Weekend anarchists

I run into a couple of girls who don’t look much older than eighteen, sitting on the wall outside of Trader Joes. They’ve got flowers in their hair and packs on their back. Nicole and Ellie. I ask them where they’re heading and they tell me they're unsure. Nicole explains how they are ‘anarchists’ ..and they’re going wherever that may lead. She certainly makes a well-articulated case. So, I ask them where they’ve been. Oh, San Francisco ..San Jose ..Monterey Bay. So I go “Heading south, are you?” (thinking ..what an obvious question) Nicole goes “Yep”. I tell them I think north is preferable (not to mention safer) than LA. They shrug. I tell them about places where they can camp in the woods around Santa Cruz and Big Sur. They were just there. When I mention the community of Esalen; Nicole says they found refuge there after she hurt her foot while hiking down a trail to the beach. In addition to being anarchists, they’re licensed massage therapists ..and were able to stay for a couple of days, giving massages in exchange for food and lodging (Esalen, among other things, is known for their massage program). How cool, I say ..bartering is certainly an anarchist thing to do. They didn’t want to stay there much longer however ..it was way too institutional for them. Ellie begins pacing ..then walks into Trader Joes. I continue talking with Nicole .. keeping my eye on Ellie as she strolls down the aisles, filling the pockets of her sweater with supplies. When I see that she’s about to leave without paying ..I go inside and convince her that putting it on a stranger’s America Express would definitely be an anarchist thing to do. Back outside, I give them directions to an ‘exchange’ where they can connect with rides. If that fails; there’s a well-lit youth hostel ..even a woman’s shelter, where they can safely spend the night ..moves that, I explain, are about as anarchist as any they’ll find. I think they agree and we part company. Now I’m wondering about them, stepping into the unknown, while I carefully fold clothes and put away groceries at home.

Traffic jam

I wake up with badly congested information-channels ~ I see shifting patterns of different colors entering an open window ~ and watch the walls dissolve into orange dots before they reach the ceiling. I sit up and swing my feet over the edge of a pillowy sensation I can comfortably rely on as my bed ~ but now the floor has dropped out of sight. I count the number of times this has happened before and figure the odds of landing with both feet on the floor are in my favor. I decide to play it safe ~ take one step at a time ~ stopping frequently to make sure I am where I’m accustomed to be, and not where I appear to be, because I know my senses are deceiving me. Downstairs, scattered waves of light travel in every direction ~ except through the channels of my visual receptors. I find something likely to be my CD player and punch it in the vicinity of the on/off switch. A punk rock CD, left in there from the night before, starts to blare. The light waves begin bouncing to the rhythm, and, like little drops of colored water ~ they enter into the proper channels and float down streams of sensory-energy ~ until they fall into pools of stored-memory ~ and form the image of what I’m supposed to see. Like adjusting the focus of a camera lens ~ it all becomes clear. I drop to my knees and pay homage to the deities of music ~ then crank up the volume and go in the kitchen to prepare myself a thermos of coffee. Looks like it’s going to be a good day.

Fear of stem cells

Written in response to an article in today's LA Times ~~>[link]

In general, I am not in favor of passing laws that block harmless activities simply because there’s a ‘possibility’ they may lead to more dangerous, and rightfully unlawful activities later on. That’s why I am definitely against banning stem-cell research, which has very real potential for doing good, out of fear of the unlikely event they lead to something you read about in science fiction magazines. I prefer that we set the boundary a little closer to the heinous outcome we fear, than to block genuine advances in medical science. Blocking progress in relieving human suffering would be the real crime here.

Medical marijuana

Written in response to an article in today's LA Times ~~>[link]

There have not been enough controlled studies of marijuana to make definitive claims about its harmful effects. The study, that you (the LATimes) report, cites evidence of tissue-loss in areas of the brain that, among other things, play a role in learning and memory. However, there is no mention of test results showing that memory-loss had, in fact, occurred. Without better information, reports chronicling the overall effects of marijuana can, at best, only suggest the possibility of harmful effects. Because marijuana is still classified as a controlled substance, it is not approved for medical research. As a result, there is still going to be a lot more smoke out there than science.

The case against Sotomayor

In hundreds of cases that Sotomayor has decided; no one has found that she was either racially or ethnically biased. So now Republicans are taking a less-informed approach and saying that what she did in the past is not a good indication of what she’ll do in the future. Republican Senator Jeff Sessions says that her past record has no bearing on how she’ll do because the cases she decided are not like the one’s that the Supreme Court decides. Instead, they think a better indication of how she’ll do is that one remark she made about ‘wise Latinas’ ..as though this instance is representative of all instances ..and proves that her decision-making has been, and always will be ..‘experienced-based and biased’. I’m sorry, but what this tells me about our Republican leaders is that their judgment making is seriously flawed. Apparently, their horizon only goes as far as people who agree with Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito ..or Rush Limbaugh.

Other people's business

There’s a generator running in the canyon that sounds like a helicopter circling overhead. That’s exactly what I thought it was at first. I kept looking up with binoculars but couldn’t see anything. So, I walked around the neighborhood to see if I could find out what’s going on. Turns out a father and son are building a small house on the side of the canyon. Only problem is, they’re landlocked and haven’t got any electricity. So, in the meantime, it’s going to sound like a landing zone around here until they get connected to the grid. I ask them how they got a building permit without a utility easement in the first place. The plot thickens. They had one. It was on a pole going to, what looked like, an old miners shack that was here before. But, when the miner died; somebody took it down. Now their neighbors won’t let them run underground cables below ..and the City won’t let them hang wires above. I sympathize and tell them I think Santa Barbara is a hard place to get things done. They ask me where I live. When I point it out ..they start looking at a ‘site plan’ and discover that we share a border. Now they’re scrambling around looking for a pole they can connect to by passing below my property. A pole is hard to find because everyone else around here has underground utilities ..except for Dr Jones and his surrounding rentals. But, to hook-up there becomes a mechanical nightmare because they would have to slant drill underneath a creek ..then along my border with Dr Jones, for a distance of about 500 feet. Now they’re talking about it as though it were a done-deal. They snap off the generator and start making phone calls ..and I’m like ..hold on a minute. The plot thickens further. Turns out they already have an easement to get in and out of their property; there’s a road they share with the neighbors on the other side of the creek. In fact, they already have underground utilities they can hook-up to about 20 feet away from them on that road. The only problem is, it wasn’t spelled out legally .. so their neighbors are asking them for a king's ransom to do it. In reality, they already have the right to do it ..and they know it. But one of the neighbors is like, the head of Edison’s construction department, and he can push the work-order so far into the future; it’ll be decades before they get electricity. They know that too. So now they’re negotiating with him to see if they can get his price down somewhere below what it would cost them if they had to mount a legal battle. I learned something from this ..I found out what can happen when I stick my nose into other people’s business.

Lifestyle choice

We’re having a lively discussion at the baths tonight, talking about the marijuana dispensaries in town ..and laughing because we can all come up with reasons why we qualify for a prescription. A young athlete, who tweaked her hip while training, says she qualifies .. marijuana helps relax the muscles in her back ..the ones that she uses to compensate for it. Even her physical therapist recommends it. The couple sitting next to me have a valid concern; they say it lowers their ambition and makes it easier for them to blow-off going to the gym in the evening. Sounds like a good observation. Then a young doctor says that it should not be so readily available ..and legalization is really a bad idea “Marijuana is highly addictive” he says “ .. it’s pretty obvious from what I've seen in my practice”. Now, that's a compelling reason if I ever heard one. I tell him I did not know that ..and ask him what sort of withdrawal symptoms he sees (because I do know that the medical definition of ‘addiction’ requires withdrawal symptoms). He looks away and, in a far-off voice, says “Well, none really ..” then looks back and says “It does become part of your lifestyle though ..especially with people I’ve seen in California” Now that strikes a well-frayed nerve in me ..fortunately it’s one that I’m accustomed to people striking, so I’ve learned not to react so fast. I ask him where he’s from. “New York” he replies. I stand up, shake his hand and say “Welcome to the West Coast ..!” and sit back down while the others greet him in a similar manner. Then someone asks what he likes most about living here. “The wine country” he replies ..and holds up a thermos full of Chardonnay.