My Depression is Lifting

Here's the typical touristy shot from Athens. I'd be willing to bet that the original construction didn't take as long as the restoration. When I was last in Athens in 1988, there was scaffolding all over the Parthenon.

Here's the same scene from a different angle. Today we hiked up Lycabetus Hill, the highest point in Athens. This is the view from there.

This is the view of Lycabetus Hill from the Acropolis.

We've had a good trip so far, other than the usual hassles of trying to figure out the train service from the airport to Athens. Suffice to say that it's not intuitively obvious to the casual observer as to which train to catch and where the train we ended up catching was going. We did have a bit of a grand tour, but we eventually made it to the Aphrodite Hostel, our home for three nights.

Except for the touristy areas, Athens is a gritty and not terribly appealing city. The Aphrodite Hostel fits right into that mold. As far as hostels go, it's OK, but it is in a gritty area at least 6-8 blocks away from anywhere you'd want to be. The nearest Metro station is about 6 blocks away, but we mastered the system, so it's been easy enough to get around.

Yesterday we went to the Acropolis Museum, a fabulous and beautiful place at the foot of the Acropolis. Then we went up the Acropolis and spent several pleasant hours wandering around. Today we took a hike up Lycabetus Hill for another view of the city. We even stopped in at a small Greek Orthodox chapel for Sunday morning services.

Tomorrow, I've got a car lined up for rental, and we're headed off to Meteora, Mount Olympus, and whatever else strikes our fancy. We'll return to Athens on Friday, and catch a ferry to Paros for a week of sailing in the Cyclades.

It's a tough life, but someone's got to live it!

I'm Outta Here

The American political scene is pretty depressing right now. Obama seems to have lost his touch, and his many enemies seem to have gotten the upper hand. But Obama's current situation is more of a symptom than the cause of my disillusionment . There is a sizable chunk of the American populace who believe, contrary to all evidence, that Americans are somehow special, and that the normal rules don't apply to them. We can torture people; we can hold people indefinitely without trial; we can invade countries for the flimsiest of reasons; we can squander the world's resources; we can deny healthcare to millions of our own citizens, and we can enrich the top .01% of the population at the expense of the rest of us.

It doesn't matter what the rest of the world thinks; we're always right. The Founding Fathers had infinite wisdom, and produced the most perfect of all documents (right up there with the King James version of the Bible), the Constitution. That perfect constitution that made those "bound to service," i.e., slaves, equivalent to 3/5 of a free person. The perfect constitution that, it could be argued, was the cause of the Civil War. The perfect constitution that sanctioned apartheid for almost 100 years in the South. The same constitution that has allowed corporate interests to run amok at the expense of most of the citizens.

And God is on our side. America is the Shining City on the Hill, the beacon of hope to the rest of the world. Manifest Destiny proclaimed that it was God's will that the US dominate the continent from sea to shining sea, with big chunks of Mexico and Canada thrown in for good measure. I've often wondered what the difference is between the doctrines of 19th century Manifest Destiny and Hitler's Lebensraum. Both doctrines say that it is not only the right, but the divine destiny, to confiscate land from savages and to exterminate or enslave them for the benefit of superior beings.

This belief in American exceptionalism is like a religious belief to a significant chunk of the American population. It is like a divine revelation, and therefore no reasoned argument can made against it. It's my country - right or wrong. It's America - love it or leave it. And if some politician dares to stray even a tiny bit (and Obama has strayed only the tiniest bit) from the line, he is a socialist, a communist, a Kenyan-born Moslem, a grandma-killer who deserves whatever justice the god-fearing, gun-toting, true Americans serve up.

In my relatively small circle of friends and acquaintances, there are several intelligent and well-educated people who actually believe this crap. As much as I love talking politics and religion and history, the circle of people with whom I can engage in a reasonable discussion about my favorite topics is distressingly small, and with Obama's election that circle has become even smaller.

So I'm outta here for a while. I hope that two and a half weeks in Greece, away from the constant media BS, will improve my disposition.

Healthcare Mess

I'm one of the many Obama supporters who is deeply disappointed with his handling of healthcare reform. The lack of leadership, from such a talented and gifted politician, has been striking. Whatever happened to Yes We Can? From the beginning, he failed to frame the debate by leaving it all up to Congress. There, the usual interests have polluted the proposals so badly that they are hardly recognizable as anything we progressives had hoped for. First off, a single-payer plan was never even on the table, and was replaced by a public option with nothing given in return. When even that failed to appease the Republicans and Blue Dogs, the public option was downgraded to health cooperatives. That still didn't appease the opposition. Then the progressive caucus rebelled, and the public option was back in. Or is it? There's been so much flip-flopping lately it's hard to tell where the administration stands. Obama still talks of working with Republicans. When will he realize that's impossible?

From the beginning, Obama allowed opponents to frame the debate. Rather than talking about healthcare for all and the huge cost savings that could be possible with a single payer plan, or at least a strong public option, the debate was about a government takeover of 1/6 of the economy. Rather than talking about how people with insurance are trapped in their jobs because they had the misfortune to get sick and now couldn't get insurance anywhere, the talk is about socialism or communism. Rather than talking about how badly healthcare is currently rationed in the US to those who have insurance or money or both, the debate is about pulling the plug on grandma. Rather than talking about how the US spends twice as much per person as any other country on the world with far worse outcomes, the opposition lies about people in Canada or Britain not getting hip replacements or heart bypass surgery. The lies are absolutely incredible to anyone who has any knowledge of universal healthcare in the rest of the Western World.

Obama claims to have cut deals with big pharma and big insurance to save billions of dollars. Of course the medical industrial establishment will give up a few pennies to make billions if health insurance is mandatory! The only thing that has any hope of controlling costs is a strong public insurance option that will keep the private insurers honest. Health co-ops have no chance of doing this. I have a catastrophic health insurance policy with Group Health here in Seattle. They have their own doctors, hospitals and clinics and provide decent service, but the monthly cost for insurance isn't a whole lot lower than Regent Blue Shield for similar coverage. There are only a few working healthcare co-ops in the country, and it's hard to imagine how this model, even if it worked really well, could be set up nationwide.

And then there's the cost issue. Numbers like a trillion dollars in extra spending over ten years are routinely thrown out there. Obama says he can save billions by eliminating fraud and abuse in Medicare. But he talks about it like typical politicians talk about waste in government. He doesn't say that 10-15% of Medicare costs are fraudulently billed by his new-found friends in the medical industrial establishment. He doesn't talk about why Medicare costs in McAllen, Texas are twice the national average. He doesn't talk about how at least twenty-five cents out of every healthcare dollar goes to overhead, administration and profit. He doesn't talk about how the medical-industrial establishment will bankrupt us all, assuming that the financial-industrial establishment hasn't already done so.

Obama's campaign was all about Change, and Change We Can Believe In, and Yes We Can. And a lot of us believed it. We couldn't stop the march to war in 2002 because Democrats would lose the congressional elections. Guess what, they lost anyway. We couldn't stop the war even though Democrats won a majority in the house in 2006. Democrats also won a razor-thin majority in the Senate, but Bush still had veto power, etc. etc. So in 2008, the Democrats won big in the House, a 60 seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and the Presidency. What is their excuse now? If the Democrats don't manage to bring real change to the healthcare system in the US this year, they deserve to be in the political wilderness forever.

Let the Palin era begin!

I wish there were more Barney Franks

You have call the idiots on their lunacy when confronted by it. I wish more Democrats had the balls (and the wit) of Barney Frank.

Medical Mess

With all the astroturf outrage about pulling the plug on Grandma and Death Panels at townhall meetings across the US, some Democrat, or maybe even the President should have had a townhall meeting in Inglewood, CA last week. This event was organized by RAM (Remote Area Medical), a volunteer organization set up to provide free medical, dental, and eye care services to Third World countries. Seeing the need in the greatest country on god's green earth, they've started providing services in the US. I can't imagine this kind of event anywhere else in the Western world.

Only in America!

Roche Harbor

Farley and I took my boat up to Roche Harbor this weekend for Marian and Duncan's wedding. The weather was decent, and crossing the Straits of Juan de Fuca was painless. It was a bit hazy, with the sky and water meeting at an indeterminate location. Out of the haze came this view of a lovely boat, almost a ghost ship in the ethereal quality of the light.

I was even accompanied for a while by a couple of orcas. Cool!

The wedding was great! A touching ceremony in a gorgeous place, complete with the way-too-cute flower girl.

Speaking of gorgeous, here's Megan (one of the bridesmaids), paying attention to the ceremony.

Marian and Duncan after the vows. Don't you love the look on her face?

Caroline and Alex taking a time out from the dance floor. Caroline did a great job using her old QFC florist skills as the chief flower arranger.

And Farley, the sea dog in training, checking out the view on the way home.

Best wishes to Marian and Duncan, and many thanks for putting on a great party!

EFMF Wrapup

Every year is a good year at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is a good one, but this year was better than average. The weather cooperated, with nary a drop of rain all weekend. I think this might be the first time in the ten years I've been going up there that I didn't have to pull out the rain gear.

Edmonton isn't really known (at least in my mind) as a beautiful city, but the EFMF venue along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River shows off the best Edmonton has to offer. With the skyline of Edmonton in the background and natural stadium seating along the hillside, there's not really a bad seat in the house.
Every year there are lots of interesting groups; some of whom are headed for stardom, and others to oblivion. Sierra Hull, pictured above, is definitely headed for stardom. She's a seventeen year old virtuoso singer and mandolin player from Tennessee. She first played at the Grand Old Opry at the ripe old age of twelve! If you're looking for the next Allison Krause or Dolly Parton, here she is.

My Utilikilt made its world-wide public debut. I must say that I like the airy feel and the swirl of the skirt on my naked thighs. Most of you guys out there don't know what you're missing.
Times are good in Edmonton, and even though I have no stats to back up the claim, I think Edmonton could be the breeding capital of the Western world. Pregnant women and small children were everywhere.


Who'd have thought that Hal would have some competition in the wild-coloured Hawaiian shirt department?
On the way back, we rode across Washington on Hwy 2. I've been through here before, but never really took note of Waterville, the town that Wal-Mart forgot. Though the town is far from prosperous, it does have a functioning downtown with various stores and restaurants. We stayed at the nicely restored Waterville Hotel. This hotel had been closed for twenty years before David and Amy bought it in 1992. Four years later, they were open for business, and have been ever since.
This old bank building is for sale. Looks like a good place for a micro brewery (or bomb shelter) to me.

All-in-all, even though Hal's wallet was a lot thinner by the time we got back, it was a very good trip. As usual, great thanks to Marian and Pete for their hospitality. We'll be back next year.

Hanggai

Well another EFMF is in the can. Great show, great weather, great times! One of the things I love about the EFMF is that sometimes I see a group that I never heard of before that I love. This year was one of those with the appearance of Hanggai. These Chinese/Monmgolian guys are fabulous! I'm not a big fan of "world" music, but these guys make it worthwhile to wade into alternatives once in a while. I checked them out on the web, and there's not much out there yet. I did take a video of one of their songs, and was surprised at how well it came out. I'm sure the sound is crappy, but I'll try and post it when I get back to Seattle.

Hal and I hope to get on the road today sometime, but we still don't know if Hal's bike is ready yet. If all goes well, we'll be back on Wednesday.

EFMF Day #1

There was supposed to be a 90% chance of precipitation yesterday, but either we beat the odds or the weather gods lied. The evening was cool and clear, with nary a raindrop in sight. Breabach, Kathleen Edwards, Steve Earle, and Boz Scaggs supplied the evening's entertainment. Breabach is a decent Celtic group, and Boz Scaggs is the guy that did some funky, smooth-jazzish disco back in the early 80's. They were both OK, but not exactly my cup of tea. Kathleen Edwards is a pretty good folky, alternative-country type, but the highlight of the evening was Steve Earle, unplugged and by himself. He sang a bunch of songs from his Townes Van Zandt tribute album, plus a few of his own best songs. Good stuff!

Tonight, the must-see group is the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir. With a name like that, they've gotta be good.

The EFMF advernture so far

So far we, or maybe I should say I, have had a pretty good trip. Hal's had some issues. First off, as we got on to I5, Hal goes roaring off at 80+mph. I had meant to tell him not to speed on I5 because if the traffic isn't clogged to a stop, the State Patrol is out raising revenue for the government coffers. We passed a couple of people who were pulled over, and Hal slowed down to 70+. I followed Hal at a discreet distance so as not to be associated with him. Near Everett we came over a rise to see a motorcyle cop with radar. He immediately hopped on his bike, gave chase (passing me by without any sign that I was
wanted) and signalled to Hal and the SUV to pull
over. He signalled them to pull over on the left, but Hal pulled over on the right so the cop frantically signalled the SUV guy to pull over on the right. I sailed through the mess at the speed limit, and didn't stop to wait for Hal until I thought I'd be well out of the cop's area. Well, Hal had added another $110 episode to his recent trail of wallet-draining woes.

We carried on more or less uneventfully to Clearwater, BC where we spent the night. The next day, we donned our raingear and continued our trek east. There wasn't much rain, but there was enough that we were glad we had the gear on. We went through Jasper and stopped at Hinton for my favorite L&W pizza before heading on to our least-favorite town, Edson (It's always raining and cold whenever we go through there). The weather wasn't too bad this time, but Edson wasn't done with us yet. We left town at a fairly high rate of speed with me in the lead, but it wasn't long before I lost Hal in the rearview mirror. I kept watching, slowing down a bit, but he wasn't there. I finally stopped to wait for him, but no Hal. I checked my phone, and sure enough there was a text from Hal about 30 miles back. I turned around and found the scene in the first photo. He'd thrown his chain and somehow lost all his engine oil. (The big black blotch on the pavement is his oil) Not good. But there's always some silver lining in every cloud, right? The good news was that Hal had opted for roadside protection, and his insurance company paid for a tow all the way to Edmonton. About a $500-600 value!

So now Hal is waiting somewhat patiently for the news from the local Triumph dealer. The news will determine his mode of travel back to Seattle.

Later this afternoon, we're off to the first sessions of the EFMF. It looks like a good lineup this year. Who knows, There may be a song in Hal's adventures. He could be a star!

Americans wander into Iran

Hypothetically, who would you rather be with, a group of 20-something American hikers who wandered into Iran, or a group of 20-something Iranians who wandered into, say Alaska, while hiking in the Yukon?

Strange Americans

There are an awful lot of willfully ignorant Americans. And they are an awful lot. These people have lots in common and keep resurfacing again and again. I think the first time I really noticed them was during the Clinton era when Bill was accused of being a major drug dealer and responsible for the deaths of scores of people. Hilary was supposed to have killed Vince Foster. These people were well funded by right wing whacko billionaires like Richard Mellon Scaife. Most of the whackos were on the fringe, but they had enough influence in Congress to force the Whitewater investigations which resulted in Clinton being impeached for lying about a blowjob in the Oval Office.

Remember the 2000 elections when a horde of "Brooks Brothers" protesters shut down the recount in one Miami office by beating on the doors and windows of the office where part of the recount was taking place?

They again surfaced when John Kerry was swiftboated during the 2004 campaign. It was an unlikely campaign to smear a decorated authentic war hero as a traitor who was running against a candidate who skipped out on his own National Guard service. How could that be? But Bush was successful in his re-election bid.

Now we have the tea-baggers, the birthers, the Palin lovers, and the Obama haters. What do all these folks have in common? They are all willfully ignorant Americans who allow themselves to be used entrenched political and business interests. They are a bunch of low-life, mostly white-trash, racist, and armed thugs. Both the tea-baggers and those currently disrupting townhall meetings on healthcare are organized by Freedomworks, a lobbying organization run by former GOP congressional whip Dick Armey, and funded by the usual rightwing whacko billionaires. Here are the written suggestions for disrupting meetings. These people are crazy, violent, and intimidating, and the nice guys on the left are too nice (or scared) to fight back.

I hope that at the Democratic leadership dumps the search for a bipartisan healthcare bill and uses the power they have in the White House and Congress to force through a bill that at least covers the basics and has a public option.

But in the meantime, I've had enough. I'm leaving tomorrow and heading back to the Old Country for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. But maybe I'll buy a gun when I get back.

Another Day in Paradise

Another gorgeous day, another great hike! This time was to the imaginatively named Lake No. 22, not too far from Granite Falls. We were going to go up Mt. Pilchuk, but the access road was closed due to a missing hiker on the mountain. So we went down the road a little further to this little gem of a hike. The area hadn't been totally logged out, so there were some old-growth trees on the way up to the lake. Along with multiple waterfalls and a lovely lake at the end, it was a great way to spend a Sunday. Even the dip in the lake was refreshing. No really. The water was cold, but not ridiculously so. And you'll note that the picture is of only my head. Megan took a few more shots with my body exposed, and Holy Cow! I didn't realize I was getting so fat. Oh well. I guess it's not too bad if I can still drag my butt up these mountain trails without killing myself.

Waveguide, the media star

Remember last spring when my boat was in a photo shoot for the Sperry Top-Sider catalog? Well, for some reason I thought I'd take a look around on the web and see if any shots of my boat had made it into any ads. Well glory be! Here's at least one photo that made it on to Sperry's site.