Monthly Archives: September 2006

The Criterion Collection: Monterey Pop

documentary film

The Criterion Collection: Monterey Pop

From the publishers of the Monterey Pop DVD set, an amazing website about the concert including full text versions of articles written about the festival within days of the event.  Lots of interesting stories of who was there and who wasn’t and why…several musicians were having issues with pot charges and draft dodging.  Extensive musician biographies as well.  We’re watching the third DVD of the set which is just outtakes, stuff that didn’t make it into the original documentary.  Great music cut with shots of the audience.  And it really is about the music.

Some of those writing at the time are critical of the organizers for not having more ethnic diversity.  Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix are in the documentary but so far the outtakes have been all nice white boys.  But the comment I found most interesting was Robert Christgau’s suggestion that “real” hippies were gone: “But there are no hippies—they have disappeared in an avalanche of copy. Most of the originals who were living in the Haight in 1966, when the journalists started nosing around, have fled from the bus tour and the LSD-Burgers and the panhandling flower children who will be back in school next semester.”

I can’t help but contrasting these hippies with the members of the Weather Underground.  While the hippies in Monterey might be anti-establishment, the Weathermen were anti-government.  Christgau suggests that there is sort of hippie-mentality that is associated with liberal ideas.  But the Weathermen were actual communists, politically motivated.  Yet, both groups tended to be affluent white kids; they could afford to be bohemians and radicals.

Nine Years of Water Testing

adult learning, blogging

Water Test Procedure

  1. At home, do the sodium thiosulfate test. Check kit for equipment and data sheets.
  2. At the dock, hang the thermometer out of the sun to take air temperature.
  3. Complete the front of the data sheet.
  4. Use the secchi disk to record water clarity and water depth.
  5. Use the bucket to collect a water sample. Place it on the dock, preferably out of the sun.
  6. Record air temperature and put thermometer in the bucket to test water temperature.
  7. Begin dissolved oxygen test: add the first two chemicals and then let the precipitate settle.
  8. While it’s settling, record water temperature and complete the ph test.
  9. Complete the DO test.
  10. Do the salinity test.
  11. Check all recorded data, especially tidal stage.
  12. Complete rest of form. Sign.

This is the procedure I have been following for the almost 200 water tests I have done at this same spot on Morris Creek. My data is available online. Yesterday, I attended the bi-annual recertification workshops where they review procedures and issue new equipment and chemicals. Continue reading Nine Years of Water Testing →

NEO Blogging

adult learning, blogging, technical skills

Normally, my location is probably of no interest to anyone reading this blog. But, this post is all about location. I am sitting on my dock, which reaches out into Morris Creek, a fresh water tidal creek along which my husband and I own a piece of property. I want to record my thoughts about the water testing I’ve been doing for almost a decade. In order to do that, I am going to use a very handy piece of technology called a NEO.

Part word processor, part micro computer, the NEO is an Alphasmart product. I normally don’t bring any technology out to this undeveloped property about 30 minutes from our home. There is no electricity or running water, just a tent with some adirondack chairs and a spectacular view. The quiet peacefulness seems to preclude sitting in front of a computer, and I can see you shaking your head over this breach of the nature/technology border.

Continue reading NEO Blogging →

Quieter Lives for 60’s Militants, but Intensity of Beliefs Hasn’t Faded

documentary film, weather underground

Quieter Lives for 60’s Militants, but Intensity of Beliefs Hasn’t Faded

From The New York Times, an article about the Weather Underground.  I was particularly interested in the quote late in the article from Brian Flanagan.  He did appear to be more “rueful” than the others in the film, something he says isn’t a true portrayal.  This article also highlights some of those who are anti-Weather Underground, feeling they got off easy for their crimes.  But, then, the WU members would say that is typical:  while black radicals were killed outright, these young often well-off white kids did their deeds, went underground, then emerged later only to have their charges dropped.  Flanagan gets quoted a lot: “When you feel you have right on your side, you can do some pretty horrific things.”  So, it seems that the filmmakers used Flanagan as a way to show a different side of the Underground.  And, unlike the NY Times article, the film doesn’t interview any WU members who are now completely negative towards the group.

Exploring The Weather Underground

adult learning, documentary film

I watched this documentary, directed and produced by Sam Green, yesterday. My husband and I both agreed that while we remembered the group–and in particular I remembered knowing that some of them had blown themselves up in Greenwich Village–we did not remember how active they had been in bombing various buildings. I suppose it’s a testament to my age–I was 13 when the Vietnam War ended in 1975–but also to the lack of widespread media in the 70s. The news just wasn’t as big a deal as it is now.

The PBS show Independent Lens has an extensive website devoted to the documentary. In an interview frm the site, Green says that he and his co-director, Bill Siegel, tried to give a fair and balanced account of the history. I guess I agree. They did interview a former FBI agent involved in the hunt for the Weathermen. They also included Todd Gitlin, former SDS president, who is clearly negative towards them for taking over his organization. And the members of the group themselves seemed to cover the various points of view. For instance, Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers seem to have little regret for what they did while Mark Rudd discusses feeling ashamed by their actions. I guess I just can’t imagine what it would be like to be them. They are close to 60 years old now, with jobs and families, one of them even went on Jeopardy and won some money. So, what do they tell their grandchildren? “When I was your age, I was at war with the government.”

Continue reading Exploring The Weather Underground →