Musafir's Musings

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sunday afternoon at Stern Grove

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Joan Baez * Pete Seeger

Listening to Joan Baez at Stern Grove this afternoon brought back memories of the late sixties when activists against the Vietnam war were gaining momentum. She was a prominent figure in energizing the anti-war movement. Among her repertoire today was a song that was popular in those days -- "We shall overcome". The first time I heard it was when Pete Seeger made an appearance in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1967 or thereabout. He invited the audience to join him in what he called a "Hootenanny". And we did.

Joan Baez at Stern Grove

Swaying to music

Happiness is a laughing child

It felt good to see people of all ages, races, colors enjoying the music, the sunshine, food and wine under the Eucalptus trees. Young couples hugging, mothers swaying to the beat, holding their children.

Tomorrow it will be back to work for those who have jobs. They are fortunate, but even for them there is nagging concern about the future. Are their jobs secure? In America there is no such thing as job security. But tomorrow is another day. Today they were out there enjoying themselves.

Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan

In some respects, 36 years after the end of the Vietnam war things have not changed much. We were conned into another unjust war, this time against Iraq. Sporadic incidents of internecine violence continue in Iraq as Shias and Sunnis kill each other. But it is news from the war in Afghanistan that now gets more coverage. We installed a puppet, Hamid Karzai, a corrupt and ineffective man to run Afghanistan. Bin Laden is reported to be hiding in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are reports about a natural gas pipeline (TAP or TAPI) from Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan being the primary motive for our involvement in Afghanistan. Could be true. Oil was certainly a factor in the Iraq war although it appears that we are not going to be in control of Iraq's oil. Still, a friendly government in Iraq would be good for the multi-national oil companies. Major powers and oil companies have done a lot of dirty things together. That,too, is not going to change.
*****

Stern Grove Joan Baez Iraq Afghanistan

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Monday, July 06, 2009

Butterflies are Free

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A Walk in the Woods

July 4th came and went. Did not watch fireworks but took part in a traditional hike with friends. Picnic in the woods had all the trimmings including luscious watermelon. The pictures below were taken at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

Variable Checkerspots feeding,I

Variable Checkerspots feeding, II

Hikers on Harkins Ridge Trail, Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve

"In watermelon sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar. I'll tell you about it because I am here and you are distant.

"Wherever you are, we must do the best we can. It is so far to travel, and we have nothing here to travel, except watermelon sugar. I hope this works out."

--Richard Brautigan, In Watermelon Sugar

Summer of Discontent ?

For some, it is a bleak summer. The economic recovery seems to have stalled; number of unemployed Americans keeps creeping up; filing of bankruptcies remain high as do foreclosures. It is going to take a long time before the picture brightens.

As military operations by our armed forces slow down in Iraq, the tempo is rising in Afghanistan. Six American soldiers died there on July 6th. Are we done with Iraq? Why have we built, and are going to maintain, the largest U.S. Embassy in the world in Baghdad? It is reported to occupy the size of four football fields! Of course, Iraqi oil has not paid and will not pay for the cost of the war as boasted by the neocons when they began the war on lies.

In the meantime, the politicians are going through their usual antics. Republicans scrambling around to grasp something, anything, to get out of the hole they dug for themselves. And they are still mouthing platitudes about family values. Talk about thick hides.

*****

July 4th Butterflies Purisima Creek Iraq Afghanistan

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Summer 2009

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Traveling in the Bedroom * Governor Mark Sanford

During a recent bike ride on Canãda Road, saw some Clarkias in bloom. Buckeyes are turning brown. Other wild flowers have done their thing and disappeared.

Man and machines on northern end of Canãda Road

Still does not feel like summer. Day-time temperature unusually cool. But summer is here. And there are sure to be some days when we'll long for a cool breeze. In the meantime, make the most of it. Before you know it the schools will re-open; summer will be over.

Clarkias (Farewell to Spring) Blooming

Back to Alain De Botton

In my previous post about Remembrance of Things Past I had mentioned Alain De Botton's "How Proust Can Change Your Life". In his delightful book "The Art of Travel", De Botton wrote about Xavier De Maistre and his Journey Around My Bedroom.

In "The Art of Travel", photograph of De Botton's bedroom shows bookshelves and part of a bed that look larger than my own. I decided to do some traveling in my bedroom. Not bad at all.

My bedroom

Governor Mark Sanford - Another Republican who "Sinned"

Bad days for the champions of family values. The governor's former Chief of Staff Tom Davis: "That Governor 'Realized He Sinned' (ABC's Good Morning America)

Ah, the sinners. They keep coming out of the woodworks and putting on a sickening dog and pony show, often with their wives at their sides. Republicans have become quite adept at playing the remorseful sinner, and their supporters readily forgive them. While Eliot Spitzer did not talk about sin, he followed the rest of the Republican playbook. Admittedly, Governor Sanford did not exactly follow the mea culpa routine of others who have gone through it before him. But being a member of God's Own Party, the governor 's hands are tied. While not as rabid as some other party leaders, Mark Sanford strongly supported impeachment of Bill Clinton. His position on issues such as same sex marriage and adoption rights for gays leaves no doubt that he,too, subscribes to the family values claptrap adopted by his party. He will follow the same road and seek absolution. He has no choice.

The Brits have a pithy description for such people: Wankers. Pitiful wankers.
*****

Summer De Botton Governor Sanford Spitzer

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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Marcel Proust and Vida Vamegli

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Stepping Back in Time

Marcel Proust's writings are said to have a soporofic effect on some readers. There are nights when it would be good to have a book on the bedside table that can help put me to sleep. That,however, is not what I experience when reading Proust.

Proust's Remembrance of Things Past is a book that I have read more than once. Perhaps, after the first time, it was more like skimming through some parts rather than reading every page but Swann's Way never failed to give pleasure. When Alain De Botton's How Proust Can Change Your Life was published in 1997, I said to myself "Hey, I know what he means". Did it really change my life? No. But it gave me hours of pleasure; made me think of times past, of people I had known -- all part of the process that makes us what we are.

A week ago while browsing in Menlo Park Library, I stopped at the bin marked "free". I no longer buy books for two reasons: I cannot afford to and I don't have room for them. Nevertheless, the bin was irresistible. I searched through the pile and found a treasure. It was a 1934 edition of the first volume of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past published by Random House. C.K. Scott Moncrieff's translation is superb and volume one contains:

Swann's Way

Within a Budding Grove

The Guermantes Way

Who was Vida Vamegli ?

Considering its age, the book is in excellent condition. 1934 was not long after I was born. The fly-leaf has an inscription "From the library of Vida Vamegli". If she owned the book in the early thirties she is not likely to be around. I drew a blank in searching for Vida Vamegli in the worldwide web. It is an Italian name. No Vamegli surfaced in the Bay area.

In my imagination I think of Vida Vamegli living in the San Francisco Peninsula. Who was she? A house wife? A teacher? Good, copperplate handwriting. Would I have enjoyed meeting her in person? Could she have been a Republican. Were Republican politicians as obnoxious in 1934 as they are today? How did the book end up in "free" bin of the library? Perhaps her books were donated and there were no takers in the library's book sale. Many library goers must have looked at it without finding it worthwhile. It was waiting for me. Not a resident of Menlo Park, I rarely go to that particular library. Fate!

Now, what am I going to do with the book? There will be days and nights when I will pick it up and re-read parts of it. After some time I shall probably give it back to a library with the hope that it will find a home with someone who loves Proust, or -- even better -- someone who will discover Proust for the first time.

*****

"When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past......."
-- William Shakespeare, Sonnet No.30

Marcel Proust Alain De Botton Vida Vamegli Menlo Park

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Sunday, June 07, 2009

Sculptures and Paintings among the Trees

Djerassi Resident Artists Program

Located in the foothills, off Skyline Road, in Woodside, California, is the Djerassi Resident Artists Program center established by Dr. Carl Djerassi.

A recent visit to the center with a group of friends was a very rewarding experience. The program is an example of how funding by private individuals can promote and nurture artistic creations. Full details of the program are available at http://www.djerassi.org/

A few photographs follow.

Contemplator, 2004, by Yusuke Toda

My favorite. A simple post embedded in redwood, it made me think of teachings of Zen masters. The part bound by spiral of rope, will expose red painted surface when the rope decays and distinegrates.

"Nothing exists: all things are becoming"
--Reiho Masunaga, The Soto Approach to Zen

Title unknown - by Derek Jackson