The Zorthian Ranch

A few years ago, I wrote  a blog entry about two remarkable people,  Jirayr Zorthian and his wonderful wife, Dabney.  Zorthian was a well-known artist and a free-spirit. He and Dabney enjoyed a great life on their 40 plus acre ranch in the hills above Altadena, California. Jerry passed away in 2004 at age 92. Dabney left us a few years later. I miss them both.

Just the other day, our friends, Jane Morrison and Michael Tobias, who originally introduced us to the Zorthians, sent me a link to an article that just appeared on the webpage of KCET, the PBS TV station in Los Angeles.  It recounts the Zorthian story and provides some insight into what has happened to their ranch since their passing.

Here is the link...  http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/los-angeles/zorthian-ranch-altadena.html

Robin Williams

One of the brightest lights in the human family went out last week. Robin Williams was one of a kind. A human being with a mental energy and lightning speed creativity that was remarkable and entirely unique. The only other person I ever saw who had that brand of instant insanely fun improvisational humor was Jonathan Winters, a comedian who preceded Robin Williams by a few decades. 

Robin Williams
 

Anyway, I mourn the loss of Robin Williams.  He was an enormous talent. Moreover, he appeared to be a genuinely decent and compassionate human being,  despite the demons that seemed to torment his soul.  I hope he is at peace now.

Here is a link to the hysterically fun interview Robin Williams did with James Lipton, host of Inside the Actors Studio    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGhfxKUH80M

Antonio Banderas - A Man Who Cares About Women

 I just viewed a PSA done by the actor, Antonio Banderas for the United Nations 'Stop Violence Against Women Campaign'.  Well over half of the world's female population have been raped, beaten, murdered, or abused in some fashion. That is a shocking fact.   And, let's face it. The abusers are and always have been men.

Antonio Banderas

The paradigm of male dominance  entrenched itself about 10,000 years ago when humans began to live in permanent communities dependent on agriculture for survival.  The strongest males began to specialize as  warriors.  Culture evolved with women relegated to 'doormat' status. Religion reinforced the male dominant paradigm.  Christians, Muslims, Jews; whatever the brand, religion was shaped by men, for men.  Human history reflects endless conflict and bloodshed as one group of men worked for advantage over another. 

More recently, in western culture, women have made strides, but there is still a long way to go where equal opportunity and wage parity are concerned.  In the US, women still make about 20% less than men doing the same job, and there is still a problem with some men behaving abusively toward women.

In other cultures, it remains far worse. In too many places, women continue to be little more than the  property of men, abused, denied opportunity or access to education, oppressed in so many ways.  Cultural and religious dogma in Africa, the Middle East, and some parts of Asia and Latin America, work together to keep men dominant and women subservient. 

This must change. We must evolve our global human society to a place where women are equal to men in all ways.   Women are entitled to the same respect as men. They are entitled to live free of and without fear of violence. They are entitled to equal access to education and the same opportunity to achieve their full potential.  They are entitled to dream and experience joy, and to be all that they can be,

Every man should want such a world for women. They are our mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends.  I want that, and Antonio Banderas wants that.

I've been a fan of Antonio Banderas the actor ever since he became Zorro in the movies.   Now,   even more, I admire Antonio Banderas the man, and outspoken champion for women.

Here is Antonio Banderas speaking out for the world's women...ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3fyoHFuFgQ

Hope on Earth

Hope on Earth, is a highly engaging dialogue between two  remarkable human beings,  Stanford Professor Paul Ehrlich, President of Stanford’s Center for Conservation Biology,  and global ecologist/author/anthropologist/filmmaker Michael Tobias.   Ehrlich is best known for The Population Bomb, a book co-written with his wife Anne more than four decades ago.  I should mention that I was a young man when I read the Ehrlich’s book back when it first came out.  Chilling as its message was, then and now, that book had a profound impact on my understanding of the world.  Dr. Tobias’ work is also well known to me. He is the author of more than fifty books, including World War III – Population and the Biosphere at the End of the Millennium and, with his colleague, partner, and wife, Jane Gray Morrison,  Sanctuary – Global Oasis of Innocence. Tobias has also had a distinguished career as a film maker – more than 150 productions - on subjects (mostly non-fiction, but some fiction) related to animal rights’, biodiversity, and humanity’s tenuous relationship with the environment.  Tobias is also the long-time President of The Dancing Star Foundation, a global animal protection, biodiversity conservation, and environmental education non-profit.

 

 

 

Both men have spent much of  their lives investigating and reporting on the massively expanded pressure on our biosphere caused by human population growth.  To put this in perspective, the number of people on Earth when The Population Bomb was first published in 1968 was 3.5 billion. In all of human history, it took till then to get to 3.5 billion. In the 46 years since that time, the population has more than doubled to 7.25 billion. This massive human expansion is not sustainable. The Earth’s resources are finite. We humans are pushing our freshwater, our farmland, our forests, our marine resources rapidly  to exhaustion. Our dependence on fossil fuels like oil and coal is pumping billions of tons of pollutants into the Earth’s atmosphere, causing a planetary warming that puts the very livability of our tiny dot in the galaxy at great risk. Human exploitation is pushing unprecedented numbers of plant and animal species to the point of extinction.  In fact, the consensus seems to be, for humanity to live within the planet’s long term ability to provide sustenance for most sentient beings, including Homo Sapiens,  the human population should no more than about one to two billion.  The current condition for humanity is one of extreme overreach.  Can we turn it around? Can we change our ways sufficiently to roll back  human demand so it does not exceed the planet’s ability to provide?   

Ehrlich and Tobias are skeptical. Despite that, they remain hopeful. They have both  been aggressively sounding a warning for decades. They both clearly detest the general state of public indifference, and even hostility in some cases,  despite the powerful warning signals we are getting from nature; signals like the melting of our glaciers and the collapse of the polar icecaps, the increasing incidents of extreme draught, wildfire, floods, and massive and highly destructive weather events like Hurricane Sandy and Super Typhoon Haiyan. 

In Hope on Earth, Ehrlich warns, “The past is over. We’re here now, and we’d better damn well make our ethical decisions.”  He goes on to say, “If we don’t solve the issues of population growth and consumption, all the rest of these issues won’t stand a chance of being remedied.”

Ehrlich and Tobias agree that humanity must find a path to achieving critical mass in awareness, and beyond that, a thoughtful, ethical approach to the unprecedented global-scale challenges that have emerged. The course we are on is a dead end.

I really enjoyed reading Hope on Earth. In the end, it is a dialogue about ethics. I loved being a fly on the wall, absorbing this great conversation between two exceptional minds, who understand and care deeply about the ugly turn human history has taken. Their prescription: Wake up and embrace a life-affirming cultural paradigm built on a foundation of compassion, and commitment to planetary stewardship. Do it now, before it is too late.

I give five stars to Hope on Earth. Highest recommendation.

__________________________
 

Burt's Buzz

There's a movie out now called Burt's Buzz.  It's about the quirky beekeeper from Maine that founded the  billion dollar company, Burt's Bees.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I hope to see it soon.  It's about Burt Shavitz the man. He appears to be a genuine 'Down East' character, who has been transformed by some very sophisticated marketing into a brand, worth a billion dollars. 

Here is the link to the trailer for Burt's Buzz...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdGZoABFYYA

Lupita Nyong'o - An Exceptional Human Being

I watched the Academy Awards last night. I found myself completely charmed by a young woman named Lupita Nyong'o.  Ms. Nyong'o was born to Kenyan parents.  She received the Academy Award for 'Best Supporting Actress' for her role in Twelve Years a Slave, the film that won the award for 'Best Picture'

I was very taken with this young woman.  Her  speech accepting her Oscar was the best of the entire event.  Afterward, I came across another video of Ms. Nyong'o speaking to a meeting of black women film professionals.  She talked about beauty, and her own struggle to accept her 'blackness'. When she was young, she felt bad that her skin was not lighter.  Her speech about that is very moving.  Lupita Nyong'o is a very impressive human being.  I think we are going to hear a great deal more from her.

Lupita Nyongo

Here is the wonderful  'You Tube' video of Lupita Nyong'o talking about her struggle to accept her own personal beauty... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPCkfARH2eE

The Mercenary Class

In this brief video essay, Bill Moyers speaks eloquently about the corruption that has taken over American governance. 

Bill Moyers

Here is the remarkable video essay by legendary journalist,  Bill Moyers...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFYb4gKEFl4

Carl Sagan's Warning

Carl Sagan passed away in 1996. He was a truly exceptional human being: one of the great scientific minds of all time.  By trade, he was an astronomer, and he made many important contributions in that arena. But his greatest gift was his ability to communicate and educate the masses about science. His Cosmos TV series was extraordinary. I had the opportunity to meet Sagan one time in  Los Angeles. It was during the time that the NASA Viking Lander first began sending pictures and data back from Mars.  Sagan was brilliant, but he was also warm and caring. I read his books and watched when he was on TV.  I won't deny that I revered the guy.

Dr. Carl Sagan

It's hard to believe that 17 years have gone by since Sagan left us.  These days,  young people are mostly unfamiliar with this great man.  They would surely benefit from his wisdom and inspiration, as I did.

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

                                                                                                               Carl Sagan
                      

In the video clip that follows, Sagan expresses deep concern over the fact that too many of the people we elect to represent us in government are ignorant, even hostile to scientific reason and understanding.

Here is the link to a brief 'You Tube' clip of Carl Sagan in his last TV interview talking to Charlie Rose... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iyFw8UF85A

The Dalai Lama Talks about Happiness and Farting

I am a spiritual person but do not follow any organized religion.  There is one religious leader that I particularly admire. That would be the Dalai Lama of Tibet.  He is a globally recognized and respected religious leader who seems genuine; a human being who exudes humility and non-violent compassion. Thanks to my friend and inspiring mentor, Michael Tobias, I once had the opportunity to  attend an event in which the Dalai Lama was the guest of honor.  He dresses simply and projects a wonderful kind of charisma and kindness. He was warm and laughed easily. I found him very likeable.

You have to like a person of the Dalai Lama's influence and stature, who is able to express himself candidly and laugh about something as mundane as farting.

The Dalai Lama and a young friend

Here is a link to the wonderful video that features the Dalai Lama imparting his wisdom on the nature of happiness and also on the very human predilection to pass gas... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUEkDc_LfKQ

Edge - A Web Presence that is Worthy

Imagine a website that serves mostly as an outlet for good ideas from the minds of some of the world's best thinkers. Edge is the name of the site. It's the brainchild of a New York based innovator named John Brockman. I confess, Brockman is new to me. All indications are that he is an impressive thinker himself.  

Edge is shaped to inspire, but it's not  for lightweights.  It's not dumbed down. The visitor is assumed to have a scientifically open mind and the ability to thoughtfully  process information.

There are more than a few forward thinking, scientifically focused presences on the net that seek to engage and influence in a positive way.  Edge stands out. It is shaped for an intelligent audience; the kind of visitor that favors compelling ideas over mindless hype and promotion.

This site is  built on good science and nuanced insight.  It's a bunch of really smart people expressing themselves on a variety of subjects, with  ideas that contribute to a sustainable world view.

Edge appears to be gender equal.  Smart women with good ideas are showcased as often as men.   I  like that,  because women have every right to be treated equally.  Also, it does seem that most women are genetically selected to nurture. How wonderful is that?  A huge dose of caring and compassion is very much what the world needs.

One thing I wish for is that the mentally engaged crowd that subscribes to Edge join with the caring people who  champion  the natural world, and those good folks  who fight for women's rights, and  Indigenous rights, and gay rights, and animal rights. To some extent, it's already happening. It needs to happen a whole lot more.  These noble constituencies that represent different causes  need to  get on the same page and work together.  They need to come together and  focus on reshaping our seriously corrupted form of governance.  What we have now is a corporate plutocracy, driven to a substantial degree  by legalized bribery.  That must change. Those of us who want to be progressive game changers - I have to assume that includes the exceptional men and women who interface at the  Edge  website -  need to engage at the grass roots with all the other good people who want to build an equitable, life-affirming future.  We need to work together for a common solution to the political dysfunction that diminishes everything we care about.

I have joined the Edge  online community. Take a look yourself. If smart thinking works for you, check Edge out for yourself. Here is a link to the website... http://www.edge.org

 

 

 

 

Christopher Columbus - Black-Hearted Thug

Every October in the U.S., we have a national holiday honoring Christopher Columbus,   allegedly for having 'discovered America'.  When I was about six years old, I remember doing a school class play that honored Columbus' exploits. 

The myth about Columbus has little resemblance to the truth.

Columbus didn't discover America.  There were millions indigenous people here when Columbus showed up in 1492.

In reality, Columbus was a brutal thug.  Tens of thousands of Native American people  were murdered, and enslaved by Columbus and those that followed him from Europe  A million or more natives died terrible deaths from small pox and other diseases Columbus and his followers brought with them, for which the local people had no physiological immunity. Columbus is directly guilty of torture, murder, and turning children into sex slaves.  The truth is found in his own journals.

For many years, I have known, more or less, the real story of Columbus.   He was a plundering scumbag.  The disgraceful reality behind the myth of America's founder has long resided below my personal radar.  

A few days ago,  I stumbled across a very compelling article exposing the truth about Columbus in a blog called The Oatmeal.  It turns out, Columbus Day wasn't even a national holiday until 1930, when the Knight's of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization pressured congress into declaring a national holiday honoring Columbus.  As The Oatmeal points out, giving Columbus a national holiday, in the same way Washington, Lincoln, and Martin Luther King are honored, is a monstrous travesty.

If it were up to me, I would remove Columbus' name from that holiday in October. In its place, I would declare a national holiday in honor of the indigenous people of North America. I might call it, Peacemaker Day after the greatest American, who most people don't know about. If yon't know who I'm talking about, check this blog tomorrow.

Here is a link to The Oatmeal's excellent reflection on the shame of naming a national holiday after one of history's most cruel and rapacious evil doers... http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day

The graphic below comes from Occupy Portland's Facebook page.

Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture

I have been a fan of Thom Hartmann for close to two decades. He writes about what is wrong with America and what needs to happen to make it right. He does it eloquently, persuasively, courageously.

I just finished Threshold, the fifth book I've read by Hartmann.  I admire the man tremendously. 

 

 

 

Many well-meaning  people are toiling in the trenches to make a difference on a broad range of global scale challenges. Though many of these issues are unprecedented, climate change being just one example, they are really symptoms of a broken human culture, largely disconnected from the  natural world. Thom Hartmann cuts to the core. He focuses on  the bloated brand of legalized bribery that has perverted our political system. He makes the case that our system of governance has been hijacked by multi-national corporations  and the super rich,  who use their wealth and undue influence to shape public policy for their own narrow interests.   Corporate conservatives employ two morally bankrupt legal constructs to get away with their pathological behavior...

1. Money is treated as a form of speech under U.S. law, which allows the rich and powerful to use their wealth to pervert our political process.  

2. Corporations are considered 'persons' under the law,  giving them 'rights' that should be reserved for human citizens.

In Threshold, Thom Hartmann offers a thoughtful curative prescription for restoring democracy to America; a genuine democracy built on a foundation of compassion, inclusiveness, reconnection with nature, and  governance that is accountable to all citizens rather than a privileged few.

Five stars for Threshold.  Another powerful, enlightening, life affirming book by an author whose work illuminates a pathway to a sustainable future worthy of our best human instincts.


Thom Hartmann is the progressive radio antidote to the bilge spouted daily by right-wing radio icon, Rush Limbaugh. 

Thom Hartmann's weekday radio talk show can be heard at his website...  http://www.thomhartmann.com/tv/watch

Inequality For All

Robert Reich is an economist. He was Secretary of Labor under the Clinton Administration. He is now a Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.

Robert Reich isn't the tallest of men, but he towers as a warrior for the fallen middle class in America. His view of what's wrong with America and what is required to make things right fits very much with my own view of things.

Robert Reich is now at the center of a new, feature length theatrical advocacy film titled,  Inequality for all. 

Here is a link to the movie trailer  for Inequality for all...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9REdcxfie3M&feature=player_embedded

Here is a link to the movie webpage...    http://inequalityforall.com/

Wisdom from an Atomic Icon

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a very smart human person.  He is known mostly for his physical theories of how the world works. We have  atomic bombs and nuclear power because of Einstein, though neither of these things were part of any intention he had for his work.

Einstein was also known for his wisdom, which often revealed his kind and compassionate nature.  I found the Einstein quote below in Threshold, a book by Thom Hartmann,  who, like Einstein, is a man of great wisdom.

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
                                                                                                     Albert Einstein

A Pilot Named Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford, 'A' List movie actor, is a big league aviation buff. I just ran across this video that features him talking about his love of flying as he pilots his single engine, DE Havilland Beaver.

Over the years, Ford has lived a relatively normal life away from Hollywood. He's kept his personal life private despite his fame.  This video offers a glimpse of the real person behind the Hollywood hype. When Harrison Ford talks about flying, it is clearly one of the great joys of his life.

Harrison Ford

Here is the  link to Harrison flying his DE Havilland Beaver...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsgiEubacT0

George Clooney - Inspiration

As celebrities go, some are good, others not so much. They are a reflection of what you find in society in general. My definition of a good soul is someone who has a high level of awareness of the world in general, and enough caring and compassion to want to make the world better.  I would count in the category of celebrity good souls,  Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Ben Affleck, Don Cheadle, Leo DeCaprio, Charlize Theron, Betty White, Ryan Gosling, Elle DeGeneres, Bono, and Brad Pitt.  There are others, but the latter names always come to mind first. If there is one among them all who has elevated himself above everyone else, in my mind that would be George Clooney. 

George Clooney

George Clooney has got the world by the tail. He's remarkably good looking.  He's elegant. He's dapper and charismatic. He moves gracefully from one gorgeous woman in his life to another. He's got an amazing coterie of friends. He's a very talented actor, director, and writer. It could easily end there, but it doesn't. With all that he has going for him, George Clooney is also a deeply committed and compassionate champion for those in the human family who struggle for survival every day.

George Clooney lends his voice to many good causes, but he has chosen to give the greatest share of his activism as a voice for the long suffering, oppressed peoples of Darfur, in the South Sudan of Africa.

The Sudan is an arid nation in east Africa, directly south of Egypt. It is one of the poorest places on Earth.  The northern part of the Sudan is Arab culturally, the southern part, called Darfur, is ethnically African.

The political power in the Sudan has always been held by the Sudanese Arabs in the north. They didn't bother much with the Africans that had always occupied the southern, Darfur region of the Sudan. That is until oil was discovered in Darfur. When outside interests started sniffing around for oil and found ii in Darfur, the Arabs running the country decided it was time for some ethnic cleansing. What ensued was not much different than many historical instances of ethnic cleansing, including the one perpetrated by the US government on indigenous, native American populations in the 19th century.

About ten years ago, the Sudanese political power structure started sending planes with bombs and armed military forces into the Darfur region to terrorize the people and drive them from their homeland.  Since then, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the  Darfur War by forces controlled by the Sudanese government. In fact, Sudanese  President Omar-Al-Bashir has been indicated on genocide charges by the International Criminal Court.

Anyway, this is a piece about George Clooney. How does he fit into the conflict in Darfur?  Turns out,  he is an important player in this real life drama. For several years, George Clooney has been using his celebrity to draw attention to the atrocities done by the Sudanese government to its own people in Darfur. Part of this effort is channeled through Not on Our Watch, an organization Clooney co-founded with several other celebrities.

George Clooney has seen the war for himself. He's traveled to Darfur several times.   He's gone to the White House on more than one occasion to ask for aide. He speaks about Darfur whenever he can. Where Darfur is concerned, Clooney not only talks the talk, he walks the walk.

Before I go on to his latest bit of assertive action for Darfur, I want to talk about how he inspires the masses with the movies he makes. I'm talking about films that wouldn't get made without him.  Good Night, and Good Luck, Michael Clayton, The Ides of March, to name a few. Sure Clooney makes movies that are entirely about entertaining and selling tickets. He's a bankable, 'A' List movie star. He uses part of the leverage he gets from his iconic status to get movies made that are about things that matter.  George Clooney is a very accomplished producer and director of quality films about things that matter. He's getting it done in an era when that kind of movie making is tantamount to swimming upstream against a very swift current.  You have to really admire the guy for that. 

Talk about a rich and very full life. George Clooney has got it in spades. It would be so easy for him to coast frivolously through life.  Fortunately, he's about as far from Charlie Sheen as one could be.

Now, Clooney's latest gambit for Darfur. He recently began to do a series of French TV commercials for a coffee called Nespresso.  He's using the money he makes from those commercials to buy satellite time to maintain a watch over the Sudanese government and its actions against the now autonomous region of the South Sudan (Darfur).  Buying satellite time to keep the bad guys in line. That is radically cool.

George Clooney is an inspiration.  I only wish he would consider politics at some point. Let's keep in mind that another actor became President. Ronald Reagan was not nearly as smart  as George Clooney. Reagan was a personality more than a person of substance.  It was charisma more than political savvy that got him elected to the highest office in the land.  George Clooney has at least as much charisma as Reagan, probably more political savvy, and for sure a whole lot more compassion. I would love to see Clooney as President.

Whatever George Clooney chooses to do with the remainder of his time on Earth, I'm sure he will have a good time doing it,  and I'm sure he will have a positive impact on millions of people in the process.  George Clooney is what every gifted person should be, a wonderful example for the majority of people, who need inspiration before they are willing stand and be counted.

Here are link to an article on Clooney and Nespresso ... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/31/george-clooney-nespresso-spy-sattelite_n_3681937.html#slide=more214630

Here is a link some of George Clooney's Nespresso commercials....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXru4Q7Lgxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIbwrwWDXfc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBp1e9zzBow


Here is a link to Not On Our Watch,  a Clooney co-founded organization dedicated to highlighting ethnic conflicts, particularly in Africa... http://notonourwatchproject.org/

Robert Radin - Much Loved Friend

The other day, we lost a great friend.  Robert Radin was a mench of the first order. We loved the guy.

A few days after his 90th birthday, on July 31st, Robert passed away peacefully after a brief illness. It is heartbreaking to my wife Jenny and me to lose our friend, but we choose to celebrate the great life he had.

Robert was a very successful businessman. He was loaded to the gills with charisma. Even more, he had the heart of an adventurer.  I was fortunate to meet him when his close friend, the well-known author/filmmaker, Michael Tobias, signed on to write and direct my company's first documentary, Element One.  If Michael was Don Quixote, Robert was his Sancho Panza.  Long before I met Robert, the two had been traveling the world together making documentaries.  

One of the best parts about being in Robert's circle of friends was being invited to the soirees he held regularly at his home in Venice, California. Robert had an amazingly diverse coterie of friends.  Going to his house always translated to good conversation, good food, and good people.  Robert loved being the host and sharing his good will and food from his backyard garden with everyone. 

Every time we saw Robert, he welcomed us with a warm embrace. Robert gave great hugs. His willingness to show affection for his friends and to receive it from them was boundless.

Robert Radin

 

When my wife Jenny and I were married in 2002,  Robert was my best man. In that same year, Robert traveled with us to China to work on a segment of our documentary, The Hydrogen Age.

Our most memorable time with Robert came in 2004, when my wife and I traveled to Montana with him and our friend, Bettina.  We spent nearly a week  in Glacier National Park and Western Montana.

Glacier Park Lodge, eating Montana cherries

Robert at  Glacier Park Continental Divide

Then we went on to Seattle and to Robert's second home in Port Townsend, Washington, where his daughter Carol and her husband Todd live. Robert had a special friend named Cabot in Port Townsend.
 

Robert with Cabot in Port Townsend

In 2006,  when my wife and I were living in Salem, Oregon, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with a tumor on my pancreas.  It was the most terrifying time of my life. Robert and our friend Bettina came up from California and stayed with us through the ensuing surgery and some time after. Their support met so much to us.

Robert and I were also shareholders in a clean energy startup called, Element One Corporation. We traveled regularly together to Boulder, Colorado for annual board meetings. Robert was very anxious to see Element One succeed, not just because of the financial reward, but at least as much because the core technologies the company is built on are likely to have a big role in the  hydrogen part of the  clean energy revolution emerging around the world. Element One is doing quite well these days.  I'm so happy that Robert knew his investment in Element one was headed in a winning direction.

Robert Radin leaves two wonderful daughters, Janet and Carol, and four granddaughters, all of whom adored him.

I also must recognize and express my thanks to Bettina Gray, who has been an important friend of ours and of Robert's for the last twenty years.  It was Bettina who was at his side during his last few days.  I also want to thank Juanita, Laura, and George for their devotion to Robert these past years.

A review of Robert's life must include recognition for his wonderful photography. A website showcases the amazing images he created during his travels around the world. The link to Robert's photography webpage is  http://www.radinphotos.com/RadinExhibition/Welcome.html

A talented filmmaker named Elias Wondimu made a wonderful, 20 minute video about Robert and his photography just a short time before his passing.  I urge the reader to take a moment and see for yourself the beautiful, loving personality of Robert Radin in this video. The link is http://vimeo.com/71773680

There's no way to adequately sum up a life like that of Robert Radin. He lived it to the fullest and made many, many friends along his journey.  He was warm, and decent, and loving. He was kind and generous, and great fun to be with.   I count him as one of the best friends I've ever had. I already miss him a lot. I shall have a warm place in my heart for him the rest of my days.

However Long The Night

I just finished reading a marvelous non-fiction book, beautifully written by Aimee Molloy.  However Long the Night is the story of Molly Melching and the extraordinary work she and her non-profit educational outreach organization, Tostan, have been doing, mostly in Senegal in West Africa.

Molly Melching in Senegal

Tostan is a word in Wolof, the most widely spoken of several languages particular to Senegal. It means 'breakthrough'.  That is exactly what Molly Melching and Tostan have facilitated in villages throughout Senegal, and in several other African nations. Tostan's work centers on using education and awareness of human rights as a platform for empowering the people to make thoughtful and informed decisions that might improve their lives.  Tostan's outreach is community based and most often begins with the women. Traditionally in virtually all African cultures, women have a subservient role to men.  They are often treated as chattel, sold into marriage at a young age, considered unworthy of education, good mostly for birthing and raising children.   One very unsettling aspect of life for females throughout Africa is something called, 'the tradition'. It involves the ceremonial cutting of a girl's genitals,  specifically the clitoris and the labia around the vagina opening, at a very young age.  For perhaps a thousand years - no one know exactly how long -  this practice, called female genital cutting, or FGC, has been a rite of passage for a girl,  thought to be crucial to a girl child's worthiness for marriage and motherhood.  Those who endure FGC are subjected to extraordinary suffering. Beyond the terrible pain that comes with having these most sensitive tissues mutilated, almost always without anesthetic, FGC is often done with an unsterile blade that has been used for the same purpose multiple times.  The health effects of FGC, including severe hemorrhaging and infection, are often permanently debilitating, even deadly. 

World Health Organization studies indicate that 140 million women around the world have been subjected to FGC,  101 million of those in Africa. 

Aimee Molly's book,  However Long the Night is a powerful narrative of a young woman, a Caucasian American, who arrived in West Africa in 1974, pursuing a master's degree in French language, hoping for a future as a linguist/translator. Almost forty years later,  Molly Melching has created of one of the most effective educational outreach non-profits operating on the African continent. 

As of April, 2013,  in Senegal, 5,423 communities have abandoned the practice of female genital cutting.  Much of the credit for this goes to Tostan.

 

 

 

 

Tostan employs a patient, culturally respectful style in its community based education, conducted by Senegalese facilitators, in the local language. Reading, writing, basic math, farming technique, water management,  hygiene, and personal health are at the core of the Tostan learning. Perhaps the most important lesson imparted to the women who participate is the knowledge that they, as human beings and citizens, have certain 'inalienable rights'.  When they learn this, illiterate women from the smallest backwater villages begin to rethink their lives.  This process has led to the renunciation of FGC in thousands of communities in Senegal,  the widespread repudiation of early childhood marriage, and a new acceptance of women in community leadership roles.

I love However Long the Night.  My admiration for Molly Melching and her team is boundless.   How can one not be inspired by a person, whose tireless commitment and perseverance has transformed an entire nation in dramatic fashion in one generation? 

I'll save the rest of what I have to say on this subject for the next blog entry,  which will tell my own personal revelation on this subject and how my recent connection with Tostan, and one of its leaders, Gannon Gillespie, has been a great benefit to my own writing.

Here is a link to the Tostan website    www.tostan.org

Madame President

It appears the stars are aligned for Hillary Clinton to become our first female President in 2016. I'm sure her election would be a very good thing. I do have some concerns. 

 

Hillary Clinton

 

The kind of President we desperately need is one with enough courage and conviction to lead us out of the dark, uncertain times we are in.  That's going to require a new paradigm for governance that unequivocally puts the common good ahead of narrow interests.  I like to think that Hillary Clinton can provide that kind of enlightened leadership.   I will not pretend that I don't have my doubts.   

I would not be happy if Hillary set up a center-right government. The same kind we had with Bill Clinton and now, even more so with Barack Obama.  Each of these guys is a seriously pragmatic politician.  Clinton was and Obama is saddled with a corrupt and dysfunctional political system that serves big money interests above all else. The legalized bribery built into our political process makes it impossible to fix the economy,  take care of our people, and protect the environment we all depend on.  My concern is that Hillary Clinton would be more of the same, delivering at best the bland and largely ineffective brand of incremental change we're used to and which is the basis of so much voter skepticism about lawmakers in Washington.

I say again; our system of elected governance is built on a model of legalized bribery.  Until that issue is addressed aggressively, we're screwed.  I just wish I felt better about Hillary Clinton being the kind of transcendent leader that could and would lead that fight for genuine change. Perhaps she will be.  Sorry to say,  I have my doubts.

Another politician, who also happens to be a female, would be my choice if I alone could pick the next President.  Elisabeth Warren is a first term senator from the state of Massachusetts.   She was a Harvard law professor before being voted into the Senate.  As part of the first Obama administration, she played an important role in reshaping our financial regulatory structure. 

 

Elisabeth Warren

 

Elisabeth Warren is one of the few populists in elected office who understands how Wall Street, the Fed,  and big money fiscal policy actually work.  She has courageously challenged the powerful financial cabal that resists every effort to redraw the  corrupted system of governance that is still the rule.

I think Elisabeth Warren would make an awesome President.  At this point, she is the only politician I would vote for over Hillary Clinton.

If you don't know who Elisabeth Warren is, please take some time to educate yourself.  

Here is a link to her Senate webpage...  http://www.warren.senate.gov/

 

 

 

Willie Nelson Dials 420 on Gandalf

Willie Nelson has been a country music icon for as long as I can remember.   He may also be the world's most famous 'Doobie' brother.   I just discovered this video on You Tube.   It's a hoot. 

Here's 80 year old Willie Nelson auditioning for the role of Gandalf in the  'Cheech and Chong' version of  Tolkien's Ring Trilogy.

 

 

 

Here's the video. It's Willie, toked and tuned in to Hobbitry.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTE5RYTT3Zo&feature=player_embedded