Wow, I just saw a really intense program on the documentary channel about James Nachtwey called War Photographer. You must see some of the images this guy has captured, understand the reason behind what he is doing.

I’m feeling really conflicted right now about the travel I’ve managed to do myself: some of it relatively ballsy perhaps, but all in the name of selfish kicks and “adventure”. I guess a more positive way to express this feeling is to say the man is an inspiration.

The current administration and whomever exactly they are representing refused to sign the Kyoto treaty in 2001, which is old news. Now they have snubbed another consensus of world opinion on enviornmental policy. While we can’t control emissions from population giants like China and India, as that is there responsibility to regulate, certainly we will be held accountable for our continuing ignorance and refusal to get on board with the world community on this issue. May the arrogance of the ship of fools never be forgotten or forgiven.

I recently swung through Oak Ridge, TN where my mom was born and I spent much time at my grandparent’s home growing up. I went to see their graves, then rolled around town a bit, letting the possibility of old memories have their chance to wash over me. True, it was Sunday, but the town was beyond sleepy - the charm as I once knew it gone. The inevitability of this is due to many factors, but my focus here now moves to a poster I saw in a closed pharmacy window. Secret City - The Oak Ridge Story. For any who don’t know, Oak Ridge is where the atomic bomb was developed. This town, in the foothills of the Smokey mts. was not on any map until shortly before my mom was born. Machine gun turrets on the two ends of town, the only way in or out, served as the checkpoints where the govt. could regulate/search anyone coming or going, preserving secrecy for the Manhattan Project. They are still there, but not very dramatic any more. Be sure to watch the film trailer provided in the link to better relate to the following.

I personally am often amazed at how willing the average American is to accept nuclear (then only atomic) weapons to be a viable option in the realm of conflict resolution. There is a ‘might makes right’ mentality that seems to gloss over what I see as the reality involved in the use of such weapons. Hawks, and those who would allow themselves to fall under the sway of hawk mentality unquestioned, will attempt to point out that our duel uber-bombing of Japan was inevitable, as Hirohito would never have surrendered. I could buy this line of thinking more if America had been on it’s last legs, that is, Washington D.C. in a state similar to London after years of Nazi bombing. I’m sure the “we had no choice” line is a great comfort to the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki half a century later. Check out the doc Fog of War for insite into things as they stood at the time, from the hawk perspective - how stubborn those little buggers were; and from the dove - glossed over evidence of the effects of napalm carpet bombing on cities made largely out of wood, even before we felt like we had to up the ante. I do recognize - the bushido code does not allow surrender…atomic weapons will definitely force a culture to re-evaluate their commitment to the bushido code. But I’m gonna seriously question your idea of “winner”, just as I would theirs. A hawk is a hawk is a lunatic.

“Patriots” and “Zionists” will certainly write me off as a bleeding heart, counter-productive, peacenik, defeatist - if not worse, and I further admit an uncanny preoccupation with Japanese culture. But I’m not only crying cultural mea culpa here. I’m thinking very specifically about attitudes involved in current world conflict, pointing out factors that helped get us where we are today, in terms of the ‘war on terror’. I will always view the use of weapons of mass destruction as unacceptable and unjustified.
Hey tough guy, go ahead and try to solve your termite problem with dynamite. But don’t be surprised when the house suddenly isn’t worth shit…

assistant director, female traveler, musings on racialism

 

 25. Alameda Punkass [1:19:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mt. St. Helen’s blew it’s top on this day almost three decades ago, what wikipedia calls the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. The biggest earthquake was Alaska, ‘64.

I intentionally use a less than completely dramatic shot (actually of Mt. Adams from St. Helens) from Jasonaut, as we hiked around out there at one point a decade ago together, though I never summited that mountain as he later did. In the shot you can barely make out still stunted tree growth in the area. You’re hiking along, then come around a bend to see what was the blast area. All of the trees are cut off at the height they would have been at the time, giving the illusion it only happened years ago. Elsewhere in the area, there is the world’s longest lava tube, which is far enough away to not feel like the mountain per say. But lava was forced out of the ground at some point in the past and created a sort of smooth lateral hole, which is a natural trail through a cave, with other fissues and tubes leading off of it. You can climb into these fissures, squeeze yourself through an area that might open into a bigger space. At some point it might occur how close you are to an active volcano, and if the earth were mearly to belch, as it were, you would become human jelly without even a moment to realize it was happening. It adds a little something to the spelunk.
To tell more of the story of that ‘97 hike: we went with another individual (who shall remain nameless for the sake of posterity, let’s just say a less than experienced hiker). Back in nearby Portland, OR before the trip, this guy had ‘gone to the store’ to get supplies and strained our patience by being gone for a very LONG time while we waited. So we finally loaded ourselves into the truck, drove north into Washington and the area park, messed around in the lava tube, then off to hike/camp overnight on the mountain, a nice little walk but well below the snowline. Suddenly, just as we were about to make camp for the night, Other Guy announced that he didn’t have any food! It turned out his entire lengthy trip to the store was to get/obsess over picking out boots and he’d completely neglected the thought of what he would eat in the wilderness after a day of hiking. Luckily, the others were prepared and had extra to eat. What was he carrying in that little pack anyway? Moral of the story: never underestimate a novice.

Consider the case of Andrew Feldmar, a Canadian psychologist denied a visa to the US due to his open experiments with LSD decades ago. The craziest part to me is the customs agent’s use of Google as some sort of authority. Imagine randomly selecting people from the line and googling their names, all sorts of information might come up.

Choosing some dietary kookery for yourself is one thing, but don’t force your diet on growing infants. Not every court will convict you of murder, but it ain’t right.

“She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”

-PRESIDENT BUSH , on the reaction of Queen Elizabeth II after he nearly said she had visited in 1776.

No, Mr. President. That is a look anyone would give an idiot, with an added nuance of first concern: that said idiot would be in such a position of power, and second: any older woman will give you when you imply she is even older than she is, in however illogical a fashion.
BTW, she’s not your Mommy…