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Coyote Mercury Posts

An Inconvenient Truth

October 5, 2006 • • 3 Comments

Al Gore’s book, An Inconvenient Truth, is a well put together overview of the dangers posed by global climate change. He documents the ways in which human activity has increased air temperatures and altered the chemistry of the Earth’s oceans as well as the political situation that perpetuates a status quo unwilling to acknowledge the consequences of inaction.

It’s hard for me to say how convincing the book is; I was convinced a long time ago so Gore is kind of preaching to the choir here. Among other things, I read Discover and National Geographic regularly, both of which have done a nice job of exploring global climate issues over the years.

What makes the book intriguing – and why I bought it – is the illustrations. It’s one thing to read about disappearing glaciers; it’s quite another to see photographs taken from the same spot (in some cases only thirty years apart) that show gigantic glaciers in one image and then no glacier in the other. The book relies heavily on this kind of visual evidence that tends to be very effective.

Interspersed throughout the book Gore includes autobiographical excursions that describe the personal experiences that have led him to undertake this crusade that he repeatedly states is a moral issue. As remarkable as the subject matter is Gore’s passion for it. It’s stunning that this man was painted as an emotionless robot with whacky ideas especially when you look at his imminently practical and profitable market-based solutions to this growing problem.

Gore’s book (I haven’t seen the movie) presents the causes and consequences of global climate change in easy-to-read and understand non-technical language accompanied by effective and often beautiful illustrations. An Inconvenient Truth would be a solid introduction or overview on the subject for those who, perhaps have not given the issue much thought.

I’m talking, of course, about the people who find nothing odd about days like today when the temperatures reach into the mid-nineties. In October. Nope, nothing to worry about here.

The Lost Book Club: The Brothers Karamazov (at Page 186)

October 4, 2006 • • 4 Comments

With school in session, I find less time to read (what I want) so I haven’t yet finished Fyodor Dostoevsky’s majestic The Brothers Karamazov, which means that I didn’t make my goal since I also still have to read Our Mutual Friend. Still, since Season 3 of Lost begins tonight, I decided to steal a page from the blog of Danigirl and apply her ’10 Pages In’ Book Review concept to The Brothers Karamazov. I’m actually at p186, but it’s a long book.

Dostoevsky’s book is dense, rich and beautiful, full of the kind of compelling characters that keep me engaged in a story that at this point is only now beginning. The book tells the story of the relationship between an old man and his three sons, each of whom represents a different psychological/spiritual type.

The father, Fyodor Pavlovich, is a drunken self-proclaimed buffoon. He delights in making a public ass of himself. He is a lecher, scoundrel and liar who is thoroughly unlikeable, despite the fact that some of the scandalous things he says are truly funny.

Oldest brother, Dmitri is passionate and ruled by emotion. He behavior is much like that of his father, except that Dmitri has a working conscience buried deep inside. He despises his father and seems to love his brothers. Ivan, the middle brother, is a rationalist and intellectual. He is an atheist who wrestles with issues of faith. The youngest brother, Alyosha is the central character in the book. Alyosha is sweet and gentle, a deeply religious and good-hearted soul whose faith guides him in all things. There is also an illegitimate brother – Smerdyakov – who is dark and brooding, but I haven’t learned much about him yet.

Each brother has varying degrees of conflict with each other and with their father, Fyodor. I think – based on the back of the book – that one of them will kill Fyodor. I don’t know for sure, but my money is on Dmitri. (btw- If you’ve read this – don’t ruin it for me in the comments.)

Ok, on to Lost. The Brothers Karamazov appears in the episode “Maternity Leave” when Locke gives the book to Henry Gale while he is being held captive in the hatch. Henry complains that he can’t get through books like that and says he prefers Hemingway. Jack and Locke discuss Hemingway’s feelings of inferiority because of Dostoevsky’s long literary shadow. Later, Henry asks Locke if he resents living in another man’s shadow, by implication: Jack’s. At this point in the series cracks begin to show in the family of survivors as they increasingly come into conflict with one another.

When looking at The Brothers Karamazov, we can also see parallels between the brothers and certain characters on Lost:

  • Dmitri and Sawyer are both passionate and ruled by their emotions especially lust and greed; both use women, and each possesses a deeply buried conscience.
  • Ivan and Jack are both rationalists, both men of science.
  • Alyosha and Locke are both men of faith, both good-hearted.

I admit, not having read the book in its entirety (yet), that there may be deeper parallels. I particularly wonder if Alyosha has a crisis of faith as Locke did when he stopped pushing the button in the hatch. I also see that Kate could as easily be the Dmitri character as Sawyer; likewise Mr. Eko resembles Alyosha in many ways, though not as closely as Locke.

I don’t see a Fyodor character yet except in that Jack, Locke (and Kate if we go that way) have major conflicts with their fathers. Sawyer’s father hasn’t really come into play except his ‘spiritual father’ – the con man who destroyed his family – from whom he took his name and trade. Interestingly this ‘father’ is the man that Sawyer went to Australia to kill. Kate also killed her father.

I’ll try to explore all of this more fully when I finish the book.

For more of my Lost book posts, please visit The Lost Book Club.

Update: I finished it. Finally.

Karl Denson Trio at La Zona Rosa

October 2, 2006 • • Leave a comment

On Saturday, we caught the Karl Denson Trio’s show at La Zona Rosa after an awesome dinner at Ranch 616. It’s a shame we don’t get more jazz shows around here – I guess Austin just ain’t a jazz town – but the ones that do come tend to be fun because the audiences are usually small. Probably why we don’t get many, but I digress. We saw Denson’s Tiny Universe band at ACL a few years back, but this was the first time we had seen his trio.

We arrived early thinking he was going to start at 9:00, but there were only about 30 people in the place so we got to wait and discuss the fact that there are never chairs at shows. While waiting, we enjoyed the opening act: Marvin Gaye’s brilliant What’s Going On? album played twice. Perfect music for people watching, and, well, perfect music for these times.

When Denson finally came on a bit after 10, the crowd was still small, but what was lacking in numbers was made up for in enthusiasm. Denson started off a bit slow, but on the second number he traded his saxophone for a flute and turned up the temperature.

Denson’s trio sound (drums, organ, sax and sometimes flute) falls somewhere between acid jazz and jazz funk. However you split the hairs, though, the music is great – sometimes funky, sometimes searching, always interesting. I enjoyed his flute numbers the most, partially because I’d never heard anyone play a flute with such funky intensity.

Denson’s trio found all the right grooves and pleased the small crowd that grew increasingly energetic over the course of the two hour set.

Weekend Hound Blogging: Joey Lobo

October 1, 2006 • • 4 Comments

Sometimes the wolf eats you, but mostly Joey eats the wolf.

Last week, I came home to find fluff everywhere. It seems that Joey and probably Phoebe (resting in the background after some wolf killin’) had disemboweled the poor thing. Fortunately my mom – conversant in the ancient art of sewing – was able to save him. She noticed that it was not his first surgery.

Yesterday, Joey and Wolf were reunited after a long week of sleepless nights spent wandering around the bedroom wolf huntin’.

Old Photo Friday

September 29, 2006 • • 4 Comments

These are the stairs leading down from Mt Bonnell. I took this picture sometime in the early ’90s when I had access to a darkroom because I did the print as well.

I used to ride my bike up there pretty regularly when I was at UT, and despite many attempts to capture the views of the city or of Lake Austin and the hills, this is the only picture I ever took there that I liked.

I guess that’s how it is with photography: sometimes the best images are the unexpected ones, the subjects that weren’t your main intention but for whatever reason call to be photographed. Sometimes an ordinary set of stairs leading down through the cedar trees says more than a whole city spread out before you.

As much as I love the view from up there, especially at night when the city lights disappear out into the plains, I haven’t been there in years. I should probably do something about that.

Finally…

September 25, 2006 • • 1 Comment

There’s nothing like going for a run under perfect blue skies when the air is cool and dry. Fall in Texas feels the way spring does in New England: sheer relief.

Shorter days and cooler air: this is the time to be outside.

Finally.

Old Photo Friday

September 22, 2006 • • 5 Comments

This is from my days as a camera assistant. It was taken on the set of The Substitute Wife, a movie-of-the-week that was filmed around Austin early in 1994.

That’s me with the slate standing next to Lea Thompson. Of the three stars on that set, Lea was the only one who wasn’t full of herself. The other two managed to make life miserable for everyone from the director all the way down to the lowliest film loader (me), set PA and sound assistant (my friends).

It was my first gig on a big budget set, and for the next few years, I got quite spoiled by all the perks. It was a fun and exciting career when I was younger, but as it turned out not something I wanted to spend my life doing.

Pass the Paper Bag that Holds the Bottle

September 20, 2006 • • 5 Comments

George at I’m Not One to Blog, But… has tagged me with the fresh meme he busted: Songs that make you cry.

I have a hard time trying to determine if a song has ever made me cry. Using bloggetic license, however, I am replacing ‘cry’ with ‘so moving they inspire a sudden bought of quiet and thoughtful contemplation’ (but not like the guy who had to stop everything for “Desperado” on that episode of Seinfeld).

Here we go…

“This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” by Talking Heads

I said this in the comments on George’s blog: “‘This Must Be the Place’ would probably be the first and maybe only one on that list. It was our song at our wedding. It just makes me stop when I hear it. Actually ‘it hits me on the head, ahh ohhhh…..’”

But then I remembered that the wedding DJ lost that track so it wasn’t played, still my wife and I consider it our song anyway. It has an innocent simplicity to it that captures the magic of falling in love better than any song I’ve ever heard.

When I first heard it on Speaking in Tongues, I wondered if falling in love was really like that and I hoped that it would be.

Home – is where i want to be
But i guess i’m already there
I come home – – she lifted up her wings
Guess that this must be the place

I know now that it is, which makes me love this song all the more. (I even used it as the title for a post once because it so perfectly captured the depth of feeling about the subject).

“Hard Times in Babylon” by Eliza Gilkyson

This meditation on the loss of a dear friend is heartwrenching. “Gotta hang together when the air’s too thin / Pass out the masks for the oxygen.” Indeed.

“Psalm” by John Coltrane

I could pick any track off Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, but this one is so understated, so quiet, and yet the perfectly chosen notes flowing from his saxophone speak so eloquently of yearning, anguish, heartbreak, hardwon wisdom and hope. It’s all there.

Coltrane wrote a prayer and then blew it into his saxophone.

“City of New Orleans” by Willie Nelson

I remember hearing “City of New Orleans” a lot when I was a kid. It made me think of wide open possibilities and yet there’s something dark there too. Something closed off and lost in those “freight yards full of old black men and the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.”

I know Willie didn’t write it, but it’s his version that moves me. He played it at ACL Fest on Saturday and it was like everything stopped happening around me for just the duration of that song.

“Nightswimming” by R.E.M.

This sends chills down my spine:

The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows.
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse.
Still, its so much clearer.

Looking back at those reckless good times of youth and knowing that you can’t (and shouldn’t) go there again because you can’t be young again, because everything changes is captured beautifully in this song. You miss those times, those people as they were then, but it’s all memories, all gone forever. “Nightswimming” nails that melancholy feeling perfectly.

So There you have it.

I now tag Chris of Lenwood, Heather In all of Her Strangeness, Fred in the marbled halls of Ironicus Maximus (even though his blog doesn’t really cater to this kind of thing), and Jessica at 4 zillion. No pressure, folks. Except that George promised to “throw a hysterical bawling fit” if the meme dies.