Melting Sea Ice Pushes Walruses to the Brink | Haulout | The New Yorker ...

Oscar nominated short film (2023)...



https://youtu.be/8mKBZ9dy5fQ


Sent from my iPad

Finding Vivian Maier - Documentary

So. I feel like this may be the most important thing I have ever or will ever post. I had heard the story of Vivian Maier a while back - I think it might have been this story from 2011 in Mother Jones - http://goo.gl/ORvpzz. At the time, I read the article and looked at the photos and thought "cool" and shared it on Facebook, and then promptly forgot about it.

My darlin' heart Ginny told me about this documentary just last night. I thought about it all day, and then started watching it a little while ago on Netflix. I've only watched about 10 minutes of it, and I've now stopped to write this.

I barely have the words to describe how monumentally important this documentary is, how important this woman's work is (it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up when I was seeing a few of the images again), how important the story of the discovery of this woman's work (and life) are.

Monumentally important, amazing, Thesaurus dot com lists synonyms for important as: valuable, substantial big critical crucial decisive essential extensive far-reaching great imperative influential large meaningful necessary paramount relevant serious significant urgent vital big-league chief considerable conspicuous determining earnest esteemed exceptional exigent foremost front-page grave heavy importunate marked material mattering much momentous of moment of note of substance ponderous pressing primary principal salient signal something standout weighty. There. I think that about covers it. All of that.

There is also the happenstance, no, the serendipity, of this discovery. *This discovery, by *this particular individual - John Maloof.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'll stop here. It's available on Netflix and iTunes - perhaps others. There's also at least one book, and I'm sure we'll be hearing more.

I may be over-reacting a bit, I suppose. It's rare that I get this excited about something. Too rare.

Exciting. That's another appropriate descriptive.

Have a good evening, y'all. And thanks to Ginny. Big-time, big thank you. xo darlin'...

Now back to watching...

Here's the trailer:



Full disclosure:



And unfortunately:



Lastly:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/arts/design/a-legal-battle-over-vivian-maiers-work.html

Miss Representation | A film by Jennifer Siebel Newsom

Airing nationally on October 20 @ 9pm...

http://missrepresentation.org/

Thanks go to Jani Sauna-Man for the find...

The Unforeseen Revisited Redux

The documentary "The Unforeseen" came up at dinner last night. I have also been noticing over the past several months that a new mega-strip (large scale strip development - my terminology) development is being built on South Mopac.

Just what we need, more big-box pharmacies and big-box liquor stores. Actually, I'm not sure who/what the tenants will be, but it really doesn't matter.

Actually, here's a list of everything I've been aware of down here in Hays County and southwest Travis county:

:: Widening of two major roads from Wimberley east to the I-35 corridor.

:: Widening of Elder Hill Road - the secret back short-cut from the Salt Lick BBQ to Wimberley.

:: New primary high-voltage power lines along (future) Toll 45 SW.

:: PEC (Pedernales Electric Co-Op) performing a large scale (hundreds of trucks) electrical upgrade of some sort throughout their service area.

:: A new mega-convenience store/gas station at 45 & 1826.

:: Development Notice signage at 1826 & Nutty Brown Road. Rumor has it that another mega-convenience store/gas station will be going in here.

:: A high-rise pole mounted billboard on RR 1826.

:: New model homes popping up in the formerly foreclosed development "Avana" along 45.

:: New golf course water permits being issued by the Hays-Trinity Water Conservation District.

:: New DFC (Desired Future Condition) issued by the Texas Water Development Board allowing a thirty-five foot (35') draw down of the aquifer.

:: A new report indicating that at current growth and use rates, the Colorado River (and Barton Springs and basically all the other rivers in Central Texas) will be DRY AS A BONE by the year 2060 - in fifty years.

It appears that everything is progressing according to plan.

Here's the original "Revisited" post from August of 2008 - in its entirety:




Well, that was a first. It was the first time I have ever cried watching an environmental documentary. Perhaps it hit home for me because it was all so close to home for me. Austin, Barton Springs, Barton Creek, The Edwards Aquifer, The Texas Hill Country. My roots there pre-date the Alamo. My roots go back in Texas before there was a Texas, before there was The Republic of Texas. Deep, deep roots. Deeper feelings, or rather, emotions, about it all.

So, I just finished watching the documentary "The Unforeseen" (on the Sundance Channel), mostly about development, urban sprawl, growth and water in one particular area of Austin, Texas. It carries a much bigger message though, a broad and deep message about all that is facing us these days. It goes not to our standard of living, but to our quality of life. Not quality as in "how good is it?", but quality as in what is the depth, breadth, character, texture, taste, and feeling of our day-to-day lives as individuals, families, social circles, as communities, cultures, societies and nations.

Following are some things, key points, key words that stuck out for me. At the end of the post are some links for you to find out how to purchase or rent the DVD. Or, just be on the lookout for it and watch it when you can.

::
Developers defined as the "classic American character", reshaping the future and getting rich in the process...

::
On golf courses: "I find them repulsive, so uniform and so green, the earth whipped into submission for these men..."

::
Developers, they know the cost of everything, but they know the value of nothing...

::
A conservative lobbyist, speaking, apparently, on "liberals" who enjoy swimming and leisure time along Barton Creek..."these self-indulgences will catch up to you eventually..."

::
"If the people will lead, the leaders will follow..."

::
Robert Redford: "...quick return on short term investment, with long term damage...a scar is all that is left..."

::
A private citizen on private property rights: "...don't want a bunch of sumbitches telling us what to do with it (our land)...."

::
A private citizen shouting and waving a placard: "People are number one! Bugs and birds are at the bottom of the list...Save people first!..."

::
Economists have set up this meter of economic activity...that all growth is good...that ANY economic activity that involves money changing hands is good for the economy...and does not take into account any down side or long term unforeseen costs...

::
There should be honest accounting...the true cost...the long term cost...

::
People are making choices that damage other people...that damage everyone...that damage nature and the environment...that damage the world...and humanity...

::
We should be living in harmony with nature, not in opposition to it...

::
Add quality to the housing stock, without actually expanding housing...housing for everyone...affordable housing...use what's already there...it's not all about size and quantity and gargantuan scale...improve the landscape until we run out of opportunities to improve it...

::
Something about "the pursuit of the almighty dollar"...

::
If you don't act on the gift (of the natural world), then you are part of destroying it...

::
Growth itself is not the enemy...it is the nature of that growth...the quality and character within it...

::
"...where all the land has not been consumed by intention..."

::
We should have a stronger, more mature regard for the future, unwilling to leave a mess behind us...

I was struck by the title "the unforeseen" - that today, we are actually living and reaping the unforeseen consequences of multitudes of actions and directions - paths and choices - individually and collectively - both societal and economic. Are we evolving or devolving?

We are reaping the unforeseen.

The Unforeseen Film Site

The Unforeseen on IMDB.

The Unforeseen on Treehugger.com

The Unforeseen on PBS

Pre-Purchase the DVD :: Release Date September 16, 2008

The Unforeseen on NetFlix

Here's my original post :: On the universe, life and water :: The Unforeseen

Haynesville

http://www.youtube.com/haynesvillefilm



Release Date ::
Available now on DVD at www.HaynesvilleMovie.com OR on iTunes
Genre ::
Documentary
Studio ::
Three Penny Productions
About ::
Three lives. A nation's thirst for energy. And the find that could change it all.


PLOT OUTLINE ::

"Haynesville: A Nation's Hunt for an Energy Future" is a documentary chronicling the discovery of the largest natural gas field in the United States (and maybe the world - valued at $1.75 trillion dollars). The film examines the historic find in the backwoods of Louisiana, a formation called the "Haynesville Shale," from the personal level as well as from the higher perspective of the current energy picture and energy future.

As the Haynesville boom erupts, we cover three personal stories directly affected by the find: A single mother taking it upon herself to become an activist and environmentalist for her community, an African American preacher who believes that God delivered the Haynesville to make him and his budding congregation rich and a salt-of-the-earth outdoorsman finding himself conflicted as he weighs losing his land because an oil company wants to make him a millionaire.

From the higher perspective, we look at the current energy situation and what something the scale of the Haynesville (170 trillion cubic feet or the equivalent of 28 billion barrels of oil) could mean to the energy picture.

Environmentalists, academics and oil and gas folks explore the idea of trying to find cleaner energy sources and how this natural gas could possibly bridge the country to a renewable energy future.

Directed By ::
Gregory Kallenberg
Produced By ::
Gregory Kallenberg, Mark Bullard

Directions the Body Gives ::: Tango Short Film

Short documentary actually. A film by Marie-Jo Mont-Reynaud and Johanna Sophie Santos Bassetti for a documentary production class as Stanford University.

For the record.

12 Tangos Adios Buenos Aires :: Documentary Film :: New Release in English

Trailer ::


La Cachila scene ::


Milonga de mis amores scene ::


4 Vampiros Bancos scene ::



www.12tangos.com

The Unforeseen :: Revisited

Well, that was a first. It was the first time I have ever cried watching an environmental documentary. Perhaps it hit home for me because it was all so close to home for me. Austin, Barton Springs, Barton Creek, The Edwards Aquifer, The Texas Hill Country. My roots there pre-date the Alamo. My roots go back in Texas before there was a Texas, before there was The Republic of Texas. Deep, deep roots. Deeper feelings, or rather, emotions, about it all.

So, I just finished watching the documentary "The Unforeseen" (on the Sundance Channel), mostly about development, urban sprawl, growth and water in one particular area of Austin, Texas. It carries a much bigger message though, a broad and deep message about all that is facing us these days. It goes not to our standard of living, but to our quality of life. Not quality as in "how good is it?", but quality as in what is the depth, breadth, character, texture, taste, and feeling of our day-to-day lives as individuals, families, social circles, as communities, cultures, societies and nations.

Following are some things, key points, key words that stuck out for me. At the end of the post are some links for you to find out how to purchase or rent the DVD. Or, just be on the lookout for it and watch it when you can.

::
Developers defined as the "classic American character", reshaping the future and getting rich in the process...

::
On golf courses: "I find them repulsive, so uniform and so green, the earth whipped into submission for these men..."

::
Developers, they know the cost of everything, but they know the value of nothing...

::
A conservative lobbyist, speaking, apparently, on "liberals" who enjoy swimming and leisure time along Barton Creek..."these self-indulgences will catch up to you eventually..."

::
"If the people will lead, the leaders will follow..."

::
Robert Redford: "...quick return on short term investment, with long term damage...a scar is all that is left..."

::
A private citizen on private property rights: "...don't want a bunch of sumbitches telling us what to do with it (our land)...."

::
A private citizen shouting and waving a placard: "People are number one! Bugs and birds are at the bottom of the list...Save people first!..."

::
Economists have set up this meter of economic activity...that all growth is good...that ANY economic activity that involves money changing hands is good for the economy...and does not take into account any down side or long term unforeseen costs...

::
There should be honest accounting...the true cost...the long term cost...

::
People are making choices that damage other people...that damage everyone...that damage nature and the environment...that damage the world...and humanity...

::
We should be living in harmony with nature, not in opposition to it...

::
Add quality to the housing stock, without actually expanding housing...housing for everyone...affordable housing...use what's already there...it's not all about size and quantity and gargantuan scale...improve the landscape until we run out of opportunities to improve it...

::
Something about "the pursuit of the almighty dollar"...

::
If you don't act on the gift (of the natural world), then you are part of destroying it...

::
Growth itself is not the enemy...it is the nature of that growth...the quality and character within it...

::
"...where all the land has not been consumed by intention..."

::
We should have a stronger, more mature regard for the future, unwilling to leave a mess behind us...

I was struck by the title "the unforeseen" - that today, we are actually living and reaping the unforeseen consequences of multitudes of actions and directions - paths and choices - individually and collectively - both societal and economic. Are we evolving or devolving?

We are reaping the unforeseen.

The Unforeseen Film Site

The Unforeseen on IMDB.

The Unforeseen on Treehugger.com

The Unforeseen on PBS

Pre-Purchase the DVD :: Release Date September 16, 2008

The Unforeseen on NetFlix

Here's my original post :: On the universe, life and water :: The Unforeseen

Maxed Out's James Scurlock and Elizabeth Warren on NightLine

Gee Mr. Money, do girls have to learn all this about credit, too?

Houston, we have a problem :: Fiscal Destabilization

"The problem is so large, it threatens fiscal destabilization..." I am paraphrasing remarks by Allen Greenspan on the credit crises. Yes, crises, not crisis. Plural. Multiple crises. Not a singular crisis. Personal credit, corporate/business credit, government credit, national debt. Understand that credit is synonymous with debt.

The past couple of days, I have been feeling a very palpable feeling of impending doom and dread. It's something I have never felt before, and I don't like it. It's not a good feeling. But, I trust my gut. I trust my connection to the universe to tell me when something is amiss. Maybe this is it? Maybe not.

Now, I am by no means an economist, but I am most definitely cursed by a very lucid big picture point of view. Big picture and long term.

I'm not sure where to begin with all this.

I will start with what prompted this post. I just finished watching "Maxed Out" - a documentary by James Spurlock. Here is the link to the film's website.

Here is the YouTube Trailer:



Here is the info from the YouTube site :

Americans are buying with plastic at a staggering rate. From lattes to vacation packages, car payments to home-equity loans, our reliance on credit is increasing. Even the Internal Revenue Service endorses credit cards as a "convenient" way to pay your taxes. The average American family carried about $9,300 in credit-card debt in 2005 reports the nonprofit Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Dallas. But what happens when borrowers who already have sizable debts are offered more credit?

Director James Scurlock, 34, set out to tackle that question in "Maxed Out," a documentary he intended as a comic portrayal of consumer irresponsibility. What the self-described "finance geek" and former publisher of a financial newsletter ended up with however, is a much starker tale—one of struggle, suicide and desperation. "I think the people in the film would like nothing more than to pay off their bills, but they've just gotten to a point where it's not possible," says Scurlock. "And at some point, they're just being preyed on [by lenders] and manipulated and squeezed so hard that they can't ever hope to recover. And that's not right."

Here are the highlights I can recall from my first viewing:

::
Sharecropping replaced slavery - we all know this. We all know that sharecropping was a system of credit/debt. What probably did not dawn on many of us is that it was a system that immediately and in large part permanently ensared those living under the illusion of "freedom". I would offer that slavery - or being trapped by debt - has expanded to include a wide variety of social groups across all races. It is present and prevalent across the globe today.

::
The Federal Debt is at $9 trillion plus and is growing by roughly $1,000,000 per minute. We can barely keep up with the interest payments. Is part of the reason that our infrastructure is suffering (highways, bridges, airports, water systems, sewage systems, and on and on); we cannot afford to pay our soldiers more than a pittance; we cannot care for our soldiers with good hospitals; we cannot care for the many uninsured; we cannot keep our parklands maintained and open to the public; we cannot pay our teachers good salaries, nor educate our children; we cannot respond to natural disasters (Katrina); we cannot help those devastated by Katrina almost three years later - is the reason, in large part, because most of the funds are going to service the national debt? The film alludes to the growing problem of shrinking federal funding in many critical areas due to funds being diverted to interest payments on the federcal deficit.

::
Experian, TransUnion and the other one...the credit "agencies" keep a separate database on VIP's - "important" people - judges, congressmen, actors (unbelievable), ceo's - in order to ensure a higher level of accuracy in their credit reports. A 100% correct credit report in fact. For the rest of us, they depend on, actually want, need our credit histories to be inaccurate and fraught with errors.

The film states that these "important" people could easily cause trouble in the mdedia for the credit agencies - so it is in their best interest to devote special resources to ensure 100% accuracy for these folks.



::
Your income level has nothing to do with your FICO credit score.

::
Suze Orman, the TV financial guru, is supported by credit card companies.

::
MNBA, the nation's second largest credit card issuer, was the top campaign contributor to George W. Bush's last presidential campaign.

::
Since Bush's (pushed by the banking/credit card industry/lobby) bankruptcy reform act, suicide (or death by natural causes), is becoming the only option for many people to relieve themselves of their debt.

::
The current "average" family with 2.3 kids actually has less money available to make ends meet and cover the basics of food, shelter, health care, and transportation than the same family, same obligations, did back in 1970.

::
College students are especially targeted by banks/credit card issuers - each year a whole new crop of 18 year olds emerge - fresh fodder for the credit/debt industry. Not technical college students, not high school graduates with jobs, but newly enrolled college students.

Worse, the banks/credit card companies PAY the colleges and universities large sums of money to be allowed to solicit college kids. Yes, they are just kids.

::
A pawn shop proprietor is interviewed in the film. It's an interesting peek into a different segment of the population. He says that the pawn shop "is" the bank for these folks. They don't have credit cards or bank accounts. The pawn shop is their financier.

::
Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren wonders about what the exit strategy is for this problem. She asks "really smart" people in the government - and said that she just got stupid grins and no response.

This same woman was invited to speak at a gathering of banking executives - credit card issuers. She said that by screening the riskiest of consumers - and denying them credit - that the banks would see a 50% decrease in the number of defaults. After discussing the facts and figures and evidence for some time, one man in the back of the room raised his hand. He said that if the banks were to screen out these "high risk" consumers, that the banks would see their profits fall dramatically. Profits from interest, late fees, and other fees. Basically, banks make a very large percentage of their profits on the least sophisticated customers - the ones with the least ability to assume and repay debt.

This is a serious, serious problem. To me, it's like a huge asteroid about to hit the Earth. Among the multitudes of environmental, social, political, economic and energy problems that humanity faces today, I think this one could be responsible for the undoing of it all. The one to bring down the house of cards we westerners have built over the last 100 years.

Populations rise and fall with the tides of nature and the passage of time. Civilizations rise. Civilizations fall.

I don't know what to do about it. Can anything be done about it?

I don't know what to think about it. I don't know what more to write about it.

I know I don't understand it.

I know that rising gas prices, energy problems, ongoing military actions in Iraq & Afghanistan, the subprime/mortgage/credit crisis (what we see right now) are just the tip of the iceberg for what lies ahead.

I'm thinking now that I should have kept my subscription to "The Mother Earth News".

Watch the film. Rent it. Neflix it. Buy it. Watch it.

Seduced by Tango :: Patrick "Shoaf" Gray

I like this guy. He's got personality. He's got great camera presence. The awkward waiting for the song to get to the spot where he is to start singing is classic.

One correction to one thing he mentions, it's not to be "produced", but "hosted" by Robert Duvall.

Here is his singing audition tape for "Seduced by Tango".

Tango Dreams

A short documentary clip about a gentleman (and his wife) living in Buenos Aires...very poignant...71 year old Carlos Piñeiro lives in Buenos Aires with his wife on a combined pension of just $100 a month.

He dreams of eating fish in a restaurant but has to content himself with budget food from the local shop. More than anything he loves singing tango, writing poetry, and philosophising about life as he sits on his balcony and enjoys a solitary cigarette.

More at togethertv.org

On the Universe, Water and Life :: The Unforeseen

The Edwards Aquifer and Barton Springs are part of my soul...I grew up laying in the grass and swimming there...


Chris Barsanti, Film Journal International

Featuring interviews with Robert Redford, Willie Nelson, the iconic Texas Governor Ann Richards, environmentalist Wendell Berry and many others, THE UNFORESEEN is a powerful meditation on the American dream – on the destruction of the natural world as it falls victim to the cannibalizing forces of unchecked development. It is an intricate tale of personal hopes, victories and failures; and of debates over land, water and the public good.

Theatrical Trailer from YouTube::


Upcoming Screenings::
Cinema Village, New York (Theatrical Premiere) Feb 29, 2008
Kendall Square, Boston, MA 3/7/08
Nuart Theatre, Los Angeles, CA 3/14/08
Lumiere, San Francisco, CA 3/14/08
Shattuck, Berkeley,CA 3/14/08
Alamo South Lamar, Austin, TX 3/28/08
Varsity, Seattle, WA 4/4/08
Landmark, Denver, CO 4/11/08
Ritz Theater, Philadelphia, PA 4/18/08
Ken Cinema, San Diego, CA 4/18/08
Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH 5/17/08

The Universe :: Baraka [Film]

I suppose you would have to call this a visual documentary. No dialog, no spoken words whatsoever. But its message is clear. Stunning images, great music. A "must see" film - and a great Christmas or Hanukkah gift. Filmed in 70mm by Ron Fricke and Mark Madgison - released in 1992. Best viewed on a home theater system...large screen...with a killer surround sound system...turn up the subwoofer.

Here is a link to more information about the film. http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/baraka.aspx







Embedding disabled...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO_hgN8robg&feature=related