Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

RICH MAN A JAILED MAN & CALIFORNIA SNAPS

JUSTICE TASTES LIKE PRISON
FOR A ONE PERCENT MOGUL
     The Associated Press and the Sacramento Bee report the fall of a food industry tycoon and one of America's super rich.
     Frederick Salyer was one of the most influential and powerful men in the agriculture industry, but is headed to prison, convicted of price fixing and lying to consumers about the quality of his tomato products.
     US Attorney Benjamin Wagoner says, "This is a tremendous fall from power. He was one of the richest and most influential..."
     Salyer was accused of bribing buyers for companies such as Kraft Foods and Frito Lay to pay inflated prices for his products which were then passed along to consumers.
     Federal Prosecutors say Salyer told his workers at SK Foods to lie about the quality of his product, the mold content and whether the product was organic. Government records say moldy tomatoes were processed into paste, pasta sauce and salsa.
     Salyer's tomato farming-canning empire dominated 14% of the market.  The AP says Salyer is from one of the West's oldest land and farming dynasties, going back generations. 
     The government found that Salyer and co-conspirators manipulated the price and quality of millions of pounds of tomatoes, paying bribes of up to $100 thousand.
    Government records indicate Salyer tried to move some of his fortune to Andorra, a small nation between Spain and France. He made a down payment on a condo there. He is under house arrest at his Pebble Beach mansion. The wealthy captain of industry has been sentenced to six years.  
     I wonder if he'll eat the prison tomato sauce. I also wonder if Banking and Wall Street regulators or US attorneys have the same verve as the team that brought down Salyer. US Attorney Wagoner says he hopes the conviction will send a message to the agriculture industry to keep fraud out. Fraud-Investment banking?  Hey, Mr. Attorney General Holder, are you listening? 
CALIFORNIA ODDS AND ENDS
This beauty graced Main Street in Cambria's West Village.
   Wasn't the original color either black or green?  What do you think of this upgrade?
  Sometimes a sun dappled day at a winery is not complete without paella.  
Good night sun.
  Do you see those fresh oranges, hiding away?
 Odds and ends indeed!
     See you down the trail.

Monday, February 11, 2013

SWEET TALK-THE IMPOSSIBLE-TORTURE & KILLING

SWEETNESS FIRST
     Sweet Talk Radio (STR) aka Kate and Tim brought their extraordinary talents back to the central coast and turned out another powerful performance but to an all too small audience at a Paso Robles stage.
     The summit pass was freezing, the stars descended like a dome around us and the lingering refrains from this remarkable couple sweetened our drive over the mountains and through the Templeton gap but we were troubled. We are acknowledged fans and their CD's are among our frequently played, so we were miffed that D'Anbino Winery and music room didn't provide the sold out audience as The Painted Sky has done. 
      "Just one of those nights" Tim said.
      A great night for those on hand.
      Chances are you've heard them on television shows.  Producers and directors hire them to drop in songs for especially dramatic, climactic or poignant moments.  Tim is an accomplished player and song writer. His Writing in Pen is a poignant soul stirrer.  You fall in love with Kate's voice the moment you hear it.  Her tune, My Hallelujah, written after Katrina, will stay with you forever. 
       Her version of Carol King's Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, a hit by the Shirelles, is fantastic. Kate's singing is beautiful, but her ballad style adaptation underscores the honest, though early, feminist power of the tune. Remember that tune was a hit in the early 60's.  If STR is in your area, make sure you get there.  Check them out here.

THE U.S. AS TORTURER
THE PRESIDENT AS EXECUTIONER
    The White House memos related to the President and 
the killing of terrorists by drone strike provided some interesting chatter here-a long way from the studios of New York and Washington-but by men with better credentials than the TV pretties and pundits. The following quotes are from friends, so I know their sincerity, which is more than I know of the TV talking heads.
     A former Navy Pilot
     To quote Spock...the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.....having been subjected to POW simulation during my getting ready to go to Vietnam days; a couple of observations.  Torture does work on most people. The instructors who debriefed us on our performance while being water boarded or confined in a little ity bitty black box with few air holes was very pragmatic: Hold on until you can't..then give in and tell them what they want to know....don't die for intel which may have a relative short shelf life. And most important: Don't lie. Usually they are asking some questions they know the answer to.  Another reality:  You will be tortured...particularly if you are in their land engaged in combat. 

      This from a national daily retired editor
     i agree completely... we can lose ourselves in all sorts of arguments about what is war, what is an enemy, etc., but if we are to claim a moral base for what we do--indeed, for what we are-- we shouldn't torture people. it debases us, and it is all too easy to become accustomed to that...  does this mean that some American lives possibly could be lost because we didn't waterboard, or send current through the genitals of, or didn't hang from the ceiling of rendition cells, some jihadists? yes. but that is the price of decency as a people and a nation. 

        This from a former Marine
   I am opposed to enhanced interrogation, water boarding, etc.  I think we need to be the moral high ground.  If you saw Zero Dark Thirty, giving a prince a Ferrari seemed to be the ticket.  That said, I do think effective use of drones is a much improved doctrine of war... As for targeting Americans, that is a bit more of a sticky wicket.  It would seem to me that using drones against an American should be with judicial approval just as when the government wants to bypass the citizen's right to privacy with a wiretrap or other surveillance.  There is a court of Federal Judges that assure that a judge will be available 24/7 to give approval for those wiretraps... Why not require that the CIA or military or President, prior to launching a drone against an American citizen have to get an ok from that judge?  That provides judicial review and forces the government agency to at least provide documentation to an outside source.  It has worked very well for wiretap and surveillance so why not use that existing structure for this next level?

        This from a political consultant and operative
     The over reaction of Bush/Cheney to 911 produced the most reprehensible behavior in the history of international relations for our country.  We scrapped the conclusions of the Nuremberg Trials completely.  Only the treatment and systematic destruction of the native American Indian culture tops the 911 moral relapse.  I believe over the span of its existence, the CIA has been far more of a liability than an asset for our government.  While I acknowledge our nation needs to maintain a constant and vigilant stance regarding those forces who are committed to our permanent detriment, we must be guided by a sense of propriety and probity.
     The use of drones, while efficient in vanquishing suspected terrorists, have permanently denigrated our nation's standing in the Middle East...  
American citizens are entitled to know the circumstances that permit our government to kill them. Anyone that consciously bears arms or conspires against our country's vital interests deserves the same fate of the states and individuals that rebelled in 1861.

      This from a retired Navy Intelligence Officer
War is in fact War.  All rules are bent or broken.  Ya do what ya gotta do.

    A late add from a retired Navy Communications Specialist 
I have a problem condoning the torture of fellow human beings (animals, too). Whether for intel, resources, property, whatever. I understand that there can be short term accomplishments or perhaps some benefits derived from the information, but the mental decision and choice to use torture lowers us to the level of the bad guy we are at war with. Their choices and actions are at least a part of why we consider them "bad" people. It seems to me that if we are at all serious about eliminating our imperfections as humans, and eventually knowing God/becoming Godlike, we have to try to raise the rate of vibration of all of us and the entire earth by trying to project love, and truth and positive values in every way we can. We are not only the creators of the younger generation, we have a responsibility as their teachers, educators, guides and examples. We need to try to improve the human race. We need to contribute our positive energy and example to try to improve the morals and consciousness of humankind. I think we are all part of the same energy pool. Since we do all have free will, we have to learn the effects, ramifications, positives and negatives of interaction that includes torture as part of the mix and make decisions about how we will behave. I can't endorse it.

    As noted in an earlier post, the film Zero Dark Thirty contributed to the national conversation as well.  It is an important matter for Americans to weigh.  
 FINISHINGS
    I heard someone say the power failure at the Super Bowl served as a reminder how this great nation has permitted its infrastructure to fail and fall toward third world status.
    Good point, don't you think?
REEL THOUGHTS
THE IMPOSSIBLE
      As so many have said, The Impossible is an emotional and powerful experience. Indeed. Great acting by Naomi Watts, Ewan MacGregor and the kids.  But I was most impressed by the small side story of people helping others, strangers assisting each other, the little kindnesses that were manifest in the face of the overwhelming tragedy. That is a take-a-way with a life confronting power.  And that takes us back to Kate's powerful, My Hallelujah. 

   See you down the trail.  
     

Friday, February 8, 2013

THE WEEKENDER-DRIVE

DRIVING & DRIVEN

   As another weekend of winter blasts much of the US, these snaps from the drive and street of our Indiana home, in a winter past, are enough to bring back bad memories and trigger my sympathy to those of you who must endure.
     Picturesque though winter may be, driving was always a royal pain. Notice that ice where the tire treads are?
  So we continue our exploration of California, but select trips in a time of the year to avoid snow. Maybe some year we'll venture into the Sierra during ski season. Maybe.
  Our Weekender video prompts a question this week. How would you like to drive this bridge?" Enjoy.
    Hats off to the Norwegian engineers and road builders.  See you down the trail.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

JACKSON BROWNE STILL NUKE FREE

BROWNE TELLS SAN LUIS OBISPO
"THE REST OF THE STORY"
       "It was just a stupid mistake" Jackson Browne said about not being quoted in a recent piece in the San Luis Obispo Tribune detailing his 1981 involvement and arrest at an anti nuclear protest at Diablo Canyon.
       "The article made it sound like I've lost interest. That is absolutely not the case" he told an enthusiastic and adoring full house at the Cohan Center on the Cal Poly campus.
Photo by Ken Chen San Luis Obispo Tribune 1981-printed again 3 February 2013
     Browne said he would have welcomed the opportunity to tell about his continuing involvement with MUSE and Nukefree.org.
      The Tribune piece included an old quote that implied Jackson was no longer an activist on the issue.
    Many in the Cohan Center audience applauded as he said   
 it was a victory of sorts that no new nuclear plants had been built in more than 30 years.  
    He acknowledged that some 17 hundred people in the San Luis Obispo area worked at Diablo Canyon, still he said nuclear energy is unsafe and creates continuing problems. 
   "No more nukes, y'all" he said after his few minutes of commentary.
7 FEBRUARY UPDATE
Seems like Jackson's PR firm missed a chance
    THE CONCERT
    I've seen Browne several times over the years and am always impressed by his lyrical power. He is a marvelous troubadour. As Lana said on the way out of the hall "...his poetry truly captures our age and hearts."
    He is also a great performer both as musician and singer.
His work on piano and on several of the almost 20 guitars he had on stage is still that of a virtuoso.
     Five large oriental rugs lined the playing area and he alternated between sitting while playing the guitar and the piano. It provided an intimate, house concert feel.
     But he also rocked the hall and had a couple of friends who helped blow the place away. Val McCallum  was killer on guitar.  He also performed his hauntingly rich and textured Tokyo Girl. Taylor Goldsmith of DAWES contributed mightily on keyboard, guitar and vocals.  
    Browne told the audience that Dawes is his favorite band now and that having Goldsmith play has been a bonus since he was on "a bus man's holiday" waiting for the release of their new album.  Goldsmith premiered his new FIRE AWAY and with Browne and McCallum they created a musical charge that electrified the hall.  Fire Away will do very well.
    The house was full of Browne fans and there was a continuing chorus of call outs for tunes.  Finally Browne abandoned the set list and moved through a pastiche of his decades of music and the time flew by.  There was no opening act and the group took a short break and still ran out of time.  Browne thanked the promoter and hall management for permitting them to play overtime.  Showtime was 7:30 and we left the hall around 11:00.
     During the evening he told of being a youngster who'd hitchhike up to the Central Coast. 
     "This is the most beautiful part of California.  My dad called it Steinbeck country.  Mom would drop us off outside Ventura and we'd start up Highway 1. That's when the fun started."
     He told about attending a concert a couple of years ago
at the Cohan where he was told about a flamenco guitar maker from Nipomo, just south of here.
     "I've got a couple of his guitars now," he chuckled.
Browne has spent a lot of time here and he sprinkled a few of those memories and anecdotes through out the evening. It was apparent to him that he was not only among fans, but with friends and California neighbors as well.
     Jackson Browne on the Central Coast where spring comes early and memories are continually being made.  
The first blooms-oxalis in our green winter.
        During the short break I was looking out the angled windows of the modern designed Cohan over looking part of the Cal Poly campus.  People around me were in rapture of the music, others were discussing the local wine being sold while I was lost in a reverie of my own early Highway 1 memories.  I saw something a little wobbly out of the corner of my eye.  I turned to see a young man zipping his way along the bike lane on a unicycle, with a head lamp around his head like a headband.
    As Browne had said a few minutes earlier  "California, it's all good!"
    See you down the trail.

Monday, February 4, 2013

THE DOWNTON ABBEYing of AMERICA

THE REAL CULTURE WARFARE
Courtesy PBS Masterpiece Classics
    You wonder how many million Super Bowl viewers had DVR's set to their PBS station while they attended parties or watched the game at home.
     Super Bowl fans caring about a Masterpiece Theatre production you say?  Absolutely, indeed!  It hit me one morning a few weeks ago at our post tennis match coffee at Lilly's coffee deck in Cambria;  six or seven guys sitting around talking about a soap opera, the soap opera of course, Downton Abbey. This marvelous production, created and written by Julian Fellowes has captured American hearts.  
     People who are not usual PBS viewers have discovered how extraordinarily well Brits do television drama. The intricate plot line is the subject of conversations from dinner parties to grocery store check out lines. Conservatives, liberals, young and old have found a fiction upon which they can gather.
      An intrigue here is how this period drama of a time of class distinction and way of life has brought, well, a little class to America. Can't you enjoy the image of a football jersey wearing, chicken wing and jalapeno popper stuffed fan clicking away from the post game wrap up to watch the latest from the Grantham clan or Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes presiding over the staff?
      Julian Fellowes is seeding something here. It dawns on me the aristocratic excess and the enforced civility of the staff both are under girded by a sense of rule and dignity. The characters know, even if they do not always do, what is expected, what is proper. There is much to say about all of that, but at the very least it is a good thing for an increasingly casual America to see, to be entertained and perhaps even to be influenced, ever so slightly, by people with manners. Mr. Fellowes, you are a PBS radical indeed!!!
AND ABOUT THAT WONDERFUL MUSIC
Here is something special, the lyrics. 
      See you down the trail.

Friday, February 1, 2013

THE WEEKENDER- SUPER & ECLECTIC

A NATIONAL HOLIDAY?
    As a powerful offense can grind and thrash its way down field, the Super Bowl has, since its inception in 1967, become a dominant day in American culture. 
    It is the second largest food consumption day in the US, trailing only Thanksgiving.
    Super Bowl telecasts are among the most viewed programs in history and now command huge international audiences.
    How many million parties could you count?
    The fact that brothers Jim and John Harbaugh are coaching this year's contestants, adds another first to an historic American event.  
     In only 46 years a televised football game has become a defacto national holiday and drives a significant portion of the US economy thanks to advertising, merchandising and promotion.  A Super event indeed.
PRE OR POST GAME THRILLS
Don't be surprised if you find yourself grabbing a hold of something, or swaying a bit.
THIS IS ONE WILD RIDE

NOT A SPORTS FAN?
Write a caption for this photo
THE CONVERSATION

Have a Super Weekend.
See you down the trail.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

AND THE CATS ARE UNARMED

KILLER BEASTS?
     Natalie Angier of the New York Times reports that cats, our domesticated pets and their feral cousins, kill 2.4 Billion birds a year.  They also kill 12.3 Billion mammals, like chipmunks voles and gophers.  At least I hope they are getting the gophers, but that's another issue.
     Well, our three are among that killing squad, though they look like a civil group here.  Luke, front and center, is the Alpha and is true to his tiger/leopard ancestry. Little sister joy with the pink heart is following her tiger DNA coding as well.  She is tenacious for such a cute little thing.
Hemingway, the orange polydactyl doesn't seem to be the hunter type. He's more interested in napping, playing and sitting on a lap.  We haven't seen him express much curiosity in hunting, so maybe he'll help lower the curve. Can't get a bird from a lap, or in a nap.

A DAY WITH A WEIRD VIBE
     The San Luis Obispo Tribune's "Flashback" listing of this day in history was almost enough to send me back under the covers.  
    January 30th has been besmirched by human endeavors.  Consider the history:
-1933 Adolph Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
-1649 King Charles I is beheaded
-1948 Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated
-1962 Two of the Flying Wallendas hire wire act die in an accident during a performance in Detroit
-1964 Ranger 6 is launched. It crashes on moon but fails to send back images
-1968 The Tet Offensive begins in the Viet Nam war
-1972 "Bloody Sunday"-13 Catholic civil rights marchers are shot to death by British soldiers in Northern Ireland
-1973 KISS performs its first show
     This is also the birthday of Dick Cheney. But it too is the day that brought us Boris Spassky, Gene Hackman, Vanessa Redgrave, Phil Collins and Christian Bale. On reflection, that is a group of intense folk.
MOUNTAIN WAVES
 Looking toward the Pacific from Highway 46 between Paso Robles and Cambria 
      So we end this brutal post with something soothing. As the old sarge used to say on Hill Street Blues, "Be careful out there!"
       See you down the trail.