Vietnam Wall in Washington, DCHi again from the Bastion on the Puget Sound. This Monday, Memorial Day, America honors those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in battle and who now rest in cemeteries in this nation’s capital, in every one of its communities and in thousands of marked and unmarked graveyards around the world. So extensive has this country’s military involvement in world affairs been that there is hardly an acre or hectare of land, surface or submerged, on this planet which has not been, if not consecrated, certainly nourished by the blood of those sacrifices.
For me, a veteran of one of my generation’s wars, it is a time to remember fallen comrades. The faces I recall are young and remarkably unheroic. They were not, for the most part, combat-hardened veterans. In my war, there were no Rambos, no photogenic and invincible A Teams, no valiant saviors of democracy or saints in camouflage dedicated to stopping ~ at all costs ~ the hordes of godless Communists threatening to take over the world.
The faces I recall were those of young adults just starting out in life. For most of them ~ because ours was not a volunteer-only military back then ~ a conflict which eventually set a nation against itself was not something they’d prepared themselves for. Many of them were, in fact, against the war but even more opposed to going to prison for resisting the Draft.
In the end, they did what Americans have been doing for over two hundred years, what they were trained to do, to the best of their ability. And they died, some of them quickly and well, others in such agony that I’m certain that, for a moment, even the stars took pity and the gods heard their screams. I certainly did. I remember them as though it was yesterday. It’s not something one ever forgets. I know. I’ve tried.
I had hoped, rather naively as it turned out, that Vietnam would be the last major war America chose to fight. I dreamed that the next generation would not need to don a uniform and train to serve and die well. I prayed, and rather fervently at times because there are young people in my life whom I cherish, that Americans had come to value their children enough not to sacrifice them at such flaming and tragic altars.
I yet await the day this nation and all other nations find no glory in war, no accolades in conquest, no virtue in those meglomanical visions of regional or world domination. I would like to see one entire generation go from cradle to grave without knowing the taste of a bloody bayonet.
IN OTHER NEWS
In their own campaign to end homeless, Canadians in Vancouver, British Columbia have formed a unique coalition of politicians and private sector leaders and are investing some $228-million in creating quality housing for 1,000 of the city’s most desperate homeless. This is definitely as good an example as any we’ve come across of what can be done when a community works together for the good of all, including those traditionally so marginalized and disenfranchised that while plainly visible on the streets they wander, they are virtually invisible to society at large. Nice going folks and finest kind. And our thanks to Jerri and Marjean in New Westminster, BC, for tipping us off to this one.
A little closer to home, the City of Seattle and local architects have come up with a way to add affordable housing without the need for major construction projects like apartment buildings. Some 50 backyard cottages – small houses equipped with all the amenities – have either been built or are under construction. A typical structure is about 950 square feet (88 square meters) and costs around $50,000 to build. Rent for these now averages about $900 a month so they virtually pay for themselves in five years. Again, another example we think can be exported and adapted.
Well, like the disaster itself, this one just keeps on growing as we watch the ongoing efforts of British Petroleum to cap and clean up a Mexican Gulf oil spill which now threatens Florida and the American Atlantic Coast. I had an interesting conversation with a new American from the Persian Gulf who works as a clerk at a local Chevron Mini Mart. He asked me if I knew what really caused the disaster. I pointed to the line of cars at the pumps of his station and he nodded and smiled. Some connections are not that hard to make. Our hearts continue to go out to all those impacted and involved. For what each of us, as individuals, can do to make a difference:
SURVIVING HARD TIMES
“Must be able to lift 60 pounds, climb a ladder while carrying 40 pounds and endure wet orchards in temperatures from 30 to 100 degrees. Pay: At least $9.19 an hour.”
This is ad was placed by an Eastern Washington farm and so far, even in the midst of what many are starting to call “The Great” Recession, it has received few local responses. As a result, Gebber Farms is importing 50 people who are willing to do this seasonal work. Not surprisingly, they’re coming from beyond U.S. borders, in this case Jamaica.
I’ve done harvest work and it’s not easy. It helps to be young, fit and/or highly motivated and it’s definitely not for everyone. But if you think you think you can handle it, visit the Washington State Employment Security’s website to learn more. Hard times don’t last forever and these are not year around jobs.
Nobody survives hard times alone. And sometimes, it doesn’t take a government program to restore the economy or keep a nation’s unemployed from going homeless by supporting them until they find work. Both of these are certainly necessary but in the small hours of an occasional night which seems to stretch forever, all it takes to hold back the panic are the words, sincerely rendered, that this ecard expresses. If you know of someone who is struggling and you would like to help in a very special way, please go here.
Northstar, the Dragon
This week, a member of the Seattle medical community whose contributions to the field of severe lung injuries has earned him national acclaim faces the loss of his license and criminal charges.
According to local law enforcement officials, Dr. Leonard Hudson, 72, is accused of 34 counts of prescription forgery and trading narcotics and cash for the professional affection of a 22-year-old Puget Sound prostitute he met on the Internet last autumn. The charges also include supplying the woman’s 16-year-old girlfriend with the narcotic Oxycontin. Both females were taking other prescription drugs at the time and last March, the older of the two suffered an overdose which nearly killed her.
Yeah, this really blew my mind and I don’t think it’s because my wife, God rest her soul, was a nurse or that I’ve worked in the health care field. I just can’t help remembering that I’ve been publishing since 1970, which is about when this doctor started down his professional path.
And each week, I come up with words to describe people and events and to share my own thoughts and the opinions of others. It’s not real glamorous and it is not a path to wealth, power or prestige. I’ll never, for instance, be able to afford the favors of a call girl my own age, much less one barely out of her teens.
So I’ll probably never know whether, had I met and fallen in love with one ~ as I strongly suspect was the case here ~ I would have violated the most fundamental tenets of my profession, broken a law designed to protect patients and health care providers alike, and, by my actions, brought shame and dishonor to everything for which the Hippocratic Oath stands.
One thing I do know though ~ and that we all know ~ is what strong passions can provoke. Eve didn’t seduce Adam with an apple and Helen of Troy wasn’t an admiral when all those ships sailed forth. Romeo and Juliet weren’t chatroom buddies whose epic affair was confined to the cyber world. I mean, come on here, men have been making total jerks of themselves since the first caveman grabbed the shaggy form in the dark he thought was his mate only to discover it was his best friend shagging his mate. That’s probably where involuntary manslaughter originated, as well.
And it seems none of us is totally immune to temptation. Fellatio in a White House closet, a South American mistress, a secret life as a gay person, the real life stories of libidos unleashed is better than the best soap operas and deservedly, a recurrent theme in all the arts. And lest we believe that such high drama is the sole province of the rich, famous, powerful and flatulently self-indulgent, sit down sometime and listen to about four hours of country-western music. Even pore folks got problems keeping that pecker in their pants.
Whatever prison time he may face if convicted, Dr. Hudson, whose license has been suspended pending the disposition of the criminal charges brought against him, will also be permanently denied the right to practice medicine. Despite their admiration and respect for him, it’s not likely the University of Washington will keep him on their faculty either. He’ll be shunned by colleagues and none of his family and friends, whom we assume were totally ignorant of his transgressive behavior, will ever be able to look at him the same.
At a time when most individuals of his professional stature and personal reputation are enjoying the accolades and other rewards that sometimes accompany brilliance, dedication, determination and hard work, Leonard Hudson will be looking at re-creating himself, living out what remains of his life (and the trauma of this certainly will take years off that life) in rural obscurity, praying that what few neighbors and new friends he has made will not find out what he did and leave him even more alone than, inside himself, he already is and forever will be.
I do not consider Leonard Hudson an evil person or a threat to any community. I do not believe he set out to hurt anyone. I do not sense that he was or is now anything other than a kind, decent, even noble man whose incredibly poor judgment precipitated a fall from grace that is hardly unprecedented in this or any other society, now or in all of recorded history.
I wish Leonard Hudson luck in his new life and my prayers go with him.
CROSSING OVER
One of my grandfathers ~ the respectable one ~ was a mechanic who could fix everything from clocks and kitchen appliances to farm equipment, electric motors and internal combustion engines. He further believed that if God could create man from the materials available at the time (according to the Bible, the Devine One apparently spit in the mud and molded the results, which should be a little humbling to the Bluebloods among us), and if man had a soul, then what man created from a considerably wider variety of natural resources was also sentient.
He further believed that if you treated machines with respect and at least as well as most of us treat our pet guppies, they’d return the favor by running a lot better and letting you know when it really was time to retire and replace them.
I am certain, therefore, that he was watching Wednesday when the American space shuttle Atlantis touched down for the last time after returning from the nearly completed International Space Station. He would certainly have noted that in 30 years, Atlantis has flown 19 missions, circled the planet 4,648 times and logged in over 120 million miles.
Unless the Obama administration extends the life of the program, there are two shuttle missions left and Atlantis is standing by as back up on one of them. After that, it is expected that she will be retired to one of the nation’s museums of flight.
For a video of her final flight and a beautiful tribute to this aeronautical note:
On a sadder note and certainly a more human one, we join the world into saying good bye to Saskachewan-born television show host Gordon Arthur Kelly or, as he was professionally known to millions of Americans and his Canadian countrymen, Art Linkletter. He emceed two of the longest running TV shows in history and is remembered by many of us for his remarkable ability to get kids to “say the darndest things” during a segment of House Party in which he interviewed several of them each week. Mr. Linkletter died at his Bel Air, California home Wednesday at the age of 97. For an outstanding tribute to an “American” legend:
ON THE CANCER FRONT
So far this one has only worked on mice but it’s still good news. Swedish researchers have developed a vaccine that restricted the flow of blood to tumors in those laboratory rodents. Scientists say that this vaccine holds great potential for humans. For more on this one:
RESOURCES AND RELATED LINKS:
American Cancer Statistics 2009
Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009
National Cancer Institute (American)
FREE STUFF FROM THE NET
This week’s Net freebie is a way to thank all those who have served, fought, been wounded or killed in defense of God and country. Please go here.
HEALTH NEWS
Well, here’s one that somehow does not surprise us. Human touch heals. This really informative article discusses the power of positive touch in everything from holding babies to massage that can help alleviate a variety of conditions including depression and stress. For more on this one, go here.
For someone who absolutely detests needles for anything but sewing, this came as real good news. Apparently there are more alternatives than ever before which can deliver needed vaccines without what I find a real invasive and painful procedure. (I’m sorry but I am prejudiced to the extent that ‘no needle is a good needle’.) For more on this one, yep, go here.
Okay, I found this one a little weirder than usual. Apparently, “playing in the dirt,” as this article put it, can be very healthy because ~ according to these guys ~ we absorb microbes through our skin that interact with what’s already inside us. I already know about the more apparent benefits of growing an organic garden, hanging out in the woods, all the green and Bambi stuff. I mean, I live in the Pacific Northwest. I just found myself thinking, “Yeah, but what about the places where the dirt has microbes but apparently not ones wearing white hats?” That sounds like sticking your hand down a dark hole and assuming that Providence is going to overrule common sense. I’m still at sixes and sevens about this one. To make up your own mind, please go here.
SEATTLE SCENES
If you’re planning to visit Seattle in the near future, you might want to check these sites out first.
SUMMER GUIDE
Let us steer you to the best beaches, festivals and fun.
Circus! Is Coming!
Pacific Science Center is preparing for the arrival of our next big exhibit. Circus! Science Under The Big Top opens June 12.→Learn More
WHAT HISTORY LURKS BENEATH SEATTLE HIGHWAYS?
Knute Berger, Crosscut.com
The 520 bridge expansion crosses an Indian burial ground, and the Viaduct replacement in SoDo has dug up artifacts from early boom-town Seattle. Here's a two-part preview of what we could learn from our two transportation mega-projects, and some of the cultural challenges they face.
The Pioneer Square Underground Tour tells most of us all we know about what lies underneath Seattle. It's a touristy exploration of the city's oldest basements, a jokey excursion through an urban underbelly filled with commentary about the foibles, and drinking habits, of the city's lusty pioneers. It's the closest many of us come to seeing firsthand the archaeology of the city. Yep, for more on this one:
SEATTLE FACTS AND FIGURES
Seattle Rainfall in Comparison To Other US Cities
For more information about Seattle
For live cameras on Seattle, the Puget Sound and Washington State
THE CAPITOL HILL BEAT
We applaud American President Barack Obama for moving aggressively to insure that British Petroleum assumes full responsibility for getting this oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico capped, cleaned up and paid for. To me, that’s not another president playing Dodge City Marshal of the World. That’s us, the American people saying, “This ain’t gonna happen the way it did with the Exxon Valdez. As much as we enjoy driving five blocks to the supermarket, enough is enough.”
At present, there are still an estimated 45-million Americans out of work and benefits will begin expiring in June for thousands of them each week. Before the House of Representatives now is the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act, which would extend unemployment benefits for all of us until the end of this year. Even though things are starting to slowly improve, in Washington, unemployment still stands at around 9.5 percent. We need more time and those additional six months will make the difference for hundreds of us here. Since we’re one of fifty states, I suspect we are not alone in these regards. Please email your Congressional delegation, urging swift enactment of the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act. Here’s a quick link to your elected officials. If you’re not sure, just type in your zip code.
CRITTER STUFF
We found something you might want to bookmark. It’s the BBC’s wildlife finder and it’s a real handy way of getting more information about the fauna we feature in this column. MS(R)M Check it out here.
Sometimes, it’s not always about the big and lovable, the furry and the antic, or even the cuter at long distance. This one is a reminder that critters come in sizes, shapes and forms which defy the imagination and that are now not just being discovered in rain forests or the frozen tundra, but as well, more often in the depths of the sea. That we have co-existed with them for as long as we’ve been a species and are only just now finding out about them humbles me a bit.
First, they’ve been ‘down there’ a lot longer than we’ve been ‘up here’ because they’re older than we are and are still evolving. Second, I figure that the longer a species has lived in a place, the better it knows the turf and especially how to protect it. Third, Homo sapiens are not the only species capable of a preemptive strike in defense of “God and country” either.
So when I hear that the squid, from the smallest to the largest, might possibly have been around for like 500-million years, I’m thinking Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and I’m going cool. Another reason not to swim with dolphins. I’m not discouraging that kind of exploration on our part. I’m just saying that until they start crawling up here and looking in my living room window, I, personally, am leaving them alone. I am NOT that curious. For this one and more like it, please go here.
YOU GUYS THINK I MAKE THIS STUFF UP
I actually meant to draw your attention to this one last week. But enough weird stuff was going on back then and my tweaked-out threshold is not what it has been in the past.
Genetic scientists have now established that we Homo sapiens have Neanderthal DNA in our gene pool. To me, this explains a lot. My research into our stronger browed cousins indicates that they were extremely peaceful and extremely basic, not unlike contemporary dolphins and porpoises. And there’s also more than enough evidence to suggest that they had art, that they buried their dead with ceremony and that, for the most part, they tended to their own survival and left their neighbors to do the same.
It also addresses this negative knee-jerk reaction I have to one of two television commercials by a popular American insurance company. The second, I really like because I’m a fan of Australians and geckos both.
The first, however, with the slogan “So simple even a caveman can do it” is probably one of the most insulting things I’ve experienced in any media in a long time. So it’s like I am totally with the Neanderthal in the ad and I love it when they show him doing things my Yuppie neighbors in Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill neighborhood do to relax.
This latest scientific discovery seems to suggest to me that there may have been some genetic reasons for my reaction to that commercial with otherwise outstanding production values.
Somehow, I think it got me in touch with my inner Neanderthal. It’s going to be real interesting to see where that takes me.
Well, that’s it for this time. Before you take off, you might check out Northstar Recommends, below. We’ve got a mix of resources, online escapes, free stuff and some unique shopping opportunities, including a General Store consisting of products recommended to us by our readership.
Until next time, then, take care, stay well, thanks again for the ear and we’ll see you next week.
Rusty
RESOURCES
Maker Culture: Taking Things Into Our Own Hands - For 12 weeks in the fall of 2009, 45 online journalism students at Ryerson University and the University of Western Ontario worked together to document the evolving Maker Culture community.
Maker Culture? That's coders, fabricators, foodies, artists, educators, activists, citizen and even scientists grabbing the Do-It-Yourself ethic with both hands and changing our world in the process.
These are people who aren't just making things, they're making a point of sharing what they've learned, what they've made, and why. Often, for free.
Makers are responding directly, locally to globalization, commercialization, copyright and central command and control.
This is the introduction to a fascinating series on how to become more self-reliant, live a lot more economically and enjoy the company of others doing the same. If you’re looking for ideas, inspiration and resources to get through hard times or just to simplify you life, we highly recommend this one.
PC World – This is the best source we’ve found yet for totally free, useful, reliable and secure (no viruses) downloads ranging from games through utilities and with a nice selection of screen savers, etc. What I particularly appreciate about it is how easy the site is to navigate. They also have a daily letter featuring two “daily downloads.”
Free People Search – This is an American online White Pages that I found really simple, quick and user friendly. I looked for myself under the several versions of my name and it found them all. It’s also free and doesn’t involve anything to download.
Know Thy Elected Officials - Just type in your zip code and this site will supply you with the names and contact information for your legislators from the state level up. This is a two click site with a host of other relevant features.
Stalking Resource Center division of the National Center for Victims of Crime – Internet harassment, stalking and abuse in general is now against the law. If you’re being victimized or if you know of someone who is, this is an excellent resource.
FUN STUFF
If you share my passion for American History, you’re going to love AmericanWest.com This is historical society stuff that is also extremely interesting to read. So yep, just in case you didn’t get it the first time, check it out here.
Houston At Night and other totally cool images are available at the Earth Observatory, along with an incredible array of other outer space images. This is one of NASA’s more engaging websites and it’s here, as well, that you can subscribe to their online newsletter. Whether you’re an aerospace/astronomy buff or simply enjoy stargazing, this is an excellent site.
Ever been told you look like someone famous? Ever not been told that but would like to have been? Find a photo of yourself, go to this site, MyHeritage.com, upload it and get a gallery of celebrities you resemble, to one degree or another. Yep, it’s a total waste of time and an unabashed indulgence of ego. Probably two reasons why I totally loved it, even though a couple of my own pix didn’t turn up any results. It’s fun to play with so enjoy.
If you’re into a real interesting and visual escape, we certainly recommend The Art In LA website. It’s a virtual art gallery created by a real gentle, occasionally obnoxious but totally good-hearted soul with standards as fine as those of any engineer I’ve ever met. It’s also a good place for healthy meditation. If you’re lucky, you might just run into the artist herself. Her name is Colleen and she’s a trip, trust me. Yep, she was born under the fourth flag on our masthead.
HEALTH
Ten foods that really do help prevent cancer.
Grub you libido will love.
If you’d like to know whether your eating habits are either adding years to your life or taking them off, take this RealAge quiz. It will not only score your real age against your health age but give you a program for improvement. I’ve been working this one for about a month now and yep, I feel a lot better.
Ever get so stressed you feel like you’re really jammed up against it? Take a deep breath and check out you’re surroundings is the advice of Dr. Roberta Lee in her book The Superstress Solution. We have and what I’ve generally found is that the outside reflects the inside. If I’m real busy, jackets get tossed over chairs, used coffee cups appear magically on window ledges and desk top clutter takes on a total biosphere all its own. Perhaps not surprising, dealing with the outside can really help you relax. And although we don’t recommend you try this at home, if you wait long enough, it can be also be real good exercise. This is a mental health must so check it out here. We’re reading Dr. Lee’s book now and we bought it here.
Want to know how to live to be 100? Try this one.
Take this test to see how your memory compares with the average.
Click here for fun games to improve your memory.
There’s a new book out now which could make a dramatic difference in the way toward the way women experience the passing of years. Despite major industries involved ~ cosmetic, fitness, elective surgery, to name three ~ the idea that women become less attractive as they grow older has also very likely contributed to more anxiety, high blood pressure, depression, etc. than any other single factor in a woman’s life except cancer and childbearing.
We also suspect that it has probably cost men just as much, if not more, than it has cost women, even in a nation historically known for its tolerance of a double standard. The book is entitled Face It: What Women Really Feel as Their Looks Change. Read about it here and if you decide you’d like to purchase it online, you can buy it here. I especially recommend this to men. It’s time our gender took more responsibility for this.
FOR YOUR SHOPPING CONVENIENCE
And for a truly unique shopping experience, drop by and browse THE NORTHSTAR GENERAL STORE.
Press Releases, Product Reviews, Promotional Copy, Digital Photography, Online Research and Investigation, Ghost Writing, Special Projects. Seattle-based and wired into the International Community. For more information, email to minstrel312@aol.com or go here -> Rusty Miller, Freelance Photojournalist.
GOOD “READS”
Books
If you’d like to read something which combines the best elements of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a neo-eco Mickey Spillane detective thriller, you’ll love this one.
“In the brave new world of the Internet, FedEx and an international taste for the exotic, wildlife poachers steal everything from elk horns to geoducks, the world's largest clam. In the waters of Puget Sound in Washington state, state wildlife agents stalk these thieves on land and at sea. In "Shell Games: Rogues, Smugglers, and the Hunt for Nature's Bounty," Seattle Times environmental reporter Craig Welch joins these detectives on the trail of one of the region's most notorious geoduck thieves.”
Welch, a Seattle Times environmental reporter is a compelling writer and this excerpt from the book would be worth the experience even if we were not also fascinated by the subject. If, after reading this extract, you’d like to buy the book, you’ll find it for sale here.
News
BBC – Best source of international news.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (multi-media), the Toronto Globe & Mail and the Vancouver Sun -- outstanding sources for Canadian national, provincial, and world news.
KING 5 News – Best source of video news of Seattle and the Greater Puget Sound.
New York Times – Best source of American news.
Reuters – Best source of an international perspective on American headlines.
Seattle Times – Best source for news of the city and the Puget Sound. Its reportage is unbiased but their columns and other opinion pieces do reflect the predominant values of the Pacific Northwest.
Sightline Daily (formerly Tidepool) – Best source of Pacific Northwest regional news. Delivered daily by email, it covers Alaska, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. They also put out an excellent weekly environmental edition.
Entertainment
BBC Knowledge Magazine – designed to give the American magazine National Geographic the proverbial run for its money,
TomatoMan Times -- For those who love good writing, there are fewer finer contemporary craftsmen out there now than professionally known as Tomatoman Mike. He’s as Northern Californian as John Steinbeck is, albeit with a dash of Sam Clemmons, Bret Harte and Robert W. Service in him. He’s a romp to read, trust me.
U Got Style is a monthly ezine dedicated to independent films. Fully illustrated, it features hard news, interviews, reviews and a wide variety of other information. It’s also fun to read.
Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean – Live from the smallest record store in North America. Canadian humor, entertainment and commentary at its maple leaf best. Popular on National Public Radio in the States.
See you next week, eh?
