Nuclear Plumes 'R' Us

The nuclear disaster in Japan has all but disappeared from the mainstream news, but in case you were wondering: yes, the it is still a serious disaster.  More than two months after the reactors began melting down at the Fukushima Plant, workers are still facing lethal levels of radiation in order to regain control.  However, it's not just the workers and those who live near by who are affected by the disaster (though their exposure is by far the most devastating).  My mom sent me this wonderful link of a forecast map showing a huge nuclear radiation clouds over most of the US and Canada. The wonderful thing about about these clouds is that they are made up of actual radio active particles of Cesium and Iodine. While these particles can be blocked more easily than radioactive waves (alpha particles can be stopped by paper, beta by aluminum), if ingested or inhaled these particles can cause massive cell damage.  The longer the plant in Japan continues to spew these radioactive particles into our air, the greater each of our chances of coming into contact with more of them. Accumulative effects anyone? Something to think about.

Second Week in Montana

After quiting my job and leaving California, I headed out to Montana to spend some quality time with my sister and her family.  I've now spent two weeks in the wonderful town of Missoula.  I haven't gotten out and about much, but here are my observations so far:

• It's pretty. It really is. The city is surrounded by snow topped mountains, and everything below the snow line is green and lush looking.
• Cars stop for pedestrians. This may not be a big deal for some people.  But I've spent the last however many years dodging cars in the crosswalk.  I was pleasantly surprised the other day when, while I was waiting at a corner with no crosswalk, cars in both directions stopped and waiting patiently for me to cross. It's a plus for this city.
• People are polite and clean up after themselves for the most part.  At the coffee shop today, the drink handed to the girl in front of me splashed a little on the counter. She ran and got a napkin to wipe it up, while the employee was busy working on another drink.  Also, every public bathroom I have been in so far has been decently clean: another sign of consideration.
• For a smallish town, they have culture. I've learned that Missoula is home to several great film festivals. This weekend I volunteered for a few hours at the International Wildlife Film Festival. They had films from around the world, and top experts in wildlife and film came to participate in panels.

On the downside, road planning was done by crazy people. There is actually a three-way road junction that the locals call "malfunction." Otherwise, so far so good. I would recommend stopping for visit if you are passing through Montana anytime soon.

Yet another new beginning...

So... I decided that the news business was full of people I don't really want to be around, doing things I don't really want to take part in. That's not to say that there aren't good people trying there best to uphold journalistic standards and maintain integrity.  I really like those people.  I also decided that I don't agree with the idea of "paying your dues" when that means you are overworked, underpaid, and mistreated.

Today officially marks the start of my adventures in freelancing, whatever that may entail: writing inane content for info websites, pulling out my camcorder, or even actual journalism. As part of this adventure, I am including this recently neglected blog, as well as a new video blog I have under construction (I'll have the link when it's ready).   I think "oscopy," however, may die.  I will endeavor to update these sites several times a week.  I am posting about this 'cause, now I actually have to do it! 

True Grit

I have yet to see the remake of "True Grit," in fact, I still need to see the original. But seeing both has moved up towards the top of my must do list after reading Frank Rich's review in the New York Times, "The One-Eyed Man Is King."

This review reminds me of the of the story of "Sullivan's Travels," another must see movie, and the idea that movies don't always need to change the world through replaying our harsh reality in stark contrast. Most of us already experience that reality everyday. We go to the movies to escape into a different one.

"For a weary mainstream 1969 audience, and not just a reactionary one, the restoration of order in 'True Grit,' inevitably to be followed by Rooster’s ride off into the sunset, was a heartening two-hour escape from the near-civil-war raging beyond the theater’s walls," says Frank Rich of the original.

"No one should have been surprised that those looking for another America once again have been finding it in 'True Grit,'" he says of the remake.

New Job; New Insights

So about five months ago I started a new job as a News Producer at a small market T.V. station. And boy has it been eye opening. I'm still pulling together all my tendrils of thought on it, but one thing has been really interesting is that my old school texts are starting to have whole new meaning.  In particular, I started re-reading On Television by Pierre Bourdieu, and he is right on when it comes to T.V. journalists.  I'll write more when Ive put together a more cohesive and comprehendible thesis about my current situation.  All I can say right now is, it's madness.

Read this!

Check out Bootstrapping Priorities over at "this ain't livin'." It's a well written way of saying what I've been trying to tell people for years... screw Horatio Algers. This very American concept is especially important to reevaluate now with so many more people not being able to pull themselves up by their bootstrap.

I grew up with pediatricians for parents which means I don't get as grossed out as I should by talking about bodily functions over the dinner table. It also means I can trust the recommendations I get for good layperson medical-type books.  These are two books my mother is recommending:

When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection, by Gabor Mate

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, also by Gabor Mate

(Thanks Mom, I'm guessing you think the stress-disease one is especially pertinent to my situation.)

This story from the AFP on the US ranking in quality of motherhood says more about the state of our nation then so many other indexes.  Should we really be called a developed nation if we can't take care of mothers and children? Apparently we rank among the poorer countries of the world.

Return From India

I just returned from India this weekend after a 2 week visit.  This first week was spent with the Cheema family celebrating Sukha's wedding.  It was amazing and colorful.  Sukha was a beautiful bride.  The second week was spent in the state of Kerala.  I went with boona to the city of Cochin which was a Portuguese fort once upon a time.  We found a tuk-tuk (3 wheel vehicle) driver who gave a us a whirlwind tour of the place, full of history, teeming with local commerce and production, and containing more churches, temples mosques, etc. per square foot then I've seen anywhere else.  It was fascinating to talk to the locals about religion and politics in their community.  As far as religion, you can find just about everything there... minus the strife and conflict you find between all these religions elsewhere.  The philosophy seems to be live and let live.  Politics is in a whole other realm.  The people don't seem to fight over politics, but there is certainly a healthy amount of debate, as can be seen from the posters, graffiti and any tuk-tuk driver you ask (at least the ones we asked). The current political climate and history, seem to me fairly unique.  It is a very poor place, yet it has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and everyone has access to health care   And the communist party is currently running the state government...by popular vote.  The people I met there were extremely friendly, jovial, and genuinely seemed to enjoy life.  They were educated, and although they did not all speak English well, I did not find it too difficult to communicate.  Beyond all of this Kerala is also a tropical paradise with sandy beaches and palm trees. We also spent a few days at Cherai swimming in the Arabian sea. Sigh... I hope I get to go back again sometime soon. If I get around to it, I will post video from the trip on Oscopy. (below: Cherai beach at sunset)

Christmas Eve Thoughts

I have been negligent once again in my blogging. I promised to write about my trip to Africa, which I will still do, but many things have distracted me (namely dealing with crazy people). One thing I have taken to doing that has sequestered my time is sewing and other crafts. For Christmas gifts this year I decided to give all hand made gifts. No money going to large corporations this year. They've already taken too much of my money. It would be nice if everyone could give handmade gifts, but it is hard to find the time. Instead, we work too hard for not enough money and then go home and spend time with some form of media. Oh well, happy holidays everyone!

I haven't been that great about posting regularly recently, but now I have a good excuse. I'm heading to Zambia for the next couple of weeks and am leaving my computer behind. I will be sure to write a few posts about my trip when I return.

Zero dollars a day?

Most of the time the stories that pop up on the Yahoo home page are pretty lame but every now and then one catches my eye as I'm passing through. Today it was “Living on zero dollars a day.” I thought, hey I would like to live on zero dollars a day, why not give it a perusal. Turns out it is an interesting and fairly descriptive homeless by choice story. I am not prepared to go that far to save money. I like having a bed to sleep in. One question I do have, though, is why does the author not address the issues that face those who are homeless not by choice, as a comparison to this gentleman who apparently has the luck of the Irish when it comes to his hunting and gathering forays. While I agree that less conspicuous consumption is generally a good thing, I also understand that the security that comes with having an actual home is important. Besides the issues with sanitation, the homeless are often harassed by the police, they are abused and robbed, underfed, and practically invisible and dehumanized when it comes to considering the ills of society. And most of them do not have the option to leave the lifestyle so easily as, it seems from reading the story, that this man can.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

I just finished reading The Left Hand of Darkness a couple of days ago and have found myself pondering it quite a bit (this could be because I've been stuck at home for the most part with an injury). Any book that leaves me thinking tends to wind up in my favorites list. This book in particular has me thinking in a slightly new way about subjects that have taken up much of my thinking time in the past, namely the concepts of duality, unity and wholeness.

In her introduction Le Guin states:
“ ...I am an artist too, and therefore a liar. Distrust everything I say. I am telling the truth. The only truth I can understand or express is, logically defined, a lie. Psychologically defined, a symbol. Aesthetically defined, a metaphor.”
That is exactly it. In this lie of a fictional world we find truth, truth in the form of questioning what we currently hold to be true.

On the world of Gethen the people have no permanent sex. They live in a state of neuter until the mating part of their cycle when they lean one way or the other with no predetermination or consistency. It is hard to imagine this state of being in our own world so set on the mutually exclusive nature of sex (though it is not the rule). But I find that by calling into question this particular dualism, Le Guin is also questioning dualism in general.

One of the main characters, Estraven, reflects that, “To be an atheist is to maintain God. His existence or his nonexistence, it amounts to much the same, on the plane of proof. Thus proof is a word not often used among the Handdarata, who have chosen not to treat God as a fact, subject either to proof or to belief: and they have broken the circle, and go free.” The Handdarata, a religious group on Gethen, escape the circle by not thinking in opposites, relieving themselves of duality, and therefore just being. We, humanity, are often caught up in dualistic thinking. And through this duality are caught.

We create duality through the idea of feminine and masculine, through love and hate, etc. But these opposites are only points on a gradation and there can never be something that is all one thing because there is always that relationship to the opposition. Opposites cannot exist without each other. It is impossible to know what one thing is without having another thing to contrast with. Sanity cannot exist without insanity. Insanity cannot exist without sanity. The two coexist to the point that they are the same thing, to the point that neither exists because there is nothing to compare them to.

Le Guin shows us, as she calls it, a “thought-experiment” in which we can a imagine moving away from dualism and towards unity and wholeness, not only through the gender-less(full) beings of her made up world, but also through the relationship and experiences of unlikely leading pair, both alien to each other, but still able to love. “But it was from the difference between us, not from the affinities and likenesses, but from the difference, that that love came: and it was itself the bridge, the only bridge, across what divided us.”

Perhaps the experiment is to find unity and wholeness not through, completely denying our tendency towards duality (like the Handarrata of the book), but to accept everything we see as opposites as merely opposite sides of the same thing. Or beyond that opposites as the essence of being of each other. Light is “the left hand of darkness.”

Le Guin also says in her introduction:
“In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we are done with it, we may find-if it's a good novel-that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have been changed a little, as if by having met a new face, crossed a street we never crossed before. But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.”
I find Le Guin to be genius in her writing precisely because her writing accomplishes this so well. Though I may not be able to say very well how this book as change and developed my way of thinking about the world, it has most definitely made an impression. I will continue to ponder the words while I place this book back on my shelf among my favorites.

Cash for Clunkers

At first glance this program seems like a good idea: get fuel inefficient cars off the road and replace them with efficient ones. But "Five Reasons 'Cash for Clunkers' is a Joke" makes a couple of really good points as to why this incentive isn't really the greatest for those of us who own clunkers to begin with.

Kotori by Yves Geleyn

I found this video while surfing the web and think it is very sweet and well done. It has given me a few creative video ideas of my own as well. He also has a blog with more videos and graphics.

Ography Update

Hello readers! I just wanted to let you know that as soon as I am done being super busy with my job I will be back to posting regularly. Thanks for your patience. Check back soon!

Health care for everyone, please.

Here is a sad story about a health clinic shutting its doors. This clinic supported a wide range of the Half Moon Bay community, rich, poor, insured, uninsured. It is precisely for this reason that the clinic eventually faced bankruptcy. Without the support of federal money designated for clinics that only work with the disadvantaged, and without the financial security of an entirely insured or paying clientele, the clinic had to stretch itself too thin to provide equal health care for all. "The tragedy from a national point of view is that unless the model changes, America will be divided in its care of patients. If you're poor, you'll go to one place. If you're wealthy, you'll go elsewhere." This quote from the article points out a major problem that needs to be addressed, separate, but unequal care, a sort of economic segregation within our current heath care system. This is a problem that could be fixed with some sort of universal health care. Thoughts?

Noooo!!!!!!

Parkway theater to close! I'm sad about this. Maybe I can catch one more show before then.

A very sad thing...

This past Friday a five year old was stuck and killed while crossing the street in Berkeley. This tragedy shows just how much responsibility we take every time we get behind the wheel of a car. Even if we are following all the rules, and feel confident of our driving abilities, we can't take for granted how many lives we are taking in our hands. One moment of less then hyper awareness can lead to something like this. Keep that in mind always. The family of the five year old has set up a Web site, www.zacharymichaelcruz.com, where people can send donations to help with funeral costs.

Old poem still in progress...

Jesus used to talk to me in my dreams and then I stopped believing.

When I was little
and everything was scary,
He would come
and lead me to the place
where I belonged.
I would follow him
over hills,
down through valleys.
When we got there,
it was beautiful and warm.
The colors were vivid;
the feelings were even more vivid.
He would sit and talk to me
and there, at his side,
hearing his soothing voice,
in this place that was pleasure,
I could feel his compassion
beyond all intensities.

Then I stopped believing.

And when I was little,
I would see angels,
two of them standing
at either side of my bed.
They were my guardians,
creating comfort for sleep
and thoughts of dreams
in which Jesus would come
and lead me away again.

There was another angel,
statuesque and hopeful,
imprinted on a hillside.
I saw her in the mornings
as I was driven from my home,
safe and warm,
to a place that created disbelief
in the form of knowledge
and religion
and discipline
and growth.
When I saw her upon that hillside
blowing her trumpet,
looking even more holy after rain,
I knew.
I just knew.

Then I stopped believing.

On days when the skies were dark
But the sun still illuminated the clouds,
I would wait and watch for Jesus.
I knew that he was going to appear on one of those perfect clouds
as it descended from the sky.
I waited and listened for the trumpet to blow
as I had been told again and again that it would
when Jesus returned to save us one final time,
taking us to a better place.
I felt in my heart that it would happen on a day like that
On a cloud just like that
And I knew that he had to be coming soon
He just had to,
But he never did.

And then I stopped believing.

Later in life, when I was alone and lonely
I would pray and pray for God to send me someone to love.
I would thank him for giving me so many friends,
But I needed more.
I needed it.
And one night I had a dream
Of an angel standing at my bedside.
The angel talked to me plainly.
I was meant to be alone.
I had a purpose from which I could not be distracted.
I never figured out what that purpose was
And I couldn’t forgive a God that wanted to keep me lonely.

Then I stopped believing.