Click here for the complete "Con Games with Michael Conniff" from Monday March 31, 2008.
The Con Man discusses his impressions from the Aspen Environment Forum put on by the Aspen Institute and National Geographic magazine, but the best audience in talk radio does not always agree with him.
Add comment March 31st, 2008
Although we are all destined to age and injuries are commonplace in our society (especially in a ski town such as Aspen), it does NOT necessarily mean that we are taking “painful steps into an age-old reality of decrepitude” as the article states. As I listened to the writer describe a tumultuous journey of immobility, painful physical therapy, emotional agony, daily stress and a very long recovery period following an ACL injury, I realized that this society is missing a HUGE piece of information. There is a 5000 year old medicine called Acupuncture and Chinese medicine which has been scientifically proven to speed up the process of healing, increase circulation, help tissue regeneration, decrease inflammation, reduce pain and balance the emotions.
Continue Reading Add comment March 31st, 2008
I have been studying separatism as a kind of background exercise in what I regard a troubling association between Senator Barack Obama and Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
Separatism is based on an idea that ethnic minorities cannot advance in a society dominated by an ethnic majority.
Separatism is an idea that is not without precedent in the writings of the U.S. founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson, who penned what I regard the central premise of the United States when he wrote “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” also wrote this:
Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate, than that these people [blacks] are to be free; nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion have drawn indelible lines of distinction between them.
~Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, 1821
Continue Reading 26 comments March 30th, 2008
Last summer I swapped paradises. After decades of life in the Rocky Mountains, I never expected that I would return to my coastal foundations to live at sea level again. The first sign of infection was my desire to properly learn to sail in 2006.
Sure, I already spent time over the years in the water on powerboats and the more laid back ships under sail. I managed to handle both when I needed to, but not with full confidence. I wanted to learn all there is to know about sailing, so that when I have my own live-aboard vessel, I won’t feel like a stranger in a foreign land.
Leaving Colorado wasn’t easy. I had my doubts. I had more than my share of fear. I knew that the only way to do it was jump in without knowing how deep the water was. There was no plan in effect. It was almost a spur of the moment decision. It had to be; the longer I gave thought to leaving, the more likely it was I would never find the courage to leave. Change is a difficult experience, but it was time. The mountains and I had run our course in our relationship. The bug had spread and I couldn’t wait to breathe in the salty air once again. The Oregon Coast was about to be my new home.
The risk of leaving what was known as my life in the mountains has paid off. I have the best of nature here. I can walk three blocks and be on the beach. I step outside my back deck and walk thirty yards down the hill to the lake and private boat docks. In the evening I witness incredible sunsets. In the course of a day I can watch rain and hail in the morning turn to snow, then step outside under blue skies on a perfect spring day within a few hours of the wet skies drying up. A dozen deer graze off my deck several times each day. A bald eagle has a favorite branch in a dead pine tree, where he can scan the lake for signs of activity he considers for lunch. Osprey and Seahawks find ways of hiding themselves in the dense forest ten yards out the back door.
I’m up in the morning while it is still dark outside. I have a twenty-five mile drive to work, south of where I live. The commute is down Pacific Coast Highway 101. For the most part I have a constant view of the ocean, with the brief exceptions while driving through thick forest. The highest elevation I reach is 500 feet above sea level, at the top of Cape Foulweather. Once I see the Yaquina Lighthouse in the distance I know I will be at work in another fifteen minutes, unless I let up on the gas and stretch out my time outdoors to count the number of boats that are out this early in the morning. The sun is rising as I leave my house and my entire drive to work takes me through a more spectacular experience than I have ever seen anywhere else before.
A coastal sunrise. How does a writer describe one and do it justice? These photographs make an attempt, but can't really provide you with that wrap-around feeling of being there in the moment. Hemmingway was simple. He described it as “The sun came up.” In Homer’s Odyssey it was “Rosy – fingered Dawn appeared.” The sunrise I was presented with the other day was one of those moments we want to tell everyone about. It was the kind you want to get on the phone and tell your friends about. It was something that I immediately wanted to write about, but kept putting it off until now. It was like nothing I had ever been privileged to see before. This sunrise seemed like it was the main event I had needed to finally make me feel at home, without any regrets of leaving Colorado. It was my ‘Welcome to the neighborhood’ gift from God.
It had rained most of the night before. The storm was still hanging around the area, but without the need for the wipers to run at a constant pace. Every few minutes were enough to clear the view. The sky was mostly dark gray, except to the east, where the background was filled with mountains, pine trees and clouds of colors that ranged from gold to orange, brown, smoke, gray, pink, and some white puffs now and then. The sun caused them to keep changing color. The few little valleys of the mountains had mist hanging in them. To the south the sky was very dark gray. To the west, the ocean seemed black. The sky wasn’t much lighter than the sea. Something was causing the waves breaking to appear pink instead of white. It was glorious! I wanted to stop the car, and stop time. I didn’t want this color palette to end. I found myself wishing I was on that black sea in my own boat taking it all in.
This experience lasted nearly thirty minutes. By the time I was almost to work it began to rain and the wind was blowing it sideways. The sun was up, the pink, gold, orange and brown clouds were now varying shades of gray, and I tried to remember when I had ever been privy to a sunrise like this one before. The strange thing is that I have never been one to really appreciate sunrises. I have always been a sunset kind of person. Until now.
There are times I miss Colorado. Thankfully, there are days like my Sunrise Day that allow me to admit I made the right choice. I wish you could have been here to see it. I hope you all have one of your own one day.
1 comment March 30th, 2008
In the midst of one of the panels here at the Aspen Environment Forum, a wizened professor from the University of Alaska took the microphone proffered for questions from the environmental cognoscenti and said that a bear had just been shot and killed at Fort Yukon, Alaska, 250 miles from the shore. He said to his knowledge no bear had ever before been killed that far inland in that part of Alaska.
If I were making this up, I would say there was an audible murmur or perhaps even an angry hum as the choir in Aspen, brought together by the Aspen Institute and National Geographic magazine, ingested the significance of this single environmental tragedy. Not so: there were no murmurs, no guttural evidence of existential angst anywhere to be seen or heard in the audience at the Aspen Environment Forum.
The choir absorbed the news—one more damning fact about climate change—and continued on with the session. Were they oblivious to the news? Not at all…but they did know there was not a damn thing they could do about it. The bear was out of the barn.
And there, in a microcosm, is the graying of the macro world of environmental activism. In the panel “How Much Time to Act on Climate Change?” the conclusion was (a) there is no time; (b) no one has really figured out what to do about it; and (c) about 40 percent of people in the United States—the tipping point of the populace—is dazed and confused about the issue at best.
Continue Reading 4 comments March 30th, 2008
The internet, God bless it, sure does make work a whole lot more enjoyable. Who amongst us hasn’t spent time randomly browsing the internet while at work? Everyone does it. It really is a blessing to be able to spend time pursuing a topic of interest, purchasing a book, or planning a vacation on your computer, all while pretending to be working on something job related like a spreadsheet, a memo, or some such ridiculous thing. Prior to the advent of the computer, I can’t fathom how employees wasted time efficiently. They really had it tough.
Continue Reading Add comment March 29th, 2008
That's right, AspenFilm is kicking off the 17th annual Aspen ShortsFest April 2nd - 6th! We've screened about 3500 short films from around the world representing nearly 30 countries and have chosen the best of the best for screening right here in Aspen. Filmmaker Magazine called Aspen's ShortsFest, which is an Oscar-Qualifying event, "one of the most prestigious festivals devoted to short films in the world."
Continue Reading Add comment March 27th, 2008
Anyone thrilled with the mess in Washington, DC? Do you find yourself grieving over unending incompetence, dim-witted scandals, moronic rhetoric and hypocrisy cascading out of our nation’s capital daily?
Anyone excited about the activities of our U.S. Senate? How about the House of Representatives? Do you like Vice President Dick Cheney’s actions for the past seven years? Would you again vote for the bungling, if not lawless leadership, of President Bush?
Continue Reading Add comment March 27th, 2008
Acupuncture is a medical modality, originating from China, with a 5000 year old history. It is a method of inserting sterile, disposable needles into specific acupuncture points to encourage the body to promote its own natural healing ability and to improve overall bodily function. Many people have only heard about Acupuncture for pain management however, Chinese medicine is a complete and comprehensive medical system with the ability to diagnose, treat, and most importantly prevent disease. Acupuncturists are trained in Chinese Medicine as well as Western Medicine, allowing for these practitioners to work closely with Medical Doctors and within the western diagnostic system. The treatment differs in that Chinese Medicine practitioners are trained to get to the root of disease by treating with herbal formulas and natural remedies to promote the body’s own healing ability.
Continue Reading Add comment March 27th, 2008
