Conan Should Have Listened

Listen to the man in the suit!:

Oh, snap! The Leno/Conan switcheroo finally makes sense! Thanks to a priceless report by the New York Times today, we've learned that Conan O'Brien refused to take some really great advice from NBC executive Dick Ebersol about how to broaden his appeal by adjusting the style he used for 16 years on "Late Night." Apparently Ebersol recognized clearly that Conan's quirky style would never play in the central time zone, and he warned him of that fact. But did Conan listen?

No! The stubborn redheaded stepchild brattily stomped his feet and refused! The comedian and host arrogantly resolved to follow his own instincts about what is and isn't funny and entertaining instead of relying on invaluable comedic advice from the head of NBC Sports.

Doesn't Conan know that graying executives who spend half their time on the golf course retelling old Henny Youngman punchlines with their executive buddies know much more about comedy than he does? How could he be so foolish and naive?

After asserting that Jay Leno was blameless, Ebersol went on to call Conan's short tenure on "Tonight Show" an "astounding failure," and said Conan was "gutless" and "chicken-hearted" for criticizing Leno and NBC, even if it did make millions of Americans laugh heartily, even if Conan's ratings are steadily climbing as he lashes out, even if millions of Americans are rallying to Conan's defense.

Understand, Ebersol is a highly paid television expert at the least successful major network on the air. He knows what's best for NBC. He knows what America likes. And look, can he help it that America likes slow-witted guys with big chins who remind them of their deeply unfunny uncles?

Conan O'Brien should've listened, damn it. But now it's too late.

...So, whether or not Conan O'Brien spins comedy gold every single night, let's give him a round of applause for his supposedly chicken-hearted, gutless move to stand his ground, to ignore lame advice about – let's just guess – dumbing things down and making his subtle jokes more clunky and obvious, since Americans aren't smart enough to appreciate anything weird. We Americans, who embraced "Seinfeld" and "The Simpsons" and a million other weird things that were initially judged as far too out-there and experimental to hit it big, we Americans, who are besieged by crappy TV that's supposedly right up our alley? Let's applaud Conan for giving us a little credit, the way the creators of the very best shows on television did.

Because there's nothing in the world that's more gutless and chicken-hearted than assuming that your audience is stupid, and serving them up something stupid to please them. Great television, from "The Sopranos" to, yes, "American Idol," is created by passionate people who actually believe in what they're doing. That's why Conan said no to moving "The Tonight Show," because he believes in the franchise. And that's why we'll say no to "The Tonight Show" hosted by Jay Leno. Despite what Dick Ebersol and the other geniuses at NBC assume, we're not that stupid.

Jake Chec And Sy Sylver Ft. Zoy Nicoles - Hypnotized

Homeless Man Tries To Be Helpful

Walking to Subway for lunch yesterday along J Street, I stopped on the sidewalk next to the railroad track, and gazed across the street, towards the south.

On the other side of the street, a homeless man trying to cadge a few coins by sitting next to the sidewalk and begging, misapprehended my intention, and tried to be helpful.

"You can cross the street now," he shouted. "The traffic light at 19th Street is red! You can cross now!"

I replied: "No, I'm waiting to watch the train roll by." Unbeknownst to the homeless man, a freight train was approaching from the south.

We both laughed about that.

It's All In The Knee

Earlier this week, Deborah appealed for pictures of clouds:

I am looking for images of a kind of cloud formation that occurs in monsoon season here. I found 2 OK ones but it's that huge puffball that ruffles out along the horizon, very white at top.

I replied:

The folks at the Cloud Appreciation Society have many interesting pictures.

Here's a nice one from Argentina under 'Cumulus' clouds.

She replied:

THANKS!!! Good resource!

And a couple of days later comes this picture! I replied:

I have a good friend in Seattle who makes her living, in part, by designing Rubber Duckies for all occasions. This last year, she came out with a line of holiday-themed Rubber Duckies, including “Hannukah Duck”. Until now, however, I had not connected Rubber Duckies with Meteorology with Commercial Art. It’s hard to connect dots when they are lost in the Bubble Bath!

She replied:

Haha--the clouds were a serendipitous addition since I'm really connecting them with those white 50s prom dresses!

I'm not sure what that means, but I'll bet I'll learn soon enough!

Chicken Little, 'The Sky Is Falling!!!' - Episode MMX

Mr. Johnson clubs complacent Californians with tales of approaching calamity:

Currently, the strong El Nino is reaching its peak in the Eastern Pacific, and now finally appears to be exerting an influence on our weather. The strong jet has been apparent for quite some time out over the open water, but the persistent block had prevented it from reaching the coast. Now that the block has dissolved completely, a 200+ kt jet is barreling towards us. Multiple large and powerful storm systems are expected to slam into CA from the west and northwest over the coming two weeks, all riding this extremely powerful jet stream directly into the state. The jet will itself provide tremendous dynamic lift, in addition to directing numerous disturbances right at the state and supplying them with an ample oceanic moisture source. The jet will be at quite a low latitude over much of the Pacific, so these storms will be quite cold, at least initially. Very heavy rainfall and strong to potentially very strong winds will impact the lower elevations beginning late Sunday and continuing through at least the following Sunday. This will be the case for the entire state, from (and south of) the Mexican border all the way up to Oregon. Above 3000-4000 feet, precipitation will be all snow, and since temperatures will be unusually cold for a precipitation event of this magnitude, a truly prodigious amount of snowfall is likely to occur in the mountains, possibly measured in the tens of feet in the Sierra after it's all said and done. But there's a big and rather threatening caveat to that (discussed below). Individual storm events are going to be hard to time for at least few more days, since this jet is just about as powerful as they come (on this planet, anyway). Between this Sunday and the following Sunday, I expect categorical statewide rainfall totals in excess of 3-4 inches. That is likely to be a huge underestimate for most areas. Much of NorCal is likely to see 5-10 inches in the lowlands, with 10-20 inches in orographically-favored areas. Most of SoCal will see 3-6 inches at lower elevations, with perhaps triple that amount in favored areas.

This is where things get even more interesting, though. The models are virtually unanimous in "reloading" the powerful jet stream and forming an additional persistent kink 2000-3000 miles to our southwest after next Sunday. This is a truly ominous pattern, because it implies the potential for a strong Pineapple-type connection to develop. Indeed, the 12z GFS now shows copious warm rains falling between days 12 and 16 across the entire state. Normally, such as scenario out beyond day seven would be dubious at best. Since the models are in such truly remarkable agreement, however, and because of the extremely high potential impact of such an event, it's worth mentioning now. Since there will be a massive volume of freshly-fallen snow (even at relatively low elevations between 3000-5000 feet), even a moderately warm storm event would cause very serious flooding. This situation will have to be monitored closely. Even if the tropical connection does not develop, expected rains in the coming 7-10 days will likely be sufficient to cause flooding in and of themselves (even in spite of dry antecedent conditions).

In addition to very heavy precipitation, powerful winds may result from very steep pressure gradients associated with the large and deep low pressure centers expect ed to begin approaching the coast by early next week. Though it's not clear at the moment just how powerful these winds may be, there is certainly the potential for a widespread damaging wind event at some point, and the high Sierra peaks are likely to see gusts in the 100-200 mph range (since the 200kt jet at 200-300 mb will essentially run directly into the mountains at some point). The details of this will have to be hashed out as the event(s) draw closer.

In short, the next 2-3 weeks (at least) are likely to be more active across California than any other 2-3 week period in recent memory. The potential exists for a dangerous flood scenario to arise at some point during this interval, especially with the possibility of a heavy rain-on-snow event during late week 2. In some parts of Southern California, a whole season's worth of rain could fall over the course of 5-10 days. This is likely to be a rather memorable event. Stay tuned…

--
Samuel Y. Johnson
Western Coastal and Marine Geology
U.S. Geological Survey
Pacific Science Center
400 Natural Bridges Drive
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 427-4746 voice
(831) 252-0812 cell
(831) 427-4709 FAX
sjohnson@usgs.gov

Mr. Johnson’s choice of language is alarmist, but it’s true that several large storms will roll through over the next week, and likely after that as well.

It’s important to remember that El Nino’s main influence is in the equatorial Pacific, and that we are quite removed from most of it’s effects. El Nino has actually been “at its peak” for about the last six months. Some ‘peak’, that only now are we feeling its wrath!

In popular parlance, El Nino is taken to mean extended periods of intense rainfall, particularly the “Pineapple Express”, but these periods occur every winter at our latitude, even if they don’t always occur at California’s longitude. El Nino is not required for periods of intense winter rainfall, and even if El Nino occurs, its predominant impact could easily be felt in Alabama as in California.

The trouble with the approaching storms is that one storm will quickly follow the other, each stronger than the last, so by the end of next week, there will be lots of water and snow accumulation, with little capacity to easily absorb more. Sunday will be somewhat wet, Monday much wetter, and Tuesday will be very, very wet. Tuesday evening rush hour will be an unholy mess. Flooding is likely.

Here is an animation of expected rainfall over the next week.

The Pain Of EMS

I think all of us from New Mexico suffer this to one extent or another. Mine is a bit fussy: the i_Phone can stay, for now:

A Santa Fe man who says he suffers from electromagnetic sensitivity is suing his next-door neighbor for refusing to turn off her cell phone and other electronic devices.

Arthur Firstenberg, who has actively opposed the proliferation of wireless systems in public buildings, claims he has been made homeless by Raphaela Monribot's rejection of his requests.

Firstenberg and Monribot, who have homes only 25 feet apart in a west-side neighborhood, both declined to discuss the lawsuit Thursday.

Monribot's actions have effectively ousted Firstenberg from the house he bought last year and forced him to stay with friends or in his car, says a document filed Monday in state District Court by lawyer Lindsay Lovejoy Jr.

Firstenberg "cannot stay in a hotel, because hotels and motels all employ wi-fi connections, which trigger a severe illness," says the request for a preliminary injunction. "If (Firstenberg) cannot obtain preliminary relief, he will be forced to continue to sleep in his car, enduring winter cold and discomfort, until this case can be heard."

...According to an affidavit signed by Firstenberg, Monribot has known about his electromagnetic sensitivity, or EMS, since May 2008, when he hired her to cook meals for him in her home. He said that after he explained his predicament, she began turning off her cell phone and computer "to spare me the pain of EMS."

Firstenberg said he began to sublease a house Monribot rented at 247 Barela St. when Monribot went to France, where her husband, Jean-Pierre Monribot, is a citizen and where one of their daughters lives. But, after the landlord threatened eviction because the rent was unpaid, Firstenberg said, he purchased the house on Sept. 26, 2008, for $430,000.

When a house at 246 Casados St. — which backs up to the one on Barela Street — came up for rent, Firstenberg said, he notified Monribot, who rented that house in October 2008.

"Within a day of (Monribot) moving in, I began to feel sick when I was in my house," Firstenberg wrote in his affidavit. "(Monribot's) house is located 25 feet from my house. Further, because the two houses at one time were on a single lot, their electrical systems are fed from a single main cable. In fact, the electric meter for my house is mounted on (Monribot's) house. Electromagnetic fields emitted in (Monribot's) house are transmitted by wire directly into my house."

Firstenberg said that when he visited Monribot in her new house, she told him she had purchased a new iPhone and leaves it turned on at all times so family members can reach her. When he asked her if she could use a land line in the house, she "flatly refused without explanation," he said.

"I also observed a computer in use, compact fluorescent lights, dimmer rheostats, and other sources of electromagnetic radiation," he said. Monribot "agreed to phase out the fluorescent lights, but she declined to consider any limitation on her cell phone, or to turn off her computer when not in use, or to replace dimmer switches. In fact, a few days later, (Monribot) installed a wireless network for her computer. All of these devices emitted electromagnetic radiation and triggered my EMS with life-threatening reactions, which included a heart arrhythmia."

Firstenberg said he looked into separating the utility connections between the two houses, but Public Service Company of New Mexico has not yet suggested any solution. He said Monribot inquired about the PNM discussions last fall, saying, "I am feeling a bit guilty."

Firstenberg's motion is accompanied by dozens of notes from doctors, some dating back more than a decade, about his sensitivities. Firstenberg, 59, said he began to experience stomach pains, memory loss and other symptoms as a medical student at the University of California, Irvine, in 1980. Since then, various physicians have diagnosed him as being extraordinarily sensitive to both chemicals and electromagnetic radiation, he said.

Since moving to Santa Fe five years ago, Firstenberg has been active in groups that have unsuccessfully tried to stop the city from installing wireless systems at City Hall and public libraries. He has also opposed the installation of cell towers in Chimayó and Madrid, a remote monitoring system for the city water system and controlled burns in national forests.

...Firstenberg declined to be photographed Thursday outside his home on one-lane Barela Street. The back seat of his car, a Nissan with California license plates, contained the bedding he uses to stay warm at night.

"Everybody's trying to find me," he said. "I'm trying to lay low."

The Dumbness Of Doomsday Clocks

Back and forth; back and forth:

NEW YORK — The minute hand of the Doomsday clock was moved back slightly Thursday, indicating the world has inched away from nuclear or environmental catastrophe, but stressing it was not out danger.

"It is six minutes to midnight," the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which created the Doomsday clock in 1947, said in a statement read out as the clock's countdown to midnight was nudged back by one minute from where it has been since 2007.

"For the first time since atomic bombs were dropped in 1945, leaders of nuclear weapons states are cooperating to vastly reduce their arsenals and secure all nuclear bomb-making material," the statement by the panel of international scientists, including 19 Nobel laureates, said.

"For the first time ever, industrialized and developing countries alike are pledging to limit climate-changing gas emissions that could render our planet nearly uninhabitable.

"These unprecedented steps are signs of a growing political will to tackle the two gravest threats to civilization -- the terror of nuclear weapons and runaway climate change," it said.

Since it was created by scientists who helped to develop the world's first atomic weapons, the Doomsday clock has come to be seen as a barometer of what progress, if any, the world has made in moving away from the risk of nuclear, climate-caused or bio-warfare catastrophe.

Midnight on the clock signifies the apocalypse, and the minute hand symbolizes the countdown to disaster.

The last time the minute hand of the clock was moved was in 2007, when it was bumped two minutes closer to midnight.

In resetting the clock this year, the scientists said they were encouraged by recent developments, but had put back the clock by only one minute to show they were "mindful that the clock is ticking," said BAS's Lawrence Krauss.

RIP, Bill O'Brien

Left: Bill was in love with the ultra-cool, sophisticated look of Modern Dance, but for variety, sometimes he would consent to watch the more-traditional look on display in Classical Ballet. When all else failed, just in order to get out of the house, maybe to see friends and associates perform, and to eat a cookie, he would consent to see a Musical. (Truth is, he loved them all!)

Here he is on his last visit to DMTC, in order to see "Mame", on January 28, 2007.



Just got a call from Marcia Raphael: Dr. G. W. (Bill) O'Brien passed away on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

Bill was a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA (I believe), had an active medical practice in Sacramento for many years (I believe he was a psychologist) and (if I'm not mistaken) also practiced at the California Medical Facility near Vacaville.

Bill was nearly 90 years old, and bedridden for much of the last decade of his life, but judging from the number of books he read, his mind was active and engaged right to the end (I visited him about two months ago).

Bill seemed to be a confirmed skeptic. I asked him once if the approach of death made him more spiritual. He answered flatly: "No!"

Bill was an active balletomane. I met him in dance classes at Bobbi Bader's "The Ballet Studio" in Rancho Cordova, where we religiously took barre together, until strokes began to claim his ability to walk in the early 90's.

Bill particularly loved modern dance and sought it out wherever he went. He was especially fond of Mark Morris, and even claimed a sort-of career paternity: "I discovered him," he told me once (but I'm not sure what that meant).

An intelligent inspiration to us all!

Matchmaker For Giants

(J. doesn't have ready Internet access, so when she wants to make a late-night Google search, she gives me a call.)

J.: Do you have Internet access?

M.: I don't have a home computer, but can use my i-Phone!

J.: I want you to look up a Turkish man - Sultan Kosen.

(later)

M.: Got it! Sultan Kosen, at 8' 1", the world's tallest man. Wikipedia says the part-time farmer walks with the aid of canes because of growth-related knee problems, helps out around the house changing difficult-to-reach light bulbs, likes the Internet, and he is in search of love.....

J.: In search of love? The TV said the same thing. He's in New York City right now!

M.: He is?

J.: Yes, apparently he's looking for a girl friend. He's never had a girl friend before because they are all afraid of him.

M.: Well, there are probably more girls in New York than in his hometown in Turkey, particularly tall girls.

J.: How do I get in touch with him? Does it say on Google how to get in touch with him?

M.: Well, no, it doesn't say. I suppose he might have an agent, or maybe a Web Site, or something. Why do you want to get in touch with him?

J.: Do they speak English in Turkey? What do they speak in Turkey?

M.: They speak Turkish in Turkey.

J.: Turkish? Does he know any English?

M.: I don't know - maybe a little - enough to get around New York City.

J.: I'd like to have coffee with him. It'd be really something to have coffee with the world's tallest man!

M.: You want a date with the world's tallest man? You want to be the world's tallest man's girl friend?

J.: Sure, why not? I'm not afraid of him. Tell me how to get in touch with him!

M.: I'm not sure how....

J.: He's such a big man - I wonder if it means everything is big, like....

M.: I'm sure I don't know....

J.: It'd be really something to have coffee with the world's tallest man!

Google, And The Meaning Of Standing Up

Good for Google. Ultimately, the Chinese need Google more than Google needs the Chinese:

On Tuesday, Google had enough. After an investigation revealed that hackers from China had tried to penetrate the computer systems of not just Google, but 20 other American companies in an effort to spy on human rights activists, the search engine struck back. Google lawyer David Drummond exposed the whole sordid affair to the world and declared that from now on, the company’s soul would no longer be for sale. “We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all,” he wrote.

...China’s value lies entirely in its undeniable future as the center of commerce in the world; by challenging its government, Google is almost guaranteed to abandon that market. Beijing never backs down, and Larry and Sergey know this. By so starkly challenging China, they have set in motion a chain of events that will almost surely end their relationship with Asia’s most important country.

Even ordinary Chinese seem to know this. Yesterday, as word of Google’s move spread throughout the country, people began to lay wreaths of sad farewell at the entrances to Google’s regional offices, in a Twitter-spread campaign dubbed “GoogleBye.” People accompanied the flowers with notes vowing to find a way around their government’s censorship firewall and reconnect with the world. Meanwhile, Beijing seemed utterly taken aback by this turn of events. Xinhua, the press organ of the government, initially reported that China’s leaders were studying the situation, even as the story ended with some predictable bluster about how Google needs China more than the converse.

...But hey, Google’s got $20 billion in cash with which to absorb this loss. And let’s face it: The company has never replicated its phenomenal American success overseas. So maybe there just wasn’t that much of a downside to Google disengaging with China. The company’s executives might think that, all evidence to the contrary, everyone can still walk back from this precipice.

Or perhaps we’re seeing something entirely new here—a company that knowingly does something that is contrary to its long-term economic interests. Vaclav Havel once said that when the United States forced Serbia to end its rape of Kosovo, this marked the first time in history that a country went to war entirely for humanitarian reasons. Maybe we’re too easy to fool, and there’s some angle we’re missing. But 24 hours into this remarkable move, Google appears to have finally listened to the better angels of its nature.

Will Smith Memorial Service Scheduled

Marie just sent this information regarding the memorial service for Will Smith (I'm not publishing the Memorial Fund account number, but mailing checks will suffice):

Sen. George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) today announced the details of memorial services and trust fund information for Chief of Staff Will Smith, who passed away Monday, Jan. 11.

Memorial Service:
Date: Saturday, Jan.16
Time: 11 a.m.

Address:

Arcade Baptist Church
3927 Marconi Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95821

Memorial Fund:

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established for his wife and four children. ... Golden 1 account holders may have money directly transferred from their own accounts to the Memorial Fund, or they can contribute by check or cash. All others may contribute by check or cash.

Checks should be written to the “Will Smith Memorial Fund” as the payee.

Contributions can be mailed to:

Will Smith Memorial Fund
Golden 1 Credit Union
1109 L St., Sacramento, CA 95814


Other contributions opportunities:

If interested in contributing to defray the cost of the service, please contact Nick Warner at nick@warnerandpank.com.

Improv Class Was Fun Last Night

Particularly the exercise where one is required to finish your partner's sentences. Keeps you on your feet!

It's Good To Have Rights

Even when they come with a bite:

AFTER winning a lengthy legal battle for the right to keep exotic pets, the Canadian owner of a tiger has been mauled to death by the 300kg cat.

Norman Buwalda, 66, was found dead in the tiger's pen on his property in rural Ontario on Sunday afternoon, local time.

"He had gone in to feed the tiger and possibly had been attacked," Ontario Provincial Police Constable Troy Carlson said, indicating there were no witnesses.

...In 2004, a tiger attack on a 10-year-old boy visiting the property sparked a two-year legal battle between Mr Buwalda and the nearby Southwold Township over the council's subsequent ban on keeping wild animals as pets.

...Mr Buwalda challenged the ban in court, and won. An Ontario Superior Court judge ruled the bylaw was flawed and too broad.

Deborah McMillion Nering - New Works for 2009

SacBee Obituary For Will Smith

Will Smith, chief of staff to Republican Sen. George Runner, died Monday night after he collapsed while playing basketball. He was 41.

Smith, who grew up in Weaverville and attended Sacramento State, first came to the Capitol as an Assembly Fellow for former Assemblyman George House, R-Hughson.

In 1996, Smith joined Runner's Assembly staff. For the next 14 years, he worked in various capacities in Runner's Assembly and Senate offices, as well as for Runner's wife, former Assemblywoman Sharon Runner.

"He was just an incredibly loyal individual. He was loyal obviously to us, but he was loyal to his passions, to his faith," George Runner said. "He was loyal to his conservative convictions, but yet he did it in a way that no matter where you were and who you were you respected him."

Russell Lowery, chief of staff to the Senate Republican Caucus, said Smith's "unparalleled competence and affection and compassion for the people he worked with and the issues he worked on" earned him the reputation of one of the Capitol's best chiefs of staff.

"He constantly fielded job offers (from the private sector) and turned them down and counseled other Republican staff not to leave, not to take the money," Lowery said. "He genuinely believed that the policy he was pursuing would help people."

Smith is survived by his wife Anissa and four children; Lydia, Joshua, Julia and Caleb.

"We are devastated but we rejoice knowing that Will is home with Jesus at this very moment," Anissa Smith said in a written statement. "He lived his life on earth for Christ and now he will spend his eternity with Him."

Oxfam Donation Page

For the Haitiian Earthquake.

Earthquake Clobbers Haiti

I was looking at the weather maps this morning, and looking at how nice the weather is in Haiti these days, and thinking that if anybody deserved nice weather, it was the Haitians, after all the hurricane damage there in recent years.

An earthquake. Who could have guessed that was in store next for those long-suffering folks?:

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The largest earthquake ever recorded in the area rocked Haiti on Tuesday, collapsing a hospital where people screamed for help and damaging other buildings. An aid official described "total disaster and chaos."

Communications were widely disrupted, making it impossible to get a clear picture of damage as powerful aftershocks shook a desperately poor country where many buildings are flimsy. Electricity was out in some places.

Karel Zelenka, a Catholic Relief Services representative in the capital of Port-au-Prince, told U.S. colleagues before phone service failed that "there must be thousands of people dead," according to a spokeswoman for the aid group, Sara Fajardo.

"He reported that it was just total disaster and chaos, that there were clouds of dust surrounding Port-au-Prince," Fajardo said from the group's offices in Maryland.

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It had a depth of 5 miles (8 kilometers). It was the largest quake recorded in the area and the first major one since a magnitude-6.7 temblor in 1984, USGS analyst Dale Grant said.

...Minor earthquakes are common in the Caribbean, but there has not been a major one in Haiti in 16 years. The country of about 9 million people, most of them desperately poor, has struggled with political instability and has no real construction standards. In November 2008, following the collapse of a school in Petionville, the mayor of Port-au-Prince estimated about 60 percent of the buildings were shoddily built and unsafe in normal circumstances.

The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, and some panicked residents in the capital of Santo Domingo fled from their shaking homes. But no major damage was reported there.

In eastern Cuba, houses shook but there were also no reports of significant damage.

Going Down In Flames, But Enjoying Every Minute Of It

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

Great Picture Of The Zodiacal Light

This is an unusually-good picture of the zodiacal light!

I've clearly-seen the zodiacal light just once before, in 2006, in Queensland. It was possible to get a sense of depth too, and get the feeling that one could see dust nearly on the opposite side of the sun, out towards the orbit of Mars, hundreds of millions of miles away! If that sense was an illusion, it was a real-powerful illusion!

This is the rarely seen zodiacal light, a triangular glow visible only in night skies free of overpowering moonlight and light pollution.

Zodiacal light is sunlight reflected by dust particles between the sun and Earth, and is best seen close to sunrise or sunset. The celestial glow spreads over the same band of the sky as the constellations of the zodiac.

The image was taken at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Paranal Observatory in Chile, facing west some minutes after the sun had set. A sea of clouds has settled in the valley below La Silla, which sits at an altitude of 2400 metres.

(Image: ESO/Y. Beletsky)

Man Poses Reasonable Questions, But Gets Grounded Anyway

Gotta be careful with those notes:

CNN is reporting that a man who wrote a strange note that mentioned "Gilligan's Island" and handed it to a flight attendant while enroute to Hawaii was the reason the flight was turned around and returned to Portland, Oregon.

...Authorities report that while Johnson and his girlfriend were on a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Maui, the 56-year-old man became upset when he was not permitted to store his bag under his seat, which was in an exit row.

About 45 minutes into the flight, Johnson gave a comment card in a sealed envelope to a flight attendant who opened it, read it and gave it to the lead flight attendant, who then gave it to the captain.

CNN reports that the note read:

"I thought I was going to die, we were so high up. I thought to myself: I hope we don't crash and burn or worse yet landing in the ocean, living through it, only to be eaten by sharks, or worse yet, end up on some place like Gilligan's Island, stranded, or worse yet, be eaten by a tribe of headhunters, speaking of headhunters, why do they just eat outsiders, and not the family members? Strange ... and what if the plane ripped apart in mid-flight and we plumited (sic) to earth, landed on Gilligan's Island and then lived through it, and the only woman there was Mrs. Thurston Howell III? No Mary Anne (my favorite) no Ginger, just Lovey! If it were just her, I think I'd opt for the sharks, maybe the headhunters."

Bev Was Tickled By "The Producers"!

Received via E-Mail:

Local production of 'The Producers' is a total hoot 'n' holler
Davis Enterprise, The (CA) - Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Author: Bev Sykes ; Enterprise drama critic

If you want something to tickle your funny bone, do catch director Steve Isaacson's rollicking production of "The Producers," a first for the Davis Musical Theatre Company.

If you've just returned from a deserted island and have no idea that this delicious show was written by Mel Brooks, it wouldn't take more than a scene or two to figure it out. This is the show that Brooks has wanted to write his entire life: the musical that we've briefly glimpsed in several of his movies ... especially, of course, the 1968 comedy from which the plot of this show was taken.

"The Producers" is a fast-paced laugh from start to finish, with enough material to offend just about everyone: Jews, Nazis, old ladies, dumb blondes, corporate drones and just about anyone in between. And yet it's all done with such a sense of fun that you're amazed at the things that make you laugh.

It's burlesque all grown up.

For those few who may not have seen Brooks' original film, the story centers around Max Bialystock, a formerly successful producer who now can't get a hit to save his life, and who has become famous for his flops. DMTC's Martin Lehman doesn't quite have the bombast of Zero Mostel (but then who does?), but he's very funny in a role that seems perfect for him.

Into Max's office walks mild-mannered accountant Leo Bloom (Andy Hyun), who carries a strip of his baby blanket around in his pocket, to soothe himself in times of stress. Bloom discovers that it's possible for a producer to make more money with a flop show than with a hit ... if they plan it properly.

Hyun makes a perfect Bloom, with the wide-eyed innocence of a man who can be perfectly molded by the likes of Max.

And, thus, the team of Bialystock and Bloom is born.

They need the worst play in the world, the worst director in the world, and a bunch of gullible, horny old ladies as backers. When the show fails, as it is destined to do, Bialystock and Bloom will take off with their millions, to sun themselves on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

Let the fun begin.

And fun it is. It's difficult to pick any one scene as the best, but ranking right up at the top would be the chorus of horny little old ladies whom Bialystock will woo for their money, all tap-dancing with their walkers. It's one of the most inventive bits of choreography I've ever seen, and DMTC choreographer Ron Cisneros adapts it beautifully from the original Broadway production.

While "The Producers" centers on Bialystock and Bloom, they're surrounded by a host of perfectly cast supporting players. First up is Kyle Hadley, as the pigeon-raising Nazi, Franz Liebkind, whose script — "Springtime for Hitler" — is chosen for performance.

Then there's the fabulous director, Roger DeBris, played in beautifully campy style by Richard Spierto, along with his partner Carmen Ghia (Joseph Boyette), who gives new meaning to the term "flamboyant." Newcomer Boyette is a real find for DMTC, and easily steals his scenes.

Amy Jacques-Jones is Ulla, the Swedish bombshell who can run an office, paint a room during intermission, and star in a musical all without mussing a blond curl. Jacques-Jones, another newcomer to DMTC, is a real triple-threat; she not only acts, but dances and sings beautifully as well.

Everyone behind the scenes has pulled out all the stops for this production. Jean Henderson's costumes are outstanding, especially for the Busby Berkeley number. Dannette Vassar has concocted some pretty dramatic lighting, particularly for Roger DeBris and Carmen Ghia. Isaacson's set design, while merely utilitarian, serves the production quite well.

The only place where the show falters concerns the orchestra, with some downright painful passages by a few instruments, loud buzzing and then a booming electronic piano that nearly drowned out the singers in the finale.

Fortunately, the performers worked around the problems in the pit, and the audience still was treated to one of the most enjoyable shows ever to come out of DMTC.

"The Tea Party Movement Is About To Be Hijacked"

What do I think about this sentiment?:

"The Tea Party Movement is about to be hijacked"

Well, what does it mean to hijack, say, an airliner, when the airliner is operated by Al Qaeda? The concept approaches meaninglessness.

All I know is that when I went to the Sacramento Tea Party demonstration last April 15th, I was very impressed by the leg work on display. Great signs, lots of great organization on display, and FOX News' national operation was there. But political work is grueling and hard, with impressive displays barely within the reach of volunteers, particularly at the initial stages of a movement, and so that meant someone had to pay for the work. I mean, FOX News isn't going to bother showing up unless they were relying upon intelligence from pretty-high muckety-mucks. After all, no one else gets FOX News to come to their inaugural demonstrations! And it was no surprise to me to eventually learn that Sacramento lobbyists, Russo Marsh & Rogers, were running the show. The lobbyists had hijacked the movement before there was a movement!

Nationally, there seem to be different groups of Tea Party activists, some under the sway of lobbyists, and some not. Some Tea Party activists have alleged that the mainstream media is ignoring them, but I bet that's not true. It may be true, however, that some Tea Party folks can make FOX News and the MSM media folks jump, and some can't.

Demonstrations + Volunteers = Media Eclipse

To describe the growing importance of lobbyists as a hijacking misses the point. There is a lot of work involved and someone has to do that work. Volunteers can't do it all.

What prompted this thought was this post:

Many on the right believe the burgeoning Tea Party "movement" is the key to a resurgent conservatism nationwide. But it's hard not to notice that the divisions among Teabaggers will need to be resolved sooner or later.

In the latest sign of rancor in Tea Party circles, a convention billed as an effort to bring together conservative activists from across the country is being attacked by some leading Tea Partiers as inauthentic, too tied to the GOP, and -- at $549 per head -- too expensive for the working Americans the movement aspires to represent.
The National Tea Party Convention, scheduled for early February in Nashville, grabbed headlines after announcing that Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann would appear as speakers, Palin as the keynote. According to a message on the convention's website, the event "is aimed at bringing the Tea Party Movement leaders together from around the nation." But organizers are a long way from unifying the notoriously fractious movement.

Tea Party Patriots, which helped put together a September rally that drew tens of thousands to Washington, view the confab -- which is being held at Nashville's swank Opryland Gaylord hotel -- as the "usurpation of a grassroots movement," according to Mark Meckler, a leader of the group. "Most people in our movement can't afford anything like that," Meckler told TPMmuckraker, referring to the price tag. "So it's really not aimed at the average grassroots person."

"The Tea Party Movement is about to be hijacked," wrote one activist in an online comment recently.

Upon The Return Of Her Car (From Golden State Towing)

M.: You are lucky it was just a detached hose. It could have been much, much worse!

E.: I am so grateful there are still auto mechanics in the world who won't take advantage. They were so nice, and reassuring, and they kept the shop open late for me too.

M.: The hose might come off again. You should be ready in case that happens.

E. Now I know what to do.

Here Comes Mecha-Bunny!

In regards to the idea of torching Notebooks of Dreams, Deborah replies:

I respect that. Dreams are far more private than mere diaries. We can control those but not so dreams.

Mecha-Bunny Returns

I like Mecha-Bunny (I purchased Deborah's original Mecha-Bunny, and he hangs on my wall).

“He said the least dream should be observed”

When my father moved from our Corrales, NM, home in 1990, he regrettably torched the Notebooks of Dreams that he kept, part of a long-running effort he and a local baker had invested in observing “the least dream.” Still, in 2009, I inherited scattered chronicles of post-1990 dreams.

Like the instructor said in Freshman English class (and which I took to heart), "if you don't write down your thoughts, it's as if they never occurred."

That goes with dreams too....

Sad News

Marie just sent this out.

Anissa Smith and her four children were all in "Music Man". Sadly, her husband suddenly passed away last night at age 41.

...Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

I will post funeral service information as soon as available. Particularly in 2009, the Smith family has been very active in DMTC.

Tim Hawkins - The Government Can

My sister (the one who likes Sarah Palin no matter what anyone says) wrote to say:

A friend of mine sent this to me, I thought it was funny, check it out.

And so I checked it out. And it is funny - a little - but it goes completely against every one of my liberal biases.



Ha de ha ha ha.

Ha.

And who is this Tim Hawkins?:

Hawkins has been accused of being equally gifted and twisted. Whatever your take, he has indeed become one of the most in-demand comics in the country. His arsenal is unique: high energy stand-up, physical comedy, slick guitar skills, a thousand faces and voices, improvisational chops. It all combines to create an insane comedy experience. And yes, the guy can really sing. “People think I live a rock-star life”, said Hawkins. “Believe me, Mick Jagger never gets lost in a Hertz parking lot looking for his Ford Focus.”

Tim is a busy comic… and getting busier. He is already on track for 120 events in 30 states in 2008 including churches, corporations, comedy clubs, and colleges. A former All-American baseball player, he traded the sports stage for the comedy stage and never looked back. The St. Louis native taught himself to play guitar and tested the waters at area comedy clubs. But over the next 10 years, working to support his family was full-time. Comedy was only part-time. By 2002, Hawkins was ready to launch his full-time career as a professional comedian.

His art form was honed primarily in churches, with a brief 6-month stint performing in prisons as part of Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship. Since his shows ranged from little kids to youth groups to married adults, he had to develop material that would hit a wide age range. “Survival mode, pure and simple. I learned comedy in front of a lot of multi-generational audiences, so I had to find material that would cater to all ages. It’s a thrill to provide a family connection where they can share the experience… and then take a DVD home for another family comedy night. But really, I think my fans are probably just the same people who voted for Sanjaya.”

...Even though Hawkins recently headlined at the Tempe (AZ) Improv, he determined early in his career that he did not want to focus on the comedy club circuit alone. “People love stand-up, but many choose not to go to comedy clubs. So we’ve gone underground, even counter-culture in a way. And it’s a blast.”

So, what's wrong with it? Populist, visceral opposition to government is deeply-rooted in American history, of course (I'm reminded of the song "Dad Gum Gummint" from "Big River"), and I'm just as prone to hate the government as anyone, but one needs to be selective in indulging that prejudice. We are all deeply-enmeshed with the federal government, in more ways than we realize. Even conservative nutjob Michelle Bachmann collects hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in government farm subsidies. Indeed, I bet the more opposed you are to government, the more likely you are to be dependent on it, in one way or the other. Even militia members in the Idaho wilderness need their SSI checks.

We all need government to succeed in its mission. For example, the Big Government bailout of Wall Street. I hate it. It supports slimeballs. But do I want it to succeed? Yes, you bet! Because my 401K is in their hands. My retirement is hostage to Wall Street slimeballery! So is yours! If they get what they need, I will get mine too!

Support Big Government! In this evil, evil world it is the only real friend that will come to your aid!

Weekend Of "The Producers"

I didn't go to the theater on Friday or Saturday, but I was there on Sunday. It was fun to hear the audience laugh. I was sitting near Jetta, who kept up nearly a non-stop chuckle, and that was amusing too. Every time Darryl Strohl (who was sitting in the back) laughed out loud, I lost it as well. His laughter is infectious!

For example, when Leo Bloom decides to leave his accounting job, he tries to slip out the door. His boss, Mr. Marks, asks: "Where are YOU going Bloom? You've already had your toilet break!"

Leo Bloom responds, "I'm not going into the toilet, Mr. Marks. I'm going into show business!"

Darryl thought that line was a riot!

Sounds Like An Entertaining Compilation Of Campaign Gossip

Halperin and Heilemann's new book sounds interesting (as described in this list of pithy vignettes). Anything that makes you agree with Dick Cheney must be fun!

"Blood And Thunder" - A Biography Of Kit Carson, By Hampton Sides

Image cadged from Wikipedia.


I picked up this book at Barnes and Noble over the Thanksgiving holiday mostly out of curiosity about the history of the place I grew up: New Mexico. Frequently, we take our home's story for granted, and so sometimes it's good to re-examine one's roots. Kit Carson's name is appended to many things in New Mexico (like the Carson National Forest), and he made his home in Taos, but just who was he?

Kit Carson was an unusually-capable fur trapper and mountain man who displayed several traits unusual for the time (or, for that matter, any time). First, Kit Carson was extremely humble in demeanor, and had impressive diplomatic skills, aided by his skill in understanding Indian languages, plus Spanish. Second, he was ferocious in battle. Third, despite his warrior skills, he was extremely-cautious in the presence of danger, and rarely took unanticipated risks, which was doubly-important considering just how dangerous the Old West was. Fourth, he travelled all over the West before the area came under American domination and knew the vast area better than almost any American of the time did. Thus, Kit Carson was one of the very few Americans who had both the knowledge and skills to successfully-guide American expeditions into the wilderness, and in time, to conduct military operations there.

As Sides relates:

The special thing that Carson had couldn't be boiled down to any one skill; it was a panoply of talents. He was a fine hunter, an adroit horseman, an excellent shot. He was shrewd as a negotiator. He knew how to select a good campsite and could set it up or strike it in minutes, taking to the trail at lightning speed ("Kit waited for nobody," complained one greenhorn who traveled with him, "and woe to the unfortunate tyro.") He knew what to do when a horse foundered. He could dress and cure meat, and he was a fair cook. Out of necessity, he was also a passable gunsmith, blacksmith, liveryman, angler, forager, farrier, wheelwright, mountain climber, and a decent paddler of a raft or canoe. As a tracker, he was unequaled. He knew from experience how to read watersheds, where to find grazing grass, what to do when encountering a grizzly. He could locate water in the driest of arroyos and strain it into potability. In a crisis he knew little tricks for staving off thirst - such as opening the fruit of a cactus or clipping a mule's ears and drinking its blood. He had a landscape painter's eye and a cautious ear and astute judgment about people and situations. He knew how to make smoke signals. He knew all about hitches and rope knots. He knew how to make a good set of snowshoes. He knew how to tan hides with a glutinous emulsion made from the brains of the animal. He knew how to cache food and hides in the ground to prevent theft and spoilage. He knew how to break a mustang. He knew which species of wood would burn well, and how to split the logs on the grain, even when an axe was not handy.

These were important skills, all of them, though they were hard to measure and quantify. But in the right person, a person who was also cheerful on a trail he already knew well, who had a few jokes up his sleeve and possessed an absolute honesty - they were invaluable.

Yet there was a vulnerability too:

For all his self-assurance in the heat of a tight moment, Carson had powerful doubts and vulnerabilities. He was deeply embarrassed by his illiteracy and tried to cover it up in various ways, but the fact remained that he could not write his own name. When signing documents he simply scrawled an X (he later learned to write "C. Carson"). At times he showed something of an inferiority complex that manifested itself in an instinctive deference to culturally refined men from back east who were more intellectually accomplished and socially better-connected than he.Falling under the spell of such figures, Carson seemed comfortable playing the role of a loyal lieutenant - or, some might say, a henchman. When people he perceived as his betters told him to do something, he did it, happily and without question.

Now, we've all experienced the charisma certain leaders have. Carson's life was affected most by first coming under the thrall of John C. Fremont ("The Pathfinder" - the first Republican candidate for President, in 1856), who mounted several expeditions into the West. Fremont was so grateful for Carson's work, he sang his praises to the sky, and in the process made Carson nationally-famous.

For example, Fremont was amazed how Carson and another man took it upon themselves to avenge the injury of two Mexicans they came upon in the Mojave Desert (the party had been attacked by Indians, and their animals stolen). As Fremont wrote:

Two men, in a savage desert, pursue day and night an unknown body of Indians into the defiles of an unknown mountain - attack them on sight, without counting numbers - and defeat them in an instant. And for what? To punish the robbers of the desert, and to avenge the wrongs of Mexicans whom they did not know.

A nation eager for heroes could not ignore chivalry of this order; practically of Arthurian scale when one considered the extreme danger of it. And that was just one instance: there were others too. Soon, Kit Carson's name was known everywhere - the "Nestor of the Rockies".

But there were questionable moments, too, including what could be called a war crime (relating to the summary execution of two Californios following Fremont's implication - not even a direct order!) No one surpassed Carson at 'following orders'.

Later, Carson came under the influence of Brigadier General James Henry Carleton in his obsessive project to break the back of the Navajo Nation and transport the entire tribe to Bosque Redondo (aka Fort Sumner), NM (known as The Long Walk) for their permanent settlement and Christianization. That project was utterly-impractical, but Carson was good at the tasks Carleton assigned. Very good! Carson managed to first break the Navajos with a scorched-earth campaign in 1864, hurtling the tribe to the brink of starvation, and then enticed them to relocate. Upon returning to Santa Fe, it was no surprise that the New Mexicans, having fought the Navajos for hundreds of years with little to show for their sacrifices, greeted Carson "as a god". Carson had done the impossible! Ultimately, of course, the relocation was an utter failure, with one out the three of the 9,000 Navajos who made the trip dying before being allowed to return home. But whether you loved him or hated him, no one could fault Carson's skills!

Ultimately, when Carson was at death's door (suffering from an aneurysm) Abraham Lincoln named Kit Carson "Brevet Brigadier General Of Volunteers": very likely the only illiterate man ever to reach the status of U.S. Army general in American history. Upon his death in 1868, Kit Carson was the most-esteemed and celebrated man in New Mexican history (and as far as I know, 142 years later, still can claim that title: a few years later, Billy The Kid became the most notorious man in New Mexican history).

The book was very enjoyable to read; unfamiliar people doing unfamiliar things in familiar places. Kit Carson prefigured almost everything that happened in the American West in the 19th Century. He was always first to do things. For example, with his stock-raising operation in NE New Mexico, Kit Carson was one of New Mexico's first "cowboys" (others would take up that large-scale profession later). And when anything important seemed to be happening anywhere in the American West, Carson had a knack for showing up for the action. (I mean, please! The West is a big place! But there he was!)

In addition, it was enjoyable to read about very familiar places. For example, riding east through the Gila River Valley towards Washington, D.C., with messages of California's naval capture from the Mexicans, Carson "accidentally" ran into Stephen Watts Kearney conquering army in Valverde, just south of Socorro. (I mean please! The West is huge! How do people "accidentally" meet, and in Valverde, of all places? But they did!) Kearney made Carson turn around and lead his army west to San Diego. Carson's skills proved crucial in breaking the siege of San Pasqual. As always, if it wasn't for Carson, history would have been different!

(How is it Carson went more places in the American West on mule than I ever will by car?)

And then there was the Battle of Valverde, of course, where Carson led troops (a far bigger and bloodier battle than I had thought). And other familar places - the Rio Grande Valley and Albuquerque, for example.

It was also enjoyable to read about how Gen. Carleton took a vacation in the summer of 1864 to Lake Katherine in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and planted an American flag on Santa Fe Baldy (when John and I visited in 1974, 110 years later, the flag was gone).

But it was sobering to read about the bloodshed of the conquest of New Mexico - more than I realized. for example, nearly 200 were killed and many more were injured, in 1847, when American troops subdued the anti-American revolt at Taos Pueblo. Taos Pueblo is small. That kind of death toll is staggering!

Wonderful book!

Eureka Struck By Quake

Eureka took a hit this afternoon:

A magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California Saturday afternoon, shaking buildings, knocking out power in several coastal communities and leaving a trail of broken windows and dishes south of the Oregon border.

The powerful quake hit at about 4:27 p.m. PST about 22 miles from Ferndale, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Authorities in the nearby city of Eureka and other area communities said no major injuries have been reported. But several people received minor cuts and scrapes from broken glass at the Bayshore Mall in Eureka, and an elderly person fell and broke a hip, authorities said.

"We're mostly getting reports of bumps, bruises and hits on the head," said Laurie Watson Stone, a spokeswoman for St. Joseph Hospital, a 146-bed hospital in Eureka. "The emergency room is busy, but we haven't heard of any major injuries."

Amanda Nichols, a dispatcher for Eureka Police Department, said she received a report that an infant was struck in the head with some flying debris at the mall.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesman J.D. Guidi said power outages were widespread across most of Humboldt County, affecting about 25,000 customers.

Nearly 10,000 remained without power some five hours after the quake, and some could remain without power through Sunday, said PG&E spokeswoman Janna Morris.

No damage was done to the company's former nuclear power plant outside Eureka, Morris said.

Several traffic lights fell and numerous residents reported water, gas and sewer leaks, Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services spokeswoman Jo Wattle said.

"People have chimneys down, and we're hearing about minor property damage and lots of glassware broken," Wattle said. "People are really shaken up. It was shaking pretty good, then it had a big jolt to it at the end."

...There is a small chance — 5 to 10 percent — of another magnitude-6.5 temblor or larger hitting the area over the next week, but the odds dramatically decrease as time passes, the USGS said.

There's also a 78 percent chance of a strong and potentially damaging aftershock magnitude-5 or larger over the same period. The earthquake probabilities are based on statistical observations of past earthquakes in California and are not predictions, the USGS said.

...Dan Bowermaster of San Francisco was with relatives in Eureka when Saturday's quake hit, moving the refrigerator in his cousins' home about 3 feet. He said he had been in several moderate and large quakes throughout California but had never felt anything as strong as this one.

"It was extremely unsettling, it was shaking in kind of a circular way," he said.

Sandra Hall, owner of Antiques and Goodies in Eureka, said furniture fell over, nearly all her lamps broke and the handful of customers in her store got a big scare. She said it was the most dramatic quake in the 30 years the store has been open.

"We'll be having a sale on broken china for those who like to do mosaics," she said.

When the quake struck this afternoon I was outside, trimming and raking, but I didn't feel the quake.

It's too bad I wasn't in my bedroom. I've discovered that the room is exquisitely-sensitive to shaking of all kinds, and the paintings will squeak against the wall during even the most-minor Napa Valley quakes: the ones no one else in Sacramento feels. I bet the bedroom was doing all kinds of squeaking, but like I say, I was outside at the time.

This map (reproduced above) indicates I SHOULD have been able to feel it, if I had been in bed.

Temperature Comparison - Sacto Vs. OKC

I'm sure John in Oklahoma City is asking "Why is Marc so damned complacent about the bitter cold temperatures the center of the country has been experiencing?"

Well, this graph explains a lot....

Everything should start changing this weekend though. The pleasant and salubrious weather should start doing one of its fickle changes.....

You Must Eat Your Potassium!

So commandeth the doctor!

But I swallow two capsules a day of potash, on top of my normal, crap diet! Isn't that enough?

Apparently it's not enough.

Why do science fiction creatures always come to Earth? It's not because they are in search of intelligent life, but that they are in search of potassium!

(but at least I have no HIV, or any of that other stuff....)

George Zoritch Passes On

Caption: George Zoritch performs in "L'apres midi d'un Faune," circa 1937. The ballet star was best known for his work with the Ballet Russe companies beginning in the 1930s. (Zeitgeist Films)


And so his work is finally done.

I must not have been paying attention. George Zoritch, ballet great (and by happenstance, my first ballet instructor) passed away on November 1, 2009.

One of a kind! I was very fortunate to meet him!:

George Zoritch, an international ballet star who had a second career as a well-respected teacher, died Nov. 1 at Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson. He was 92.

...Zoritch had retired in 1987 from teaching dance at the University of Arizona. He also taught at his studio in West Hollywood and had several stage and film credits.

Zoritch was best known for his work with the Ballet Russe companies starting in the 1930s. His dashing good looks complemented what Dance Magazine in 2000 called "his ability to delve deeply into the heart of a character and to embody the essence of emotion in a restrained, elegant fashion."

"He had a lot of feeling when he danced," said Paul Maure, a fellow Ballet Russe dancer who knew Zoritch for more than 60 years. "Technique is important, but you have to feel what you do. Zoritch had everything."

Born June 6, 1917, in Moscow, Zoritch started his training in Lithuania under Pavel Petroff when he was 11.

"I went to train for the first time and [Petroff] . . . asked if I would be able to follow," Zoritch told the Arizona Daily Star in 2007. "I was so scared I just nodded yes.

"When we finished, people in the class had surrounded me, asked where I studied before and how long I had studied. All I did was look around and went along with what others were doing. I wouldn't say I was God's gift. But I was right for ballet."

Zoritch and several Ballet Russe contemporaries were honored in 2007 at a Los Angeles tribute. Two years earlier, the documentary “Ballets Russes” brought renewed attention to Zoritch and his contemporaries.

"He was a very charming man who still had a lot to tell the ballet world," said Natasha Middleton, artistic director of the Media City Ballet, who produced "The Men of the Ballet Russe" tribute in 2007 that also honored her father, Andrei Tremaine.

"Technique doesn't sell," Zoritch told The Times in 2007. "It's what you offer from the heart, and what made Ballet Russe so successful was that it was composed of half-starved ballet-craving dancers who gave everything from their inner souls."

Milada Mladova, who was with the Ballet Russe from 1939 to 1942 and later worked in movies, danced with Zoritch in "Night and Day" (1946).

"He had a perfect body for dancing, and he had very good technique," she said. "We were all in awe of him, but he was a very nice man."

Zoritch's other film credits include "Escape Me Never" (1947), "Look for the Silver Lining" (1949) and "Helen of Troy" (1956).

Zoritch taught at his studio in West Hollywood in the 1960s and in 1973 joined the faculty at the University of Arizona.

"He gave us careers, he gave us a life," said Leonard Crofoot, who with his brother, Ronnie, and sister, Gayle, took classes at Zoritch's studio from 1960 to 1967. They all have danced professionally. "He had a way of turning the head to the side that shows the muscles of the neck and you could see the line in such a graceful way. It took your breath away."

Middleton recalled Zoritch teaching a master class at her Burbank studio in 2007 from a wheelchair. "He was still able to move his hands . . . and go into depth about the dancers finishing their movements. He had a lot of magic in the way he spoke," she said. "He was very encouraging . . . and very, very opinionated."

And people have a few memories too:

When 19-year-old George Zoritch first leaped out onto a London stage in 1936 with the Ballets Russes, dancing the poet in Massine’s Jardin Public, a breathless critic declared, “At last the company has found its pure classical dancer.”

Zoritch had a barrel chest, perfect lines and a face so dazzling that one of his partners, Maria Tallchief, called him the “most handsome man I’ve seen in my life.” His bravura grands jetés, beautiful port de bras, and engaging personality made him stand out in an age of strong male dancers. Critic Walter Terry declared that Zoritch embodied the “real spirit of the rose” in Fokine’s Spectre de la Rose. He was “poetic” in Fokine’s Les Sylphides, another wrote; in what became his signature role, the Faun in Nijinsky’s L’Après-Midi d’un Faune, he danced “with exquisite grace.”

He danced with nearly all the reincarnations of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes: Nijinska’s short lived Ballet Russe de Paris, Col. de Basil’s Ballets Russes, and Serge Denham’s Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. (He is featured in the Ballets Russes documentary; see www.balletsrussesmovie.com.) After working in Hollywood during World War II, he returned to Europe to dance again with Denham’s group and with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas.

Now 91, the grizzle-haired Zoritch lives in Tucson. “Russian dancers dance from the soul,” he declares in English still tinged by his native Russian. “Dance should live. If it doesn’t come from the heart it is not dancing.” And by dance, he means ballet, “not modern,” he says with a wicked grin. “Anyone who’s not lying in bed can do Agnes de Mille.”

He was born Yuri Zoritch in Moscow in 1917, the year the Russian Revolution erupted. When his parents’ marriage broke up, his mother moved her two small boys to Kovna, Lithuania. After she took Yuri to see Coppélia, “I became intolerable, hopping around, menacing the furniture,” he remembers. So his mother hauled him to the ballet studio of Pavel Petroff, who had danced at the Maryinsky.

“I was lazy. I hated it. I didn’t want to dance. But in Europe mothers had the upper hand.” He pauses. “I owe everything to my mother.”

When Yuri was 13, the Zoritches moved to Paris, where he studied with Olga Preobrajenska, the luminary who taught Anna Pavlova among other greats. After just four years in her studio, at 17, he started dancing professionally, first with the Ida Rubinstein troupe in Paris, and then with the succession of post-Diaghilev troupes.

“I never saw Nijinksy or Pavlova,” he laments, but he danced for the great Russian choreographers who carried on their tradition: Michel Fokine, Bronislava Nijinksa, and Léonide Massine, who created 18 ballets on him. He calls Massine the “greatest choreographer I have ever known.”

He danced with all three of Balanchine’s “baby ballerinas” of the Ballets Russes, also trained by Preobrajenska: Tatiana Riabouchinska, Irina Baronova, and Tamara Toumanova. But his favorite partner was a Frenchwoman, Yvette Chauviré. “She was wonderful to dance with. She was such a great artist. She allowed you to have a ‘conversation’ with her.”

He put in years of grueling travel, to Asia, Australia, North and South America. On one Monte Carlo tour the troupe performed in 120 North American cities in six months, many of them one-night stands. “We traveled in sleeper cars—one for the dancers, one for the musicians, one for the stagehands.” But the tours introduced classical Russian dance to new audiences, he says with pride, and revitalized ballet around the world. “From Podunk to L.A. to New York and Winnipeg, the crowds would come. They’d be cheering.”

And people have yet more memories too:

Jory Hancock, the director of the UA School of Dance and interim dean of the College of Fine Arts, said life in the Ballet Russe was difficult and that Zoritch wanted more freedom to dance in different roles and to experience Broadway and film.

"The dance scene was more fluid in the U.S., and he was enticed by that," Hancock said about Zoritch.

He eventually moved to the United States and began work in in film and on Broadway.
Zoritch took up teaching after becoming well-known in America for his performance with Sergei Denham's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

After running his own dance school in Los Angeles, he joined the faculty of UA in 1973, where he established a highly respected ballet program.

He taught varying levels of dance at the UA for 14 years.

Hancock said Zoritch was one of the most extraordinary dancers of his time.
"There was a period of three decades where he was on top of the world," Hancock said.

Jim Clouser, a visiting associate professor of dance at UA, said Zoritch was comparable to Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Zoritch retired from the UA in 1987. Hancock said that even after retiring, Zoritch still came to classes at the university.

"He was dressed how we wanted students to dress, in tights," Hancock said. "He had the most beautiful port de bras (movement of the arms)."

Thom Lewis, a student of Zoritch's at the UA, said he was the epitome of a classical ballet dancer.

According to Dance magazine, Zoritch worked with nearly every leading lady coming up in the ballet world from 1936 to 1962 and performed works by legendary choreographers, including George Balanchine and Marius Petipa.

Zoritch appeared in several films, including "Night and Day" (1946) and "Samson and Delilah" (1949).

Zoritch was known by some as harsh, but Lewis said people did not understand his sense of humor and his "old-school approach."

He said that Zoritch was honest and direct.

Kandis Meinel, another student of Zoritch's, knew Zoritch for 40 years and considered him to be a grandfather figure in her life.

She said he could be sarcastic in his criticism, but he really meant it as a way for students to improve.

Lewis remembered that if a dancer's feet were not turned out in a position called rear attitude arabesque, Zoritch would tell the dancer she looked like "a doggy at the fire hydrant."

Lewis said compliments from Zoritch "meant an awful lot because of his history."
"It's a shame he is gone, he was a lovely man," Lewis said.

I remember hearing the "doggy at the fire hydrant" a lot in Zoritch's class. I remember one of the first days in class, when a female student showed up to class in a bright, lemon-yellow leotard. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!!

When completely exasperated by the sorry, run-of-the-mill university dance students (sometimes a subject of some bitterness), Zoritch would compare the dance students to livestock. Now, in an old-school environment, that would be a shocking reference, a slap to the face, which should make the students pay attention better. A Russian dancer would straighten up. Regrettably, in an American university environment, such a comparison could backfire. I've learned over the years that American women are really not fond of being compared to livestock. No, not at all.

But that was George Zoritch for you. He said what he thought.

I remember the day he suddenly fell into uncharacteristic self-pity. He abruptly blamed Michel Fokine for ruining his knees with Cossack-style kazachok (Russian kick) dancing. Long-ago hurts still lived! Still, his usual disposition was sunny and humorous - as long as one continued to work hard!

Zoritch was also eager to employ the latest technological aids too. In 1982, the use of VHS tapes was still pretty new, but Zoritch was doing his best to use them to aid his choreographic efforts and incorporate them into his instruction whenever appropriate. Because he was older did not mean he was ready to stop learning.

We had a live piano player too (an elderly fellow who finally retired, surprisingly enough, in order to explore music generated by computer). When the students initially couldn't follow his tempo, Zoritch would halt the exercise, and, tongue-in-cheek, blame the piano player for choosing the wrong tempo. The piano player graciously accepted the blame, then start again (of course, at the same blistering tempo).

I remember the day Zoritch showed up to class limping, with black eyes and his arm in a sling. Apparently in an over-confident moment, he slipped and fell from the roof of his house. Still, he could teach class, and he did. So, a few months later, when I tripped over a difficult-to-see wire while jogging, I showed up to class anyway, despite the pain, in order to observe class. Because attendance is important, especially in dance.

And that was another lesson I learned the hard way too. My first semester, I got frustrated and boycotted his class for the rest of the semester. Nevertheless, Zoritch did not fail me, but rather gave me a "D" (which was the only "D" I ever got in my academic classwork). Because I HAD been there for awhile, Zoritch gave me credit. Because attendance is important, especially in dance.

A great dancer, and a great inspiration to everyone!

Temperatures On The Great Plains Should Warm Up

Mostly on Sunday.

It's Bad Luck To Say Good Luck On Opening Night!

So, some more pictures from Wednesday night rehearsal will have to do!

Proselytizing In The Public Square

Brit Hume doesn't quite grasp that it was inappropriate to proselytize to Tiger Woods on FOX News.

All my life, as an agnostic swimming in a sea of Christians, I've become accustomed to people proseltyzing to me under all kinds of circumstances, whether inappropriate or not.

There is a certain charm about the earnestness of some folks as they proselytize away. A year ago, for example, when Andrew and I were on the trail, descending Rob Roy Mountain, near Wanaka, New Zealand, we encountered a dentist who was eager to preach the Gospel. But his message was very much a personal one: his faith had helped him survive the removal of a brain tumor. One couldn't help but respect his testimony of faith.

As a representative of FOX News, however, Brit Hume cannot help but speak on behalf of the FOX News organization, which may include people of a number of faiths. Perhaps he cleared his message with FOX, but likely not. Whether approved or not, the message is not personal at all.

The Kiwi dentist never told us what to do with our faiths. He left that to our own judgments. Suffice for him to testify. On the other hand, Brit Hume presumed to tell Tiger Woods what he should do with his Buddhism. Rather rude, I thought.

One strange proselytization episode I experienced was among an apartment full of Salt Lake City Mormons, in 1989. I excused myself, and as I was leaving, someone asked whether I was Mexican. I said I was derived from Mexicans, and in parting the person said they had a place in their religion for my people. Kind of creeped me out a bit....:

Brit Hume is continuing his media tour in defense of his remark that Tiger Woods should convert to Christianity if he wants to be redeemed. This time, he claims that the media uproar that followed his comments is just "anti-Christian bigotry."

Hume said on Fox News that Woods, who is "said to be a Buddhist," should turn to Christianity because "I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith."

According to CNSNews.com, when asked if he was surprised by the "media uproar" that resulted from his comments, Hume said ""No, I'm not surprised," and that "sure," he'd do it again.

Hume also said that "the most controversial two words you can ever utter in a public space are 'Jesus Christ.'"

He continued: "I'm somewhat at a loss to explain it because so many of the people who purport to be aghast at such mentions are themselves at least nominally Christian. But there it is."