...all my ancestors are behind me. "Be still," they say. "Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands." Flora Patencio - Aqua Caliente Indian
Tome Serafimovski is a Macedonian artist who created modernist sculptures for the state in Yugoslavia. Like other monuments, they were meant to create a single Yugoslavian culture.
It didn't work, but I love his work. So you can imagine my surprise when Ed and I went to Baton Rouge in 2023 for a game with Carson and Ursuall and I saw one of his pieces. It was clean and beautiful, and I loved it.
Here ar pictures of one of his pieces I saw in Macedonia. The images aren't great because of the lighting, but it was on a highway, and I couldn't have returned at a better time of day.
A golf club in Maui was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It wasn't built until the 1990s, wall after it was planned on his design. We visited, and it was cool.
It is hasn't aged well, but part of that is the color of the building. Frank's plans seemed to call for a color somewhere between the orange of his favorite Wood Lilly and the rust color of the soil in Maui.
It looks more like baby food pale. Something a toddler might throw up after tasting mulch.
Aside from the color, it looks pretty darn cool. Now, from above, it is a bit of a penis shape, but you don't get that at ground level. We did happen to helicopter over it, and the penis outline is inescapable. But here are some pictures.
Last Monday, John Stuart had a remarkable guest on the show, Royal Ramey. Here is his description on the link:
Chief Royal Ramey, a formerly incarcerated firefighter, and CEO and co-founder of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, joins Jon Stewart to discuss how his program helps other formerly incarcerated people find a career in the fire sector. They discuss the hands-on training he received while incarcerated, why the work appeals to those currently serving time, and how helping a community and experiencing the “prison-to-public servant pipeline” changed his life.
To hear him is to be impressed. He started as one of the prisoner firemen in California. As a prisoner in the California penal system, he volunteered to fight fires as part of his sentence. Why and how he did this is amazing enough for the interview.
But more impressively, after being released, he worked to help others. Even trained firemen could not be hired easily if they were previously incarcerated. No one wants to hire someone who has been in jail. So he and another ex-inmate worked with a fire captain in the Central Valley to enable hiring in the departments that need them. After a nervous start, he was funny and informative.
It is a 15-minute watch that will make you happier. If he can find hope, how hard can it be for us to find hope. Hella hard, but you get what I mean.
Awe is hard to describe and even harder to share. Awe is defined as:
Humans are inspired and driven to appreciate awe. Awe-inspiring is a common term because it is shared universally. It sparks creativity in us.
I find it in the oddest places. In Hawaii, we walked around the bay of the black sand beach (LINK TO OLD POST). For some unknown reason, I found these tiny rock outcroppings stunning. Isn't that odd? I was, as they say, awestruck. I don't know why. It might have been the uneven symmetry. It might have been the colors - the black of the lava rocks, the deep blue of the ocean, the bright green of some growth, and the almost grasslike surface of the lower plateau. The way the entire outcropping defies the sea, trying to wear it down and strangle the plant life with seawater? (You can select the image to get a larger picture.)
My new post on the Intersection of Geography and Economics is up LINK.
I think it is good.
I have also included this:
(Note: I have not posted in a while due to two factors. 1: The idea that AI can do a better job than I can has deflated my sense of pride in this. 2: The US election depressed me. A depressed Scooter is not a motivated Scooter.)
While in Maui, we (Ed, John, Sue, and I) went on a helicopter tour of the island. We planned to cover all of Maui, but it was cloudy. So we started with the north shore of Molokai and then flew over pats of the bay and Maui before heading back through the interior. It was super cool.
There are more, but these are the coolest:
The last picture is of one of the interior valley of Maui. No other way to see most of these. It was tres cool.
We drove the "Road to Hana," a twisty, tiny road that is sort of two-way, except every other curve into the hill has a one-lane bridge to cross a stream or ravine. It was a beautiful time.
We stopped at the state park at Waiʻānapanapa State Park (yes, I had to copy that name!). Here are some pictures of the park and the black sand beach.
Two sea arches
The vivid green against the black lava rocks are gorgeous. My honey just makes it better.
If you watch most movies from the pre-TV period, you proceed in a typical fashion. Title Cards, then the story opens relatively statically. But Michael Curtiz developed the type of opening we now see more often. The kind that pulls you in. Take the opening of Mildred Pierce (below).
The first sequence sets up the plot and tone of the movie from the beginning.
A shot of an Ocean Front House shows power and money.
The Interior reflects money and power, but pans to a dapper playboy (Monty) who is shot repeatedly.
Monty hits the floor, the gun is thrown at him, and Monty says "Mildred."
A car rushes away - we assume with the killer.
Mildred Pierce walks hesitantly along an ocean boardwalk. She walks out on the pier.
Mildred looks painfully at the water, and begins to climb over the railing.
A loud clang announces someone else is there.
Here you go. You know there is a murder. You know that this is Mildred, rich but haggard. You know she doesn't know what to do next. All before the first words are spoken.
Now rewatch the mini-scene of Monty being shot. The first frames are from a lower angle. You see Monty and the ceiling simultaneously, giving a sense of claustrophobia. When he falls, the gun is thrown, and he is lying in front of a fire that isn't extinguished, showing the killer leaving in a hurry.
Joan Crawford, as Mildred, gives a great performance in these few scenes. She conveys a sense of helplessness and weariness without saying a word.
In the silent movies, two of the bad and evil men were William Powell and Warner William. They were big box office stars. With sound, they were some of the few that made the transition to talkies. No doubt it is because both were Broadway actors before coming to Hollywood.
Some of their first sound movies were done with Michael Curtiz who managed their change from cads to charming, if alcohol-influenced, detectives and good lawyers.
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