Earth Day

Forty years ago, the first Earth Day (1970) was small, peaceful, non-commercial and did I say small? I spent part of Earth Day #1 on the diag of the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor; today, I will send part of Earth Day #40 on Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus. What I remember most about that first ED (my how abbreviations have shifted meanings), what I remember was the number of teach-ins. Teach-Ins were a product of the Vietnam War protest era. Rather than sit-in or be-in or trash-in; faculty and others on campuses around the world would hold teach-ins to present in-depth points of view on issues that might not normally be part of the present day university curriculum.

Even back in 1970, wind and solar power were being pushed as alternatives to petro-chemical fuels before the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 or the Iranian Oil Crisis of 1979. Recycling was a novelty in 1970, the Boy Scouts picked up newspapers but that was about it. But like today there were resources, here are some I came across this morning.

Earth Day official website, where you can learn about the big rally this Sunday in Washington D.C. and see how far we have come both in saving and destroying the planet.

Earth Day as big business, an article from today's New York Times.

Earth Day Around the World Part I.

Teachable Earth Day moments from EducationWorld.com.

and one of two YouTube offerings for Earth Day 2010.

Insert hopeful inspiring phrase here.

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Secret Supper

I was torn between the Quentin Tarrantino Last Supper and the Big Lebowski version or even one from the Simpsons. But I went with Battle Star Galactica because that caught more of the flavour of last night. On a side note, if you would like to view over 50 Last Supper spoofs, a little click will do ya.

But today's post is not about the art but about the dinner last night. A good friend, of many names, has launched a new aspect of her culinary bricolage with the inaugural event in her Secret Supper. Once a month a select group of Bay Area elite email eaters/invitees receive directions to a Secret Supper. Menus are attached (for last night's delectables, see below) and payment is via PayPal. Last night was launched in a warehouse space in Oakland and by most mouthful utterances was a big hit. I particularly liked the asparagus soup and the warehouse cat, who braved the both dogs to locate a couple of cat people and receive generous pets and scritches.

My apologizes to any local readers but it may be several months before I can sneak you onto the limited invite list, but I am always looking for a monthly food date. Here is the essence and the edibles from this month's venture.

Secret Kitchen is an underground dining club which changes both the prix fixe menu and location monthly. Members will enjoy gourmet dinners in a relaxed setting, with great entertainment and thoughtful conversations with interesting people. Diners are asked to bring the beverage of their choice, and wear comfy clothes as you'll never know just where you'll be sitting til you get there!  Here is our homage (menu) to Spring: App:Braised Pork Belly in Citrus-Maple Reduction Soup: Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Chive Creme Entree: Salmon Papillote with Smoked Chilies Baby Potatoes in Green Garlic Butter Dessert: Spiced Fruit Phyllos with Wine Sauce and Marscapone

. . . and my favorite Last Supper spoof.

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Flower Radiography

The father of a good friend of one of my best friends was a professor at the University of Michigan. In his nearly four decade tenure in the school of dentistry he became the expert in radiography and held several patents in the field. Later in life, one of his passions was taking radiographic photographs of flowers.

Albert Richards passed away in 2008 and since then his daughter, the good friend of my best friend, has been working on a new website to display and market his remarkable works of art. This week the relaunch happened. I encourage you to surf over to see some of the fascinating images that he revealed through this most interesting eye on nature.

I have been privileged to see various forms of the work over the past decade, now there is a well crafted website for everyone to engage with the radiographs. I recommend the slideshow (click autoplay).  I find the haunting images to be the most intriguing but one man's haunting is another's graceful.  I have tried to pick my favorite several times but each successive slide conjures a new adjective. It could be number 86, no wait 104 . . .

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Yesterday, Today and Jane Fonda

I mentioned that I was beginning a reading list for my planned trip to Vietnam in August. Today I discovered there is a new academic book about Jane Fonda and her actions and image as it was attached to the war back in the 70's. I will at least put my hands on this book, if not give it a thorough read. Written by a sociology professor, it takes on some rather obvious themes that one has to wonder about the contemporary need to explore yet again.

The author seeks to correct the myths around Fonda's anti-war activities and to view or review them in the light of a less politically charged atmosphere. He concludes that much of what passed for fact was actually politically motivated commentary from the right. This quote is from the review in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

"The book argues that the demonization of Jane Fonda as the treacherous "Hanoi Jane" was a convenient way for the right to attribute American defeat in Vietnam to left-wing activists and to reassert an aggressive masculinity in American culture and politics."

Having not read the book yet, I can only speculate from the reviews that the author seems to miss the point about Ms. Fonda's actions and comments as, in fact, actually being politically motivated from the left. Seems many authors do not understand that the paintbrush works in both directions.

Whether this book will change anyone's mind or correct the historical record would seem to depend a lot less on facts then on human nature. The only comment on the first review I encountered forgivingly said: "She should have been shot as a traitor!" Hearts and Minds, we are seeking to change their Hearts and Minds.

Back in the fall of 1975, just months after the Vietnam War was over from an American point of view; Jane Fonda along with Daniel Ellsberg discloser of the Pentagon Papers and singer, songwriter, activist Holly Near were doing a 17 city peace caravan. The tour fed on the still wounded soul left by the 15 year long Vietnam War. One of my good friends was the local organizer in Ann Arbor and asked me if I would agree to be Jane's bodyguard for the day. My qualifications included being large and having long hair.

There are two images I remember from that day. First, I was to meet and pick-up Ms. Fonda at a late morning backyard brunch/fundraiser. When I arrived I spotted my friend the organizer and he waved me over, he was having a conversation with a woman and after I made my way across the yard, he introduced me to Jane Fonda. I had never before and have never since been speechless based on the striking physical beauty of a person. I was simply not prepared to meet someone who actually was beautiful. Sure I was much younger and more taken by superficials, but I can still vividly recall that feeling today.

In the evening there were speeches at the University of Michigan campus. We entered from the rear of the building and came up on stage via a spiral staircase from a level below. One of the columns on the stage hide the stairwell. The format following introductions was: Jane's speech, then Holly's talk and song; with Daniel finishing up. After her speech, while Holly was beginning Jane turned to me and asked if there was a bathroom down below. We went back down the spiral and when she came back she stood at the foot of the staircase and we had this conversation:

"Do you think I need to go right back up?"

"This is what? City 16 of 17 and you have heard those speeches many times already."

"Yes, it's hard to smile and respond to the same words and I'm just tired."

"Why don't you sit down and take a few minutes."

After sitting for a bit in silence, she looked up and asked:

"Do you think this will ever be over?'

Wiser then my years, I answered: "Not as long as their are human beings around to disagree."

She took a few more minutes and then we heard the applause following a Holly Near song, she rose and said:

"Well, I guess I should go back up."

I followed her up the small staircase. At the top before she pushed through the door, she paused with me one step below bringing us face-to-face in the tight, dim space. The sense of beauty from our morning meeting was long past, we were just two people, one of whom was clearly questioning her path.

"So, you think this is never going to end."

Again, much wiser than my years: "I think resisting war and advocating for peace will always be a worthy cause."

She gave a thankful non-Hollywood smile, touched me on the shoulder with her left hand and pushed open the door with her right. Thus endeth my Jane Fonda story.

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Gotta a Good Reason?

You know that look. Yep, that look! The good news is we are genetically encoded to recognize it and get the hell out of the way. The bad news is sometimes there is no way out. There are times when we just have to deal without someone who is carrying around a big, bad, nasty attitude. But what if they have a good reason . . .

I am not talking about Mr. Roarke the neighbor, who everyone knows is just an downright cranky bastard. Neither are we excusing Aunt Martha, who is just a walking, talking, nasty, meddling, controlling bitch. These people have some long-held issues and, unless you are getting paid, your life should not be wasted trying to rescue them from the pit they have made of their own existence.

Sometimes circumstances are such that we do have to deal with a boss, co-worker or relative who just seems to want to make today a slog through the muck for everyone. If you know the person and they are acting contrary to their usual manner, well then you can either give them some space or try to help. Being a trained professional, may I strongly recommend the space option. In fact, in the course of modern life, I take it as almost axiomatic that when faced with a myriad of potential courses of action selecting "space" is usually the safest course of inaction.

Reflect for a moment on the countenance of the cougar at the top of this post. No really, take another look. . . Go ahead. . . Is not your first reaction to slowly back away from the screen? See what I mean about genetically encoded. Follow your instincts and avoid the psychic scar tissue.

But what if they have a good reason . . .

What prompted my post today was this quote from the NYTimes. See if you can guess the missing words.

"Let me level with you -- sure, I'm grumpy and miserable and anti-social, but the rest of you are unbearable. I can't listen to you talk about your issues because [BLANK] makes me selfish. Your jealousy issues? Boo-hoo. I haven't [BLANK] in I don't know how many days and all of your yammering sounds like noise. You know when the adults talk to Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang? That's what it's like to listen to you.


I used to be so optimistic. Even now if I try really, really hard, I can see the upside to most things. But I have nothing good to say about being a miserable, [BLANK] lunatic. So if you're waiting for me to impart some delicious morsel of hope -- like how I find inspiration in my [BLANK] because, hey, I do my best writing when I'm angry, for example. Well, sorry -- this doesn't really end well for you or me. Try as I might, I can't think of how to go out on a happy note today."


Did you get it? Spoiler alert in one paragraph down.

Consider for a moment the difference between this person being a co-worker or friend as opposed to just someone you need to interact with, such as a sales clerk, bureaucrat behind the desk, police officer, judge  in your case. If you don't know them and will never see them again, you can either assume this is their normal state of gloom or you might select instead the more empathetic interpretation and assume they are being adversely affected today and just cut them some slack.

The missing words in the quote above are: insomnia, slept, sleep-deprived, restlessness. The author is a chronic insomniac. By the way, if you have such issues the NYTimes is running a whole series of pieces on insomnia this week.

Today's point: Sometimes people are having a bad day for a good reason. Allowing for that interpretation instead of the 'evil bastard' explanation gives both them and you the space to avoid conflict and confrontation. Sometimes people are going to be in a dark place, why volunteer to join them? Give 'em a break. I wish I did more often.

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Getting from A to P

You know how sometimes you hear an argument, which implies some linear correlation, something like if A then B and if B then C and therefore D etc. But as far as you can tell the argument leaves out E, F, G, etc. and somehow just gets to the conclusion P with a kind of magical leap of something unexplained.

Some people refer to that leap as faith. More reason based individuals call the entire process faulty or incomplete logic. Still others come to this blog for entertainment or thoughtful tweaking of their consciousness. There are times when I do enforce the rigors of logic on my process and other times I wander closer to a stream of consciousness flow. Today's its more one than the other.

How long does it take for "the exception" to become "the rule"? And how do you recognize when that happens? -- Patty Paraphrase

Rules are what a functional majority agree on. The exceptions are those occurrences that fall outside of the rule and would disprove the rule but do not happen frequently enough to support changing the rule. Sounds logical right? 

The rule is that we fight a war against drugs and as a weapon in that war we incarcerate individuals who break the rules. The war has never worked. Since 1969 the drug war has been an abject failure. The prisons are overwhelmed with minor drug offenders; over half of all prison inmates are there because of the war on drugs. And over 80% of the citizenry are against the practice. Seems like a good example of a functional majority but the rule remains the exception.

Revolutionaries, guerillas, contras, freedom fighters oppose the reactionary, authoritarian, autocratic power structure. If and when they win and change the rules, they invariably establish a new government that is different but still authoritarian and nearly never populist or freedom loving. Human nature? or is that just another rule . . .

Rule leads to rulers, rule of law, living by the rules and yes, at times, the Golden Rule.

Exception leads to exceptional or perhaps the exceptional leads to the recognition of the exception.

Today's thought: Where in your life are you the exception? Where do you emphasize the exception over the rule? Be happy with those places where you don't follow the crowd and maybe even look for yet another aspect of your life where you would be happier if you left behind another rule and discovered the truly exceptional beyond the madding crowd.

Just to be sure . . .

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One Interpretation or Another

I was reminded today of a story I heard back in the mid-70s when I was in grad school studying for a degree in psychological counseling. One of my instructors back then was a fifty-something woman, who had been practicing clinical therapy for over twenty years. That meant that she was a psychologist back in the mid-50s when most of America though psychology was either witchcraft or outright fraud. Her main thesis in teaching therapeutic technique was to continually remind us that there were many sources of psychological dis-ease and just as many interpretations of the what, when, why and how of a client's issues. Our task, she would remind us, was first to uncover the actual problem and then to assist the client in discovering tools to ease their pain and anxiety.

Here is her story that I was reminded of today.

As a young therapist she was interested in dream interpretation and used a dictionary of dream images to interpret any dreams a client might bring up in a session. At some point she had a 50-something business man coming in for counseling. After a few sessions she asked about his dreams and over the next several weeks, he told her of two what he called dream vignettes.

In the first, he was on a camping trip that he and his now wife had taken while they were dating. The scene was precisely the campground where they had been in Michigan's upper peninsula. In the dream, he was sitting out by the dying campfire, his wife-to-be was already in the tent but he was having trouble with the stem on his air mattress. The mattress was not fully inflated but he could not pull the stem out to add more air. His fingers were not nimble enough to grasp the retracted stem valve.

In a second dream, he was playing basketball with his intramural team from college. Again the scene was just as it had been in real life except that in the dream there was a small group of co-eds in the stands watching the game and the basketball was under-inflated so it was difficult to dribble the ball.

Our young therapist consulted her dream interpretation dictionary and found this entry:

Air:
1. If the air is clear and sunny, success lies ahead.
2. If the air is cloudy, foggy, misty or stormy, then you're not in a clear frame of mind. Perhaps you should postpone making important decisions for a few days.
3. Pumping air into a tire or air mattress implies that your support system (family, friends, colleagues) is weak and needs to be strengthened.

She offered the third interpretation to her client as an clinical intervention. The following day, she was informed by her supervisor that the client had requested another therapist. In particular, he had asked for someone male and more experienced. Being that her supervisor was the only older male in the practice, he offered to take over the client and also to share with her any insights he gained through the therapy about her work with the client.

Several weeks later, while discussing cases, her supervisor asked if she had taken note of the women in her patients dreams. The girlfriend in the tent in the first dream and the co-eds watching the intramural game in the second. She acknowledged that she had made the link with the "air" aspect in both dreams but had not gone any further.

It was then that our young therapist heard for the first time a diagnosis we are all familiar with today and one that you may have already made yourself -- erectile dysfunction.

The point of today's story is simply that there are generally many possible interpretations for images and symbols that substitute in our psyches for the actual cause of our fears and anxieties. Remaining open to possible explanations that lie beyond your own experience is a revealing practice that will potentially tell you more about yourself than you may already know.

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