Picture of the Day

Just some boat I saw out on San Francisco Bay this summer.

(photo by Alisa McLaughlin)

Movie Review -The Way Way Back

(The Way, Way Back 103 minutes. Rated PG-13 (profanity, sexual content) Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Amanda Peet, Rob Corddry, and Liam James. Written and Directed by Nat Faxon, Jim Rash. 20th Century Fox)

Few films are capable of taking the over worked theme of painful adolescence and make it original or interesting. Ths film succeeds with the latter. We’ve seen this story before, what makes this version succeed is the cast and direction. This coming of age film details the angst of teenagers and cringe inducing antics of adults behaving badly with raw honesty.The camera doesn’t turn away from the uncomfortable moments by cutting the scene short or going for easy resolutions. The characters all strike the right tone with their reaction to a lot of heart ache. 

Shy, awkward 14 year Duncan (Liam James) spends the summer at the family beach house with his mother (Toni Collette), her obnxoious boyfriend Trent (Steve Carrell) and his surly  daughter (AnnaSophia Robb). Adding to the mix is the gossipy neighbor (Allison Janney) and her partying husband (Robb Corrdry). Duncan’s isolation is overworked in the first half hour but once he meets Owen, (Sam Rockwell) the fast talking hip manager at the local water park the story takes off. It’s his friendship with Owen that helps draw him out of his shell and gives him the confidence to stand up to the self absorbed adults.

The actors get their characters good and bad qualities just right. The surprise was casting Rockwell as the smart ass but likable Owen while Steve Carrell plays against type as the rotten boyfriend. Allison Janney was pitch perfect as the neighbor who is a bad influence. Writer/directors Naxon and Rush also do a great job in minor roles as Owen’s co-workers. The Way Way Back is a refreshing take on familar material right to the end.

Picture of the Day

At last a simple way to explain it all.

The Cost of Disasters

Hurricanes, earthquakes, forest fires, drought and floods cost a lot to recover from them. When a disaster occurs, help comes in the form of federal aid. But the costs are getting higher as Katrina, Sandy and the Colorado floods demonstrate and there are fewer resources available in a dwindling economy.

The country is slowly going bankrupt as bridges, roads and other infrastructures fall apart and become too expensive to repair or replace. Like an impoverished duke who still lives lavishly even as the estate falls into disrepair because he can’t afford the maintenance and ignores the problem by doing without.

Because of climate change, expect to see harsher weather further erode and compromise our daily life. The cost of food, transportation and labor will become prohibitive and cause more strain and stress on society as recovery takes longer.

It’s not pleasant to realize, but we need to adjust our perspective and brace ourselves for the reality that the outcome of disasters are going to be different from the past. We can’t automatically hold our hand out and expect our government to afford to fix things anymore. We will all have to share the burden and we will because unlike the poor duke, we can’t do without the basics and still call ourselves rich.

(photo UPI)

Like I said before. . .

Gun control, we hear a lot about it in the news. Every time there is yet another massacre we hear the cry for stricter control while on the other side there is resistance to any safeguards because it will compromise the right to own guns.  Once again, everybody falls for the simple emotional response instead of more nuanced reason. We’re missing the point.

Guns aren’t the issue, it’s the cultural attitude around them. It’s the attitude that if I, as an unarmed citizen ask that there be some boundaries to their use and ownership that I am immediately viewed as anti-gun and wish to take your’s away. No. I believe we have the right to have guns. Call me paranoid but they may be our only protection from an increasingly militarized police, and Orwellian government. 

People use them for hunting, sport and self defense; all fine with me. What is NOT fine is having anyone under 18 having easy access to guns. A minor should NEVER handle or use a gun without direct adult supervision. You wouldn’t let anyone under 18 drive a car without an adult present, right? There’s a reason why. Endless statistics and studies have shown why. Children including adolescents do not understand or process danger like adults. Add to this the easily prompted idea that a gun is simply another appliance like a lawn mower or toaster and it’s a deadly mix. As I have already pointed out in an earlier post, tragic accidents happen because people were irresponsible. 

Don’t accuse me of infringing on your rights when I ask that they be regulated like any other potential danger in our society. Don’t lump me in with the evil jack booted authorities trying to violate your 2nd amendment rights. Don’t turn my fears and concerns of the mentally ill, the deranged and the furious ex boyfriend / lover / husband having easy access to arms into a political  “us vs. them” argument. I’m not playing that game and neither should you. It’s not that simple. The media and the politicians want it to be, so the issue can be avoided all together. We’ll just put in some stopgap unrealistic banning of this and that and the problem is solved.

It’s fine to own guns, but I want to know that you own them responsibly. That means they are safely locked up, out of reach of minors, thieves and the malicious. That means you know how to safely handle them. I want to know that you took a NRA certified gun safety course before you even purchased that gun for personal protection. Especially if you’ve never handled one before in your life so that you don’t accidentally shoot a loved one in the middle of the night, because you mistook them for an intruder. I want to know that your kid, who goes to the same school as mine isn’t going to get hold of your assault rifle one day and come to class in a rage.  I want to know that your five year old can’t get hold of that pistol and shoot themselves or others out of curiosity. 

Gun owners claim that they need protection from an increasingly intrusive government, fair enough but I don’t want to have to depend on that same government to be protected from gun owners. Like the emotionally disturbed co worker who takes out his frustration on the innocent. Never mind the police or the law, it’s your responsibility to possess a gun properly and educate others of the virtues / dangers of them. We need to understand that it’s a gun owner’s job not only to protect their own safety but also the safety of those who don’t own one.

Concert Etiquette: Silence is Golden

          You’re at the concert hall for an evening of music, dance or opera.You sit down, the lights dim and what happens? Your evening is ruined by snoring, coughing, people talking on the cell phones or eating noisily. 

Have these people been reading the rudeness manual? Have they been living in a cave and never ventured out in public? Does their mother know how they are behaving? As a public service, here is a handy list of do’s and dont’s for those wishing to attend the theater without appearing  socially challenged.

DON’T: Arrive late, at least ten minutes when everyone is settled and enjoying the performance.  Wear a large coat that you will have to remove while standing thereby blocking the view of those behind you.  

DO:  Plan ahead so you will be on time or early “Coming to the theater is a ritual and there is a timing to it.”  says Robert Ashens, Conductor and former opera company director. Some theaters have a no late seating policy and will charge you if you don’t show up or call to cancel.

DON’T:  Be noisy. Bring candy wrapped in cellophane and remove it as loudly as possible, especially during the quietest passages. Have a buffet set up on your lap and eat throughout the performance. 

DO: Eat before you come and open any wrappers before the performance starts. People are used to eating in front of the TV and this bad habit has spilled over to public places. 

DON’T: Come when you have a cold. Cough, sneeze or blow your nose continuously. 

DO: If you are not feeling well, stay home. Studies have shown that coughing fits spread through a crowd, not to mention the virus. Going to a show you’ve paid for is tempting but think how annoying you find someone else's cough.

DON’T: Talk to your companion as if you were sitting in your living room watching TV. Comment loudly on the acting, conducting, singing or other people in the theater.  

DO: Be quiet. Nothing is more distracting than people talking while trying to listen to a performance. Save your comments for intermission and after the show. 

DON’T:  Bring your cell phone. Put it somewhere so it takes at least seven rings for you to retrieve it. Answer it and have a loud conversation with the caller with total disregard for your neighbors. 

DO: Turn off your cell phone even if you think no one will call. It is inevitable someone will at the most embarrassing moment. Probably the number one complaint. Many theaters have to resort to clever or repeated announcements reminding patrons to turn their phones off. 

DON’T: Applaud inappropriately: whenever there is a pause in the music, between movements of a concerto or whenever you feel like it. 

DO:  Wait for the music to stop completely or rely on others for cues when to applaud.

DON’T: Hum, sing, tap your foot or conduct along with the music. After all, isn’t theater supposed to be interactive? Make sure you are out of tune and have no sense of rhythm. 

DO: Listen to the performance in silence to fully enjoy and appreicate it. Follwing  along, outloud is the equivalent of singing in the shower or in your car. Listening to music with a group can be a thrilling experience, sharing it with a group is not.

DON’T: Arrive drunk, be belligerent with request for silence, then get into a fight with anyone who trys to tell you to shut up. Resist being ejected from the theater by the usher. This is a common occurrence at rock concerts. Do we really need to bring it to a classical concert ? 

DO: Come to the show sober so you can at least remember it. Most offenses are based on selfishness so when being politely reprimanded by other patrons, offenders often react with glares or respond rudely. If an usher has to intervene, you are violating house policy. Listen to them as they have the authority to remove you from the venue.

DON’T: Bring young hyperactive children. Let them climb on the seats, kick the seat in front of them, then complain that they are bored or that the man in the next seat staring at them is scary.   

DO: Use prudent judgement when bringing a child to the theatre. Children have short attention spans and can find sitting for long periods difficult. As a test, see if your child can sit through an hour long tv show without fidgeting, talking, or getting up. If you bring a child to the theater it’s best to sit in the rear or near the aisle so you can leave quietly if they become disruptive.

DON’T:  Fall asleep at the show, snore loudly and remain asleep during the intermission so the people in your row must climb over your slumped body. Wake up at the end and compliment the show you just slept through. 

DO: Take a nap before attending a concert. If you have fallen asleep more than two times at a concert, take it as a sign you need to get more rest. It is disruptive not to mention unsafe to sleep in a crowd as someone can rifle through your pockets or place you in silly poses.  

People need to recognize there is a difference between private and public behavior. “We serve the broad public, so we ask for appropriate concert behavior.”  says Laura Niles, Community Relations Director at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts.

Remember the golden rule: respect other peoples need for quiet enjoyment and they will do the same for you.

Scary Science

I may have posted this before I don't remember but it worth noting it's not the government that enjoys censorship.

  The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) established the Council for Media Integrity (CMI) in 1996 along with the World Skeptics Congress in the hopes of stopping Televisions's quasi-documentaries about UFOs, abductions by aliens, psychic phenomena and  biblical creationism.

CSICOP based in Amherst, N.Y. publishes the Skeptical Inquirer magazine. The World Skeptics Congress includes esteemed scientists as Nobel laureate chemist Glenn Seaborg, anthropologist Eugene Scott, editors of Scientific American and New Scientist, among others.

Joe Nickell, a former magician and detective who is a staff member of  CSICOP  handles most of the investigative work for CMI. He'll also appears as what he calls the “token skeptic” on talk shows when the topic is scientifically suspicious.  

CSICOP should look to it’s own organization for suspicious science. In 1981 Fate magazine published an article “STARbaby”  by Daniel Rawlins cofounder of CSICOP and former council member. It chronicled the attempt by the Skeptical Inquirer to debunk the work done by Michel Gauquelin on a statistical study of astrology. Gauquelin’s study the “Mars effect” charted the number of sports champions born with mars rising and found it to be above chance. 

Editor Paul Kurtz, founder of CSICOP, tried to debunk the study. The magazine published results that disqualified Gauquelin’s findings, ignoring the dissenting view by Rawlins whose investigation concluded that Gauquelin’s analysis was correct then tried to suppress Rawlins data. It was a case of pseudoscience fighting what was perceived as pseudoscience.

This type of censorship in science is nothing new. In 1950 Doubleday published  "Worlds in Collision" by Immanuel Velikovsky despite efforts by members of the scientific community to suppress it. Scientists and scholars who supported the author’s theory-even if it was to support his right to be heard, were dismissed, ignored, or had their careers ruined. Favorable reviews were replaced by virulent attacks on "scientific irresponsibility". It was dismissed by Astronomer Harlow Shapely as 

"rubbish and nonsense". 

Born in Russia in 1895, Velikovsky studied medicine in Moscow and later, practiced psychoanalysis. In 1939 while gathering information for a book on Freud he stumbled upon the first threads of evidence that would later get him in trouble with the scientific community.

In the 63 years since Worlds in Collision was written, tests have proved many of his predictions:  the existence of the Van Allen belts, the hot surface temperature of Venus, the electromagnetic nature of solar flares and radio emissions from Jupiter. Egyptologists were impressed enough to assert if his findings are correct it would rewrite our ideas concerning  middle eastern chronology. 

Angered by the popular appeal of his ideas, (his book was serialized in Harper's, Colliers' and Readers Digest) several scientists collaborated in an effort to keep his manuscript from being published. When the book was published a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of  Science was called to discuss among other things "Books, Civilization and Science". What resulted from this discussion, as reported by Science magazine was a proposal  for a prepublication  "theory-censoring board". It's purpose was to prevent the "wrong kinds of scientific books" from being published. 

For centuries the Catholic Church censored science and free thinking. Books were burned, scientists and philosphers who dared to challenge the ideology of the church were banned from teaching, persecuted, even executed for such heretical ideas as the earth revolving around the sun and that other stars may be suns like our own with their own planetary systems. Now science has replaced the church as the ultimate authority as to what is acceptable reality. Those who make heretical claims today are not burned at the stake like Giodano Bruno, instead they are burned at the scientific stake until their reputations are incinerated.

 

 

Be Careful What You Read on the Internet.

Letters. petitions, editorials and gossip make the rounds of the internet faster than the old rumor mills but it’s just that, rumor. The internet is also a good way to spread propaganda.

An example is the following rant against a member of Congress. On closer inspection however, this letter appears to be professionally written while trying to sound like the average person. Even Snopes.com found it’s lack of provenance suspicious.  

The author simply breaks the classic rules of writing in order to appear to be an “amateur”. Insulting the subject of the letter and his ilk with juvenile language like “political pukes” and “morons”, the  multiple use of capitalized words for emphasis and the three exclamation points- which no real writer would ever dare use. It must be an average person because average people write like that. Except that the average person usually doesn’t frame their complaints with well ordered bullets points, multiple arguments and support or use rhetorical questions. This looks more like an assignment from an essay writing class then the Average Joe. 

I’m not saying the average person isn’t capable of a good retort. I’ve read great letters from real people who responds pointedly to an editorial or article. It just isn’t this one.

Alan Simpson, the Senator from Wyoming calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. Here's a response in a letter from Patty Myers of Montana .

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole (tit) for fifty years. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63).

 2. My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give our money to a bunch of zero losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would make Bernie Madoff proud.

Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and "your ilk" pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age, 67. NOW, you and your "shill commission" are proposing to move the goalposts yet again.

I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now "you morons" propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because "you idiots" mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal our money from Medicare to pay the bills. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you "incompetent bastards" spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off your debt.

To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" to your incompetence.

Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a few questions for you: How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career? At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers?  How much do you pay for your government provided health insurance? What cuts in your retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?

It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators called Congress who are the "greedy" ones. It is you and your fellow nutcase thieves who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers.

And for what? Votes and your job and retirement security at our expense, you lunk-headed, leech.That's right, sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic, political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it.

And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch.

P.S. And stop calling Social Security benefits "entitlements". What an insult! I have been paying in to the SS system for 45 years “It's my money”-give it back to me the way the system was designed and stop patting yourself on the back like you are being generous by doling out these monthly checks .