Austin vs Texas (What the Right Wing Despises)

I live in Austin, Texas. We just got chosen as the best place to live in America for the second year in a row. Interesting that a city built most recently by hippies, artists, musicians, liberals and free-thinkers, has been consistently valued as wonderful place to live.

Austin emerged as a burgeoning city of creatives-- based on the proximity of the University of Texas at Austin. The town attracted IBM and that set the tone for our eventual status as a center for high tech. Technology and creativity make a strong combination.

Austin has problems-- traffic congestion, high cost of living, de facto segregation based on income disparity, and long, hot summers. Almost takes a millionaire to buy a house in Central Austin but people keep flocking here and adding to the population.

Employment is good in Austin, Texas. People can get jobs. There are enough jobs in Austin that you can actually quit your job and feel confident of finding another. Just like all of America from about 1950-1990, before the world turned global and industries and jobs moved to the places with the cheapest labor-- (i.e. China). We have it pretty good in this central Texas city.

Austin collides with rest of Texas when it comes to belief systems.

We are right in the middle of the state, but Texas thinks differently than Austin once you get beyond the city boundaries.

I studied a right wing Texas newspaper from just down the road in Abilene to find out what the rest of Texas thinks. The red votes in Texas are conservative and feel strongly about the conservative roots of cowboy culture. The frontiersman carried a gun on his hip. He needed it for survival in the 1880s. Now a gun seems more like a hobby, a talisman, a symbol.

What do the blue voters despise?

1) The "Democratic" media.
2) The United Nations
3) California-- too liberal, too expensive, proliferation of minorities
4) Gun control
5) Critics of Donald Trump
6) Sanctuary cities-- Austin is one
7) Leftism-- calling the left "a hate cult"
8) Barack Obama
9) Hillary Clinton
10) Sharia Law-- viewed as a real threat to the American system of laws.

Strange how Austin has thrived and prospered in the middle of. The Peoples Republic of Austin attracts young, creative types like a magnet pulls iron filings.

The one thing we all agree on-- the Houston Astros are great!

Slippery Slope: Olympics and Gun Violence

Mikaela Shiffrin won the gold medal in the women's Giant Slalom on Thursday. I couldn't help but notice the amazing speed of the downhill slope. Looked like a sheet of ice. She got down the hill in a hurry, faster than everybody else. But let's go back to the ski slope.

Erik Schopy, an ex-Olympic skier, described the race as follows: “The World Cup runs are pure ice,” Schlopy said. “It’s basically a slab of marble that’s a mile long.”
(Wall Street Journal, Feb. 12)

Mikaela practiced on the icy slopes in Vermont. The conditions in Vermont differ from the powdery snow in Vail, Colorado. Mikaela's workouts in icy Vermont prepared her perfectly for Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the slab of marble.

Using the metaphor of an icy hill downwards got me to thinking about Parkland, Florida and the loss of 17 young lives. America has a problem it cannot solve. We pride ourselves on solving problems efficiently. This is a nation of problem-solvers. 

The gun issue is so vexing because we cannot solve it. Left-wingers and liberals like the notion of gun control The Right wing, the conservatives, the Trump voters, love the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear firearms. The roadblock in viewpoints has become impassable-- on guns and so many other partisan issues.

Guns either symbolize something important, or actually are important. Gun owners delight in the physical properties of guns and the energy they derive from them -- the way you  love an automobile or a favorite sports team. 

Guns inspires a deep love for many. I'm from Texas. I don't have a gun. Some of my conservative  friends have the AR-15. They truly love their guns. The love buying them. They love selling to each other.  They love talking guns. 

Guns have a tactile quality. The gun folks have always repeated that rifles and pistols will not be taken away from them. They would have to be pried from their "cold, dead hands..." as Charlton Heston said in his famous NRA speech, 

The slippery slope of American society is the anxiety between Left and Right, liberal and conservative, a deep divide with no hope for change. There is nary a sign of flexibility. 

America finds itself going down a slippery slope. Guns, like automobiles and typewriters, are an invention from the past. The firearms debate harkens to the past. You can picture a Civil War era gun owner getting excited by a more efficient rifle. 

The "disruptive" breakthroughs caused by technology is what our present day world is really about yet we are mired in guns. 

Our partisan divide is as dangerous as a skiing down a slab of marble. Mikaela Shiffrin learned to handle icy conditions but politics is trickier and more perilous than a downhill race . 

We have become handcuffed. A great divide has opened up between Left and Right. There is no sign of a solution. We are going downhill with hands locked behind our backs in a psychological straitjacket.

Could mean a bumpy ride for all of us. 

We need an exit from our constant state of internecine warfare.

We need an unexpected lift. A way to Higher Ground.

Texas Football Fervor and the Pigskin Shrine

A friend of mine taught me some of the fundamentals of American football, the kind with tackling and blocking. American football is played with an oblong ball made of pigskin. The game was designed for cool weather, a fall or autumn sport. Texas has almost no fall or autumn weather and games are often played in 90-100 degree heat, especially in the first half of the season from Sept-Oct.

Most mysterious is the cult-like fascination with the sport. People in Texas or should I say... many Texans love the game. And Americans from coast-to-coast love the game.

Interestingly, football is such a violent game most people prefer watching the game, talking about the game, analyzing the game, its players and coaches and strategies, far more than they like playing the game. Football, most would agree, hurts to play. Playing and getting hurt or injured are not two activities we usually place side-by-side. Injury reports are a big part of football. They talk about players recovering or "getting healthy" but these are young men in their physical prime. They were already "healthy" until they played in a football game. They don't miss games because of illness-- a cold, flu, or pneumonia. They miss games because of orthopedic injury-- serious blows to the head, limbs, knees, neck, shoulders, etc. etc. So why do people love the game so much?

Perhaps there is the primitive appeal of big, strong man running into each other with unbelievable force? That is probably an over-simplification. The intellectual side of football is significant. Coaches, like good CEOs, must assemble a large number of players, at least 22 athletes getting starting roles in the game-- and many more than that when you add special teams players-- like kickers, receivers, etc.. The coaches use complicated plays to add to their teams effectiveness. The game has moved to a lightning pace-- and teams communicate plays from the sidelines in a matter of seconds. The slower team is often the losing team.

Marshall McLuhan, my favorite media philosopher, correctly predicted football would supersede baseball as the national pastime. McLuhan recognized that football had multiple activities occurring simultaneously-- and all of them could be nicely sorted out by the television cameras. The plays are slowed down and analyzed during instant replays. The replay for the national viewing audience involves the audience in the game for a great, in-depth experience. Baseball, McLuhan said, was too linear-- the game moves forward only based on the batter hitting the ball and does not reflect the all-at-onceness of modern communications.

Do we love football for its multi-tasking intensity? For its photogenic nature on the moving images of the TV screen? Those going to the stadium celebrate with tailgating-- cooking big slabs of meat, like ancient tribesmen celebrating the kill of an animal by the tribe's hunters. The sweet smells of cooked meat waft from the parking lots and open areas as you approach the stadium. You cannot help but feel the primal appeal. The crowd's emotions surge forward and rise from the stadium-- a roar of excitement like nothing you've ever heard before. And it all happens in the fall days, the summer harvest has passed, the crops collected, and celebration is in order.

The Meaning of Commercial Television (1966)

The Texas-Stanford Seminar (1966)

The Texas-Stanford Seminar on “The Meaning of Commercial Television,” a gathering of television broadcasters was held by the two universities in 1966 with the ambitious goal "to help bring about the general improvement of television.” TV Guide sponsored the conference. Marshall McLuhan was one of the headliners and Stanley Donner, a professor at the University of Texas, documented the seminar for a University of Texas Press publication.  McLuhan, not surprisingly, blew the assembled minds and Stanley Donner does a nice job capturing the process. Donner reviews describes McL’s demeanor and impact on the conference with a nice freshness. The information which follows comes from Donner's work. I’ll quote Donner from here (The Meaning of Commercial Television (1966)-- pages 108-110):

Marshall McLuhan’s unusual views of the electronic media and their effects on society evoked considerable interest among the broadcasters.

The audience was particularly impressed by the concept that our present total environment is invisible and produces a nostalgia for past environments—thus the popularity of Bonanaza and, on a different level, Batman. Final judgment was suspended, although many were persuaded in part by compelling arguments and equally compelling examples from film, radio and television, and from cultural and social changes in current society. The listeners were not sure where total agreement might lead them: what kind of commitment they would be making. Also, there was the suspicion that, although McLuhan’s argument was plausible, there might be some hidden fault in the scheme which could nullify the whole theory.

McLuhan assisted this suspended belief by not requiring any particular action from the audience. In his view whether a person favors or opposes his ideas, or whether his ideas are considered helpful, is completely beside the point. We are in the midst of electronic circuitry where everything happens at once and the influences upon society are inexorable. McLuhan’s concern was the description of electronic circuitry, not its evaluation: and he described with considerable clairvoyance what is taking place in our society at present.

The discussion developed into a further explication of McLuhan’s ideas. He held the position that in the electronic age no one is responsible and he used Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood as an example. This view was disturbing to some in the audience, since its acceptance means that the development of events in time must be denied and it would no longer be possible to maintain a clear relationship between cause and effect in the fixing of guilt.

McLuhan spoke of the possible future of television in the world of electric circuitry. The television would become a work force rather than consumers of programs as is now the case. Problems of any kind could be presented to the audience and possible answers obtained through the use of technology, which is even now in experimental stage.

In response to a question McLuhan described LSD as a dislocation from environment, in a sense a medium. He did not, however, advocate its use.

To a question concerning computers, McLuhan maintained that computers are really a method of discovery. The use of computers to catalogue and categorize does not belong in the world of electric circuitry, but rather to the world of clear relationships of cause and effect of the nineteenth century. McLuhan also dismissed the rating systems and the “numbers game” as belonging to nineteenth-century cataloguing, and thus not truly relevant to television.

To another point McLuhan answered that the only audience participation in television and movies is fantasy. Reality in the old art sense of the term is meaningless in the electric world. Reality of the outside as compared to inside fantasy has disappeared, since the concept of outside and inside no longer exists.

70 degrees on Nov 6 in NYC at 10 PM!

"What's it gonna take?" The talking heads said that and marveled at the "unseasonably warm" New York City temperatures. November 6 at 10:00 PM --and it is 70 degrees in New York City.

Historically speaking, 56 degrees is an average high in NYC for November 6.

One of the Weather Channel experts smiled and wondered aloud "What if an 80 degree day came along in the middle of December in New York City. Would that shock people enough?"

Enough to do what-- get scared maybe...?

The weather guy smiled the whole time, but a nervous smile-- reminiscent of a gallows humor response. (Gallows humor--see Wikipedia below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallows_humor
Gallows humor is humor about very unpleasant, serious, or painful circumstances. Any humor that treats serious matters, such as death, war and crime, in a light, silly or satirical fashion is considered gallows humor.Gallows humor has been described as a witticism in response to a hopeless situation. It arises from stressful, traumatic, or life-threatening situations, often in circumstances such that death is perceived as impending and unavoidable.

The increasing temperatures are too foreboding to consider. We use denial and rationalization. Push the problems out of mind. Crops? Warmer ocean waters? What will happen to us? We take the easy way out. We deny the facts, rationalize them, or better yet, ignore them completely.

More fun to think about Donald Trump hosting Saturday Night Live tomorrow night.

The young people of today never experienced the "old normal." My growing up years in New York had a rhythm to the seasons, a consistent pattern. September meant needing a sweater and a jacket. November and December arrived and a warm coat was needed for winter.

We have upset those rhythms of nature-- and nobody knows the price to be paid.

Instead we smile nervously about the fun of wearing short sleeves on a November night in New York City. We know better. And keep our fingers crossed.

Dollar Tree on Burnet Road (Austin, TX)

Just on a whim... decided to stop at Dollar Tree discount store about a mile from my house. Normally I look down my nose at such establishments. But what the hell, why not go to a store I can actually afford!

So I start cruising the aisles. I wanted some Lifesaver type breath mints. Found Certs, 3 packs for $1.00. That's a great thing, everything costs one dollar. It's kind of like you died and went to heaven where you can afford items, and the store manager doesn't want you to feel bad. Great for people who can't do math. It's all the same price-- one dollar! And even if you don't need or want most of the items, nice that somebody has priced things to take the pain out of shopping.

I checked the store thoroughly. You could paint your house with the paintbrushes, tape, buckets and brooms, rollers, etc available there. But I'm not painting my house. Food, tupperware, toys, organize a party. Impressive inventory and really the stuff is not that inferior-- maybe just a little out of step. Kind of like you're shopping in 1973.

But on the way out I found kids' trading cards-- NFL football, NBA basketball and Major League Baseball. And the basketball even had an album with every team and their player personnel. Okay, so the album was 2014-15 and most of the stickers for sale were 2013-14. I went ahead and got it. I'm gonna learn who is playing in the NBA and this album and stickers are going be my visual aid.

Checked out and got some AAA batteries so my grandson can complete this model car kit. Good time shopping and I'll probably go back.

Texas Football

The Longhorns of the University of Texas are a nationally known brand. The wonderful logo of the Longhorn steer, printed on the sides of the helmet, has a primal appeal. We like animals and used to work closely with them and they have a purity, simple, strong, dependable-- just like a good football player. But has the football experience held on to its primal appeal? I have been attending games with some consistency since around 1996. I was first attracted by the arrival of Ricky Williams, the archetype for a great football player. Ricky was bigger than life and most of his opponents. He literally rambled across the field and brought a certain joy to the game of football.

One of the best things about the UT football stadium experience, watching players on a natural grass field, has since been removed. Football played on a natural field reminds us of our rural origins. People sliding and tackling on grass and the resulting grass-stained uniforms reflect the physical reality of contact. Natural grass fields get torn and muddy depending on weather conditions, a disturbing development for the TV transmission. The TV camera always wants a perfect field, un-muddied by reality. Television makes the game more antiseptic, ready for prime time. And now the experience of going to a Texas football game resembles the couch potato experience at home. The jumbotron screen above the south end zone provides images of players ten time their actual size. Plays are hurriedly repeated, like the instant replay enjoyed in the living room. Ads are displayed in various forms across the stadium. The field has been changed to an artificial surface. The jumbotron screen has dwarfed the student performers and the band members, cheerleaders, and pom squads look like tiny ants fighting hopelessly to compete with the electronic fireworks. I recall the days when people would actually count the points with the cheerleaders doing backflips at the edge of the north end  zone. Now, though the backflips continue the cheerleaders are hardly noticeable. Who can keep their eyes off the mega-screen? Interestingly, the band members got demoted from their seats near the playing field to a remote location in the south end zone. These are student volunteers but apparently their contribution does not qualify for a decent seat!

In the short time since the Big 12 got invented as a combination of the Big Eight and four schools from the Southwest Conference, much has changed. Schools have moved around, changed conferences for physical geography has been replaced by electronic cut and paste. Conferences are aligned on the basis of TV ratings, where the real money lies, and physical reality again gives way to electronic marketing concerns.

Texas has had its struggles this year, another discussion, but a valuable few steps would be tearing down the jumbotron, re-installing natural grass, and moving the band back to their rightful position in the student section. If we choose to go to the stadium, let us watch a football game. If we want a living room experience, we can stay home for that.