Not the Best Day for Me

Got a call today from a most charming lady. Her name is Perl and she is the wife of a very lovely man Cliff. She informed me that Cliff passed away July 1st.

Cliff was in his mid to late seventies but I never asked as he was as sharp a mind that I had encountered in such a long long time. He was born in Butte, Montana and he was a Phd Chemical Engineer. He had a very keen sense of the absurd and the humor that goes with it.

What is the tragedy is that for the last month I kept telling myself to call and check in and catch up. This I did not do and my only consolation is that he and I will laugh in that place we all go to.

I miss you already Cliff.

Damn these Sins. See you next time

Self Indulgence

I have often wondered if I do photography as a way of seeing myself. Its like if I look at a body of work it will give me some hint of who I am.

Then I relax and think who gives a sh*t. I certainly don't at this time of my life.

Dang these sins.

Denny

Reading and Thinking

One of life's pleasures, at least for me, is when I get my monthly issue of Harper's Magazine. No this is not an advertisement of the rag, instead it is a celebration of the act of reading and thinking.

Detroit

The last issue of Harpers had several articles of which the main one was the "End of the Road, After Detroit, the Wreck of an American Dream" by Ben Austen. It chronicles the fall of the auto industry as we knew it and compared it to the new (Toyota). I was struck by how irrelevant the public discourse of the "Bailout of Detroit" (of stimulus package), was. But then again, most of those in congress doing the talking about stimulus are "Practicing Irrelavants" and except for their sex lives, I am not sure they know what a stimulus might be

As we all understand today, the industrial revolution is over, or at least what we knew of "industrial". What we have today is people who, through no fault of their own, lost and are still losing in this "Free market". For 30 years now we have been attacking the "Safety Net" of social support for those that now struggle to maintain some semblance of dignity. It should be noted that those that are ensconced in their "white Collar" jobs that have seemed so secure over the years are now feeling the same sense of dread. This dread, for them at least, is for the most part, hidden by the creature comforts of middle class. However, in those quiet moments, that dread runs rampant but is often hidden by the miracles of psychotropic potions. It is there none the less.

Forgive me. I rant, therefore I am.

Wallace Shawn

Another article and a less depressing one is an article by Wallace Shawn. You all know Wallace Shawn, although you may have not known his name. More on point however is that, he wrote a very delightful article about sex. Titled "Is Sex Interesting?" In the article, he sets forth the problems we have with sex. It is a delightful, funny and insightful writing. In it he had the following to say

"Yes some people go through life astounded every day by the beauty of forests and animals; some are astounded more frequently by the beauty of art; and others by the beauty of other human beings. But science could one day discover that the ability to be astounded by the beauty of other human beings came first, and to me it seems implausible to imagine that these different types of astonishments or appreciation are psychologically unrelated."

So there you have some random thoughts about my latest issue of Harpers Magazine. Check it out and enjoy

Dang these sins. See you next time


Denny

Forever the Empire or "Pax Americana"

Relevant to our folly in the Middle East, there is an interesting article about the British Empire as a corollary to the recent US history. Any reader of history will understand right away the direction we have been going and the pitfalls it presents to all of us

The article is written by Stephen M. Walt. He is the Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations at Harvard University. The blog from which he articulates his positions can be found at http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/

Walt sets out principles of Empire. The are:

1. There is no such thing as a "benevolent" Empire.

2.All Empires depend on self-justifying ideology and rhetoric that is often at odds with reality.

3. Successful empires require ample "hard power."

4. As Empires decline, they become more opulent, and they obsess about their own glory.

5. Great Empires are heterogeneous.

6. When building an empire, it's hard to know where to stop.

7. It takes a lot of incompetent people to run an empire.

8. Great Powers defend perceived interests with any means at their disposal.

9. Nationalism and other forms of local identity remain a potent obstacle to long-term imperial control.

10. "Imperial Prestige" is both an asset and a trap.


The 10 principles above are the head notes to a very interesting conversation. If you are into understanding what our "leaders" are about, check it out. If not then take care and be good to yourselves.

Dang these sins. See you next time

Denny

Robert S. McNamara Died Recently.

Robert S. McNamara is one of the principal characters in my life. For those that don’t remember history or have not read about the Vietnam War (a war we still fight through our arguments about Iraq etc.) he was Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy-Johnson years. His name invariably creates discussions, if that’s what you can call a shouting match. I both admired and loathed the man.

As I read recently Lyndon Johnson considered him the most compassionate member of his cabinet. This assessment so defies his role as the chief architect of the Vietnam fiasco. I have to wonder how he dealt with such contradictions, his duty to his country or his personal sensibility? In a speech in Montreal in 1966 he gave perhaps his most telling insight about his being.

“Who is man? Is he a rational animal? If he is, then the goals can ultimately be achieved. If he is not, then there is little point in making the effort.

All the evidence of history suggests that man is indeed a rational animal but with a near infinite capacity for folly. His history seems largely a halting, but persistent, effort to raise his reason above his animality. He draws blueprints for utopia, but never quite gets it built. In the end he plugs away obstinately with the only building material really ever at hand: his own part-comic, part-tragic, part-cussed, but part-glorious nature.”


After his stint as Sec. of Defense, he went on to become the President of the World Bank. That appears to be his Mea Culpa. He increased the lending among other things, to 3rd world countries significantly. It as if he was seeking redemption.

These contradictions can be so confounding, if one gives it more that a passing thought. The one thing I do know about Robert S. McNamara is that it will be a long time before we have men such as he and I think we are worse off for it.

In closing this missive I will quote Newton D. Baker Secretary of War during the Wilson Administration.

“The acceptance of a strange and perverse fate called upon me who loved the life of youth…to come to your houses and ask you to give me your sons that I might send them into those deadly places. I watched them and shivered and shrank with fearful fear and I welcomed the living back with oh such unthinkable relief and Joy, and I swore and obligation to the dead that in season and out, by day and by night, in church, in political meeting, and in the market place, I intend to lift up my voice always and ever until their sacrifices are really perfected…”


Dang these sins. See you next time

Denny

Carol's Thoughts Today

While on our way to the gym to start our pool exercises (I think we are now in the category of "Seniors) we were just rambling on. Carol in her usual Gracie Allen style. started talking about her love of animals. Eventually she came up with the perfect title for a book about her love of furry creatures: "My Cats are Vegetarians". I don't know if that has anything to do with anything but it does give some insight into the thinking of a very creative soul.

Some pictures from Hawaii

The photo's here were taken during several trips in the 1990's . That's when frequent flier miles were"Good"

They were taken at Maui and Kauai. The Kauai trip was interesting for my family in that I had popped a disk in my neck. The Doc had me taking steroids to isolate the disk from the nerve. My God I was always hungry and couldn't sleep. Stay away from "roids" my friends