The Lake

People often ask about the lake level here.  There has been a history of releasing many gallons to the orchards down below each autumn - after all the lake was constructed to provide this facility for the orange groves.  Most of those groves have now given way to urban sprawl and very little water is therefore released.

On a ride around the lake yesterday I took this picture and you can see that we're very full.  That is the edge of the dam at the end of the photo. There is a local site, http://bbmwd.com/Lake_Info.html that will give you all the information about the lake and the current level, which as of this morning was 1' 4" below full, which is pretty good.  We look forward to a great summer of boating.

Music Track - Tina

Some real power from the great lady of rock - Tina! Steamy Windows in front of a huge crowd of Dutchies!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbg6LBoWQyA&feature=relmfu
If you get the flavor for this type of stuff scroll over to the right hand side of the UTube screen and try "Addicted to Love."  Great stuff, and I know my friend Paul will love it!

Favorite Works of Art - Pollock

Due to copyright reasons a decent reproduction of Jackson Pollock's Number One (1950) is not available, and I took this while doing an article on the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art.  It is quite large; about six feet by four, and when it first appeared it caused a great deal of confusion and in fact anger.  "Jack the Dripper" as he was called was a man fraught with demons - drink being the worst of them.  However his paintings are quite unique as he was one of the first "action" painters.  He used to lay the canvasses on the floor and then drip the paint on them in ever increasing strokes.  Initially it all looks like a mess, but if you look at the paintings long enough they will speak to you as they are a wonderful collection of energy and color.

Book Number Two

Favorite Book Number Two is Catch 22, by Joseph Heller.  I've read this about three times in my life from the first time around 1964.  It was a very different type of novel and it certainly introduced a new expression to the culture.  Set in Pianosa, a small Mediterranean island in WWII, it describes some of the idiocies of war with such characters as Crazy Joe; Major Major, The Dead Man in Yosarian's Tent; General Dreeble and of course, Doc Daneeka who coined the phrase Catch 22.  This was the ability to escape from the endless and very dangerous bombing runs by asking for a stoppage on the grounds of insanity.  Unfortunately by asking for such leave, it proved you were quite sane, therefore ineligable - Catch 22!  My favorite character was Milo Minderbinder, who turned everything into a business opportunity with his M&M Enterprises.  The slogan "What's good for M&M enterprises is good for you," didn't do the aircrew any good when they bailed out and found this message attached to the release on their parachutes; Milo had sold the elastic for a good profit!  A film was made of it in the 70's which was quite interesting, but it wasn't as good as the book; they seldom are.

University

One of my few regrets in life is that I did not go to University.  I left school when I was still 16 and had to make my way in the world - not too successfully to begin with either.  But that was the way back then in the mid-fifties.  You didn't go on to further education unless you were destined for one of the finer professions, or a life in academia.  And back in the UK the only real universities to be considered were still Oxford and Cambridge - maybe London!  And there was absolutely no chance of going there with my scholastic results.

I recently had to do a piece on Redlands University here in Southern California.  It's a fine place and will set you or your parents back about $40,000 a year for the priviledge of attending for the obligatory three-year degree.
It seems today that every Tom, Dick and Harry's town has a college.  Also as nearly everybody seems to go to "school" I do wonder if it's been debased.  A degree from Harvard, Yale or Princeton I'm sure still resonates with prospective employers, but if you've got some three letter job from the Community College of Blythe is it really of much value?
I wonder if it's not best to learn a trade and then branch out on your own, assuming such behaviour is still tolerated by our burgeoning bureaucracy.  Let's face it, what sort of satisfaction is there in spending three years, acquiring some degree in human relationships then having to be chained to a desk fighting up the corporate ladder.  It seems a pretty miserable life to me.  Nonetheless, I would have loved to do a stint in a good university.

Medical Video

I was sent this video by my friend Kevin, who is in the medical profession.  Initially, I found it a little disturbing, but if you stick to it, you will see the wonderful advancements that have been made in repairing us.  It's fashionable to complain about how things are and how good they were years ago, but back then these injuries would not have been healed as efficiently. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xMYjfb_M9wM&vq=large

Sunday's Column - Palm Springs

This Sunday's Column is about a trip down to Palm Springs.  I usually visit there around February or March before it reaches its broiling temperatures - yesterday on April 21st, it reached 102; far too hot for this mountain dweller!  But in early spring, it's a great time to go and enjoy the differences in the two climates.

Downtown Palm Springs

Palm Springs has changed a lot over the last  30 years and now it's a very busy place with lots of snowbirds escaping from the cold weather to the north.  It's also a great place for dining, shopping and the purpose of my visit, the Palm Springs Art Museum, which is a positive jewel.  That will be the column next week.  On the way back I called in to see the Wildwater Preserve, which is a real oasis in the desert.  You can read the entire column at http://www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels/ci_20450984/creatures-all-kinds-love-whitewater

Big Bear

Well, winter is over.  The ski slopes closed two days ago.  Bear Mountain closed a week or two earlier, but Snow Summit closed on Tuesday and that's the end of winter as far as we are concerned.

So there'll be no more of this activity until around Thanksgiving, when we traditionally manage to persuade Mother Nature to drop some snow on us.

Now closing the slopes doesn't mean that all the snow has gone; far from it.  It merely reflects the lack of interest in skiing and snowboarding as once temperatures climb there are other pursuits that the S. Californian population likes to engage in.  There's the beach, and cycling and picnicking and all those types of summer activities.

It's often the case that towards the end of the season we get one last kick in the pants from Mother N.

This was the last little piece of snow on the property - it was gone in an hour!

Last weekend we had a huge storm come through and it dropped about 18 inches of heavy snow on us.  Sufficient to make me get out the equipment to clear the driveway.  On the following Thursday we hit 70 degrees and snow is not going to stay around for long under those circumstances.  So now we hit our quiet period, which means many fewer visitors and lots of complaints from the local businesses.  But I rather like it!

Musc Track - Ojos Espaniolas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6QTaI8OliU&feature=related
This is just a lovely tune, here played in a somewhat romantic way by Andre Rieu and orchestra.  If you search around UTube you will find many others

Favorite Works of Art - Caillebotte

This is Rainy Day in Paris (Jour de Pluie a Paris) by Gustave Caillebotte, painted in 1877.  It is a perfect picture of French urban life in the late 19th century.  It is a very large painting at approximately seven feet by nine.  Caillebotte is one of three favorite impressionist painters on my list as along with many people this is a genre that I like very much.  I like the glistening cobble stones and the perspective of the triangular building in the background.  Within thirty years, this street will change and be full of cars and trucks - today it is very quiet.  The painting, which I'm glad to say I've seen, hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Favorite Book - number three

Favorite book number three is The Reason Why, by Cecil Woodham Smith.  It tells the tale of how the charge of the light brigade happened.  Not the foolishness of charging  heavy artillery with light cavalry equipped with only swords and pistols, but more, how could you educate a class of people into behaving that way.  It explores the life of the privileged in 19th century England and goes into the background of the three principles involved - Lord's Raglan, Cardigan and Lucan.  The first two of whom were better known for their contribution to clothing than for their military tactics, which were dreadful.
I learned a great deal about the Irish Question and the way society functioned.  I think I've read the book three times at least.  There have been a couple of movies about the incident, one with Errol Flynn and the other much later with Trevor Howard, as Cardigan and Gielgud as Raglan.  A young David Hemmings plays Capt. Nolan who had an important role in the lead up to the charge.  This later film is worth watching, but the book will tell you so much more.

100th Monkey

Many years ago I was told about the 100th monkey in the learning process.  It seems that many of the world's zoos had noticed that if an orange was peeled and then dipped in sand monkeys would eat it in spite of the unpleasant taste of the sand.  What was remarkable was after 100 monkeys had done this they would discover that by dropping the orange in their water bowls the sand washed off and made the orange much nicer.  I point this learned behavior out as it often occurs to me how well people in general drive these days.  I know there are accidents, but considering the numbers and the speed on the roads its pretty well done.  Now of course, not every society has been doing this as long as we in the West, hence the following film out of China which is new to the activity.  It's amazing, and let's hope they get better at it.  How close are they to learing  the skills automatically?  It takes about seven minutes to view.  Best to fasten your seat belts, it's uncomfortable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAZCmaDm-2o&feature=player_embedded%2a%2a%2a%2a

Pool

I've been known to shoot the odd game of pool in my time, and I've been impressed with lots of players, but I've never seen shots like these.  It takes about 3 minutes to watch

http://manneli.com/movies/fun/Pool%20skills.htm

Sunday's Column - the Great Adventure

Today's column is all about our great adventure.  We left Gatwick Airport aboard World Airlines on April 16th, 1982 - 30 years ago tomorrow.  We arrived here, Marina Del Rey at about 5 in the evening.  Of course, we could have chosen Canton, Ohio, but somehow Southern California seemed a little more attractive to the founder of the company, who had asked me to come out here and join him.  I shall always be grateful for the opportunity.
One day earlier we had married, so today is the 30th wedding anniversary too.  Quite a lot to celebrate.
You can read the entire column at http://www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels/ci_20399257/celebrating-his-best-ever-journey