Tuesday, November 22, 2011
EVOLUTION
First there was Hopalong Cassiday, aka Hoppy.
Then Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.
And then James Stewart, Gary Cooper, and Henry Fonda.
There were others, I know…but these were…special.
And then we discovered the quintessence of the Western Type, two individuals who impressed this aging devotee of the American West: first John Wayne and then the great Robert Duvall.
And so it went…this Old Fella got older and recognized the changes which were taking place in the movie presentations and in his own opinion of what was closest to the real thing.
And now, this month, has occurred a further refinement of this process.
We discovered a biography of an American who not only dramatized the American West in great, superb movies…but who lived a life which would scarcely be believable if it were not true.
As Mark Twain [we think it was] said, “The only difference between fiction and truth is that fiction has to be believable.”
This individual is John Ford, Director.
The biography is Searching for John Ford, Joseph McBride.
720 pages of small-print text, heavily referenced.
Superb thus far…the story of a life as monumental as any of the dramatizations he brought to the screen.
Monday, November 14, 2011
A SPECIAL KIND OF LEADER
I think we heard it on npr…
Yes, we do listen daily….
Billings [I think it is Billings], Montana is enjoying a boom time…
Whatever, it is a town in Montana.
Unemployment rate is ca. 5%.
There is a shortage of folks to fill many available jobs.
Construction is up.
There is enough money in the city coffers to not only keep the library running full time, but to build one.
We have just reduced our library availability by one day a week.
And the rosy story continued.
In short, ecomonmic times are good in Billings.
The reason: an oil boom.
The petroleum industry is once again the black gold of the West.
And as noted earlier, b.o. dithers for reasons of election politics on the matter of the Canadian oil pipeline to the US.
Again, the pipeline will be built, if not to the US then to the west coast, thence to Asia.
In all likelihood, it will be built to the US, but not until after the 2012 election when b.o. can afford to enrage his green constituency.
In the meantime, jobs and national security considerations are deferred in a most transparent way for the most transparent of reasons.
Yes, b.o. is a special kind of leader..
What a piece of work!!!
Yes, we do listen daily….
Billings [I think it is Billings], Montana is enjoying a boom time…
Whatever, it is a town in Montana.
Unemployment rate is ca. 5%.
There is a shortage of folks to fill many available jobs.
Construction is up.
There is enough money in the city coffers to not only keep the library running full time, but to build one.
We have just reduced our library availability by one day a week.
And the rosy story continued.
In short, ecomonmic times are good in Billings.
The reason: an oil boom.
The petroleum industry is once again the black gold of the West.
And as noted earlier, b.o. dithers for reasons of election politics on the matter of the Canadian oil pipeline to the US.
Again, the pipeline will be built, if not to the US then to the west coast, thence to Asia.
In all likelihood, it will be built to the US, but not until after the 2012 election when b.o. can afford to enrage his green constituency.
In the meantime, jobs and national security considerations are deferred in a most transparent way for the most transparent of reasons.
Yes, b.o. is a special kind of leader..
What a piece of work!!!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
OUR SECRET GARDEN AND THE WORLD
A significant part of this past summer was spent in our garden, privately, until now, referred to by us as our Secret Garden.
We have dug and mowed and built and watered and planted and trimmed, etc.
We encountered challenges and achieved successes as we went about our chores.
We fed birds and watched the squirrels and chipmunks and groundhogs and possums and so on go about their daily duties.
And we felt good.
The creatures appeared busy and happy and successful.
And such was often the case.
And then came this morning.
It snowed lightly last night and a thin coating of snow was melting off the glass table on the deck.
The third cup of coffee was consumed and the two delivered papers had been read.
Life was good.
And then there came the thump at the front window.
A robin had struck the window and fallen onto the bench on the front porch…and as I went to look I had the brief impression of a great brown wing flashing out of sight to the right of my line of sight.
I saw the robin breathing heavily and on its side on the bench, eyes open.
Thank goodness, still alive.
And then, the brown wing reappeared on the bench, next to the robin…an important appendage of a very much alive and predatory hawk…really quite beautiful and efficient, about to do its duty.
I opened the front door – the wing flew away…the robin had time to recover….
Hawk did not return and shortly the little creature flew away, apparently recovered.
This event was, of course, a reminder that the animals in our Secret Garden are not really playing, despite the spin we observers put upon their comings and goings.
They are busy, seriously busy, engaged in a constant life and death routine.
They are not really playing.
There is a lesson here.
Our Garden has a definite worldly aspect to it.
Except that folks in the world actually do play a lot. At least some of us do.
But they also have to work and plan and face dangers, some of which can and do turn out to be catastrophic.
Surely there is no need to give examples.
If I hadn’t driven off the hawk, the robin would have been toast.
If the world does not deal successfully with the dangers it faces, it too will be toast.
No threat. Just fact.
Always.
And now to the point.
The natural world only appears to be bambi-like.
It is really, like the TV character Monk says, a jungle out there.
Safe play-like existences, really safe ones, require a lot of work.
Soft power, one of the mantras of the libs, fades away in the face of the most dangerous threats.
The failure of the good guys over the millennia to solve the problem of the threats from the bad guys is not only because of ignorance but because we live in a world where perfection, long-term, does not exist.
Perfection, such as it is, requires constant work, cultivation, if you will, or it will go to seed [fall into chaos].
There really are weeds in the garden.
There really are unacceptable dangers in the world.
Treating the weeds, the dangers as equally entitled to life as the precious flowers will only result in a ruined garden, a ruined world.
Such is one of the lessons of our Private Garden.
We have dug and mowed and built and watered and planted and trimmed, etc.
We encountered challenges and achieved successes as we went about our chores.
We fed birds and watched the squirrels and chipmunks and groundhogs and possums and so on go about their daily duties.
And we felt good.
The creatures appeared busy and happy and successful.
And such was often the case.
And then came this morning.
It snowed lightly last night and a thin coating of snow was melting off the glass table on the deck.
The third cup of coffee was consumed and the two delivered papers had been read.
Life was good.
And then there came the thump at the front window.
A robin had struck the window and fallen onto the bench on the front porch…and as I went to look I had the brief impression of a great brown wing flashing out of sight to the right of my line of sight.
I saw the robin breathing heavily and on its side on the bench, eyes open.
Thank goodness, still alive.
And then, the brown wing reappeared on the bench, next to the robin…an important appendage of a very much alive and predatory hawk…really quite beautiful and efficient, about to do its duty.
I opened the front door – the wing flew away…the robin had time to recover….
Hawk did not return and shortly the little creature flew away, apparently recovered.
This event was, of course, a reminder that the animals in our Secret Garden are not really playing, despite the spin we observers put upon their comings and goings.
They are busy, seriously busy, engaged in a constant life and death routine.
They are not really playing.
There is a lesson here.
Our Garden has a definite worldly aspect to it.
Except that folks in the world actually do play a lot. At least some of us do.
But they also have to work and plan and face dangers, some of which can and do turn out to be catastrophic.
Surely there is no need to give examples.
If I hadn’t driven off the hawk, the robin would have been toast.
If the world does not deal successfully with the dangers it faces, it too will be toast.
No threat. Just fact.
Always.
And now to the point.
The natural world only appears to be bambi-like.
It is really, like the TV character Monk says, a jungle out there.
Safe play-like existences, really safe ones, require a lot of work.
Soft power, one of the mantras of the libs, fades away in the face of the most dangerous threats.
The failure of the good guys over the millennia to solve the problem of the threats from the bad guys is not only because of ignorance but because we live in a world where perfection, long-term, does not exist.
Perfection, such as it is, requires constant work, cultivation, if you will, or it will go to seed [fall into chaos].
There really are weeds in the garden.
There really are unacceptable dangers in the world.
Treating the weeds, the dangers as equally entitled to life as the precious flowers will only result in a ruined garden, a ruined world.
Such is one of the lessons of our Private Garden.
Friday, November 11, 2011
THE MOTHER COUNTRY CONNECTION – 11-11-11
The United Kingdom and virtually all Commonwealth countries honor the day we call Veterans Day as Remembrance Day, a day to honor those who have died whilst serving their country in the armed forces.
11-11-11 became shorthand for the day, translatable as the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month when World War 1, the war to end all wars was finally over.
It used to be the custom for many folks in the US to pause from their duties on this anniversary.
I remember doing so as a lad in school during the 1950’s….
Normal routines would cease and a short moment of silence would be observed by all.
The years roll by. Generations come and go. Customs change.
It is good to remember some of the old ways.
It helps to keep things in perspective.
No memory = no perspective = no understanding.
This is one of our major problems today.
11-11-11 became shorthand for the day, translatable as the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month when World War 1, the war to end all wars was finally over.
It used to be the custom for many folks in the US to pause from their duties on this anniversary.
I remember doing so as a lad in school during the 1950’s….
Normal routines would cease and a short moment of silence would be observed by all.
The years roll by. Generations come and go. Customs change.
It is good to remember some of the old ways.
It helps to keep things in perspective.
No memory = no perspective = no understanding.
This is one of our major problems today.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
PITY
b.o. has decided to postpone the decision on allowing the oil to flow via pipe from Canada into the US.
US labor calls for it.
The national interest calls for it.
The economy needs it.
Environmentalists oppose it.
b.o. will antagonize labor by dithering; environmentalists by approving.
He has voted ‘present’ once again, a characteristic of his special leadership style.
We pity him.
We pity those who admire him
They are ignorant people.
US labor calls for it.
The national interest calls for it.
The economy needs it.
Environmentalists oppose it.
b.o. will antagonize labor by dithering; environmentalists by approving.
He has voted ‘present’ once again, a characteristic of his special leadership style.
We pity him.
We pity those who admire him
They are ignorant people.
VETERANS DAY 2011 - 11-11-11
Armistice Day once again, now called Veterans Day, the day especially chosen to remind all Americans to honor all veterans of the American Armed Forces: those living and dead, those serving and those retired.
If you should happen to run across a Vet anytime on Friday, consider thanking him or her for his or her service.
If you’re in a restaurant, consider buying him or her a meal.
Or a drink.
Or both.
In the spirit of the old days, at 11:00AM Friday morning, stop what you are doing and be still for a minute and thank God for the current Greatest Generation of US Military men and women our nation is depending on to protect the United States of America and all which our nation stands for.
If you should happen to run across a Vet anytime on Friday, consider thanking him or her for his or her service.
If you’re in a restaurant, consider buying him or her a meal.
Or a drink.
Or both.
In the spirit of the old days, at 11:00AM Friday morning, stop what you are doing and be still for a minute and thank God for the current Greatest Generation of US Military men and women our nation is depending on to protect the United States of America and all which our nation stands for.
TOO MUCH DETAIL…MORE ‘HUMBLING’
A little more cosmological reading has occurred. Maybe, maybe a little more of it makes sense.
And then I began to think about some theological study I have been doing with some help at church.
And then I caught a respected commentator speaking from the perspective of a respected religion, on the radio, of this and that specific regarding a number of after life ‘realities’, and the following observation occurred:
Respected cosmological physicists are on the brink of admitting, or perhaps I should say they are even now admitting, that they do not know anywhere near the whole story of the physical universe.
That we could be very, very wrong about significant assumptions currently current.
Now the physical universe is or should be easier to hypothesize about than the metaphysical, should it not?
I think so.
And if we do not really know the score about the physical, should we not be very hesitant to be too specific about the metaphysical?????
Nuff said.
The more specific one gets when discussing the metaphysical, the less reliable the account becomes.
Beware the fundamentalist who goes too far, about anything.
Einstein had some interesting observations along these lines.
How about this: I can say infallibly that on this earth there is no such thing as infallibility…and anyone who tells you otherwise is…truthfully and factually challenged.
More later.
And then I began to think about some theological study I have been doing with some help at church.
And then I caught a respected commentator speaking from the perspective of a respected religion, on the radio, of this and that specific regarding a number of after life ‘realities’, and the following observation occurred:
Respected cosmological physicists are on the brink of admitting, or perhaps I should say they are even now admitting, that they do not know anywhere near the whole story of the physical universe.
That we could be very, very wrong about significant assumptions currently current.
Now the physical universe is or should be easier to hypothesize about than the metaphysical, should it not?
I think so.
And if we do not really know the score about the physical, should we not be very hesitant to be too specific about the metaphysical?????
Nuff said.
The more specific one gets when discussing the metaphysical, the less reliable the account becomes.
Beware the fundamentalist who goes too far, about anything.
Einstein had some interesting observations along these lines.
How about this: I can say infallibly that on this earth there is no such thing as infallibility…and anyone who tells you otherwise is…truthfully and factually challenged.
More later.
REMEMBRANCE
Michigan State University will play the basketball season opener v. North Carolina this Friday.
We are not sports fans and we normally never take notice of such things.
But this game is going to be special.
MSU has arranged with the United States Navy to play this game on the flight deck of USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier which has recently so distinguished itself.
What a superb way for a major university to honor Veterans’ Day.
Here is another chance to say, “Only in America!!”
We are not sports fans and we normally never take notice of such things.
But this game is going to be special.
MSU has arranged with the United States Navy to play this game on the flight deck of USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier which has recently so distinguished itself.
What a superb way for a major university to honor Veterans’ Day.
Here is another chance to say, “Only in America!!”
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
HUMBLING
I’ve just completed listening to an interview with a very high-level physicist – one of those fellows who study string theory; relativity; multiverses; brane theories…that is not brain, by the way….
And I have read the transcript of the interview.
And I am impressed.
And confused.
And out of my depth.
And I am reminded of an old saying: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”
Well, in the realm wherein such fellows as the above work, all knowledge is a little knowledge to such as me…
I cannot begin to do justice what I am now trying to ingest/digest.
But…my o my.
We are reminded that there is so much information available to us now…
Masterpiece Theatre Sunday night made this point: “There is so much intelligence/data available…it is hard/perhaps impossible to tell what is important.”
It is easy to get fooled…to argue over things about which we know little or nothing in matters of science, religion, really important questions.
And we can make the mistake of thinking that we really can know all there is to know about things…..
We don’t really even know all the things there are to know about, much less do we or can we know all about them.
And I have read the transcript of the interview.
And I am impressed.
And confused.
And out of my depth.
And I am reminded of an old saying: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”
Well, in the realm wherein such fellows as the above work, all knowledge is a little knowledge to such as me…
I cannot begin to do justice what I am now trying to ingest/digest.
But…my o my.
We are reminded that there is so much information available to us now…
Masterpiece Theatre Sunday night made this point: “There is so much intelligence/data available…it is hard/perhaps impossible to tell what is important.”
It is easy to get fooled…to argue over things about which we know little or nothing in matters of science, religion, really important questions.
And we can make the mistake of thinking that we really can know all there is to know about things…..
We don’t really even know all the things there are to know about, much less do we or can we know all about them.
WHAT IS ONE TO THINK?
The hard-boiled political scientist will tell you that a nation has no permanent friends, only permanent interests.
But any realist can tell you that some allied nations are indeed special, that they have an enduring relationship with each other, that interests and friendships sometimes do correlate for very long periods of time.
This having been said, what is one to think of the leader of the United States who acts and speaks disparagingly of two of our long-term allies as though they were of no special importance to the welfare of his nation?
The two long-term allies are, of course, the United Kingdom and Israel.
b.o. has made it quite clear his regard for these two states.
And regarding energy independence, what is one to think of the interest groups which would prevent the significant flow of Canadian oil into the US via a new pipeline?
Especially what is one to think when one considers that if the pipeline is not built to the US that it will be built to the west coast of North America from whence it will be shipped to…just guess some of the customers who will be lining up to get it?
And the US will then be able to buy more oil from them.
What is one to think?
What is one to think of an electorate, of a national party, which thinks well of such leadership?
But any realist can tell you that some allied nations are indeed special, that they have an enduring relationship with each other, that interests and friendships sometimes do correlate for very long periods of time.
This having been said, what is one to think of the leader of the United States who acts and speaks disparagingly of two of our long-term allies as though they were of no special importance to the welfare of his nation?
The two long-term allies are, of course, the United Kingdom and Israel.
b.o. has made it quite clear his regard for these two states.
And regarding energy independence, what is one to think of the interest groups which would prevent the significant flow of Canadian oil into the US via a new pipeline?
Especially what is one to think when one considers that if the pipeline is not built to the US that it will be built to the west coast of North America from whence it will be shipped to…just guess some of the customers who will be lining up to get it?
And the US will then be able to buy more oil from them.
What is one to think?
What is one to think of an electorate, of a national party, which thinks well of such leadership?
Monday, November 7, 2011
TRANSITION
A summer of variety for The Study has ended.
We have largely secured the grounds around us, as far as we can.
Bird feeders are reactivated. Firewood has been received and stacked, ready for splitting.
Flower beds have been winterized.
Lawnmower has been winterized – snow blower has not been readied for duty.
If a lawnmower is winterized when entering the off season, is a snow blower summarized when entering its on season?
The koi are in.
Hoses drained and stored.
You get the picture.
There is still a lot to do…but the processes have begun.
A microcosm of life perhaps?
We have largely secured the grounds around us, as far as we can.
Bird feeders are reactivated. Firewood has been received and stacked, ready for splitting.
Flower beds have been winterized.
Lawnmower has been winterized – snow blower has not been readied for duty.
If a lawnmower is winterized when entering the off season, is a snow blower summarized when entering its on season?
The koi are in.
Hoses drained and stored.
You get the picture.
There is still a lot to do…but the processes have begun.
A microcosm of life perhaps?
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