In comment #2, Post blogger Kit O'Carra chimes in on the "knife control" debate by pointing out the kinds of civil liberties we have lost. "Rest assured," Kit writes, "that TSA is doing their part to end this madness. On a recent check-in procedure I was being scanned through all of the detectors, unknowingly carrying a one-inch promotional Swiss knife that had been hidden in the crevices for years of the purse I had chosen to take on the trip with me... I was let off with a warning and shamed for trying to appear as a solid citizen in good standing with our nation."
“Know what I like about your blogs Irish Kit?” asks piepowder444 in comment #1, “You aren't stuck in spinning wheel hashing out the same words in a different order about the same old thing over and over.”
Post blogger Irish Kit O'Carra, late of Woody Creek, is seeing a whole new world out west. "There is something about the name Cape Foulweather that fascinates me," she blogs. "My mind races with thoughts ranging from the history of the area and wanting to know the facts, to images of a full length feature film of mystery and suspense starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson. I wish there was an actual town of Cape Foulweather. I would consider renting a house there while I wait to purchase my sloop or ketch.... The truth is that Captain James Cook discovered and named the Point in 1778 when he first sighted the mainland of North America...."
There is something about the name Cape Foulweather that fascinates me. My mind races with thoughts ranging from the history of the area and wanting to know the facts, to images of a full length feature film of mystery and suspense starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson. I wish there was an actual town of Cape Foulweather. I would consider renting a house there while I wait to purchase my sloop or ketch.
The name itself, Cape Foulweather, doesn’t bring the idea of a warm sunny day to the average tourist. The truth is that Captain James Cook discovered and named the Point in 1778 when he first sighted the mainland of North America on the Oregon Coast, and one of the sudden fierce storms, which greeted his arrival, almost put an end to his historical expedition. Captain Cook never set foot on land at Cape Foulweather and couldn’t wait for the storm to pass so he could set sail again and leave this area. I have just the opposite draw to Cape Foulweather, even if there are winds up to 100 mph a few times each year.
I leaped at the opportunity to sail to the Point after we scrapped the idea of our Wednesday Night Regatta in Yaquina Bay in Newport, Oregon when there wasn’t even the slightest hope of a breeze strong enough to fill the sails for us to race. We placed our bets on the wind currents out at sea, as unpredictable as they always are, once we left the bay under power and raised the sails heading north a few miles to Cape Foulweather. The sea was as flat as I have ever seen it. Barely a ripple slapped against the boat. We were under power while we tried to catch some wind. Finally a whisper of wind became just strong enough for us to cut the engine and use full sails. It was slow going and unusually quiet. Seagulls were passing us the way a Lamborghini zips past a Geo Metro with an 8 watt blow dryer motor.
It was a short trip, even at our slow pace, but it was enough time spent on the sea to remind me that I don’t really care much about regattas and racing as much as I do spending quiet time in reverie on the sailboat. Since 1965 I have had my share of fast cars. But that’s another story for another blog. Boats are in a different category for me when it comes to speed and purpose.
Maybe it’s the fact that I’m older, wiser, and no longer in a hurry for my days to pass by quickly. Time seems to stand still when I’m sailing. I forget that there is already an influx of tourist traffic on Hwy 101. I don’t think about how long it takes me to drive home from Newport to Lincoln City. The sun doesn’t set until after 9pm here in the Pacific Northwest. It isn’t dark until well after 10pm, so my days are longer and my nights are very short. I don’t get much sleep and I can use all the siesta time kicking back on the boat, listening to a sail flap when it loses its wind now and then, and I have to do some quick tacking to avoid turning the engine back on.
One of my co-workers who has been sailing for over 25 years here told me he became a little bored with sailing. He said, “What can you do? You leave the bay, you go straight for a little while, then you either turn left or turn right. There’s nowhere to go.” I reminded him that it’s not the destination that matters. It’s the journey. Even if that journey only takes you a few miles to the left or the right. It’s a journey filled with valuable time that rejuvenates the heart and soul of expatriated Woody Creek dreamers like me.
The Con Man welcomes David Davidar of Penguin Canada; Areyeh Green of Media Central in Israel; and Martin Sherwin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning co-author of "American Prometheus," about Robert Oppenheimer.
Up until recently, my computer was still in it's box since my move out of Colorado in February. I had been using a computer in my bank's lobby, but recently managed to get more steady work out of the temp agency I have been using, meaning that I was working during the hours that my bank was open. My computer choices were then down to an Internet Cafe for $5.00 per hour mainly on Saturdays OR get my machine online in the cheap motel room where I am still staying.
Highlights of Ideas Festival sessions open to the public (tickets required) include:
· US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff in conversation with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg
· Alice Waters in conversation with The Atlantic’s Corby Kummer, with dessert served from her cookbook
· Award-winning National Geographic photographer James Balog exploring ice on the run in his “Extreme Ice Survey”
· A global perspective on the US elections from Der Tagesspiegel’s Christoph von Marschall, Ha'aretz’s Ari Shavit, Edward Luce of the Financial Times, and others
· A talk with four young, resilient survivors of genocide, war, and gang violence, moderated by playwright and actor Anna Deavere Smith.
The Con Man gets a visit from Chuck Thompson, the "Con Games" truth-in-travel expert, and then segues into a discussion of John McCain's appearance on the "Ellen" show to talk about gay marriage--and the latest outrage from Reverend John Hagee.
The Con Man went to a seminar with Randy Udall, sponsored by the Sopris Foundation, and came away a changed man. With peak oil either here or imminent, with demand rising, it's impossible not to look at energy in a new and disturbing way. Life as we know it is about to change.
The Con Man sticks a fork into the carcass of conservatism and says it's finished as a unifying national force. Also: an interview with Nick Heil, the author of "Dark Summit," the story of the deadliest season on Mount Everest--and a final shot at John McCain's disturbing ties to lobbyists with disturbing clients like the military junta in Burma.
Why is there always a bandwagon leap of arrogance and hypocrisy when the Olympics roll around? It seems one or more countries have a group of activists who have been training almost as long as the athletes themselves when it comes to diverting the attention of the Games to a political arena, if not a self-indulgent one for their own agendas.
As a former Olympic hopeful, spending six years on the United States Shooting Team traveling around the world to compete, I get a little irascible when the talk turns to boycotting the Olympic Games. Why isn’t the boycott a daily issue with everyone who feels it necessary to disrupt the Olympics, directed toward nearly every retailer in the country who offers goods made in China? Where are the demonstrations at the doors of Wal-Mart or Dell Computers?
Everyday in this country millions of people are spending money on toothpaste, pet food, laptop computers, Black and Decker tools, clothing, toys, baby strollers, cosmetics, electronics and more; all made in China, and yet without any fuss or hesitancy whether they are sanctioning China’s actions by making their purchases. So why are the Olympic Games the biggest attention getter for the boycotters? How will a boycott affect American companies operating in China? Wouldn’t we be shooting ourselves in the foot?
President Bush boycotting the opening ceremonies would be the same as any of us attending a birthday party for someone, but refusing to eat the cake because you don’t agree with the person’s politics. Isn’t this where the phrase ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too’ came from? If not, perhaps it should have new meaning now.
I disagree with the idea of boycotting the Games. I am not naïve enough to wax poetic on the main purpose of the Games as ‘competing in harmony and peace with all nations, setting aside our personal beliefs for sixteen days.’ There are too many people with their hands in the coffer for that kind of simple certainty. I do believe though that each athlete should have their chance at competing, no matter where the Games are held or what that country has done to another. I believe that Tibet should have its freedom and independence, and no longer suffer from the inhumane treatment of China. But boycotting the Olympics isn’t going to change one damn thing for Tibet. Thinking it will is foolish.
Bill Clinton gave (i.e. sold) China permanent favored nation trading status. Will a boycott of any kind for any duration change any of that? Of course it won’t. So just exactly who would be affected by a boycott? Most certainly the athletes who have trained for years for this one chance will be affected. Did our boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow cause the fall of USSR eleven years later?
My advice is this: boycott on an individual level if you feel strongly about an Olympic boycott. If you want to try to change the ways of China, try to find a retailer who does not offer even one item in their store with a Made In China tag on it. Good luck with that. Buy Only American. Block NBC from your remote control. Send Bill Clinton an “Up Yours” card on recycled paper made in America from trees clear-cut in Oregon.
Can you see the futility in a 16-day action that revolves around the Olympics?
Let the Games begin.... without the disruption of politics. Wouldn't that be a nice vision for a brief sixteen days?
Waiting reluctantly on the beach of Lincoln City, Oregon...
Here's some interesting cockpit footage of a Learjet 60 coming into Sardy Field. Listen early on as the flight computer starts barking "Pull Up" as the jet drops over what must be Triangle Peak.
There is something about the name Cape Foulweather that fascinates me. My mind races with thoughts ranging from the history of the area and wanting to know the facts, to images of a full length feature film of mystery and suspense starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson. I wish there was an actual town of Cape Foulweather. I would consider renting a house there while I wait to purchase my sloop or ketch.
I leaped at the opportunity to sail to the Point after we scrapped the idea of our Wednesday Night Regatta in Yaquina Bay in Newport, Oregon when there wasn’t even the slightest hope of a breeze strong enough to fill the sails for us to race. We placed our bets on the wind currents out at sea, as unpredictable as they always are, once we left the bay under power and raised the sails heading north a few miles to Cape Foulweather. The sea was as flat as I have ever seen it. Barely a ripple slapped against the boat. We were under power while we tried to catch some wind. Finally a whisper of wind became just strong enough for us to cut the engine and use full sails. It was slow going and unusually quiet. Seagulls were passing us the way a Lamborghini zips past a Geo Metro with an 8 watt blow dryer motor.
Why is there always a bandwagon leap of arrogance and hypocrisy when the Olympics roll around? It seems one or more countries have a group of activists who have been training almost as long as the athletes themselves when it comes to diverting the attention of the Games to a political arena, if not a self-indulgent one for their own agendas.
