Paul Rother & Mark Sylvester

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At a birthday party for a friend, I ran into Paul Rother (he recognized me!) and Mark Sylvester.  I havent seen Paul for a very long time.

There was a company there called MirMir all set up to take pictures with funny glasses (which are a clue).  Mark and Paul look shorter than me because they had to sortof kneel to fit into the picture.

At the party, one of the event photographers was named Madison and although she was shooting digital (of course) revealed that she had attended Brooks here in Santa Barbara and owned a Contax 645 medium format (film!) camera.  Thats just remarkable.

Organize to Oppose Tyrrany?

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Should I be disappointed in my friend's failure to organize to defeat tyranny in the endless nightmare of the Trump/Republican right-wing coup d'etat and abomination?  Or should I have faith that they are doing everything that they can and that in fact they are organizing behind the scenes?

Should I be disappointed that they do not involve me in their clever plans or realize that I am probably just too unreliable for them and they are keeping their own counsel?

Lets not forget that the best way to keep a secret is to not tell anyone.  When I suggested that a friend add secret passages to his magnificent new house he is building with my patron, he replied that if he did he certainly couldnt tell me about it because then they wouldnt be secret anymore.

This made me sad.

Stigma and Stigmatic

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As we proceed inevitably to that automatic or machine-assisted diagnosis of eccentricities and other traits that have in the past been used to stigmatize people, can we say that that such algorithms and devices are "stigmatic"?

Yayoi Wakabayashi and Harvie Branscomb

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The film that was thought lost and which had been in a refridgerator for over a decade covered in Reynolds Wrap was found, processed and scanned.  There are a number of different pictures that have sentimental value.  A few seem particularly entertaining.  These are from the time when Yayoi, Harvie and I went golfing in Escondido CA a long, long time ago.

Are All Trump Supporters Stupid or Mean?

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Michael Wahrman No but honestly folks, cultural diversity, its not just another haircut or spicier food. Lots of people in this country. But at some point we have to ask, at the end of the day, what you are fighting for. What do you believe in? Sometimes there are no good choices as any southerner who knows their history can tell you. In this case we have a clusterf*ck of bad things some intentional and some not that have come together and if it has a happy ending I will be very surprised.

Everyone Present?

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Well, here we are again. The end of another formal year. Everyone present? A few of us are missing. For those of you still here, I appreciate your comments and posts. Its a hard time we live in, the failure of our society, the rise of the right wing dictatorship, one of many stages of the disaster that is global climate change, and the realization that we, as a society, could have been so much more, have been so much better, than we turned out to be. To have worked against racism, inequality and poverty instead of seeing it rise (at least in this country), the growth of sheer stupidity, that is part of the age we live in. I hope that as individuals we are better than that. I know its hard, or at least it is hard for some of us. Good luck in the new year, I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Daniel Segovia Gross, ?-2019, RIP

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Daniel Segovia Gross passed away in paris a few days ago.  I did not know him well, but I liked him a lot.  It makes me very sad.  Clearly if Daniel can pass away, then any of us can.

Perhaps the Real Meaning of "Louisiana, 1927"

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One of the great things about a prophecy is that the listener is free to interpret what it is about, what is being talked about in the riddle from the oracle? I propose that Randy Newman was talking about the current political situation when he wrote the song "Louisiana, 1927", writing not about the flood that destroyed part of Louisiana but the flood of corruption and treason that we must endure, writing more than 30 years before it happened.

By the way, I disagree with Mr. Newman, I think his best version by far is the original one on the "Gold Old Boys" album, before the orchestra was added and he just has a piano to accompany him.

An NPR interview with Mr. Newman on the 10th Anniversary of the Katrina disaster.


https://www.npr.org/2015/08/12/431807506/years-later-randy-nemans-song-about-hurricane-katrina-is-still-poignant

The Protestant Reformation in England

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To distract me from our own little disaster here at home and the failure of our republic, I have been reading a book on the Protestant Reformation in England. Holy Moly. I really did not understand. It goes on and on, and make a wrong move, say the wrong thing about the Eucharist or the Holy Rood and its the tower for you! Off with their heads!

Nothing like being burnt at the stake to see what someone is made of!

This will add a tremendous amount of nuance to my next trip to the UK, I can tell you!

Yay!

My Response to the Fear Mongerers

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Every time I read or hear so-called moderate (right wing) collaborationist "mainstream" Democratic pundits fear monger that Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders are left wing socialist nuts who will reelect Trump, I give another $25.00 to their campaigns. I encourage you to give to the candidate(s) of your choice. We arent rich, so by definition we are slaves in America, but just like our pathetic vote, every little bit helps, and miracles do happen even if only infrequently and you cant count on them.