Wildlife: Big male Whitetail deer welcomed me home Wednesday night -- had to run, though.



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Charity Alert: The Literacy Site and some other fine projects!

Weather: Rain last night -- GOOD. Sprayed our trees for destructive insectoids yesterday -- UGH.

In the Community: The Honors Symposium lecture about Social Security with Harry Zeeve from the Concord Coalition was more of an extended Q & A session than a talk, but it was a very good evening anyway. Fiscal conservatism is a virtue in my eyes -- always has been, and I'm glad that someone was arguing for financial sensibility on the part of a National Government which currently shows no inclination to do anything of the sort.
We are living in an irrational age, unfortunately, where columns of black-and-white figures are ignored in favor of blood-red hysteria which is more easily sold through the ravenous mass media.
By the way, Harry is a great guy -- loves guitar music!
Next lecture: The Politics of Health Care in America by Dr. John Wilkerson, from the Political Science Department at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Media Watch: When does the next round of this Jeopardy championship start?
A nice program called Monster Hoax on the A&E Network -- an animatronic-powered plastic creature named "Lucy" swimming in Loch Ness. It was a high-spirited practical joke by a bunch of grown men who had more time and money than was safe for them. Lucy sank, along with a miniature sub, during testing, and also capsized in Loch Ness itself -- sending one of her diver-operators to the hospital.
Mbube on PBS -- a documentary about the legacy of Solomon Linda. He was a South African singer who wrote a great group-vocal tune in 1939 called "Mbube" that Pete Seegar transliterated as "Wimoweh" around 1949. In 1961 a group of young American musicians called The Tokens sang "Wimoweh" with some English lyrics added to make a song called "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which became an international number-one hit.
Like most black people in South Africa, Solomon Linda led a hard life, and died with no material wealth in 1962. The expession "died in poverty" is often used about him, but his daughter pointed out in the film that he was neither "a hungry man" nor a "hobo." He worked all day and sang all night to support his family, among other very poor Black South Africans, and his people loved him.
The filmmakers made this movie as a way of pleading for justice towards Solomon's family -- his tune has made millions of dollars, and his estate deserves a share.
Pete Seegar's publisher, and Solomon Linda's record company are sending profits where they belong now, but Dan Weiss, the lyricist of "Lion" hasn't given up a dime -- shame on him, and a music industry which allows situations like this.
The Disney Corporation's assets are tied up in South Africa because of their use of that 'stolen song' in "The Lion King." Maybe it'll help pry a fair settlement out of the powers-that-be eventually.

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Wildlife: The ducks are paired-up and beginning to nest by Middle Foy's Lake. The Canadian Geese are doing the same by Firehouse Pond.

Weather: I'm not complaining about a mild sunny April day, but we still need more rain.

Charity Alert: Click to help: The Animal Rescue Site (and five others)

Media Watch: A biography of America's Sweetheart: Mary Pickford on PBS' American Experience. How did Kenneth Anger describe it? "...the evil star system"
From PBS.com: Legacy of a Superstar
Pickford was the world's first international superstar. Her performances could be seen and admired anywhere, thanks to a new, portable, mechanically reproduceable art form. Pickford was the first to experience the glamour and excitement of enormous and extravagant fame -- and the first to pay the price for its loss. In 1915, statisticians calculated that she was seen globally by 12 million people every day. At the height of her success, she was the richest woman in America -- and she enjoyed a long career in front of the camera. By the late 1930s, her star had waned. Still, Pickford's contributions to the development of film -- the major artistic invention of the twentieth century -- make her one of the most important cultural figures in American history.
Multi-Media PBS Website about Mary Pickford and early movies

In the Community: Honors Symposium tonight -- Harry Zeeve from "The Concord Coalition," located in Arlington, Virginia, speaking on: Social Security and the Federal Budget.
From http://www.concordcoalition.org ...Unfortunately, the President’s only concrete proposal — a debt-financed personal accounts “carve out” — would do nothing to solve the problem... Indeed,it might even make the problem worse.
Senator Conrad Burns had a pretty restive crowd last Saturday morning for his "listening session" on Social Security. To his credit, he was able to keep everyone who spoke on-topic, which wasn't that easy, considering the anger of some of the participants. Another thing I was impressed with was his instructions to his staff afterward to follow-up on certain issues brought to his attention in the meeting.
There were only three jackasses out of over two dozen speakers, which was remarkable.
Members of the audience made some noise if they were offended, or clapped in agreement sometimes, but they were generally polite.
NOBODY spoke in favor of Bush's "privitazation" of Social Security, and several spoke against it.
More than once Sen. Burns promised that he would "vote the way his constituents wanted," and even declared, "(President) Bush doesn't vote for me."
However -- Karl Rove had been in Helena with Burns the day before. The subject never came up, but the Bush Adminastration is infamous for retaliation against those who stray from their plans, and Burns depends on GOP money to be re-elected.
Honors Symposium Reviews:
Bob Brown, a long-time state legislator gave the only lecture held at FVCC. All but a dozen went to the Kalispell Mall, including Brown, and had to be informed of their mistake there before finding the right place.
His topic was The Role of Public Education in a Free Society, and he quoted Benjamin Rush, Thomas Jefferson, Noah Webster, and Horace Mann. Democracy doesn't work at all without literacy and education. (It just barely works now in our country, but Brown didn't get into that.)
Brown used his limited experience in the dangerous, beleagured state of Angola as an example of how lack of basic education and common language allows no foundations for modern institutions, like free elections, in some parts of the world. His point may have been a bit too anecdotal, but his capsule description of that sad ex-colony's history was more accurate than most I have heard.
The Q&A session was mostly about how the Montana State Land Board works. Even though it was off-topic, its very worthwhile to know these things.
Dr. Tom Powers from the Economics Dept. of the U of M in Missoula was terrific.
I wish ALL presenters were prepared, organized, brought facts to support their assertions, and pointed out existing exceptions and "weaknesses" of their arguements themselves. The best thing he brought was a sense of humor, about himself, and everything he said.
Dr. Powers' topic was: What Does Landscape Protection Cost Us? He showed that qualities such as clean air, water, natural beauty, and mild weather were significant factors in attracting skilled and wealthier people to given areas. They weren't sufficient in themselves for establishing thriving local economies, but they significantly helped. He also had the figures to demonstrate that heavily extraction-related, "boom and bust" localities tended to stay busted and depopulated once they'd gutted their natural resources.

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Wildlife: A little family group of four Whitetail Deer ran back and forth between us and the lake about 7 AM.

Weather: A little rain, a little sun -- could use more of the former.

Charity Alert: A few clicks help so much: The Rainforest Site

Media Watch: Founding Myths: Stories that Hide our Patriotic Past by Ray Raphael -- I'd forgotten how even obviously silly stories were spread by people who don't really care to know better.
I was somewhat aware of how the Massachusetts colony rather violently exiled Royal officials back to Boston prior to the skirmishes in Lexington and Concord, but Raphael tells how this well-organized uprising actually started in 1774, and how widespread the leaders were among the various communities.

In The Community: The Honors Symposium features Harry Zeeve from Arlington, Virginia speaking about The Federal Budget and Social Security this Wednesday at 7 PM down in the Kalispell Mall.
Speaking of Social Security -- How did Sen. Conrad Burns do last Saturday?
He got an EARFUL! Daily Interlake Report by Lynette Hintze

(More about previous Honors Symposium lectures later this week -- Bob Brown wasn't much to shout about, but Tom Powers was GOOD!)

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Wildlife: Eagles and Seagulls over Middle Foy's Lake!

Weather: The little moisture every day has been wonderful -- my lawn is actually turning green, and my well may actually have water this summer.

Charity Alert: A few clicks is all it takes to contribute real food at The Hunger Site

Media Watch: Or should I say "Death Watch?" First it was the unfortunate Terri Shaivo passing away under the gaze of billions, then Karol Jozef Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II's) final days were played out as international media fodder. The death of an important person like a pope is always news, but I doubt that he wanted to star in "Death Watch II."
I liked CSPAN's Digital Future series from the Smithsonian Library. CSPAN's Special Page

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Wildlife: A Trumpeter Swan landed in Middle Foy's Lake and lingered for a few hours on Saturday. I got a few long-lens pictures too.

Weather: A nice mix of light rain, plus snow in the mountains.

Charity Alert: Rain forest preservation site and five others!

In The Community: Hey, I don't have to pack and unpack, and repack my car!
Senior Fellow at the University of Montana's O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Missoula Bob Brown will continue the Flathead Valley Community College's 2005 Honors Symposium as the series' fourth featured speaker March 28. Brown will lecture on "The Role of Public Education in a Free Society." The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Learning Resource Center, room 123, on Flathead Valley Community College's Kalispell campus.
Brown was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 1970 at age 23 and served two terms before being elected to the Montana State Senate in 1974 where he served until 1996. During his last term of office, he chaired the Education Committee and the Taxation Committee, was a member of the Montana State Board of Public Education and served as president of the Montana State Senate.
Brown was elected Montana Secretary of State in 2000 and was a candidate for Montana governor in 2004.

Media Watch: Peter Bogdanovich's Who the Hell's in It: Portraits and Conversations This book contained a wonderful pair of articles about Jerry Lewis and the late Dean Martin. You could also tell that he came to love Marlene Dietrich (Who wouldn't? She seemed like a very nice lady.) -- Hollywood Bombshells
Roberto Benigni's Life Is Wonderful sure reminded me of Jerry Lewis, and it turns out that the basic story idea was proposed by the latter forty years ago. Bogdanovich was also a pal of John Cassavetes, who made movies far differently than Lewis did.
One more word about Jerry Lewis -- the American public just plain ol' got TIRED of his films because they lacked the critical element of surprise that makes things funny. The too-few instances of acting that he's done for other directors makes me regret that he became such a do-it-yourself autuer of Le Cinema.
I think Woody Allen learned something about the importance of artistic variety from observing Lewis' mistakes that, say Jacques Tati didn't, and fooled the public for a generation or two. (Allen is VERY stylized as well.)
Jeffrey Sachs on CSPAN -- he was sadly articulate about how needless hyper-competition in the world is ruining everybody's prosperity. Book TV
Who put "Cringe" in CSPAN? Clerical criminal Jim Wallis of the KKKristian Koalition, that infamous bribery enterprise, was on After Words. Turds-for-brains ex-judge Roy (Ten Commandments) Moore is on next week. Self-serving lies are never "the other side" of any issue -- they are just lies.

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Charity Alert: Six clicks, and you can help a lot: Animal Rescue Site

Weather: We have had snow falling every day for a week -- sometimes just a teaspoon full, but we'll take it all.

Wildlife: The snow seems to have driven the deer from the foothills. We saw a herd of over a dozen Whitetails grazing in Foy's Canyon.

In The Community: I'm going to do MY part in making sure the room is full for Sen. Conrad Burns' in-person "listening session" 10 A.M. on Saturday, April 2 at FVCC's LRC123 'quad' room. Topic: Social Security! It wll be tele-confrenced to Libby, Eureka via ITV, and possibly to Missoula and Butte, Montana too.
Another Honors Symposium lecture on Monday, March 28, this will be the only presentation at the college -- same room that Burns will use, at 7 P.M.
We started taping our Current Events show outside on Tuesday, but it was too cold to linger out of the buildings for long. We shot inside about half the time, despite all the carpet-laying and painting going on during "Spring Break."

Media Watch: I just finished a book about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and their followers, illustrated by fairly large, full-color reproductions of their paintings. Rossetti's best works still have a lot of inspirational power. Arthur Hughes and Fredrick Sandys come off well in this book: Essential Pre-Raphaelites by Lucinda Hawksley.
As an art sudent, I looked at less-colorful reproductions, and even read William Holman Hunt's book about his madcap friends, and his own artistic career. I admired this group of idealists, and felt their influences in my life. Most of all, I looked up to polymath William Morris -- superb decorative designer, popular narrarative poet, Marxist idealist, and compelling fantasist, comparable only to George MacDonald.
(He was also the husband of Rossetti's favorite model, Jane Burden Morris, whose dark haunting beauty continues to stir the hearts of everybody who studies women in art.)
I believe Morris inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write stories and novels in the Fantasy Genre. The late professor always touted Andrew Lang's colorful Fairy Books, but his own writing possessed more of Morris' 'Northern' vigor. I'll allow a healthy dose of Brothers Grimm, and MacDonald's entrapping whimsy, but the "Well at the World's End" lies in William Morris' shadowlands.

The Terry Sciavo case is painful. TV is too shallow a medium to deal with the facts -- but the hard emotions are flowing like cheap whiskey through the boob-tube anyway, with predictable, muddle-headed results.