something is happening here

With reports that the Wisconsin police now standing in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of protesters, I see a stirring of the American Labor movement, that has finally had enough of the Class Warfare that the Koch Corporatists have been successfully waging since the days of the Gipper.

Many have now recognized the Enemy, and let us hope that the decades of successfully manipulation of their emotions, that has resulted in so many millions voting against their self interest may be on shaky ground, similar to that of the Middle East despots who we see falling, one by one.

What we need is a national eloquent spokesman, a Joe-the-Plumber from the Left, who, unlike the repulsive Mr. Wurtzleburger, speaks from honest disillusionment. Too much to hope?

Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Morocco....

I guess George Bush's vision of 'Democracy on the March' was right. Once the idea of mass assembly to protest dictators takes hold, given the media spotlight, it's hard to put that genie back in the bottle.

By the way, let's not forget that this entire round of events was triggered (not by George Bush - I was kidding) by one Tunisian who reached the point where he was willing to self-immolate, to prove that he was serious. THAT was the spark, not the Iraq invasion (despite what certain pundits will inevitably assert).

Read up on the Revolutions of 1848 - similar in many ways, although the ultimate outcomes are, as always, impossible to predict and sometimes do not lead where one would like them to go. It's a dangerous time, when folks are riled and the death-count climbs.

I keep wondering when the Saudi people will catch the fever, and just imagine what that will do to oil markets? Oh, if we'd only listened to Jimmy Carter, so many years ago...

one thing leads to another

So we are going to Europe in late May for two weeks in Belgium and France. The bike-and-barge trip covers the area of Belgium that the Germans entered in the first 2 weeks of WWI, so I had to read up on that.

Mention was made there of France's self-confidence about its technological advances, so I had to go back a few years and read about that. Mention was made there that France wanted to make a big splash at the 1889 Fair, to get beyond the shame of the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, so I had to read about that.

At that point, I expected to have reached the end of my current historical research, but, of course, the Germans were itching for a fight in 1870 over lingering hostility over the territorial ambitions of Louis XIV and Napoleon - does that mean I need to go read about that stuff, too? I don't want to.

Every war seems to be a reaction to bad memories of the prior war, which has bad implications, going forward.

Most interesting factoids that I had not previously known: Both Phil Sheridan and Ambrose Burnside (Union generals in the American Civil War) were in Europe in 1870, 'observing' the Prussian army as it steam-rolled into France. Sheridan had also been in Mexico when it successfully booted out the French, so he already had a bias against the French. He seemed to thing the Prussians were on to something, military-wise.

Wonder what he would have thought about 1914, not to mention 1940.

Hosni is really hosed now

Once you piss off Anderson Cooper, it's all over.

1848

That was the year that Revolutionary fervor swept Europe. Read all about it, if your history is hazy.

Once the meme gets going, you can't stuff it back into the bottle.

A big difference today is media coverage - it can only serve to increase the speed in which events develop. I believe we are at the beginning of a global wave - every oppressed community is going to be demanding change.

That is, every oppressed community except for Americans, who are too complacent to worry about the assault on the Middle Class, a hopelessly corrupt judiciary (yes, I'm talking about YOU, Clarence, Sam, John, and Antonin), a national Press corp composed of toadies, divas, and idiots, etc. etc.

Two million Egyptians on the move - it's amazing what can be done once you get mad as hell. And all it took was one Tunisian willing to set himself on fire.

Downton Abbey wrap-up

So, I watched last night, oddly absorbed in the twisted lives of these fictional people.

Glad to learn that Bates is as great a guy as I had hoped, from the start. Did we know that he had been married?

Thomas sees service in WWI as his best way to escape from his co-workers, who now hate him. I bet once he gets to the Flanders front, he'll wish he was back stealing wine.

Mary - you blew it, and your sister will never like you (and is secretly brushing up on her Turkish, to maintain that edge during dinner conversations).

I don't get the miscarriage scene - what was going on with the two bars of soap under the tub? Did O'Brien sabotage things? Did I miss some clue? Since she's a smoker (and a friend of Thomas), we know she's capable of ANYTHING.

Happy to see the two cooks collaborating, after their initial frosty relationship. I was afraid that an entire sub-plot of recipe sabotage was about to start, and life is too short for that, with WWI approaching. Maybe it was a metaphor for the upcoming alliance between the English and the French. Just joking - there's no logical explanation for that (after centuries of killing each other).

Daisy - still largely clueless after all these episodes.

Is it anachronistic to see the servants smoking cigarettes? I had thought that it was soldiers returning from WWI that popularized them, and that they were quite uncommon prior to the war. Also, they made a big deal about putting in the first telephone. Is that true for the period, or was it just an opportunity for the head butler to have a comic scene (and why haven't they shown him dancing, reprising his former life as a vaudeville performer)?

Maggie Smith: still the best eyebrows and pursed lips in the business.

Did anyone else recognize the actress who plays Mrs. Crawley as the mother in 'Shaun of the Dead'? I spotted her from the start and still keep confusing those two roles.

Final question: did Hosni Mubarak watch last night, too, to take his mind off other things?

Sunday evening TV

It was a busy day, with my doing a radio show in the morning, Karen going to a friend's funeral in the morning and to her office to work in the afternoon, and both of us going to an evening Shiva at the friends' house, all the while also thinking about the mess of mud and water in the basement, where, overnight, our dependable-until-now drainage system backed up. The guys who installed it a few years ago are coming over to take a look.

But, to digress, last night, when we finally got home, Karen resumed working at the kitchen table, watching TV with me out of the corner of her eyes.

We watched a 'Nature' show about animals in the arctic dealing with life and death issues. I was struck by how much of Nature involves the need for being on a sharp lookout, either for someone smaller to kill and eat, or for something bigger and stronger (or smarter) to suddenly grab and eat you.

Fortunately, humans are largely exempt from the 'at any moment I may be eaten' concern. This is progress, but maybe the lingering memories of those instincts are still lurking in all of us, which explains shows like 'The Bachelor'.

Following 'Nature' was the next episode of the current Masterpiece Theater drama, an 'Upstairs/Downstairs' story of upper-class English actors, and their subservient staff, also composed of articulate English actors.

Several actors reminded me of various animals in the prior show. Fortunately, humans have progressed to the point where (at least in the world of BBC drama), the paid-to-be-meek do have ways of getting leverage to counter the power of the too-much-time-on-their-hands crowd.

Not sure what all this means, but I have to say that Maggie Smith has marvelously expressive eyes. Nobody does haughty disdain better. Love it, and can't wait for next week's installment, when the news gets out about what happened to the Turkish dude.

desperately seeking the TRULY gullible

Email received this morning:


They didn't even take the trouble to poach the Visa logo. C'mon, guys.

Euro heading down?

$1.29 today. Let's look at recent history:
See the peak, in October 2009? That's when we were in Spain. I tried not not to think too much about those $5 glasses of orange juice (although they were, it must be admitted, very good).

The balance due for our May bike-and-barge trip is to be paid in February, based on the Euro/Dollar rate at that time. If the current trend continues, this will be a good thing. Usually, my economic timing is more in line with the Spain-rate.

Birds and Fish are talking to us

If it happens once, that's odd. If it happens twice, that's unsettling.

Oops.

ex-Israeli President convicted of rape

As reprehensible as those acts were, and as good as it is to see him held accountable, let us not forget our own ex-President, who is (admittedly and in his own words) guilty of Crimes against Humanity. Where's the accountability for that?

Oh yes, that goes for Mr. Vice-Prez, too.

Kudos to the State of Israel for following thru, knowing that it stinks. There's courage and principles there, that are sadly lacking here.

Why is that? Is it because (as we are constantly reminded by pious pundits and government figures) "We are the greatest nation in the (history of the) world"?

Peace on Earth!

Sorry, it's never gonna happen, as long as there is Big Money to be made from selling weapons, and the best way to sell weapons is to convince people that they are threatened, and the best way to convince people that they are threatened is to make sure they hate someone.

It's like wishing for a reversal of Gravity. The Fear-and-Hate gene is, sadly, more firmly entrenched in our DNA than the Let's-all-be-Brothers gene.

Still, we need to try. Since there's no way to do a hostile takeover of Bad Media, all we can do is subvert it.

Let's start today.

safe at home

It was a little odd, stepping off the ship in LA this morning, with a totally empty wallet. If I hadn't had my passport, I would have been totally anonymous.

Will start the quest for a new phone tomorrow. Monday, it's ordering new glasses, replacing my driver's license and ATM card, and resuming normal life. Probably won't replace the digital camera or binoculars any time soon.

The Panama Canal sure was neat. Cartegena sure was hot, and we all got plenty sick from the street ceviche!

back in Cabo San Lucas

I've been here before - I think this is #4.

Got off the ship early and wandered around town, looking for an Internet source. Found it at a coffee place.

Tomorrow is an At Sea day, then we dock in LA on Saturday. It's been a very mixed trip, with some nice sights (we liked La Crucecita the best), some fun ship-board hijinks (Dylan volunteered as a subject for the Comedy Hypnotist twice), and the obvious low-points (the moment I realized that my backpack and its many contents were gone forever, in Costa Rica).

All in all, it was nice to feel some warm sun and see some tropical vegetation, and it's strangely liberating to be traveling without a camera and money.

So, the obvious question for early next week is: should my new phone be iPhone or Android? Any suggestions?

doing better in La Crucecita, Mexico

Docked for the day, and we are enjoying wandering around this little town for the day.

I bought a pair of flipflops to replace the Keene`s that were in my backpack. Fortunately, Karen had brought another pair of reading glasses, so I can still read.

I had some PTSD for the first day or so, now it´s OK. Viva Mexico.

A few hours in Costa Rica

Beautiful day - not too hot, not humid. Sunny and very bright.

Dylan and I walked around Puntarenas, taking in the sights. Alas, the one Internet Cafe that we knew about was closed, so that hoped-for activity was off the schedule.

We walked over to the busy beach, to a basketball court. Dylan wanted to play with his hacky-sack and I wanted to go swimming. I stowed my sandals, shirt and glasses inside my trusty backpack, placed it on the bench next to Dylan's backpack and headed for the beach.

Immediately I wished I had kept my sandals, since the sand was HOT. I danced over to the water and spent a blissful 10 or 15 minutes, keeping my eye on Dylan, a couple of hundred feet away. The water was glorious.

After a bit, I noticed Dylan waving to me. Without my glasses, I couldn't see anything specific, but I left the water and headed toward him. He held up his backpack - just his backpack.

Apparently, we were being watched, and some guy on a bike waited for Dylan to be inattentive and swooped by and grabbed my backpack. He was gone in a flash.

Cell phone, wallet (with about $100 cash, credit and ATM cards, and driver's license), camera (with lots of Panama canal photos that you'll never see), binoculars, my comfortable Keene's sandals and my bifocals.

Dylan was devastated, obviously.

I walked back to the ship and reported everything. The best news was that my passport was safely back on-board. They let me retrieve it, and I left the ship again, where I met the police, who escorted me to the local station, where I sat for an hour, while the voluminous paperwork was prepared.

The ship security folks told me that, had my passport been stolen, I would have had to remain in Costa Rica for at least three days, while the American authorities were alerted.

Credit card and cell phone accounts are disabled, and Karen has a spare credit card.

Could be worse. How do I console my son? I suppose it doesn't help that this will make a great story someday, when we can look back and laugh about it.

The ship departs Costa Rica in another hour. Adios!

the trip so far

We flew all night, Seattle to Miami, arrivng at the questionable hour of 7 am on a Sunday morning.

We took the express bus to the corner of Lincoln road and Washington, in Miami Beach. I had been there before.

In 1960, my grandmother left the snows of Upstate New York and moved to South Miami Beach, into an apartment in the same building already occupied by one of her younger sisters, my Aunt Dora, whom I had never met.

In the summer of 1960, my mother and I flew down there and spent two months living in the funky 3-story hotel across the street from Grandma barcus's place. I was 9 years old, and South Miami Beach was the land of retired European Jews, with the accompanying kosher restaurants and delis.

For the next several years, my family visited Miami Beach once or twice a year, staying in a couple of different hotels. Many good times were had by all. I especially remember the wonderment of leaving icy, snowy Elmira, New York, and, a few hours later, deplaning in the dark humidity of South Florida. I remember the colored lights, fountains, and lush vegetation on the newly-opened Lincoln Road mall, followed usually by the sour pickles and giant sandwiches at Wolfie's, at the corner of Lincoln and Collins.

Back to the present. we stashed our bags at the Ritz carleton, helped ourselves to the horrendously-overpriced breakfast buffet, then went our separate ways, planning to meet up at 11, to then cab to the Cruise Terminal, where we were to meet the rest of our group, currently at a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale.

Dylan went off to stroll around and get away from Karen and me. She went to the beach. I went deep into my memories.

I walked the few blocks to 942 Pennsylvania Ave, where my grandmother had lived, and where my Mom and I had spent that amazing summer, 50 years ago.

It was not hard to find. The building looked the same, but the front hedge was now six feet high, instead of knee-high, and the security gate protected the condos inside. I had last been there in 1976, the summer I drove around the country, looking for the best-place-in-the-US, but that's a different story. At that time, there were still a number of old Jews living in the building, but there had been enough turnover that there was no lingering memory of either my grandmother or Aunt Dora. So it goes.

I stood there for a while, remembering everything. I called my brother in Milwaukie, and we reminisced a bit. I walked across the street, and was pleased to see the hotel we had stayed that summer, now with a 'historic-landmark' plaque out front. Times change.

I made my way back to the Lincoln Road area, stopping at two other hotels where the family used to stay. The Surfcomber is now the DoubleTree Surfcomber, and the lobby slick and hip (as it was not in the old days). I went out to the pool - very familiar. I went up to the sun deck where my brother and I played shuffle-board.

50 years.

Eventually, we three met up, took a cab to the cruise-ship, easily met up with the other three (Karen's 99 year-old mother, her brother, and her cousin. We patiently went thru the elaborate check-in lines, found our cabins on-board (the Norwegian Star, by the way), and it departed Miami at 4, on time.

In Miami Beach, I bought a bottle of wine ($13) to smuggle in my suitcase, and Dylan bought a pint of Jack Daniels, with the same goal. Karen's bag arrived at our cabin - mine didn't. A couple of hours later, I was handed a letter, saying that my bag could be claimed elsewhere on the ship, after they had a look inside. I had been busted.

There were perhaps 20 people in that line, all feeling like the nickle-and-diming for which Norwegian Cruise Lines is famous, had just commenced. They triumphantly found my bottle, which I could reclaim by simply paying a $15 'corkage fee', which I did, making that an $28 wine. As it turns out, there were few wines on the official wine-list that were at that price, and we enjoyed it as best we could a couple of nights later.

Dylan received the same letter, but, rather than play coy, he reached in and pulled out the Jack Daniels. The cruise-guy looked at the bottle, looked at Dylan, and quietly handed it back to him, saying 'just drink it in your room, OK?'. Ah, the fraternity of Youth.

At sea, and on land.

We were at sea for a couple of days, getting familiar with the ship layout, signing up for yoga classes, getting a little exercise, trying not to eat too much, and (sad to say) actually enjoying the nightly entertainments.

On the 3rd day out, we docked at Cartegena, Columbia. It was very hot and muggy. Outside the tourist-trap shop they make you traverse, we were accosted by the taxi drivers, all speaking very fast Spanish. Over the din, I heard an American voice call out "I have a minivan for 6 people", which is exactly what we wanted.

We negotiated with Douglas, very brown-skinned but with the powerful body of an ex-boxer, He was originally from Bethlehem, PA, but has been living in Columbia, with his Columbian wife, for over 20 years. All 7 of us (including Douglas) managed to barely squeeze into his van, and we headed off with about 5 hours before we had to be back at the ship.

He narrated his well-practiced history speech while we threaded our way to the famous Spanish fort, which was a bee-hive of hawkers-of-all-things and blinking tourists. The castillo is pretty impressive - you can look it up. We declined paying the admission to climb up, and instead walked around the base a bit. Two minutes of walking took us entirely away from the frantic activity at the entrance gate, and we had peace and quiet as we marveled at the battlements, remarkably well-preserved.

Next, Doug drove us to a tranquil shaded plaza in the northern part of the Old Town. Dylan stayed with Sylvia while Karen, Eric and I wandered the lovely narrow streets, lined with brilliantly-painted colonial facades and luxurious vegetation. We made our way to the city walls overlooking the ocean, and walked along them for a bit, appreciating the fortifications and views. Julio thought that the city looked a lot like New Orleans. We agreed that Cuba must look like this, too.

Getting hungry, I asked if Douglas knew a good place to get some ceviche and a beer and, of course, he knew just the place("much cheaper and better than the fancy restaurants - trust me"). He pulled up in front of a line of food stalls, in sight of the famous clock tower, and introduced us to his friend, the proprieter, who was already serving ceviche to two other men, who Douglas has known for years. It seemed promising.

We described what we wanted and the owner brought out big bowls of fresh shrimp, conch, oysters, crab, etc. We could have any combination we wanted. We ordered a large serving ($18) to share and a couple of beers. And we sat and waited, while Douglas continued to regale us with many stories, some of which were certainly true.

After a while, it dawned on us that the ceviche was being made from scratch as we waited, rather than sitting there ready to be instantly dished up. When it finally arrived, it was delicious.

Tangy with lemon, sweet with some species of ketchup and onions, and loaded with shrimp and clams.

The beers were good, too. Sylvia and Julio also ordered raw oysters separately. Having had an unpleasant oyster experience back in the 70's (it's a long story), I had a taste of the onions and sauce - no oyster. Everything disappeared quickly.

Back in the van, Douglas drove us to the entrance to the blocked-off part of Old Town, which was car-free that day. A little conversation (and bribe) of the police got the barrier raised (he explained that Sylvia couldn't walk, so they 'had' to let us drive in), and our minivan was the only vehicle we saw, as he drove us around the various plazas, all with historical significance like the former slave market, ironically dominated by a monument to that would-be slave-trader and colonial exploiter, Columbus.

At the Plaza de Bolivar, we parked, and, while Sylvia dozed in the van, the rest of us wandered the streets, appreciating the vibrant building colors, the vibrant native women (with picturesque baskets of fruit balanced on their heads - photos welcomed, for a price), and the upscale shops, full of stuff we didn't want.

Cartegena is charming - there were armed police everywhere, and Douglas told a few stories of how petty criminals are dealt with, by both the vigilant police and other passers-by. Those we believed.

We made it back to ship at the last moment (in fact, we were the last group permitted up one of the two gangways). We were back in luxury-land, and the ship left Cartegena promptly at 3. As simple shore excurisions go, we had a pretty good time.

A Man, a plan, etc.

I woke up at 6 the next morning and quickly dressed in the dark cabin. I grabbed a coffee in the already-busy food area, and found a place on deck. It was just dawn, and we were surrounded by many dozens of ships, including at least a couple big cruisers like ours.

We were at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal.

The prior evening, I happened to be watching the BBC News in our cabin, when, amoung the usual stories about Republicans bullying Obama into giving them everything they want (don't get me started), the screen suddenly showed a shot of a waterway, with large letters saying 'Panama Canal Closed'. Apparently, for the first time in over 20 years, heavy rainfall had caused the officials to close it down. This was interesting news, since there were few alternatives for the Norwegian Star on this cruise.

Back to the next morning. The captain told us that the canal had indeed been closed, for the first time in history, due to the unreasonably heaviy rain of the prior two days, but one of the two locks at Gatun was operating, and cruise ships were being given priority over freighters. This was a relief.

We approached Gatun around 9, and spent the next 2 hours negotiating the steps up to Gatun Lake. It was amazing, and the most amazing thing of all, to me, was that the engineers of 1900 had designed the thing with such vision that, over 100 years later, it still worked great, with much of the original infrastructure operating daily. Think about it.

We steamed (or whatever) our way across the broad, smooth lake, amid occasional rain squalls and sun-breaks. It was a remarkable thing.

Later in the afternoon, we left the lake and entered the narrow channel whose landslides, disease, and too-primitive engineering had doomed the French. The quiet, green, terraced hillsides gave no evidence of the perpetual noise, frustrating setbacks, and lost lives that accompanied the excavation of this gash in the Continental Divide. If you don't know the story, check it out.

Later, we hit the two remaining lock systems, which eerily lowered us back to sea-level. As we went to dinner, we passed underneath the graceful Pan American Highway bridge, and we were soon in the Pacific. It's all rather incredible.

----------------------------------------

It's day 6, and at least three of us have varying degrees of intestinal distress. Mine is the least severe. We suspect the raw oysters, as their two primary consumers are down for the day. It's not a pretty sight.

It's a day for reading, writing, and attending to the stricken. We are at sea, bound for Costa Rica.

Portland airport - we're off

To seattle in 20 minutes, then on to miami by 7 am tomorrow morning.

on the foiled Portland bombing

I have heard that the phrase that TSA insiders use to describe their procedures at airports is 'Security Theater'. The whole setup is there to make us (i.e. the sheep) feel like something very profound is being done to keep us safe. Well, at least safe from bombers who have used shoes and underwear, or might be carrying their own water bottles.

The other evening, we were actually watching the local news, that was lovingly carrying a live feed from Pioneer Courthouse Square. At one point earlier in the week, Karen actually said she'd be interested in going down there to see the lights. The actual lighting came off without a hitch, so we, like everyone else, were shocked to hear the 'breaking news', a short time later, and you know the rest.

What we now know, is that the FBI was following and coaching this guy for months, even to the point of making sure that he was not permitted to fly to Alaska last June, to get a job. Nice way to keep the Portland plot going, guys. In fact, it's not a stretch to put this entire program into the 'entrapment' category. Make sure the target stays disaffected and paranoid, so that, when the time is right, he can be exposed as a tribute to the fine work of the FBI, in 'keeping us safe' from the bad guys.

In the meantime, the objective is fulfilled - now us good citizens of Portland have 'the fear'. OMIGOD, I could have been down there in the Square. OMIGOD, I could have seen this entire disaster live on TV, traumatizing me forever. OMIGOD, we came 'this close' to.... Well, you get the idea.

My contention: 'Insecurity Theater'.

Just sayin'.

post-Thanksgiving progress

Today we successfully passed thru the turkey-soup phase (it was delicious, I think everyone would agree). At this point, the leftovers are moving into consistently-smaller containers, so all is according to plan.

All the various serving dishes and utensils are now back in the customary places, and the dishwasher is finally empty. Chairs and tables are back to normal. It's all good.

Today we began our long-planned move out of our upstairs bedroom, down into the basement room, which is actually much nicer than your average basement room, especially if you are below average.

We are about to commence a major rennovation of our entire upstairs, that will probably go on for MANY months. Demolition will start in another week - our task now is to move everything out, including stuff that hasn't shifted position in almost 20 years. The shed is beginning to fill up.

The good news is that the Goodwill pile is growing hourly. I am doing a major cleansing, especially of old t-shirts.

Also, we planted our winter garlic crop today - three kinds. We'll see.

Very tired. Oh yes, amid all the other hubbub, Karen and I actually went to Best Buy last night and looked at laptops for her. They were out of stock of the big bargain we wanted, so we came home and bought it online. Tonight, we went to another local store and picked it up. It's a Gateway - this one. Should be able to handle email, craigslist, and Word, eh?

I'm tired, and tomorrow morning I am doing my monthly radio show. You can listen live at http://kboo.fm (10-11 am PST). Adios for now.