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Tillman - A Moment of Doggy Zen

A Prayer for STEPHEN HAWKING

As you may know, Stephen Hawking has been hospitalized and is very ill. Please join me in choosing the deity or form of faith you prefer and send a thought for his recovery.

Stephen, please don't go. We still need you.

Happy Birthday EARTH DAY

A recollection of the first Earth Day - 04.22.70
An unexpected tale of horror

I was living in Forest Knolls (gorgeous, green, damp, redwood-y, hippie enclave northwest of San Francisco) with my "old man", in a 1 bedroom cottage on a very wet creek in the woods. Magical it was. It was also a place where one had to scrape the mold off the bottom of your shoes -- the price for storing them on the closet floor.

Many hallucinogens were consumed. Much pot & hashish was smoked. Much music and art and babies were made. It was the most golden of the hippie years.

The Earth Day concept had filtered to us and through us via mostly word of mouth. We were becoming hyper-aware of our affect on the planet and that by changing simple, every-day behaviors (not to mention the huge ones) we could actually have at least a less negative impact on our precious Mother Earth. "Silent Spring" was a devastating tome. Recycling was recently thought of as do-able concept. Phrases like "carbon imprint" were not yet hatched. The whole way of thinking, on a large scale, was overall pretty damned revolutionary -- the planet's health as a personal responsibility.



As this new Earth Day concept loomed we were encouraged to take a look around our homes and lives and keep an eye out to tidy up. Whether that was cleaning-up one's own yard or a neighborhoods' coming together to pick-up a larger area, we were encouraged to honor our planet on that first Earth Day by doing a little grooming.

Armed with garden gloves and a rake I headed for the front yard by the gate to the driveway area where we kept our garbage can. The terrain was pretty uneven so we had commandeered 2 or 3 appliance-sized cardboard cartons, and had flattened them to make a big level surface so the can wouldn't tip over. This was rustic woods-dairy farms-hippie teepees kind of a location, so if you're picturing suburban cul-de-sac, adjust. Making a platform for the garbage can was a big deal (curb-appeal wise) in this funky setting. We battled the skill of the local raccoons to keep the can upright, and most of the time it worked and they actually couldn't get in it if the bungi cords were set taught and secure.

In any event, this cardboard platform had pretty much held its shape and function for months despite the moist earth below it and frequent rain, but it was rather limp and soggy. I knew I'd have to move it to really clean-up the area and had already made a mental note to find a replacement cardboard when I picked up the edge of the cardboard with both hands and swung it aside.

It was said that my screaming was heard in Palo Alto and I doubt that's true, but if there was blood to be curdled, my vocals would have done it.

Although it was at least 20 minutes before I could even glance at it again, what I saw was etched into my brain with a clarity, a repulsion and FEAR that has not wavered in 39 years and counting. When I swung that wet cardboard off it's semi-flat surface I revealed what had to be (and I'm really trying not to exagerrate here) multiple nests of at least 40 million baby SCORPIONS....moving and twitching and oh gawd I can't even go into it any further. I'm sure dear reader, that you'll understand.

Neighbors assembled drawn by my continuing screams, thus compounded the decibel level with their own screams as they saw it. A plan was formulated (a controlled burn) and executed which did succeed in ridding us all of a sizable chunk of the regions' young scorpions. But in the minds of all present, as well as my own, that sight of that moving carpet of hellacious, stinging critters are what the first Earth Day meant to us.

Norwegian Student Film Of The Day - NEMESIS

Thanks for the entertaining folk at EW.com for turning me on to this one.

8+ minutes and absolutely worth it!

Enjoy!

The Death of American Malls

*
So, the news is all abuzz about 80+ major US retailers going belly-up in 2009.And, the NeoCons are all atwitter that this could very well mean the DEATH OF THE MALLS!!! --- accompanied by wails and moans and cries that this is surely a sign of Obama's socialism not to mention a TRUE sign of Armageddon!!!!

Here's the deal: Culture changes as time goes by. By the early 1980's mall culture was in full swing and became the new small town, i.e. with suburban sprawl in full blossom often without the traditional "town" to accompany the burb **. These malls throughout the country became the new town centers where moms with strollers and toddlers took their coffee (and Cinnabons!) with each other, and teenagers roamed in packs to "hang", meet each other and indulge in pre-relationship mating rituals.

At the time there were objections. "The malls are killing our towns!" the cry went up and Wal-Mart in particular did it's very best to kill off small retailers in the more rural areas.

The culture eventually shifted and became totally at ease with mall culture and life went on.
***
In the past few years many of most mall staples from Mrs. Fields cookies to MOST of the mall music retailers (Wherehouse, Musicland...far too many to mention here), to the traditional department stores to SEARS fer chrissakes have taken big hits as our buying habits shifted online and to discounters. So these guys were in trouble long before our current financial woes set in with the worldwide recession. It's just killing off the weaker retailers who've been off the mark or unwilling to change as the market has.

So for those trying to politicize this retailing evolution we face now, shaddup. The malls may indeed die. Street accessible retail may rise again. The malls may be torn down to make room for more housing or for companies aware and in tune with the markets' needs. We may actually go OUTSIDE to shop (and walk) again, and teenagers will always find a place to socialize.

Change is natural and often good for us.

In my humble opinion.




* Southdale Mall, Edina MN 1956 - The first enclosed mall

**Case in point: When I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Eden Prairie, MN (a prosperous newer suburb of Minneapolis that at the time was literally devouring corn fields with each passing moment) there was indeed a mall, anchored by regional department stores, etc. but there was no TOWN of Eden Prairie. I know because as a newcomer I drove all over the square mileage, following every sign that said Eden Prairie to no avail. Having passed it several times on these town-hunting excursions, I stopped one day at the city administrators' offices and said "Okay, I give up, where's the town of Eden Prairie?". A sweet woman in a bedazzled and adorned Halloween sweatshirt behind the reception desk looked at me like a dog who's hearing an odd sound (head atilt with a quizzical expression) and said, "there is no town...just the mall". It was the old expectations vs. reality gambit.

*** The behemoth Mall of America, Bloomington, MN - 2008

SXSW '09

From afar, well not too far...I can hear multiple bands as we speak from my perch in South Austin, but I have no idea who they are.

Biggest news: Metallica at Stubb's

My personal vote for best band name: We Were Promised Jetpacks

They're from Glasgow and after hearing a sample on their My Space page
http://www.myspace.com/wewerepromisedjetpacks

I think they're kinda interesting. Drummer's weak though.