Rise of Fall

I've had some fun high tide surf during the last several days, waist to head high at the Steps, some Tiburones, but tonight it all went away. Hot Dog is looking good on his new bat-tail quad, I haven't seen DYSM, and the pixie squad is getting thick. The other day, about 10 minutes after school let out, the pixie line stretched from the top of the stairs all the way to the bottom. They paddled out and proceeded to hit the lineup like ants at a picnic. Entitled. The next generation. Generation-E. I can't help but notice.

Regarding Peace: Over the weekend there was a protest in DC. The protesters marched, had a "die in", hopped barricades keeping them from the Capitol steps, and got arrested. Apparently there were over 100,000 people protesting and 190 got arrested. "end the war now". What caught my eye was the news of counterprotesters - I guess pro-war protesters. I understand they chanted "U-S-A" and waved flags. What else? I mean, how do you protest for war? "1-2-3-4 we want more war!", "death and destruction now!","BOMBS NOT FLOWERS!", "peace is for pussys!", etc. Seriously, it was reported the counterprotesters were clad in camouflage, American flag bandanas, and Harley Davidson jackets (likely just bad reporting - the people who really like the war wear suits and ties and are making big dough). The counterprotesters assured; "Terrorists, we will find you and kill you" Christian like. I feel safer.

Regarding Mercenaries: I've spoken about Blackwater and other government contractors that blur the line between government and corporations. Remember, when the government says they didn't spy on you or kidnap your friend, they're telling the truth - transparent government. In reality, some corporate contractor did it for them. Well, after riding rough over the Iraqis, killing a family in a car that didn't stop when the security contractors ordered it, and general aggressive behavior,the Iraqi government told them (Blackwater) to split. Of course I didn't think it would last because there isn't really any Iraqi government - just Corpgov. Sure enough, I was proven right the next day when the Iraqi government (CorpgovUSA) backed down on their initial decision. Apparently a call from Lice is all it took. US government comes to the aid of a US corporation - ghost mercenary firm saved - I like this description: "They're famous for being very aggressive. They (Blackwater) use their machine guns like car horns. But it's not the goal to kill people." I'm fucking sure - blowing off machine guns like horns, but gee, we don't want to hurt anyone. Any idea who's behind the Iraqi Oil Law? - CorpgovUSA?

How About Iran: the jawing is worse than a loud day at the Hook. Check it.

The U.S. hasn't taken any military "options off the table." She (Lice) said that "it can't be business as usual" with Iran, a country whose president has spoken of wiping Israel off the map. (Professor Juan Cole has already made it clear that the Farsi translation that ended up with “wiping Israel off the map” was completely wrong, but that hasn’t stopped propagation of the phrase)

So Iran says: "We have drawn up a plan to strike back at Israel with our bombers if this regime (Israel) makes a silly mistake," Iran's deputy air force commander, Gen. Mohammad Alavi, said in an interview with the semiofficial Fars news agency. And Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar told the official IRNA news agency that "we keep various options open to respond to threats. ... We will make use of them if required."

Not to be outdone - CorpgovUSA says: comment "is not constructive and it almost seems provocative." What did Corpgov say to start the jawing?

Not to be outdone by anybody: Then Israel says: "Unfortunately we are all too accustomed to this kind of bellicose, extremist and hateful language coming from Iran." Extremist and Hateful language? Who said what? I get the sense a giant clusterfuck is in the making.

I don't know what to think. I hope the surf is fun tomorrow - I need a break.  ¶ 12:05 AM 5 comments

 

A Dark Haze Obscures the Day

Couple of waves before the weekend, especially Friday when the swell poked in unannounced. Got south-swell Tiburones with some of the crew, but relatively empty all day at waist to head high. That's surf. Of more concern is today's anniversary, all but forgotten in the haze of lies, power trips, corporate greed, "shock and awe", and general inhumanity. Throw in immigration to distract SPB. It's hard to reflect on this day's anniversary - the mirror's been shattered and the pieces strewn about. Many philosophers have considered our nation's chosen course - long ago Confucius (479 - 551 BC) said, "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves". Hits home, does it not?
Peace  ¶ 9:35 PM 0 comments

 

Holiday

Leading up to the Labor day weekend, the surf struggled to make a showing. I heard about people surfing "up the coast", "at the beaches", and "down the coast". And of course, there were those who had just returned from Baja Sur, Centro, and the Islands. Yes, they all had story of waves - too bad for you town-folk. Starting the middle of last week, I began leaning how to surf again; but it was tough getting in tune on shin-slappers. By Wednesday I started feeling like I could bottom turn, and I had grand plans on surfing Friday morn before I left for Sonoma on a football (soccer states-side) trip. In the mean time, I got some fun ones with Rock. As he scored the wave of the day, Rock politely asked if I would join him, but his body language suggested that he was going full steam and I entered at my own risk. I didn't

It was a chore for me to get up and surf early Friday, and I was there only to see the idiot wind blowing from the mouth of the Pajaro Valley. I went out anyway, and it sucked. Started at Tiburones - close outs with ill-wind double up, and finished at Second Bowl with some waist-high two-turners. Hey -I got wet. My trip to Sonoma was cool. Found a hip "Summer of Love" record shop in Sebastopol, and Santa Cruz U14 won the football tournament with a Golden Goal in the second overtime.

As is the fashion, the south swell picked up while I was away - it was a holiday and the rule is south swells show up on weekends, holidays, and when there is a contest. I checked it this morning and it looked.....all right and crowded. The idiot wind was blowing, so it wasn't very clean and the tide was rising faster than Penguin's blood pressure when faced with a LB going straight. I saw Hot Dog and Coach dominating so I decided to chance it and wait for the evening session with a quickly falling tide. No dice - still lame. Tomorrow - part of a surfer's existence.

There are those among us who actually see. We may not know it, because we usually judge from the outside. One of those is C. Green. The Mayor dipped into the archive and found evidence that shows CGreen saw what was coming. Awhile back, he wrote a parody regarding our waring nation, religion, and our heroes. He got it right on. Writing in the form of a letter, Kernel Corporal J. N. Green pleads "Bring the war home to Christian Soil". Here is an excerpt:

"Happy Holidaze.... I, Kernel Corporal J. N. Green shall make many an effort and wish, and indeed, prayer to "bring the war home to Christian soil", where our women and children's prayers shall be put to work toward the opposition of dysfunctional worship and unholy conduct upon the heathen grounds and demonic shores, as so demonstrated by our opponents of overseas territory. Most importantly, during this beloved holiday gift season, the war must - I repeat, must, be delivered home to Christian soil immediately."

Sea Green goes on to ask: "Do you often find yourself thinking about joining the service?, Would you rather be a P.O.W. or M.I.A. than a common civilian? Is the national anthem played daily in your household?" Invoking the names of General Robert E. Lee, the Honorable Patron Saint Custurd, George C. Scott, Lee Iyakoka, and General Douglas McArathur, Green states "our soldiers shall be proudly empowered to protect our U.S. women and children and civilians alike....bring the war home....bring her home now." What was this guy thinking? So, if you see Green riding around town, recognize the genius. Rove beware.

Last thought: Ever heard of the technological Singularity? The point when AI equals and surpasses our own intelligence. It is argued we are approaching this paradigm shift at a double exponential rate. Here is an excerpt from an article that talks about a facet of what Singularity will mean.

"Using virtual reality goggles to mix up the sensory signals reaching the brain, they induced the volunteers into projecting their awareness into a virtual body. Participants confirmed they had experienced sitting behind their physical body and looking at it."

"This is essentially a means of projecting yourself, a form of teleportation. If we can project people into a virtual character, so they feel and respond as if they were really in a virtual version of themselves, just imagine the implications."

Some projections regarding Singularity have humankind uploading our eminds and functioning at some level in a virtual web world that makes the WWW look like an old nickel paperback. The excerpt above suggests it's more than possible, and just around the corner.

The pic shows local grom Kane tracking at Second Bowl. Good thing he's in school.  ¶ 11:43 PM 0 comments