Rave On

Used to be that I would spend twice the time ranting than raving. I got pretty good at spotting injustice, abuse, discrimination, mens rae and the trickle down effect of a political system skewed to the privileged classes. I developed a most sensitive BS detector.

Most of my rants were merely vocal expressions of awareness. As in "We know what you're up to, so stop this shallow (corrupt and greedy) attempt to control our minds, efforts, actions or savings accounts immediately". Sometimes it worked. We got out of Vietnam, we started to recycle, girls started to wear sensible shoes, movies got way better, we tightened our consumer belts for a while, we finally all agreed that the planet was heating up, a lot of us quit smoking and we elected a black president.

Still I ranted on. It's easy, anybody can do it. I ranted about pollution to our oceans, about chemicals in meat, about spending needless time worrying about the gender of others lovers, about Bush's connections to Big Oil, about that lying bastard Donald Rumsfeld spinning gibberish about democracy and freedom, war and oil, about SUVs, about malls, about NASCAR and about the Catholic Church and about fat.

To anybody that would listen.

Then one day a funny thing happened. I decided that unless I had a legitimate answer or solution to a given rant, I would henceforth, not voice it. I would then try to research a solution, find as much expert, credible and pertinent commentary as Google would allow with which to frame my arguments and hopefully create something worthy of additional consideration.

You have heard this next line before. The more I learned about the rant du jour, the more I understood how truly little I knew about it. Like trying to understand Henry Kissinger without first Googling Palestine, or taking your carbon footprint after a visit to the Henry Ford Wikipedia dealership. I really wanted to start raving instead of ranting.

So I started to rave, "Isn't it great that we have the opportunity to solve these complex and dynamic issues"? "Isn't it marvelous how technology has moved so far ahead of ecology, and must now save us from us"? Things like that.

Not wanting to come off as a complete cynic, I narrowed my rants to the things that I could control and my raves to everything else. I stopped eating meat, I recycled, I rode my bike whenever possible, I live in a house that is within my humble means, and most importantly I do what I love, and yes (rave on) I love what I do.

And at long last, today I can give a 100% accurate and a workable solution in answer to a major rant of mine. Here is the premise as presented by William Saletan in Slate magazine a few years back. http://www.slate.com/id/2148756/

And here is my solution: Exercise more.

Rave on.

Green Giving

http://www.heifer.org/

http://www.suite101.com/

Continuing my comments from this mornings session, here is my first run list of ways and means to put some green in Christmas this year. Along with a couple of suggestions from the LRG (loyal reader group), which seems to be growing at a non-alarming pace. Which is fine. What we don't need right now are any more alarms!!!!!

THE GIFT OF:

Time
Service
Activity Gift Card
Recycled Gifts
Homemade Gifts
Living Gifts
Charitable Donations
Eco Shopping Bags

More on all this as we head into the season.

Here it comes

If you have been put off by the antics of retailers past, you ain't seen nothin' yet. With the economy firmly high-centered on the transmission housing, the retail community (including their hack advertising agencies) will be using every trick in the book (and then some) to extend this Holiday shopping season well past 12 days. Matter of fact, that low rumble I hear in the distance............truckloads of Chinese crap.

I am as much to blame as anyone. I buy cheap shit at Wal-Mart. I am building Phase 29 from materials put on my Home Depot credit card, and today I drove my Ford Exploder to the gym. I sometimes wonder how low we must sink before we bottom out and then start make some wholesale changes. Starts with attitude, no? So how do I tell my six year old nephew that his Christmas present this year will be the 2008 equivalent of a lump of coal?

Maybe we can pool resources and come up with a plan. Somebody, somewhere must have one. Dr. Seuss where are you?

Toolbox

Another quote from Keith Ellis' marvelous work, "The Magic Lamp", www.keithellis.com

"Problems are a sign of life. The only people without problems are those who are already buried six feet underground. So don't wish for fewer problems, wish for more skill in solving them."

He goes on to relay three steps to accomplishing just that.

1) Decide what problems you want to solve.
2) Choose the solution.
3) Take action to implement your solution.

I think the key here is in identifying the best, most appropriate or most effective solution. These are the tools we use to implement. The better the tools, the easier, quicker and more joyful the journey towards the solution. My research indicates that once you tweak your attitude towards acceptance of the "process" as a tool, the easier it becomes to stay on the chosen path. As an example, the process of losing twenty pounds can be six months of spin class or six minutes of liposuction.

Which would you suppose has the greater rewards? Life is a process. The understanding, acceptance and implementation of that reality is a tool. Maybe the most important one in your toolbox.

If you have problems, congratulations, you're alive.

True Civilazation

From the Fall 2008 Tricycle Magazine (subscription required) http://www.tricycle.com/interview/interview-the-movement-with-no-name

This excerpt caught my eye and immediate attention:

"We know that to take care of one life we have to take care of all life, and that life includes all that we say, how we act, what we do and what we honor, that is the beginning of the sacred embodiment that leads to true civilization."

From a beautiful interview with entrepreneur and social activist Paul Hawken. www.paulhawken.com

Lactic Acid and Spinning

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060420235214.htm

Check it out kids, this is Red Hot BIG STUFF:

"The world's best athletes stay competitive by interval training," Brooks said, referring to repeated short, but intense, bouts of exercise. "The intense exercise generates big lactate loads, and the body adapts by building up mitochondria to clear lactic acid quickly. If you use it up, it doesn't accumulate."

See you Wednesday morning.

Phase 92

As both of you by now know, RCVman (who has now shifted into the use of the third person singular to describe actions currently operating in the present tense), is in build mode. This would be Phase 92, memory serving accurately, of additions to the structure known affectionately (by some) as The Cabin in The Woods.

Because of our aggressive RCV shooting schedule the past two spring and summers, I was gone most of the time that favors outdoor construction. Not to wimp out, we (my 30 year old hand tools and I) set out to build a new storage and dismantle the community blight known not-so-affectionately as The General Store. First it was a shed to keep materials dry and store "important" stuff. It then morphed into a shop, then into a gym (complete with CompuTrainer), and then back to a all purpose storage unit. If you needed a place to stash something out of sight and out of mind for a couple of years, The General Store was that place. Except, of course, that the roof leaked, partially, in my defense, due to the fact that in the great storm of 1992 an 80 ft. fire tree crashed onto it.

So RCVman decided that he needed a a new space to house all the crap that he just didn't have the guts to toss, recycle, burn, barter, bury or bequeath. A guy like RCVman can assimilate a lot of this type of stuff over 25 years.

So Phase 92 is officially underway. The idea being addition by subtraction. Build a new clean and efficient space, and tear down the damp, ugly and old (before it falls down). RCVman looks at this labor as community service as the more recent of the denizens of the forest will no longer have to look at the handiwork of a builder who has always thought that 40 pound felt looks kinda cool as siding.

Problems immediately arose. There are are already too many roof lines, Billy calls it the house of seven gables. So the architect (RCVman) struggled with the new design, for about a day, before the plan slowly became clear, like a ship coming out of a fog bank. Shed roof (with ONE skylight) and add a matching dormer to the main entry, double French doors, and a long row of windows along the South facing front. Thusly solving the design issue.* Additionally, if the project starts to grown in momentum and interest, like the bedroom/media room Phase 91 project, the space can easily become a new kitchen or studio. In the meantime, it will house (in a orderly, efficient and dry manner) all my junk. (Inventory to follow for you Craig's List fanatics).

There is the building update. As I was perusing books and reference materials last night to solve the entry way/roof line challenge, I came across this in the seminal A Pattern Language by Alexander, Ishikawa and Silverstein. It immediately caught my attention as something that is both important and timely.

"More than 90% of the people walking in an ordinary neighborhood are unhealthy, judged by simple biological criteria. This ill health cannot be cured by hospitals or medicine."

They go on to say (p 252) that hospitals suck, are enormously expensive, to centralized, WAY to inconvenient and that they tend to create sickness rather than treat it. Whoa. More, they say that by contrast, in traditional Chinese medicine, people pay the doctor only when they are healthy. When people are sick the doctor is obliged to help and treat them without payment. The doctors thus have incentive to keep people well. Call me socialist, but I like this idea.

So in searching for a building idea, RCVman came across yet another bridge (ponte nuovo). As the authors conclude, exercise, games, sports, dancing are all the cures for what ails 90% of us. For without a healthy body to store your wisdom, acumen and love, you might as well leave them all out in a leaky falling-down shed.

Phase 92 will be the best yet.

* maybe

WON ONE

Drunken driver gets 70 months for hitting cyclist

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND -- A Portland man who pleaded guilty to drunken driving and hitting a bicyclist has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

Jeremy Keith Jordan was taken away from a Multnomah County courtroom in handcuffs Friday after saying goodbye to his baby daughter.

Jordan admitted hitting Eric Davidson early on May 10 at a major intersection in northeast Portland. He sped from the scene and was arrested a few hours later.

Davidson suffered brain damage and is not expected to recover fully.

I am happy to see that in Portland they are taking this catastrophic event seriously. I wonder, however, if A) It's not serious enough, and B) Is Mr. Jordan responsible for Mr. Davidson's medical bills for the rest of his life.

Moral of the story KIds: Wear your helmets and PAY ATTENTION! (And that means no music). Ya wanna ride and listen to tunes????? Come to spin class tomorrow morning.


Also of note (speaking of cars and bikes), I somehow feel that the economy has dealt The Big Three US Auto Manufacturers a nice little dose of instant karma. They have ignored the trends, sabotaged alternative technologies, used their clout and power to increase massive profits at the expense of the environment, were stubborn, foolish and greedy. They made tons of dough for a hundred years as whores for the oil pimps. And now they want a bail out? Know what Ford, GM and Chrysler? Shove it up your ashtray.

Lastly, the price of light sweet crude is down again as reflected by regular unleaded I spotted the other day at $1.97. Why? BECAUSE WE LOWERED THE DEMAND. So why do I feel like we won that round? Exxon-Mobile and their cronies just posted another record profit for the last quarter. We're still in the Middle East losing kids on a daily basis for more control of the oil fields and GWB is lame duck stammering on the importance of jobs versus the environment. AND I FEEL LIKE WE WON SOMETHING?????

OK, let's end with something positive. Let's learn a couple of lessons from all this carnage, pain, sloth, greed and suffering.

1) RIDE YOUR BIKE MORE.
2) Pay more attention when you're in the saddle.
3) Always wear your helmet.
4) Indict Bush and Cheney (and Rumy and Gonzalez and Wolfowitz)
5) Bring the troops home.
6) Realize that NOTHING is more important then the environment.
7) Be happy we won something (and keep the momentum).
8) Say a prayer for Eric Davidson (and Jeremy Keith Johnson).

RCV Ride for Change series

And then the light came on (in regard to the prior post). Without having to respond to a .gov issued RFP, let it be known in every hamlet and 'hood, that RCVman will film for food. Yo, State Department, take me along on this marvelous humanitarian endeavor to document its world changing potential and I'll not only film each stop (in 1080i HD), every meeting, all the geographical, sociological, architectural and artistic highlights, but seek out each cities favorite bike rides and create the RCV World Changing series. A ten to twenty mile CompuTrainer www.racermateinc.com ride (with diplomats, dignitaries and de facto domestiques) that showcases each city, and allows the users to enjoy these international sights and be ideologically connected with Obama and Company as we (the collective we) Ride for Change. Kinda like An Inconvenient Truth but on your indoor trainer as we travel the planet in search of more global harmony and less greed and corruption (wish us luck). More spin less sin. We would actually then be creating energy (watts) to metaphorically light the way.

So RCVman volunteers for this assignment. I'm sure the boss will understand.

And Go First Class

There is a VERY cool piece in todays WorldChanging.com asking some of the smartest people in the room (our planet) for 100 words or less of advice for #44. This was the first, and I simply needed to get it up for your consideration. More here: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008925.html


Ted Wolf, Portland writer and board member, Focus the Nation

World Without Borders

The forty-fourth President of the United States should devote two weeks of the First 100 Days to a round-the-world journey with a stop on every continent. At each stop, he should gather leaders of culture, faith, and civil society at a World Heritage Site and listen to their counsel. He should then convene regional heads of state at a place showcasing sustainability innovation and explain America’s stake in their success. Once home, the President should frame his agenda around efforts to move country and planet beyond carbon, warfare, and absolute poverty. Barnstorming a world without borders, the President can begin America’s journey toward a bright green future.

As a taxpayer, I have no qualms whatsoever about contributing to this trip. As one of many who voted for Obama, I think he is the perfect guy for the job. As a member of the global tribe, I hope and pray we can make this happen.

Focus

Photo by LE just after the turn at Hawi, 2008.

Otto6

My photogenic nephew Elliott on the occasion of his sixth birthday alongside well-wisher RG who appears to be attempting to influence the pending wish in his favor. An RCVman photo, natch.

Chapter 84

She immediately wondered where he found the bone dry black fir. The fire spat out flaming gobs of pitch like one of Tolkien's dragons. Next to the fire sat the WhisperLight Camper Jet sending wisps of aromatic cowboy coffee plumes downstream. He had said that fire was for warmth and ceremony, and that nothing heats coffee quicker than white gas. But that was last night and now it was dawn, cold and crisp. Steam rose from the river. She could barely make out the tops of the cedar trees through the mist two hundred feet behind the vapor of her warm breath.

Where was he?

Her stomach moaned causing a chain reaction that launched her random access memory, opening a file called, "breakfast alliteration". The first footnote was from Illusions, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusions_(novel) by Richard Bach. The reluctant messiah, Donald Shimoda, comments that the pan bread, prepared with great élan by the author at a campsite one fall morning in a Mid-West cornfield, "kinda tastes like a flash flood in a flour factory". It had remained with her since the initial reading some twenty years prior. How do you forget something as perfect as that?

She could go for some right about now. And four fingers of that joe.

An owl hooted.

"Remember where you came from, where you're going, and why you created the mess you got yourself into in the first place."

Chapter 83

Chapter 83

"Let me share a little story", he began anew, breaking the silence that had enveloped the two as they sat huddled close to the fire, sipping vegetable broth. Her eyes mirrored the fire's flames as she smiled in anticipation of another parable. After all, it was only an hour after sunset, and although the night was young, their supply of dry wood meant an early entry to the snungness of their down bags, or, she hoped, one of the two.

"The easier it gets the harder it becomes".

"Like directing"? she asked.

"Very much so, but even more like acting."

"More Cruise than Kubrick"?

"Each in their own time, with their own accents, interpretation and finesse, like carrying water for your partner up the steepest part of the hill".

"Because you will both drink of it later, as you share the view at the top".

"All little stories, are they not"?

"Some happy, some sad, some memorable some soon forgot".

Minority Report, he.
Eyes Wide Shut, she.
A Few Good Men, he.
Mission Impossible: III, she
The Last Samurai, he.
Ken Watanabe.
"Exactly". they.

Veteran's Day 2008

Veteran's Day 2008

I am not a vet. I did, however, have the incredible opportunity to work for the Department of Defense. I did three tours of duty on Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. It used to be a top secret base, housing about 1,500 military personnel, plus another thousand or so base operating contractors, but after 911 its strategic location and amazing preparedness and strike/support capabilities pretty much put it on the map. Thank you Wolf Blitzer. I was MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) manager in 1991-1993, 1995-1996 and again in 2000-2001. My job was to create, run and manage all the clubs, recreation programs and anything that kept the kids entertained, motivated, active and on the path towards continual improvement (bigger, faster, stronger).

One day, three Navy Seals on rehab waltzed into my office wanting to know when our next triathlon was scheduled. It was December of 1991 and I had to answer that not only did I not know when, but I did not know what. They patiently explained that a triathlon was a swim, followed by a bike, and finishing with run. All in all a great work out and something they they needed as a part of their training, assignment and mission. I called Pete, my right hand man, drew it up on the map and said, let's have the course up, marked and ready to go for a Sunday morning at 0800 start.

That Sunday morning as I watched the 30 or so people swim (in the 80 degree protected waters of our lagoon), bike (on pancake flat DG1) and run (a 5K under the baking 95 degree IO sun), I was hooked. Soon, we were doing one a month, and eventually we even pulled of a Half Ironman with the winner getting a slot to IM Malaysia. Pete took over the course management as I was now training and racing next to those three Seals. I need to thank them for that. And thank all the Vets out there today.

Because if it wasn't for what you have done in service for your country we wouldn't be able to do what we do today.

Photos:

Part of our small but fanatical training group. Elite athletes Ernie and Derek are the bookends. I am in black hat and shades. You can see one of the pre-positioning ships in the lagoon in the background. Like I said top secret stuff.

We trained, we raced, we partied. Nuff said.

Me on Navy Broadcasting TV my first week on the job. The CO called after the broadcast to tell me that my enthusiasm was most refreshing but my handle of military time needed some work. Oh, it's HUNDRED hours??, Sorry, skipper.

An awards ceremony for our ISO-09000 completion. All the guys in the back row are retired military. I am fourth from the left. Can't name them all, but Richard, Bill, Bob, Gary and Norm are all at attention. The guys in front are our Filipino and Mauritian supervisors, hardest working crew I have ever had the pleasure to watch.

You can click on any photo to enlarge and up the resolution.

Swim towards the Light

"The biggest question looming for the human race is whether we can actually use reason to change our behavior and to do what is necessary to survive, or if we will simply be carried along by a process that is already under way." Laurence Gonzales from "Everyday Survival".

Kona DVD Deux

And here is the dramatic conclusion.



RCVman: "If I give you $100 right now would you give me back the Kona RCV?"
Lynn from Montreal considers this offer for 2 nanoseconds.
Lynn from Montreal: "No".
Fade to black and roll credits.

Kona DVD

I have been remiss. This is kinda old news in the same way that you already know that Craig Alexander and Chrissy Wellington won Kona. Still, for those of you that haven't seen this, visited our booth race week, or received a free copy in the mail, here is the much ballyhooed Kona 2008 DVD, in two parts. We ended up duplicating 2,000 copies and they will be available in Clearwater this weekend, as well as in Tempe for IM Arizona in two weeks. Just saunter over to the CT booth and ask Adam in Florida or Mike in Arizona for your free copy and you can then watch on the big screen in your den at full 1920x1080 HD resolution and at full volume where appropriate. And hey, tell 'em RCVman sent ya!! Until then, here is Part One.

Tricycle

http://www.tricycle.com/web-exclusive/spirit-sport

I am constantly on the vigil to find explanations, opinions or comments as to why we are drawn so magnetically towards sport, competition and, in this, case, triathlon. From the very sub-title of this blog "the ten thousand things", you might get the idea that Zen has something to do with it. Or not. I am comfortable with that. Just another chance to test your awareness, grasshopper. A scrumptious slice of the zen pie then, quoted from the above, for your consideration and sensory delights:

The religious nature of sport is the subject of Michael Novak’s The Joy of Sports http://www.michaelnovak.net/Default.aspx. Novak argues, eloquently and persuasively, that in American society sport is a kind of "natural religion." "I am saying," he writes, "that sports flow outward into action from a deep natural impulse that is radically religious: an impulse of freedom, respect for ritual limits, a zest for symbolic meaning, and a longing for perfection. I don't mean that participation in sports, as athlete or fan, makes one a believer in 'God,' under whatever concept, image, or experience one attaches the name. Rather, sports drive one in some dark and generic sense 'godward.'"

Sports satisfy our deep hunger to connect with a realm of mythic meaning, to see the transpersonal forces that work within and upon human nature enacted in dramatic form, and to experience the social cohesion that these forms make possible. Whether or not we so name them, these are religious functions. But our society so thoroughly secularizes sport that we can barely recognize, let alone express, what it makes us feel. Sport is, in Novak's words, "a faith without explanation."

Yummy.

Fractals, Pixels and Socks

Ever notice a synchronicity when you are reading something and examples come to pass almost like excerpts? A couple of choice examples happened today, so I thought I'd share them with the both of yoos.

I am reading two books concurrently, one of them is upstairs and I try to read a chapter before passing out each night. The other is on the kitchen table and I do a couple of pages as I take breaks from editing or RCV data entry, more if I actually sit and eat a meal.

The two latest both came into my life as recommendations from friends, so there is one thread. But not the only.

Upstairs is "Everyday Survival" http://www.deepsurvival.com by Laurence Gonzales. Subtitled: Why smart people do stupid things. I love this book. In the chapter called "The Earth is Rotting", he says:

"As I look out my window at the trees, I see that they have a branching structure that makes it difficult for me to tell how big any part of the tree really is without something to compare it to."

This is exactly the issue I am having with the St. Croix RCV. I look at the video and see a winding and hilly road. But because the camera is fixed upon the road just ahead (and mounted to the car) often I cannot tell if the road ascends or descends, worse, I cannot tell HOW MUCH is climbs or falls, because with the camera fixed and showing trees or shrubs as we turn I have nothing to compare it to for accurate scale decisions. So I have to advance the video in order to tell and then return to make the entry. Mr. Gonzales calls these things fractals. In video land we call them pixels. Definitely the forest meeting the trees. I ran into fractals last night and pixels this morning.

Downstairs is "The Magic Lamp" http://keithellis.com by Keith Ellis, and it, too, has a subtitle: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals. This one is also fun. Mr. Ellis says:

"Even ordinary effort over time yields extraordinary results".

Hoo Ahhh. That was the issue I was struggling with all week as my eyeballs popped in and out looking back and forth from video screen to spreadsheet. "Why is this taking so friggen long"? I would ask of the monitor.

So here I sit on Friday afternoon, armed with the latest intel from the field (everything outside my door), and happy that I have the opportunity to apply this data to the project (both the RCVs and my life).

And as a reward I ordered Fox in Socks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_in_Socks from Amazon.com for a penny (plus $3.99 S&H). I figured that with Gonzales upstairs, Ellis in the kitchen, I should balance that out with a little Seuss (for the caboose).

The fractal (as goal) is to record some and post it for your listening pleasure.

TODAY

Today I am again proud to be an American

New RCVman Forum

http://rcvman.lefora.com/forum/

Let's try this and see what happens.

Let's Talk

Evening before the national election. I have many things to say (this surprises you)?

Several of the polls show Mr. McCain actually gaining. How can this be? Are we so afraid of change that we will endure ANYTHING to keep things in the horrid, deplorable, fear-fueled and pathetic condition in which they currently reside? Consider the intent behind the rhetoric in McCains counter that Obama "want's to talk to the people in the world that don't like us very much". Sir, with all due respect, there is a reason they don't like us very much. BECAUSE ALL WE DO IS STICK BULLETS IN THEIR EARS. I am tired of being grouped by nationality on the side of these international bullies and thugs. Further, the economy has beautifully shown (thrown?) some true colors (and they ain't red, white OR blue) back at us. So then, America, needless war, loss of life and the tanking of the personal liberties and the Bill of Rights is OK as long as we have cheap gas, big screen TVs and shitty jobs? It appears that we have said that our number one issue is the economy, excuse me, but what happened to our patriotism? Truly, when push comes to shove, it is all about the collective me, isn't it? What do you suppose we might be able to accomplish if the people who currently don't like us very much, suddenly, come January 20th have a forum and we all get to try a little diplomacy, tact and (OMG) free trade? What would happen if we finally evolve to the understanding that we are all in this together, and that there is no such thing as being with us or against us, BECAUSE IT'S ALL US! A dead child, a homeless vet, a crippled Sunni, Joe the dimwit Plumber, everybody in my spin class this morning, the entire (remaining) population of Dafur, Castro, Chavez, Cheney, crack heads in Cincinnati, and whomever the fuck is the latest American Idol, WE ARE ALL HUMANS SHARING THE SAME PLANET AS OUR HOME.

So the choice renders to what you would most like to see in the next Commander in Chief of the most powerful collection of killing weaponry the Earth has ever seen, a remorseful, vindictive, arrogant, angry head of the Old Boy Network (Maverick my ass), or somebody who has the huevos to suggest that there might be a better way?

The reason why there are so many people in so many countries who don't like us very much is because they have seen the horrific nightmares that fear (guised sometimes as power, greed and corruption) can cause.

There are a lot of them right now scratching their heads wondering how this 'election' can be so close. Vote for hope and that is what you get. Vote for fear and you beget more hatred.

Isn't it time we tried something DIFFERENT?

“Our starting point is not the individual: We do not subscribe to the view that one should feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, or clothe the naked … Our objectives are different: We must have a healthy people in order to prevail in the world."

—Joseph Goebbels, 1938

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust (if you have the stomach)

Wardy in Kona

Being a YouTube Director has its privileges and that is why I and get away with a 13:42 vid. (10 min or 1GB is the new limit), but I have grandfather status. Comes with almost 40 uploads and a bunch of gray hair. Still, that is no reason to indulge and this IS a little long. A couple of viewing tips: Beneath the YouTube screen reside a couple of icons, the middle one enlarges the image to full screen. You should check it out as well as selecting the 'watch in high quality' blue text option beneath the image. Also, because of the length and codec, if you enlarge the screen directly from the blog it gets a little greasy, therefore if you wanna watch Wardy, Bella, Mitch, Becky, et. al. in the best resolution you need to go here and check the appropriate boxes: http://www.youtube.com/user/RCVman

I have selected another still for the open because it appears as if I am censoring Mith here, but that sometimes takes six hours, (and nothing could be further from the truth) so until then, enjoy....

I will post my final campaign thoughts a little later. I know you are teeming with excitement on that one!!

Protest Songs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_song

After anonymous comments from yesterdays post, I was going to do a list of my favorite all time songs of protest. In doing the initial research (and being pressed for time to complete two RCV projects today), I am taking the easy way out this rainy November morning and simply posting the Wiki link. There are a couple of glaring omissions, most notably Jackson Browne's incredible After the Deluge, and Steve Earle's timely The Revolution Starts Now, but it is a scholarly compilation going back way further that I was prepared to travel for a quick post.

Most of the papers are calling it a blowout for the good guys in the white 10 gallon hats. I see this now as an issue of GLOBAL DIGNITY, or the re-creation thereof. Let's sit down and talk, not run around dodging IEDs.

Song Lyrics

Song Lyrics

Keep on rockin' in the free world, kids, let's not get fooled again.

The illusion of control

"Take the so-called politics of fear — the constant reference to risks, from hoodies on the street corner to international terrorism. Whatever the truth of these risks and the best ways of dealing with them, the politics of fear plays on an assumption that people cannot bear the uncertainties associated with them. Politics then becomes a question of who can better deliver an illusion of control."

• Ex-vicar Mark Vernon; quoted in "God. Who knows?", BBC News, 4 December 2006. URL accessed on 2006-12-10.

Don't fall for the illusion folks. It is not control that we are losing, it is freedom itself. The day we allow the "stronger" (as compared to "smarter") to call the shots, the weaker we become. Be brave. You do not need to be controlled. You have freedoms that are guaranteed to you by the Constitution, do not let "them"* erode, silence and steal your voice any longer. Let's look past our fears and see the beautiful sunrise that will soon shine its light on a glorious new day. On Tuesday let us lock arms and walk into the valley of change together, fearless, united and joyful.

Or we can continue to send our kids to war, where they die for reasons cited above. Fear is the illusion of control.

* You know who they are (and they suck)