A certain level of empathy is involved with revolutionary thought, innovation and social change. When being exposed to social, political and even economic disparities, brutality, inequity, oppression, etc., one of the key elements in motivating individuals to do something in order to better circumstances (for themselves as well as for others), is that there must be a meaningful connection to what is being exposed; we must feel empathy and compassion toward the beings that are suffering. Yet we do not live in an environment that readily fosters empathy or compassion.

Why is it easier for most people to stand up for the environment, for whales and dolphins, and not for their fellow human beings? Do we empathize with their voiceless victimization? The fact that they cannot stand-up for themselves in a society that consumes the very fiber of their being, their very lives?

Might this not, in itself, be symbolic of our own state in a culture that is consuming our own lives, our own spirits in the machinations of consumerism?

In effect, as everything that makes us human is commercialized and commodified, we are distanced from seeing each other as humans and tend more to view each other as objects.

One of the most disturbing elements about the struggle for women’s rights in the West is that often it is women who damage other women, or respond negatively to women who are struggling against the forces that degrade women in society. Why is this? Women have been presented as objects for so long that other women do not view them as sisters or daughters, but as objects themselves! This impedes the ability of women to band together to struggle as a unified force against a misogynistic culture. In popular media, we often see women pitted against women in cat-fights. Reality TV is over-run by this cattiness.

The objectification of human beings (and even animals and the environment) begins at the fringes, with the marginalized… those people we don’t empathize with because they are too “not us” or they have already been objectified. This works to inoculate us to the slowly encroaching movement of the commodification and objectification of everything. The more we allow a feeling of separation to come between us and any living thing, the easier it is to dehumanize and to objectify: “ah, she’s a model, it’s her job to eat a pea a week and pose with her ass in the air” or “ah, he’s a celebrity, he should EXPECT to be hounded by the press” or “ah, she chose to wear that, she should expect to be raped!” or “AH! he’s Muslim, must be a terrorist! He deserves no rights!” or “AH! it’s a cow, it’s meant to be FOOD, who cares how it is treated!”

Our humanity is consumed as we succumb to being consumers of everything.

If we are to do anything to make of this world a more pro-social place for ourselves and our children’s children, we must embrace our inter-connectedness and empathize, even with the most extreme other.

How do we do this? We listen to each other’s stories, the narratives of others, especially the stories of those we know least about.

Our oldest form of entertainment, it turns out, is also our most valuable pro-social tool: storytelling. It also uses our most primitive form of technology: communication.

Language, the communication of ideas to each other, the telling and receiving of each other’s stories are truly revolutionary acts.

My Fellow American

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I have often heard that a truly free economic system, where no business gets special privileges or protections, would closely resemble Darwinism. That is, only the best companies – those that adapt to circumstances quickly and profitable – would survive.

The problem with this metaphor is that no one I know loves survival of the fittest. Instead we want to save the whales and koalas and tigers and rhinos.

Why?

My guess is that people think some animals are worth the extra effort of manipulating the environment. That some animals contribute a kind of social value that outweighs the flourishing some other creature would experience were things allowed to play out naturally.  Less whales means more plankton – but we’re going to protect those whales and let those plankton die dammit!

Thus I wonder, do we really want an economic survival of the fittest? Or are there some businesses that we think have a particular social value that deserves protecting, despite the fact that doing so will distort the market.

It seems to me that a lot of local shops are struggling. The bookstores, butchers and fruit shops near me seem to change owners every six months. Can any of them really last? Will our society be the poorer for losing them? Or are they just victims of their own poor practice? Should we bemoan their relegation to museum aisles?

I am a believer in free trade. I know that cheap goods are good for everyone. But I also think the social dimension of financial policy matters. Economics, after all, exists to serve humanity. Not the other way around.

Carmen Lawrence said this in her Foreword to Don Watson’s Recollections of a Bleeding Heart:

“It is almost impossible to have a political conversation in Australia today without genuflecting to the markets and endorsing economic growth as the sole gauge of national improvement; the result is that when any policy is considered, it is rare for anyone to ask moral questions – whether it’s good or bad, whether it will help bring about a better society or a better world.”

Indeed.

In the meantime, here’s one of those funny ‘beached as’ clips from a few years back.

Petitions For A Call To Action:

Help Imprisoned SeaWorld Animals

Speak Out To Protect Orcas

Release Enslaved Orcas

Stop Using Orcas For Entertainment

Tell SeaWorld To Release Lolita

Move SeaWorld Orcas To Sanctuaries

Save Dolphin Species From Captivity

Help Relocate Orca Presently Called Lolita From SeaWorld

Support Orca Freedom

Free Orca Called Tilikum To Sanctuary

Save South Resident Orcas From Extinction

Public Demands The Cessation Of Orca Displays At SeaWorld

It’s worse with the internet.  Before they had to call you or send a letter to your home.  You had to either actively seek out, or know about, or have a real live person, activate your caring mechanism.  Now it comes at you from all directions: twitter, Facebook, email, Google’s attention to your every little click so that it can feed you more content you might like.  You could literally spend all day supporting causes, sharing links, ‘liking’ content, signing petitions, and emailing all your friends so they can share in the collective guilt and resolution.

Or you could go picket your local bank or civic center, or even Wall Street.

All of which is time-consuming and distracting from other things in life like: work, play, paying bills, and writing your great American novel.

So what do you do?  I assume the best method would not to be ‘sweeping it under the rug’ because I have no need to remind anyone, least of all myself, that the world is going to hell in a hand cart faster than I can say “Jiminy Cricket”, but perhaps to pick and choose?  Ah, but therein lies the rub?  How do you find the one or two defining issues?  How will you choose between saving the polar bears or the American mustang, or greenhouse emissions, or fighting the banks and corporate greed, or campaigning for your favorite political cause, or organic food, or gun control, or genetically modified organisms, or… or… or… you can fill in any of your favorite causes here, even if they differ from mine!  The result is the same.  We are overwhelmed.  How do we take action, make a difference, and yet, still have a life, creative or otherwise, at the end of the day?

Tell me, how do you choose?

I love when someone says something like “I am really into scuba diving” or “I go to Alaska every summer as a nature conservationist.” Passion seems to breed identity, as something a person stands for, what they love, and could talk about forever. Besides having a passion, these identity-defining statements say to me “I know what I am because I love something unconditionally, without needing it to fit into your idea of me.”

Identity is woven into every cell, and yet we go searching for it as if its hidden. I want to say things like “I love scuba diving” with a light in my eyes… thats when you know someone is in touch with themselves. They are letting themselves love what they really love. And in that moment, we have true relaxed happiness. Joy for joy without all the hangups.

One of the things I really loved as a child, that may have helped make me who I am today, is the Save The Whales game. Everyone chooses a small silver whale and off you go battling oil spills and trash dumps, until all the whales are in the safe haven in the middle of the board. I want to find my new Save the Whales as an adult. What makes me excited to play, what gets me going, involves me completely in the process? What is my next favorite thing that passionately makes me into who I am?

http://www.greenpeace.org

Despite the fondest wishes of so many who opposed it, Greenpeace turned forty this year.  I remember as a child back in the early ’70s listening to all the talk about this group of “hippies” that were interfering with nuclear testing.  Because of the cold war, it seemed pretty obvious to a child like me that if no one could test nukes, maybe they wouldn’t be able to destroy the world with them.  Then I learned a little more.

From my late teens to my mid-twenties, I went through a more conservative phase where I believed they were a menace.  They hadn’t stopped nuclear testing to save me, but to save a bunch of wildlife.  I like wildlife as much as the next person, but let’s get our priorities straight shall we.  Then I learned a little more.

For the past fifteen years or so, I’ve been a dues paying member of Greenpeace.  I’ve watched the world stand by and allow the wholesale destruction of the natural world.  Only one group that I’ve seen has put out a consistent message backed by non-violent action to try an curb that trend.  That group is Greenpeace.

Contrary To Their Commercials, This Is What The Tar Sands REALLY Look Like

Yep, that’s beautiful northern Alberta in Canada.  The company’s that run the oil sands projects have been putting out commercials that make it look all clean and friendly.  (I was going to put a link to the ad here, but can’t seem to find that commercial anywhere.)

Greenpeace has been fighting for years to get some sort of environmentally responsible action from CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers).  Activists have occupied sites, caused work stoppages and worked to make the rest of the world aware of this tragic rape of Canada’s wilderness.  It’s a slow process, made more so when the government at every level is on the side of those committing the crime.

They wanted to “save the whales” before it became a catchall phrase to describe anyone who cares about the environment.  They also worked to keep Antarctica free, to stop overfishing on the high seas, to stop deforestation in South America, stop toxic and nuclear waste from being dumped into high seas, to stop our society from creating toxic nightmares by selling our electronic waste to companies that dump it on impoverished, third world shorelines to be manually broken down, recycled and burned in open fires.

Yeah, I can see now why some people think they’re radicals.  Obviously, their opposition to genetically modified crops is just a ploy to cause famine.  It couldn’t possibly have to do with Monsanto and co. owning the genetic rights to an ever increasing slice of the worlds seed crops.   Nonsense, how could that possibly be a bad thing.  It’s not like they can claim the rights to seeds from plants which have been inadvertently been cross pollinated from a neighboring field.  Oh wait.  Yes they can.

So yes, I give money every month to Greenpeace.  I’m not out protesting or organizing or any of that stuff.  That’s not me.  Not at this time anyway.  Who knows what the future will bring.  I think it says enough that right now when money’s kind of an issue, I haven’t missed a payment.   Now I’ve learned a little more.

I’m still a dues paying member of Greenpeace.  Because once you learn some things, they can’t be unlearned.

Cheers, Winston

Big Whale Sweatshirt

talked about Babylady’s fall 2011 delivery as well as what’s coming  for ss12 and figure it’s only right to share a bit more about this week’s Guest Hunter, Kat West’s, collection called we.make.do. This capsule, which consists of super comfortable tees and sweatshirts range in sizes for kids ages 2-10 (several even come in adult sizes!) was created in 2010. All of designs are true to the West’s aesthetic – playful, smart, downtown, and even thought provoking. A portion of the proceeds from we.make.do go to Save the Whales, a West Coast based charity. The organization’s purpose is to educate children and adults about marine mammals, their environment and their preservation. So do good and look cool. Why the heck not?

Let's Try Sweatshirt

Photo: Babylady

-twentyeight

In this recently released video spot, the advertising campaign takes this “Save The Whales” gag even further. The footage of a boisterous man in a whale costume is entertaining to be sure, but after watching the spot I leaned back in my chair and wondered, “So wait… Didn’t this start out being about the environment?”

I am friends with the agency that put this campaign together. And it’s fun. It’s colorful. But as a professional, one is expected think critically about the content within the industry. As such, here are a few thoughts:

1) You do owe a tip-of-the-hat to the hippies.

Do you remember the original “True Environmentalists” campaign from the South Dakota Corn Growers Association? The premise is simple: farmers, not environmental activists, are the true conservationists. After all, they have to avoid soil degradation if they want their business to survive. While I admire the effort to increase environmental awareness in the agricultural community, I don’t appreciate the subtext within this campaign: “All those bleeding-heart liberals trying to tell us what to do with our water and animals should just go home.” The pitch that farmers are the true environmentalists because nowadays they use a little bit less fertilizer and herbicides is full of some pretty obvious holes. The fact of the matter is: a lot of conservationists and activists had to fight for decades to bring sustainability into the popular consciousness. Now that everyone wants to brand their product or organization as “green,” don’t forget the OGs (Original Greensters) who started everything.

Turning “Save The Whales” into a trite tag line risks devaluing the work of those who originally worked tirelessly to conserve one of our most endangered resources – the ocean.

2) Sustainability is not without obligations.

Making “green” colorful and fun is a good way to get initial attention, but the label is beginning to fly around like the term “Xtreme” in the 1990s. Kinna one of those “If everybody is, then nobody is” deals, y’know?

Basically, it’s all well and good to make sustainability fun and approachable, but this shouldn’t come at the expense of the message: People need to change how they are acting. They need to make some initial sacrifices to help our planet. Maybe this message is harder to pitch with bright colors and funny gags, but a responsible advertiser will never try to gloss over the necessities of their subject.

3) Don’t let the gag take over for the message.

Two quotes from advertising greats should explain.

Bill Bernbach said it best: “Be provocative. But be sure your provacativeness stems from your product. You are not right if in your ad you stand a man on his head just to get attention. You are right if it’s done to show how your product keeps things from falling out of his pockets. Merely to let your imagination run riot, to dream unrelated dreams, to indulge in graphic acrobatics is not being creative. The creative person has harnessed his imagination. He has disciplined it so that every thought, every idea, every word he puts down, every line he draws … makes more vivid, more believable, more persusasive the … product advantage.”

Another take, from Ed McCabe, one of the great writers of the 1970s, is shorter but the more insightful for it’s brevity: “It’s not fair to inflict your own style on a strategy.”

Do I say that the agency putting together the advertising for the Plain Green Conference is guilty of all these? No. It’s just something to think about – something triggered by a campaign that I felt could have been more precisely targeted.

And please please please don’t think I extend these objections to the Plain Green Conference. The conference is a one-of-a-kind, very ambitious idea. This environmentally-conscious presence is sorely needed in our community. If you haven’t checked them out yet, do so, and I’ll see you there this Friday, October 14. Expect reports and video next week.

Peace.

Photo from deviantart.com

I knew a girl called Amanda, she had perfect teeth
She loved ABBA and wasn’t afraid to give our leaders grief
I really did love Amanda
Out to save the whale, rhino and panda
Not one to fall for bullshit or propaganda
She was quite some girl, was Amanda
One day, while out on a demonstration
against the evils of vivisection
things turned ugly and she was shot by a policeman
There she was lyin’ in a pool of red
When the ambulance arrived, she was already dead
Amanda, I remember you on the campaign trail
You sung with much gusto “Save The Whale”
The bastard who shot you belongs in jail
The police should answer for their crimes…
But they get away with it time after time…

As for Amanda, Rest In Peace.

Director: Leonard Nimoy

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

The 3-part story arc begun in The Wrath Of Khan and carried through The Search For Spock concludes here in The Voyage Home and the divisive ‘time-travel as a deus ex machina’ is given a run-out. The crew are heading for Earth, but not as they know it…

With Spock now recombobblydated, the crew fly home via the nicked Bird Of Prey (renamed HMS Bounty) to face the music for their rebellion in TSFS. But – look out! – when they arrive, Earth is under attack from a cylindrical alien probe. ‘Attack’ is too strong a word; the probe simply rocks up and sends a signal into the ocean, whipping up a global storm in the process with the addition of a crippling power-drain. Kirk and crew analyse the signal and the ship’s computer finds a match with the singing of a humpback whale; yikes, the giant probe is trying to contact a species hunted into extinction and no longer exists in the 23^rd Century! And failure to answer = the destruction of Earth. The only solution is to go back in time, kidnap said blubber-face, bring it back to the future and hopefully ‘Rama’ will be well chuffed with the outcome…

I remember back then, sitting in a pub, The Gorse, when the chat got around to films, including the upcoming storyline for TVH: “You what?” I said. “They go back in time and beam up an effing whale? Eff off.” I never considered TVH again until a year or so down the line when I caught a couple of minutes on telly just as I was going out. It was a bit near the beginning, when Spock says, “I’m receiving a number of distress calls.” And McCoy replies, “I don’t doubt it.” And I laughed! I made a mental note to rent it…

Nimoy takes out Jarv before he can lay waste to his film

Nimoy, and he’s probably correct, decided to get away from the themes of the previous two movies – notably death and loss – and lighten things up a bit, bringing back Nicholas Meyer who teamed up with Harve Bennett to do the scribbling. The intent is to be family friendly. There’s no bad guy (whalers notwithstanding), nobody phasers or photons anyone, there’s no violence… well, except for stock footage of a real whale slaughter because, y’know, emotional investment and all that. In short (why do people say ‘in short’ straight after they’ve explained something in great depth, then recap in less than half as many words?); there’s no danger to anybody or anything. Oh, it’s implied, like when Chekov winds up critical in hospital after a fall. But you know no one’s going to die, human or animal. With some degree of tension in the previous films, the tone-shift is especially jarring, to be dropped into slapstick comedy with little warning. General audiences loved it, presumably comfortable with the contemporary setting rather than unpronounceable space operatics and watching TVH again, I found myself chuckling away regularly. But, boy is this effer full of holes. If my name was Carlos and I lived in Portugal, I would list every single one of them. In detail. Incessantly. Presently, I may touch on a few but it’s pointless in a film like this. Nimoy, Bennett, Meyer… they’re not arsed about plot holes; they want you to laugh and have a good time. Well, did you?

Kirk's noticed, but the lady in front is nun the wiser... heh... oh, come on!

It all depends on whether or not you will openly accept an environmentally friendly Star Trek comedy. The idea is a good one, an intelligence pitching up in orbit to message a species on Earth other than humans and finding them wiped out. I like that a lot, and the realisation that in our arrogance we’ve forgotten it isn’t solely our planet, that we may not be the recipient of a txt. That the writers picked whales is understandable too considering that the numbers of many species were declining during the 1980’s, a regular subject on the nightly news.

Actually, that reminds me… I once worked at a chartered accountant (in the post room) and the Norwegian Consulate had an office on the same floor. One day we got invaded by an animal rights group coz of them pesky Norge buggers whale-worrying where they shouldn’t be, 1990’s this. The manager came in and says to me, “Can you go and deal with that.” I’m like, “It’s only gonna be students, just throw a bar of soap at ‘em, they’ll soon eff off.” But no, I was required to strong-arm ‘Greenpeace’ off the premises. No need, as it happened, coz they couldn’t access the electronic inter-office lock and were duly being escorted peacefully from the floor by the time I got to reception. They were telling us “you’ve all got blood on your hands” and I was going – “These are just accountants, mate. They don’t normally go around stabbing fish.” Anyway, I accepted a pamphlet off them and for the rest of the day, every time I walked past the Norge Consulate I’d tap on the glass and hold the pamphlet up, mouthing – “You! You’re responsible for this!” The receptionist got well pissed off. Happy days…

Like she'd be attracted to a rotundular wig-head...

Never mind ‘Save the Whales’, what about this time travel malarkey, eh! In TVH, changing the future is a breeze. Take Scotty & McCoy’s mission to acquire a tank strong enough to house two humpback whales. In return for this stuff, Scotty happily reveals the formula for ‘transparent aluminum’, a material of the future, to a salivating glass manufacturer. When McCoy, for the audience, very gently warns against changing the future, Scotty replies, “Why? How do we know he didn’t invent the thing?” And that’s it. This film isn’t interested in the implications, we’re assured that this bloke will be the inventor of ‘transparent aluminum’. Then there’s Kirk’s spectacles, he pawns them for 100 notes. Spock points out they were a birthday present from McCoy. “And they will be again, that’s the beauty of it,” Kirk replies. Nice throwaway quip. Except they won’t be. He sold them and then he returns to the future without them. The birthday on which he was given them, he won’t have that birthday again. Does no one walking in the park keep slamming into an invisible structure and raise the alarm? How does Gillian (Catherine Hicks) have access to a selection of surgical greens? How does Sulu borrow/ steal a helicopter? Why do they even need one? If you can beam 400 tons of humpback whales + water into a tiny Bird Of Prey, a few glass panels won’t be a problem. But look at the size of the Klingon ship when the crew are stood around it. Now think about the size of two whales. Not happening is it. And how about, having successfully rescued Chekov, Gillian jumps on Kirk to get beamed up. But the ramp came down for everyone to board. Why did they retract the ramp while Kirk was still outside? There are a dozen or so of these but like I say, it hardly matters in the grand scheme of what’s going on here.

"I'm a doctor not a poorly conceived caption!"

The family-oriented adventure theme even stretches to the ‘threat’ in TVH which in turn muddies the river somewhat. The probe doesn’t mean to cause harm to Earth, it’s just looking for whales. So, are we to believe this probe of vast intelligence does not once consider that the catastrophic environmental effect it instigates may well wipe out all forms of life on the planet? But then again, is this Nimoy saying that the probe is us? That there’s no premeditated decision on the part of humans to eradicate a species, it simply isn’t considered as part of the equation. As Red Planet’s Burchenal says, “Man’s a party animal; if he’s doing okay, nothing else matters.” The concept of the probe itself is a mystery. Did the makers of this craft seed life on the planet, or at the very least life in the sea? Looks that way. How come future Star Trek films didn’t go looking for this thing? Maybe the whale probe should have formed the basis for The Final Frontier…

Klingons would've vaporized the whale-stabbing bastards

The cast is great; TVH is eminently watchable because of them, particularly the triumvirate of Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley zipping the lines around. One of the funniest moments has no lines at all. Spock, having to disguise himself before venturing outside, tears off a piece of his robe and ties it around his head thereby concealing his pointy ears. McCoy’s wry reaction is ace. Spock discovers cursing and tries it out on Gillian: “They are not the hell your whales,” etc, not to mention, “One damn minute, Admiral” when Kirk asks for an update on going home. McCoy, again, in his element at the hospital: “Dialysis? What is this, the Dark Ages?” and “My God, man, drilling holes in his head’s not the answer!” Far too many quips to mention here. But the scene in the car with Gillian is flat-out brilliant. That Catherine Hicks can seamlessly weave her way around two old pros like Shatner and Nimoy is a thing to behold. Calling Kirk “farmboy” during one outburst and prompting Spock to wonder, “Are you sure it isn’t time for a colourful metaphor?” I still can’t believe my ears when Kirk says, “No, mam, no dipshit…” and after a precisely timed pause Spock comes in with “Gracie is pregnant” causing Gill to slam on the brakes. The whole thing concludes with the “Do you like Italian?” interchange. And it’s note perfect, you cannot script that. Re-watching these things I’ve been pretty much stoic, but I’d forgotten this and I was creased up, Innis & Gunn spuming everywhere.

Hicks is a disarming presence throughout, it’s like she’s been part of the cast for years. However, She does get saddled with most of the clumsy preaching – yeh, humans are twats, leave the animals alone, I get it. The rest of the crew have their moment in the spotlight, most notably James Doohan trying to talk to a 1980’s computer. Fecking Chekov with his “nuclear wessels” though, why is that so popular? And they soon offload paedo Saavik don’t they. Apparently, one discarded storyline had her pregnant with Spock’s child after all that filthy underage finger-stroking in TSFS and that’s why she stayed on Vulcan! More than likely she’s standing trial for grotesque acts of kiddy-fiddling. Let The Right One In’s got nothing on Star Trek…

Ye cannae change the laws o' physics, eh, Scotty?

The FX are once again adequate but they must’ve saved a packet by having a ‘cloaking’ device. Still, the animatronic whales, George & Gracie are superb, a heap of care and attention has gone into those – several shots convinced me I was watching living breathing mammals. DoP Don Peterman is responsible for some outstanding lighting, seemingly waging a one-man war against the whimsy with several atmospheric set-ups – but then I’m a sucker for seeing actors lit from beneath. Composer Leonard Rosenman is responsible for an unappealing score. It’s not entirely his fault; I’m used to hearing Horner now and to be suddenly hit with comedy cues… I mean, take ‘Wessel Face’ Chekov trying to escape the ship. I can’t take that scene seriously, complete with cartoon punchline, oh, he fell. And again, escaping from the hospital, how am I supposed to have any doubt about the outcome with that awful diddling going on in the background?

It’s impossible for me to dislike TVH. I have to admit, out of the four so far this is the one I’ve responded to the most. I wasn’t expecting that.

Trailer here: http://tinyurl.com/3ukyb55

Cheers, folk.

ThereWolf, September 2011

We can’t think of the word “unsinkable” without thinking of Margaret “Molly” Brown. Not only did she survive the Titanic disaster; she left a legacy of philanthropy, generosity, and integrity. You might say she was known for both her head and her heart. So when I heard about a Young Adult book titled Unsinkable: The Molly Brown Story, I was drawn to it. (I’m always on the lookout to find great books for my God-daughter Sami and my nephew Lucius). Turns out the book is part of the “Now You Know” series from Filter Press, a wonderful small press in Colorado, and was authored by a colleague from Women Writing the West, Joyce Lohse.

Joyce is another “head and heart” woman who seems to accomplish such a volume of work so effortlessly, she truly must be unsinkable herself. The author of seven award-winning books, a Western history buff, she also partners with her husband in their consulting firm Lohse Works, and manages to serve on multiple boards. In addition, she founded her blog Unsinkable Western History in 2009 as an outlet for journalistic writing skills and as a showplace for writing and photography. She’s quick to mention her involvement with and commitment to Women Writing the West, and how other members’ work inspires her own. (We all cherish the synergy and mutual support from this marvelous organization.)

When I asked about the title and the theme of her blog, she replied, “I call my blog Unsinkable Western History as a nod to one of my favorite biographical characters, Margaret ‘Molly’ Brown, and those of her ilk, who bravely persevered into unknown territory and lifestyle as pioneers in the American West. It is also a celebration of western culture. I share tales and methods of enjoying the Old and New West, and especially its history. I’ve had so much fun and so many thrilling experiences and discoveries while researching western history. I want to share and help others enjoy these experiences, through travel, reading, and enjoyment of our special culture and lifestyle in the Rocky Mountain West.”

What always strikes me about Joyce are two qualities—she always wants to learn something knew, and she always want to be generous to others. So I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when she posted not one, but three segments for my blog tour, with an introduction post to boot, about my upcoming novel What the Heart Knows. Her posts include answers to her interesting questions in Segment #1; Segment #2; and Segment #3.

When we first discussed the possibility of my guesting on her blog, the connection between her work and mine didn’t seem obvious, as I don’t write Western history. Or . . . do I? I do write a story set in the West. (The question always arises, is California the West? Well, it sure-as-shootin’ is geographically, even though I don’t have any horses or cowboy boots in my story.) And my series is set in the 1990s, which technically is indeed history, be it ever-so-recent. What we realized was a terrific fit for her blog was the topic of research.

With very recent history, it’s hard to remember when, exactly, certain things were introduced into mainstream society. Now, for example, cell phones are a fact of life. But in 1996, could a character be relying on a cellular device as his primary means of communication? Turns out, if he has enough money, he could buy the first razor-thin flip phone in 1996, so this was a perfect fit revealed by my research. I shared a much funnier story about Jimmy Choo shoes with Joyce that you can read on my post there.

We both love Western history, be it recent, old, or ancient. Why? Probably because we both love adventure, and the kind of characters who think big and live up to their dreams. The West used to and still does dish out some of the biggest obstacles in life. What does it take to be unsinkable? It takes both head and heart.

For more information on the changes that are taking place with The Milford Haven Novels, please read my newsletter. If you have not subscribed, visit www.MaraPurl.com to have my newsletter sent to your mailbox every month.

There are two types of guys- The Bank Walkers, as they say in Texas, are guys who are unashamed about their nakedness. My father was a bank walker; as are my brother and I, so are my sons.
[Evidently, LBJ was a bank walker. I picked up the term from an interview with one of his aides. It's a reference to while most boys would hide their nakedness and enter & leave the creek as close as possible to their clothes "bank walkers" would strut up and down looking for a better place to dive in or to show off their manhood. LBJ may be the all time bank walker. He would leave the door to the bathroom in the Oval Office and insist his aides continue conversations while he took a shit. That's a little too intimate for me.]

The rest of the guys may or may not be sissies- at one time I thought they might be latent homosexuals and were worried about hiding nascent erections caused by being around other naked men. Years later I ended up utilizing a gym in Soho where I was one of the few straight guys and noted there were walkers and hiders in that crew, too. And this was a place where the steam room was closed by order of the health department and there were signs in the locker room advising that sex would not be tolerated Say what you want about me for this next observation, it is based on observation- but then I don’t maintain eye contact with strange men- I watch their center of gravity and hands, where an attack will originate. There are bank walkers with bull pizzles and with peckers like a scared turtle.

But I digress.
We’re in the locker room and I tell him to drop his suit near our locker- we don’t care about being naked- and don’t wrap his towel around his wet body so it will be dry after he showers.
We get out of the shower, go back to our locker, and I put my shorts on first. And my nephew starts in with his T-shirt. I’m dressed in maybe a minute and he’s still dicking around with his T-shirt. So I ask what he’s doing and he hems and a haw a bit until I ask hasn’t your Father taught you anything?
“First thing you do is put on your pants. There are two theories about this:
1- if the place catches fire you can walk right out with your money and car keys.
2- If there is some guy scoping your package in here you don’t want to lead him on.
Next you put your shoes on:
1- if you’re leaving in a fire, shoes are handy.
2- You don’t know what’s growing on the floor here.
Then your shirt is last.
And another thing is that we must hurry up because whatever else happens when your Mom and Aunt come out of their locker room, job one is to be sitting outside and ask them “What took you so long?”
I hear a gentle voice ask me “Does he really need to hear that kind of thing?” I turn and consider this character, maybe 5 years older than I, which makes him prime hippie age, in a “Save the Whales” T-shirt , for all I know he might be my brother’s neighbor, and reply “Yes I think he does. This is how it was explained to me and it’s worked out pretty well and I intend to have harsh words with my brother about him not knowing this. And now I’m going outside with my nephew and discuss what it might or might not mean when a stranger strikes up a conversation in the locker room”.

03/29/13

Have you ever had an uncomfortable interaction with a guy who is 1/2 a hippie in a locker room?

Is it possible that I was over-reacting to his non hetero-normative opinion?

Was LBJ sexually abusive?

Am I secretly gay because I noticed gay guys weren’t hitting on me?

Related articles

• Texas Mom Accused of Placing Camera in Locker Room (abcnews.go.com)
• Penn State Will Renovate The Locker Room And Showers Where Sandusky Abused Victims (sportsgrid.com)

I ask you this: Without spending any money, how can you be of service to the world today?

Peace in, Peace out… 
M