The enigma of mankind

The enigma of mankind
~O'Brien to Winston~
'from G Orwell's 1984'
“But in the future there will be no wives and no friends.” O’Brian continued.
“We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now.
There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party.
There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother.
There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy.
There will be no art, no literature, no science.
There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life.
All competing pleasures will be destroyed.
But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power,
constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler.
Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory,
the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — for ever.’
We sit in our twenty-first century comfort, and look back upon the 'backwards' centuries behind us, before this last millennia when people crossed seas in boats and spread 'civilization'. Yet what makes us so certain that people of this last thousand years are the first ones to spread so far so quickly? Yes, we acknowledge that various peoples were in the Americas for example, but we seem hesitant to believe that others from the 'Old World' came here before Columbus. Only recently has evidence been generally accepted that the Norse peoples spent a short time at least on the Eastern Seaboard. But what of the scant evidence of Chinese anchors found in the waters off the Oregonian and Californian coasts? What of the Japanese style pottery found in ancient gravesites in Peru? There are also carved-stone heads in the Mississippi valley that have distinctly African features found in old burials. And some evidence suggests an overseas trade route between Europe and the Americas during the time of the Romans.
Now, a map has come into the light; pulled from the dark recesses of a castle in Europe where it has been hidden from view for centuries. This map seems to indicate that European cartographers had a fairly good idea of the shape of the South American continent in 1507, a good thirteen years before Magellan crossed under Tierra Del Fuego. Could it be that these people were working under a set of information they had compiled over centuries of exploration?
The arguments against this are many, yet it seems to me that political considerations have always trumped reality and truth. In fact, politics creates it's own reality, such as is evidenced by modern PC being the new 'Newspeak' of the late twentieth century, having evolved from it's fictional start in Orwell's novel, 1984.
At any rate, science and research tends to bow before the boots of authority, and power trumps knowledge century after century.
Speaking of human movement over the earth, what about accents? Linguist.org has a great article on accents, and the way they change over time as populations reform, consolidate and evolve.
It all comes down to realizing that humans are a most energetic species, and our societies change and evolve. Hopefully, overall, we will continue to evolve in an upward direction, and not devolve into an anarchic, archaic society.

At the foot of the Hills

Nipomo California
At the foot of the Hills


Yep, this is the north end of our town. Yeah, it's a bit quiet, but we like it that way.
Nipomo is a quaint town, very rural, slow in a lot of ways. Our high school just opened a few years ago, before that the kids had to be bussed to the next town over, to Arroyo Grande.
Things change through the years, and Nipomo has grown by leaps and bounds. There have been growing pains also; gangs have caused a bit of violence in town, and we also have a bit of traffic congestion. The Post Office moved to the other side of the freeway some eight years ago, before that, we really never crossed the freeway, now to check our mail we have to get caught up in the traffic of downtown Nipomo.
De Mille filmed his epic film The Ten Commandments outside town in the dunes. I know a couple of people who's parents were extras in that film, and a couple who's grandfathers worked on building the set. It is a relic of a bygone era, and sadly most of the set was just pushed over into the sand, it is now being excavated as an archaeological dig for it's film history and significance.
Dorothea Lange took a picture of a woman in Nipomo that became emblematic of the depression, the image titled 'Migrant Mother' has been seen by millions. That photo was taken in a field that I pass nearly daily.
Nipomo is a good town, with mostly good people, and we're happy to be part of the community here.

Dedication, heroism, commitment, heart

Dedication, heroism, commitment, heart
Sea, Air, Land


I was told this sign was posted onto the door of a wounded Navy Seal member, while he is recuperating from his wounds suffered while in combat.
I've known a couple Navy SEALs, and I think they'd not mind me saying that SEALs are not like other people. They are part Chuck Norris, part George Washington. They are a highly trained and highly skilled and exceedingly small group of extraordinary people, and my support goes to all who try to enter into such hallowed ranks. Of all who try for such goals, a very, very select few will ever attain the high degree of commitment and skill and mental tenacity needed for the job.
The mind is the greatest barrier to excellence for most people. Most people do not have what it takes to push themselves to the almost super-human degree needed to become a SEAL.
This young man has what it takes to make this country great, we wish him the best in his recuperation, and the rest of his life...may it be long and grand. God Bless ya' Dude.

Memories of Summer Past

Memories of summer past

Momma always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun...
but Momma, that's where the fun is...
~Bruce Springsteen~
'Blinded by the light'

Madman drummers bummers,
Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin', sneezin' and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground


Every season has it's delightful aspects. I like winter with it's cool weather and rain that gives the land time to regenerate and rest. But I suppose nothing really beats a warm summer afternoon at the beach. Here's a photo I took this last summer of people walking their dogs on a Santa Barbara beach.
Summer will come again, but we'll have to wait until next summer.
But when in a nostalgic mood, looking over frosty hills on a bleak winter's day, what better memories of summers past than the funky sound of Manfred Mann's Earth Band and their great classic song 'Blinded by the light'.
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said "I'll turn you on sonny to something strong,
play the song with the funky break"
And go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in his curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Asked me if I needed a ride
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tired
She's gonna make it through the night

A country road

A country road in the morning, the sea-mist rolling in from the Pacific, to blanket the coastal plains with a moist cool shroud, that will dissipate with the strengthening sun.

The other end of the same road in the afternoon.
The main trees in this photo are the Coastal Live Oaks, but you can also see a line of Sycamores running down one hill. This shows a spring active in that local, and the water runs down the creek with the water-loving Sycamores sucking up all they can.
Using know-how like this is how people in wilderness survival situations stay alive.
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Researchers are looking at old paintings to see the sunsets and sunrises portrayed thereon. This might help them analyze old weather patterns, especially volcanic pollution put into the atmosphere.

Ten things you'll never hear a redneck say

Ten Things You'll Never Hear a Redneck Say:
10. You can't feed that to the dog.
9. Honey, did you mail that donation to Greenpeace?
8. We're vegetarians.
7. We don't keep firearms in this house.
6. Honey, we don't need another dog.
5. Too many deer heads detract from the decor.
4. Cappuccino tastes better than espresso.
3. Duct tape won't fix that.
2. I'll take Shakespeare for 1000, Alex.

And, Number ONE is:

1. The tires on that truck are too big.



Driving in Santa Maria I saw this nice looking truck. Now, this is my kinda' ride.
An' yes, if'n ya ax me, the tahrs on that truck make it all the bedder.

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Whether you are concerned with global warming,
or whether it is economic reasons, it makes good sense to conserve....
A recent study shows that simple measures to curb energy use would reduce the total amount of energy required, reduce our nation's 'carbon footprint', and save money in the long run.
I've always thought that the core of 'conservative thinking' is the root word, 'conserve'.
For both the frontiers families of old, and rural families now, to be able to hold onto what you have, and make that oil or propane last a bit longer before the man comes to fill the tank again, it just makes sense to conserve.
The New York Times has an excellent article on this.

You can never go home

Sunset, Lompoc California.
A positive mental attitude brings with it faith, enthusiasm,
personal initiative, self-discipline, imagination and definiteness
of purpose, which attract people and beneficial opportunities.
A negative mental attitude carries with it fear, indecision, doubt,
procrastination, irritability and anger, which repel people and
drive away favorable opportunities.

Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject
to diminishing returns.
~David Brannon~





Lompoc has become well known for space launches, flower fields, and more recently, for it's many fine varietals of wine grown in the area.

The Lompoc area is also well known for it's natural beauty. It's a nice little town.
'The Small Town'
~Virginia (Ginny) Ellis~
The stillness and the quietness,
The boredom, the routine,
Anything and everything,
Either dies or is redeemed.


One can't escape the small town,
Even when one packs and leaves,
It is embedded in one's guts,
Like a lingering disease.


Ah, the small town - the sleepy small town,
A place to love and hate, you know,
People dream one day to leave it,
But it will never let them go.

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From our blog in May 2006:
You can never go home

~Oregon Hill~
~Cowboy Junkies~
The hoods are up on Pine Street,
rear ends lifted too
The great-grandsons of General Robert E. Lee
are making love with a little help from STP
Their women on the porches comparing alibis
Greasy eggs and bacon,
bumper stickers aimed to start a fight,
full gun racks, Confederate caps,
if you want some 'shine
well, you can always find some more,
but what I remember most is the colour of Suzy's door
And Suzy says she's up there
cutting carrots still
And Suzy says she's missing me
so I'm missing Oregon Hill
A river to the south
to wash away all sins
A college to the east of us
to learn where sin begins
A graveyard to the west of it all
which I may soon be lying in
'Cause to the north there is a prison
which I've come to call my home,
but some Monday morning no country song
will sing me home again
And Suzy says she's up there
cutting carrots still
And Suzy says she's missing me
so I'm missing Oregon Hill
Sunday morning, eight A.M.,
sirens fill the air
Sounds like someone made the river
Sounds like someone being born again
Me, I'm just lying here in Suzy's bed
Baptists celebratin' with praises to the Lord,
Rednecks doin' it with gin
Me and Suzy, we're celebratin'
the joy of sleeping in
because tomorrow I'll be home again
But Suzy says she'll wait there
cutting carrots by the window sill
And Suzy says, 'Always think of me
when you think of Oregon Hill'

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My town, Lompoc, the place where I (mostly) grew up has so many of the things mentioned in the song above, a prison, a college, a river, Pine street, Baptists and Rednecks. I thought of this as I walked around the old section of town yesterday while getting new tires put on the truck. The old town is full of little tiny houses tightly packed together, each with a small separate garage, all made of wood. Intricate and lush gardens are in the yards of most of these houses, and as I walked, the scent of sweet peas came to me. As I strolled past an old woman digging grasses out of the sidewalk cracks with an asparagus knife; a cigarette dangling from her mouth I thought of the old adage "you can never go back". And yes, although I like the walk, and the looks of the town, I much prefer our canyon with it's wilderness enfolding us.
I walked into the shop of some old friends I have not seen for a couple of decades, they were the glue that held our little 'Sheriff's Search and Rescue' team together. I was a member for a short time, and went with them on some rescues and recoveries. We talked of old times, walks in the woods, and her work with the 'Hug-a-Tree Foundation', that teaches children lost in the woods to hug a tree and sit and wait to be rescued.
The town is full of the rich tapestry of life; I walked past Florio's Carneceria, the Mexican meat market, decorated with a huge Mexican flag. I had an uncle Florian who died some years ago, he was a special uncle to me, big and strong, a woodsman who lived for a time in a log cabin he built himself in the woods. He'd worked for years in the Canadian woods, and had a build like Jack La Lane back in the old days.
I continued my walk past the VIVA House, the 'Volunteers for Inter-Valley Animals' has a 'Sylvester House', built to accommodate the cats that are abandoned. Many are the women who donate time and money to the cause of local animals. I think you can tell a lot about the values of a people by the way they treat the lowest of themselves, including their animals. In this and so many other respects I have to give Lompoc very high marks indeed.
As I was leaving VIVA a Sheriff drove by slowly, he spent a long time at the stop sign, watching me through his mirrors. To him I am a stranger in this town, regardless of how many times I have walked and driven these streets. He slowly drove away, while I walked on, content in the sights, smells and memories a little trip down 'Memory Lane' gave me.
God bless the small towns, and the people who live in them.
For an interesting perspective on the Minimal level Prison Camp in Lompoc visit Michael Santos's website, he is an inmate serving time at the camp (not to be confused with the Maximum Security Level Penitentiary located next door.

Rivenrock Cactus Gardens

Video of the environs of Rivenrock Cactus Gardens. We are organically certified and raise edible organic cactus leaves for eating.

Rivenrock Treecutting

We had some large Monterey Pine trees that were in the way of our goals to become a large productive organic cactus farm. Allejandro came over and did the cutting, he's a pro tree trimmer, and while I could have cut them down, the power lines were too close to risk a direct cutting. So Allejandro had to climb up and top them and reduce them bit by bit for safety.

Writer's Strike

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November 10, 2007

Writer's Strike

   This little video here, really explains well what the
Writer's Strike is all about. Look for the same in June from the Screen Actors Guild
(SAG). What happens to the writers is going to set much of the tone with what happens to
the actors in the coming summer.

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Early Morning in Nipomo California

Early Morning, Nipomo California


Some mornings are so spectacular.
On this particular morning, the overcast conditions seemed to bring the blue of the sky through the clouds. It was a bit surreal. Here we see the sun lighting the clear sky behind the hills as the huge blanket of clouds dissipates as it hits the interior.

Cossacks at the Door

Cossacks at the door
In 1667 a Turkish army crossed into southern Russia. The local Cossacks made a victorious battle stand and defeated the Turkish army. After his army's loss, the Turkish leader sent a note to the Zaporozhian Cossacks demanding their surrender. Hah!

Now, I have to tell you that my mother's own family had dealings with both Cossacks and Siberians in previous generations, and both groups of peoples were ruthless folks who lived a hard life on the steppes and icy wastes. Life was cheap to people such as they, and a heady sense of victory must have been flowing through their blood when they responded with their own letter which for the sake of decency I cannot reproduce here. If you wish to read this letter, I suggest you go over to Turban Bomb to read the complete letter replete with expletives from a group of fellows who are luxuriating in the fact of being alive still, when so many had lost theirs.


Ilya Repin made a painting of the jubilant Cossacks writing their letter to the Sultan. I find this painting to be very interesting, and the more I study it the more little details pop out at me. The bandaged heads and bodies are obvious, but later, bandaged fingers emerge, and fellows missing teeth and eyes. The weapons are splendid. And actually what gets me the most, these fellows look so much like some old friends of mine from my motorcycle riding days, except we had more hair on our heads.

Frankenfoods, and a 'high-centered' truck

Frankenfoods, and a 'high-centered' truck
Jeffrey Smith, who wrote 'Seeds of Deception' explains some of the hazards associated with 'Genetically Modified Organisms' (GMO) at the Mercola website. I have a distrust of genetically modified foods. My worries go beyond the possible dangers to the human population, but further to the entire ecosystem, and the potential losses we might face in the not-too-distant future when some characteristics of these foods have spread into nature.
Yet at the same time, I am a supporter of technology and progress. I feel that most of our progress in the technical fields have been with good effect. And I fear appearing a Luddite in my reaction to a new technology. But there is ample reason for me to be cautious in my fear of our rush to these genetically modified foods.
There are some who will say that we've always modified foods, and this is true. From the earliest times, even before agriculture, mankind was able to improve the carrying capacity of a given plot of land by advances in technique, selective breeding, and harvest methods. But there was never a time that one family of plant was crossed with another family, much less to have a gene from an animal spliced into a plant DNA sequence.
I'm all for plant breeding for optimum carrying-capacity and yield, but I am against gene-splicing as a method of food production. You can rest assured that no foods produced by Rivenrock Gardens will ever be genetically modified organisms.


On a different note, I came upon these two trucks along a California Highway, both with parking tickets on their antennae. but one had been pushed or driven a bit too far back and ended up high-centered in the ditch. It is a bit of a difficult position to get out of, and might have caused some damage to the drivetrain.

Writer's Strike

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November 06, 2007

Writer's Strike

Takin' Care of Business

~Bachman Turner Overdrive

People see you having fun

Just a-lying in the sun

Tell them that you like it this a-way

It's the work that we avoid

And we're all self-employed

We love to work at nothing all day



And we be...

Takin' care of business, every day

Takin' care of business, every way

I've been takin' care of business, it's all mine

Takin' care of business and working overtime

Work out!

What'cha gonna do when you're out on strike?

What does a Hollywood writer do?

 

I found this to be a funny little script put together and acted-out by
the writers themselves.

Hollywood surely has a lot of talented people. It's like the little riffles in the stream
beds that catch a lot of stuff. But like the riffles, Hollywood also catches some of the
stuff you don't want.  Hollywood is, in short, a town of contrasts; high and low,
good and bad, beautiful and sadly...unbeautiful.  But it is surely one place everyone
might want to drive into, and spend a few days (and nights especially) walking around, the
sights are phenomenal, and unbeatable.

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Green Days in Morro Bay

~Eagles~
'Learn to be still'

It's just another day in paradise As you stumble to your bed
You'd give anything to silence Those voices ringing in your head

You thought you could find happiness Just over that green hill

You thought you would be satisfied

But you never will- Learn to be still

We're like sheep without a shepherd

We don't know how to be alone

So we wander 'round this desert

And wind up following the wrong gods home

But the flock cries out for another

And they keep answering that bell

And one more starry-eyed messiah

Meets a violent farewell-

Learn to be still

Now the flowers in your garden

They don't smell so sweet

Maybe you've forgotten

The heaven lying at your feet

There are so many contridictions

In all these messages we send

We keep asking:

How do I get out of here

Where do I fit in?

Though the world is torn and shaken

Even if your heart is breakin'

It's waiting for you to awaken

And someday you will-

Learn to be still

Back in March I took a drive up to Morro Bay.The fields were still green from the winter's rain. It's nice to look back at the green. Right now everything is so dry.
History tells us that what usually happens will probably happen again. Therefor I know that the winter rains will come again and green up our hillsides once more. The deer will find plenty to eat and stop trying to find out how to get to our cactus. In wintertime, things will be good again... But come wintertime I'll yearn for the warm sandy beaches of summer, the prolific cactus harvests, and ease of driving on dry roads with no rain reducing visibility. Yes, every season has it's issues, blessings and challenges. It does not matter who or what or where we are, we all have our burdens in life. It's difficult but best to look past the burdens and accept them as man's daily lot...But the blessings are so easy to overlook and pass by in the rush to provide a living. What a shame it is to pass over the small moments one can have of happiness. Accept happiness and blessings when they come your way, we all deserve some decent time of fun and happiness.
This road for example; to be able to drive along a serene country road in the early springtime is a pleasure. And I have the photographs and the memory locked in my head of that day.It was a good day.
San Luis Obispo County is a really great place to live, we've been truly blessed.

Strata

Strata

The world is a pretty amazing place. The forces of nature are just too large to fully comprehend. Through the ages the rivers carry the sands and other materials from the land, and carry it to the sea. There it is laid down as layer after layer of materials like the layers in a cake. Compression, heat and time will often force these layers into a hard material we might call rock. In this case we have layers of clay material compressed into a soft rock called shale. The geologic forces of this area pushed the shale rock high above the sea, and tilted the original layers (the ones to the right in the photo) to a near vertical from their original horizontal. These were then worn down by new erosion and again submerged. During this subsequent submersion new layers were built up onto the older vertical layers of the cake, these are the ones to the left. Again geologic forces raised the rock from the sea, and again lilted it so that neither set of layers is in it's original configuration. This just goes to show that we as a small life form on Earth cannot ever expect to have anything we build truly last forever. Even concrete has an expected life of two hundred years, (although it will last longer if properly mixed and cured). The Incas built some wondrous water systems a thousand years ago. But unfortunately, the same forces that raised the massive mountains that honed their engineering skills, also caused the water systems to have to be revised and re-engineered through the decades and centuries they were in use as the mountains were continually pushed even higher, changing the way the water ran along the aqueducts they constructed.