Viktoria Modesta

Here we have a beautiful young woman, who has become a pop star. Moreover, she did it with an obvious physical handicap that would have stopped most people.

Ms. Modesta lost part of her left leg when she was quite young. She has turned
that into creative inspiration. The result is very compelling.

Here is a link to Viktoria Modeta's very creative music video...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA8inmHhx8c

Surfing @ 1000 Frames Per Second

The people who challenge the ocean's biggest waves are a breed apart.  Just standing on a surfboard, sliding down the front of a small wave is very impressive.  Here is a video produced with the latest camera technology.  We see a handful of the world's greatest surfers taking huge risks on some intimidating,  monster waves.    The opening sequence, in slow motion, of a surfer ripping through a gigantic curling wave is worth the admission alone.  

Here is a link to a remarkable video...https://vimeo.com/108799588

Oregon's Whale Wars Veteran

I am a big fan of the Sea Shepard Society, a group of volunteers, who ply the world's oceans battling  Japanese industrial whalers, the people who club harp seal pups in the Canadian Arctic, illegal tuna fishing, etc., etc.  

You have to admire people who are willing put their lives at risk to get between whales and the humans that want to kill them.  The Animal Planet TV show, Whale Wars, is about the Sea Shepard crews operating their own vessels, going to the very treacherous Southern Pacific ocean to confront Japanese whalers.   It makes for great TV.   I find it very satisfying to watch the Sea Shepard crews protecting whales from the exploding harpoons the Japanese use to kill them.

I work with a lot of good people these days on videos designed to reach the public with Move to Amend's  very ambitious and very much needed Constitutional agenda.

One of the Move to Amend supporters  I've gotten to know these past few months is a young man named Ryan Rittenhouse.  Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Ryan's background is in theater and video production. He's now working as an organizer for a non-profit called, Friends of the Columbia Gorge [FOCG].  Ryan is heavily engaged in the current fight to restrict hazardous, oil train traffic through the gorge.

Ryan in the Galapagos Islands

I asked Ryan to work with me on a video that would tie the oil train controversy to the larger Constitutional agenda championed by Move to Amend. Ryan recruited his boss Kevin Gorman, Executive Director of FOCG, to do that outreach video for Move to Amend. Ryan is co-producing that video with me. It was shot this past week and is currently being edited. I will be posting a blog entry about it as soon as it's finished.

I was having lunch with Ryan after we shot the video, when he told me that he had been a Sea Shepard crew member aboard the Farley Mowat, an old ship named after a well-known Canadian naturalist. Of all of the things I have learned about Ryan, that is the most impressive.

 

 

Ryan was quartermaster, and ship's videographer for two seasons in the Southern Pacific Ocean aboard the Farley Mowat.  He also was a Sea Shepard zodiac driver,  often putting himself and his crewmates between defenseless whales and the harpoons of the Japanese whalers. 

When it comes to life, so many people take the path of least resistance, avoiding controversy or anything that even implies some sort of personal risk. That's a big part of why it is so hard to affect positive change on a cultural scale.  Way too many people are self-absorbed and are unwilling to ' stand up'  for anything that involves any kind of assertiveness and substantive commitment.

That's not the way of Sea Shepard, whose crew members volunteer to work without pay. They are people of great courage, conviction, and commitment to Earth stewardship. They travel to the far reaches of the world's ocean's to confront the worst kind of human hubris.

Ryan Rittenhouse put his ass on the line many times over as a Sea Shepard provocateur. He is a person of character and substance. These days, he sports a bushy red beard. He likes the distinct look it gives him.   It's his style, and he has earned the right to express it, unlike so many people who are all about style, with little or no substance behind it.

Here is a link to the Sea Shepard Society...  http://www.seashepherd.org/

Here is a link to Ryan's current employer, the Friends of the Columbia Gorge...  http://www.gorgefriends.org/

Jackson Katz on Gender Bias and Violence

I never heard of this guy, but I like what he says.  I found a link to his TED talk on Facebook.  Turns out his work is focused on training men in the military, on sports teams, in business, and in other venues to become leaders in standing up to gender bias and violence. His paradigm is simple, but also formidable.  He wants men in positions of power and influence to take the lead in calling out instances where women, or any other ethnic or gender category persons, are subjected to verbal abuse or violent behavior. 

Acting like a clueless prick doesn't take balls. The courage lies with those who stand up to that brand of mindless misanthropy. Let's face it, some women are jerks, but most jerks are male, and those jerks need to be called out when the step over the line. That's how the line gets redrawn.

Jackson Katz

Here is Jackson Katz's TED talk on gender bias and violence... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvSfeCRxe8

Deganawida -The Great Peacemaker

Who is the greatest American most people never heard of?  If you ask me, that person is Deganawida, the native American spiritual leader who inspired the creation of the great Iroquois Confederacy. The binding laws of the Iroquois Confederacy provided much inspiration for Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin,  and their co-creators of the U.S. Constitution. 




Etching of Deganaweda

Deganawida is thought to have been born sometime in the 13th or 14th century.  What is known about him is imprecise because it all comes via oral history.  He was born into the Onondaga, or also possibly the  Mohawk tribes, both of which are indigenous to New York state, and the surrounding region. At the time of Deganawida's birth, the native American tribes in that region had a long history of bloody, intertribal warfare.  

Deganawida was a prophet.  Along with his disciple Hiawatha, he provided the vision and leadership that replaced confrontation and war with cooperation and friendship among six tribal nations, which became known as The Great Iroquois Confederacy. This Indian confederacy was quite possibly the first true democracy in the history of humanity.  The tribes that made up the confederacy were the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca, Tuscarora, and Cayuga.  Together, they came to be known in native language as Haudenosaunee, which in English is the Iroquois Confederacy.

Deganawida's vision provided a powerful place for women in the process of governance. In the structure of the confederacy, the clans that made up each of the tribes were led by male elders, who were elected by the clan's women.  Decisions were made with thoughtful consideration for future generations.

Were credit given where credit is due,  the Iroquois Confederacy would be recognized in history books as a prime inspiration for the Constitution of the United States.  Moreover,  we might be celebrating  Deganawida, the Great Peacemaker with a national holiday in October instead of a brutal thug named Columbus.

Elizabeth Warren for President

I believe in Elizabeth Warren. When I look at all the personalities practicing politics in America,  I see no other that is her equal. She's smart. She's courageous.  She's  honorable and caring.

I admire Senator Warren.  In 2016,  I very much hope she runs for President. We desperately need her brand of compassionate, no nonsense leadership.

This video just popped up of Senator Warren standing tall against the morally bankrupt, bullshit slinging of the political right...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTxWMkW8s_c

Aerial Adrenalin Rush

I can't get enough of these wingsuit crazies, leaping off cliffs and plunging thousands of feet, brushing perilously close to jagged vertical terrain.  The fun is in imagining myself young and crazy enough to go for it myself.  This is really controlled free fall. It looks totally exhilarating  for the thrill seekers up for the risk.

Here is the link to 'Sense of Flying'... http://vimeo.com/32875422

Cascadia

Here is a beautiful seven minute video that showcases fearless young men in kayaks purposefully challenging giant tropical waterfalls.

When I see young people like this asserting themselves, risking their lives in harrowing adventure, I admire them, and at the same time I'm hoping they are also directing some of that energy and courage to the great  man-made challenges of our time. Climate change for instance. These are the kind of bold personalities that need to be on the front lines in the battle for social, economic, and environmental sanity. 

Here is the link to the very impressive Cascadia video... http://vimeo.com/57343365