catalyst, SWMBO, and Blackwell.

        Judy is not only a genius in the kitchen, she knows how to pick an incredible restaurant. The Iron Springs Cafe is worth a trip to Prescott and Prescott Valley, in itself.  I put the gumbo just a notch below Paul Prudhomme's when he was at the K-Paul Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans!

        Bruce and I are former colleagues. He was an excellent broadcaster and this idyllic setting is where he hung up the head phones. This is a classic old radio studio building.

one more credit for Lana

      My beautiful artist bride also grows a delicious artichoke.

Bon Appetit and Cheers!

      See you down the trail

the land is alive...

    The Kilauea volcano is impressive, even from the International Space Station. Astronaut Drew Feustel posted this shot over the weekend.

    Kilauea had a profound impact on me.

    The frame above is called a "skylight." It is an opening burned into the surface of the earth by the molten lava flowing below the surface. It radiates an intense heat. Anything too close melts, immediately. I needed to protect my camera lens and I could feel the soles of my hiking boots begin to get mushy.

     This photo taken by G.E. Ulrich of the USGS is the Pua'O'o crater in June 1983 shortly after it began to erupt.

    I shot this from David Okita's helicopter as we flew over Pua'O'o in 2001. I was producing a documentary for Discovery. USGS Volcano expert Donald Swanson and I were flown to the lip of the crater and stood staring down into the caldera.

      On this July day in 2001 the Pua' O'o crater was the gas and sulfur belching center of a crumbling mountain. We needed to pay particular attention to where we were as fissures and cracks cross hatched the rim where we stood looking down into this cauldron of earth. It resembled a pile of rocks or debris perhaps, but it was a furnace of sorts. 

     Here are notes I made 

David Okita then lifted Don Swanson, Chris and I to the north rim of Pu’u ‘o’o, one of the worlds newest mountains.  Pua’o’o’ is about 18 years old and was created when Kilauea began erupting. We stood on the north rim looking down into the crater.  From a distance the crater emits huge clouds of vapor.  We stood on a narrow precipice looking into the source of the vapor clouds which had been visible from miles away. The caldera was an engine of vents for steam and for sulfur dioxide.  The steam blew like a white cloud, while the toxic sulfur dioxide leaked as a bluish or gray vapor. When the wind blew from our back it would clear the crater and Don and I clicked away, shooting pits, remnants of a fountain cone, and various volcano aftermath. A sound would rise out of the depths, sounding like surf crashing or wind blowing.  After one particularly loud surf sound, Don said “Oh,” with a sense of real wonder “Oh.” He then radioed to the observatory and asked if the seismic data had recorded a gas piston tremor. He explained the sound was gas escaping from below the cap, escaping in a major way. The Piston tremor was a kind of earthquake and the ground vibrated beneath us."

One of those tremors roared like a jet engine and everything in my world shook. The acrid dark sulfur smoke enveloped us, my throat hurt, it was difficult to breath, and I felt sickly. I understood in that instant that planet earth is still creating itself with a force unlike any thing of human scale. I radioed for David to bring the chopper back to base of the mountain and Donald and I trekked down to rejoin my crew mate Chris who wanted nothing to do with standing on the edge of a live Volcano.

Later I learned the tremor was equal to a strong earthquake. 

Above gas chemist Tamar Ellis works on one of the fumarole vent fields where gas and steam leak from the earth. BTW, Tamar gave Donald and me the "what for" treatment when she learned we had gone up to the rim without respirators. The inside of my nose felt the affect of the gas leaks for many weeks afterward.

We hiked one evening across old lava fields to a place where we could watch the hot material flow into the Pacific.

This is an act of creating earth. As it cools, it adds a new bench of earth to the island. It is how the Hawaiian islands have grown into existence. Earth, giving birth.

The USGS captured this image of lava moving across the road, just a few days ago.  

Kilauea has erupted many times in its history, but this current eruption began in 1983 and is the longest volcano eruption in history. In the last couple of weeks it has become even more active and is claiming more land with lava that will eventually cool to look like the frame below.

Journalism, reporting and documentary production has provided a life of adventure and fascination. Many things have touched me. When I stood at the edge of the Kilauea Volcano I was humbled and stunned by how this old mother earth of ours is still baking itself, still growing and lives. Solid ground or terra firma have less credibility with me. 

Our helicopter pilot David Okita is an Hawaiian, a life long surfer and a most mellow gentleman, one of the most relaxed people I've had the privilege of knowing. David is forever fascinated by the volcanoes and offers a simple but wise truism, "The land is alive!"

If you are interested in volcanoes or the "ring of fire"
you may wish to link here to an account of flying to and climbing on Alaskan volcanoes, also an assignment for the Discovery Channel networks. 

See you down the trail.