Down the road less traveled..

Chris McCandless's Letter to Russell Fritz

2011-06-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

Russ,
I really enjoy all the help you have given me and the times we spent together. I hope that yo will not be too depressed by our parting. It may be a very long time before we see each other again. But providing that I get through ths Alaskan Deal in one piece you will be hearing form me again in the future. I’d like to repeat the advice I gave you before, in that I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing or been to hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one piece of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to sch a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty. And so, Russ, in short, get out of Salton City and hit the Road. I guarantee you will be very glad you did. But I fear that you will ignore my advice. You think I am stubborn, but you are even more stubborn than me. You had a wonderful chance on your drive back to see one of the greatest sights on earth, the Grand Canyon, something every American should see at least once in his life. But for some reason incomprehensible to me you wanted nothing but to bolt for home as quickly as possible, right back to the same situation which you see day after day after day. I fear you will follow this same inclination in the future and thus fail to discover all the wonderful things that God has placed around us to discover. Don’t settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon. You are still going to live a long time, Russ, and it would be a shame if you did not take the opportunity to revolutionize your life and move into an entirely new realm of experience.

You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.

My point is that you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this kind of light in your life. It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it, and all you have to do is reach for it. The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances.

Russ, I really hope that as soon as you can you will get out of Salton City, put a little camper on the back of your pickup, and start seeing some of the great work that God has done here in the American West. you will see things and meet people and there is much to learn from them. And you must do it economy style, no motels, do your own cooking, as a general rule spend as little as possible and you will enjoy it much more immensely. I hope that the next time I see you, you will be a new man with a vast array of new adventures and experiences behind you. Don’t hesitate or allow yourself to make excuses. Just get out and do it. Just get out and do it. You will be very, very glad that you did.

Take care Russ,

Alex

More incompetent than spy.

2010-12-29T15:22:00.000-08:00

I was reading about Mata Hari. Apparently she was more of a dupe, than a conspirator or spy. It reminds me of Emile Zola and Captain Dreyfuss. Esterhazy was the actual spy(double agent)for whom Captain Dreyfuss was the perfect foil. Captain Dreyfuss is forever a symbol of right and wrong. And Emile Zola was the Archimedes of his time, a man who had convictions and was fearless in standing up for them. The fury that I feel that Esterhazy was allowed to flee to England after Emile Zola's campaign to free the innocent Dreyfuss grabbed the publics attention.

Rick Young a Young Socialist

2010-11-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

Our friends determine who we are. My best friend in college was a Young Socialist named Rick Young. I liked him because he believed in things and had the courage of his convictions. We argued all the time and he kept my mind sharp because he made me defend what I believed in. He is the son of two decent people Sam Young, A Methodist Minister and Hymnal composer. A Professor of Church Music at Emory. Rick's Dad introduced me to Robert Shaw the Conductor of Atlanta Symphony. His Mom was Majorie Young, a wonderful thoughtful woman who didn't have to think about being a good mother, because she was born for the job. Anyone who met her knew that. We need more people like the Youngs in the world. I was lucky enough that they shared their world with me. If I show kindness to another it is in Thanks for the kindness you showed me.

Jim Garrison and Lee Harvey Oswald

2010-11-05T19:18:00.001-07:00

I remember how Republicans attacked Jim Garrison for suggesting that Republicans were involved in a conspiracy to assasinate President Kennedy. He pointed out two people in particular, who had close ties to Anti-Castro Cubans, David Ferrie and Clay Shaw both of whom he contended were members of the CIA. Denials from the CIA and the Justice Department confirmed that Republicans were right.
Long after Jim's death the picture above came to light, proving that David Ferrie knew Lee Harvey Oswald. We also know that the Russians always believed that Oswald was CIA. That is from Kremlin Files. We also knew that on his own volition George Bush Sr. went to the Dallas Police and volunteered to help and provided his own alibi for the time of the killing. When no one asked him for an alibi. This was at a point that we know that Bush was CIA and has lied about it ever since. We now know that Clay Shaw and David Ferrie were CIA. So the several membeers CIA committed perjury. We also know that J Edgar Hoover committed Perjury.
Jim Garrison was an honest man and he told the truth.

2010-09-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. Thomas Edward Lawrence (August 16, 1888-May 19, 1935)

The difference between Justice and Right and Wrong

2010-09-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

We now know that Dr. Sam Shepard was innocent, during the investigation of Marilyn Shepard's murder. The police interviewed Richard Eberling, the Shepard's caretaker and fixit man within hours of the murder. During the interview, Eberling volunteered why his blood "might" be found in the house. He said that he had cut his hand on a nail at the house and showed it to the interviewing officer. A trail of blood was found in the house, from the Shepard's bedroom on the second floor going downstairs and out of the house. When the police examined Sam Shepard they found that he had no cuts or wounds on his body. Richard Eberling was found to have pawned one of Marilyn's rings.
20 years later Eberling was convicted of another murder and suspected of several others.

In Remembrance of Things Past

2010-09-03T15:50:00.001-07:00

Two people have passed away who deserve to be remembered:

James Aubrey Tregidgo died at age 62. One of my first real heroes. He spoke and I listened. He thought while others didn't. He cared when other couldn't. He was more of a man to me while still a boy than most men ever can be. Being six years older than me, merely meant it was very easy for me to look up to him. His death was hardly noticed by others, it was impossible to overlook for me. We'll miss you Ralph. I'll miss you Ralph.

Ian Brown of Walnut Grove, California. As a boy, his brother was killed in an accident in Venezuela(their Dad worked for an Oil Company) which nearly took his life. He and his brother had been walking along a steep incline and horsing around. His brother slipped and fell down the mountain. Ian blamed himself for something which couldn't possibly be his fault. Though his life slipped into a downward spiral, Ian maintained a certain nobility. He never ceased helping others and always protected the weak. When any of the lost kids he was with were hurt or sick he would stay in the hospital with them until they were well. But he couldn't help blaming himself for something which wasn't his fault. I guess Ian needed his brother to tell him that. At least now he knows and he has now finally found the happiness that escaped him in life which he truly deserved.

CARL SAGAN'S BALONEY DETECTION KIT

2010-07-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the facts
Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.
Arguments from authority carry little weight (in science there are no "authorities").
Spin more than one hypothesis - don't simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.
Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours.
Quantify, wherever possible.
If there is a chain of argument every link in the chain must work.
"Occam's razor" - if there are two hypothesis that explain the data equally well choose the simpler.
Ask whether the hypothesis can, at least in principle, be falsified (shown to be false by some unambiguous test). In other words, it is testable? Can others duplicate the experiment and get the same result?
Additional issues are
Conduct control experiments - especially "double blind" experiments where the person taking measurements is not aware of the test and control subjects.
Check for confounding factors - separate the variables.
Common fallacies of logic and rhetoric
Ad hominem - attacking the arguer and not the argument.
Argument from "authority".
Argument from adverse consequences (putting pressure on the decision maker by pointing out dire consequences of an "unfavourable" decision).
Appeal to ignorance (absence of evidence is not evidence of absence).
Special pleading (typically referring to god's will).
Begging the question (assuming an answer in the way the question is phrased).
Observational selection (counting the hits and forgetting the misses).
Statistics of small numbers (such as drawing conclusions from inadequate sample sizes).
Misunderstanding the nature of statistics (President Eisenhower expressing astonishment and alarm on discovering that fully half of all Americans have below average intelligence!)
Inconsistency (e.g. military expenditures based on worst case scenarios but scientific projections on environmental dangers thriftily ignored because they are not "proved").
Non sequitur - "it does not follow" - the logic falls down.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc - "it happened after so it was caused by" - confusion of cause and effect.
Meaningless question ("what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?).
Excluded middle - considering only the two extremes in a range of possibilities (making the "other side" look worse than it really is).
Short-term v. long-term - a subset of excluded middle ("why pursue fundamental science when we have so huge a budget deficit?").
Slippery slope - a subset of excluded middle - unwarranted extrapolation of the effects (give an inch and they will take a mile).
Confusion of correlation and causation.
Straw man - caricaturing (or stereotyping) a position to make it easier to attack..
Suppressed evidence or half-truths.
Weasel words - for example, use of euphemisms for war such as "police action" to get around limitations on Presidential powers. "An important art of politicians is to find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the public"

Chris McCandless

2010-06-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

I just saw "Into the Wild" a few days ago. Since then I've been reading opinions from people who, with the utmost profundity, tell us what a fool he was. Not to me. I like Chris, because he had the guts to be different. He took huge risks and paid for all his own mistakes. A debt paid in full. His reached exceeded his grasp.

I would have been the lucky one to number him among my friends. As to his critics, I consider myself lucky not to number you among my, or his, friends.

Humphrey Bogart, John Houston and Lauren Bacall Show Real Courage

2009-09-05T03:29:00.000-07:00

I always remember the story of how George W. Bush almost flunked out of flight school during his "military" service, then telling everyone that he volunteered to serve in Vietnam. The only problem with the story, he made sure to volunteer when it had already been announced by the Pentagon that no new pilots were going to be sent to the war. That is probably as brave as any coward ever gets. Unless you count Evangelist Pat Robertson. When Pat Robertson ran for President in 1988, he bragged about his military service in Korea. If you listened to Pat he was a man of God and a true Christian Soldier, brave, fearless and a leader of men. Well, that is until Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey revealed the truth about Robertson's military service. Pat Robertson's Dad was a US Senator from Virginia. Whose only claim to fame was he opposed every Civil Rights law ever passed in the US. In fact, Pat Robertson's Dad was declared a Hero of the KKK.

Senator Robertson pulled strings so that his son didn't end up where the fighting was. Daddy got Pat assigned to a detail which delivered alcohol to Officer's Clubs behind the lines during the war. While men such as "The Rockford Files" James Garner served honorably and bravely in the trenches of the Korean War, watching his friends and buddies wiped out by the Communists, Pat cowered/coward in fear leaching off the bravery of the real men who fought there and died there. Republican Pete McCloskey was a real hero serving with honor in Korea. When he heard Pat Robertson lying about his record, he is quoted as saying, he didn't give a damn whether he won or lost the Republican Nomination, but he intended to make sure that everyone knew the truth about the coward that Pat Robertson was.

But Humphrey Bogart (Bogie), John Houston and Lauren Bacall were real heroes. They prove that you don't have to be on a battlefield to earn the "red badge of courage". With Richard Nixon and his anti-Communist, Anti-Jewish, Republican Witch Hunts of the late 1940's, a lot of innocent people saw their lives and careers ruined. Most people didn't have the courage or the character to stand up to Nixon and his fellow Republicans. A few did. They risked everything standing up for what was right. Republicans smeared and slurred these brave few. Pictured here Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall prepare to testify before Congress against the activities of HUAC. Bogies friends advised him that he might never work again, but he forcefullyresponded that some things are more important than work.

Pastor Niemoller, Lutheran Pastor, Anti-Nazi and Dachau Death Camp Survivor(1946)

"First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no left to speak up for me."

A Memorable Moment

2009-08-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the radio the other day when Barbra Streisand came on singing one of my favorite songs, Evergreen. It brought to mind one of those odd memories which make the ordinary extraordinary. I remember that there was a show years ago called "Fish" starring Abe Vigoda. It was a spin off of Barney Miller. The acting wasn't that good, but the writing was worse. Totally forgettable. I think I only watched it one or two times before giving up on it. But one night I was channel surfing and I came across one scene which has staid with me the thirty years since I saw it.

Sarah Natoli playing the character Diane Pulaski is a lonely, unhappy girl. She is not particularly attractive and certainly not popular. I think that the story line was that some boy had hurt her feelings. Though the show wasn't a musical, Sarah is shown singing "Evergreen". Evergreen is one of the most beautiful songs Barbra ever wrote. Sarah sings beautifully and with as much passion and feeling as Barbra Streisand. It was an incredible moment. I've never seen that episode again and, yet, that particular scene and the memory of Sarah Natoli's singing will never leave me.

The Sullivan Ballou Letter

2009-08-27T01:51:00.000-07:00

A week before the Battle of Bull Run Sullivan Ballou, a Major in the Second Rhode Island Volunteers, wrote home to his wife in Smithfield.
July 14, 1861
Camp Clark, Washington, DC

Dear Sarah,
The indication are very strong that we shall move in a few days - perhaps tomorrow. And lest I should not be able to write you again I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I am no more.
I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which we are engaged, and my courage does not halt of falter. I know how American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing - perfectly willing - to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this government, and to pay that debt.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but omnipotence can break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly with all those chains to the battlefield. The memory of all the blissful moments I have enjoyed with you come crowding over me, and I feel most deeply grateful to God and you, that I have enjoyed them for so long. And how hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes and future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and see our boys grown up to honorable manhood around us.
If I do not return, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I loved you, nor that when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.
Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless, how foolish I have sometimes been!
But, O Sarah, if the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they love, I shall always be with you, in the brightest day and in the darkest night....always...always. And when the soft breeze fans your cheek, it shall be my breadth, and the cool air your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.
Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again....
Sullivan Ballou

I was in Anissa Jones's(Family Affair) house in Playa Del Rey. There was a book of poetry on livingroom bookshelf, I noticed that it had a bookmark. I went to the bookmark and found this letter, which has always been one of my favorites. I asked, Anissa's Mom, Paula, who had placed the bookmark there and she told me that Anissa did. It was one of her favorite "poems".

Truth is the Daughter of Time, the real Richard III

2009-08-16T04:44:00.000-07:00

Richard III

Richard III outlaws bribery

…the king will it to be ordained, by the advice and assent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons, of this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that his subjects, and the commonality of this his realm, from henceforth in no wise be charged by no such charge, exaction or imposition, called a benevolence, nor by such like charge; and that no such extractions, called benevolences, before this time taken, be taken…of any of his subjects of this realm hereafter… - Statutes of the Realm, 1484

After Richard III's death, the Tudors became infamous for their spending, or in Henry VII's case, miserliness, both of which were predicated on extortion, theft and bribery.

Richard on the Battlefield

"His courage also high and fierce, which failed him not in the very death". - Polydor Vergil, Historian, 1520

"Such was his renown in warfare, that when ever a difficult and dangerous policy had to be undertaken, it would be entrusted to his discretion and his generalship". - Dominic Mancini, 1483

"In his small body the greatest valor held sway". - Archibald Whitelaw, 1484

"For in the thick of the fight, and not in the act of flight, King Richard fell in the field, struck by many mortal wounds, as a bold and most valiant prince". - Croyland Chronicle Continuator, 1486

"King Richard alone was killed fighting manfully in the thickest press of his enemies". - Polydor Vergil

A Good King is missed by his subjects

In the minutes of the City of York 1485:

…it was shown by divers persons, especially by John Sponer sent unto the field of Redmoor to bring tidings from the same to the city, that King Richard, late lawfully reigning over us, was…piteously slain and murdered, to the great heaviness of this city…

…as a singularly thoughtful and enlightened legislator, who brought to his task a profound knowledge of the nature of contemporary problems, and an enthusiastic determination to solve them in the best possible way, in the interests of every class of his subjects…H.G. Hanbury, 1962

"The good reputation of his private life and public activities powerfully attracted the esteem of strangers". - Dominic Mancini, Report, 1483

"On my trouth I lykyd never the condicions of ony prince so wel as his; God hathe sent hym to us for the wele of all..."
Thomas Langton - Bishop of St. David's, Letter to a friend 1483

"If we look for prudence in fostering peace and waging war, who shall we judge his equal?" - Pietro Carmeliano,Poet, 1484

In His Own Words

"...justly and duly administer the laws without delay or favor, (dispensing justice) indifferently to every person, as well as to poor as to rich". - Richard III - Address at Westminster, 1483

St. Thomas More

St. Thomas More wrote a history of Richard III, which he never published. Even when it might have aided him in his defense against charges of Treason brought by Thomas Cromwell, Thomas More's successor as Chancellor of England. These charges are now known to have been based on the perjury of Richard Rich who was acting at the direction of Thomas Cromwell the Lord Chancellor and Thomas Cramner the Archbishop of Canterbury, who were acting at the behest of King Henry VIII. For his perjury, Richard Rich was to succeed Cromwell and become Lord Chancellor.

Richard Rich had been a Apprentice to Thomas More when Lord Chancellor. Knowing a certain lack of ethics and character on Richard's part, More suggested that Richard Rich become a Teacher, best rendered by Robert Bolt's "A Man For All Seasons":

Thomas More to Richard Rich, "Why not be a teacher? You'd be a fine teacher; perhaps a great one."

"If I was," replies Rich, "who would know it?"

Thomas More, "You, your pupils; your friends; God. Not a bad public that."

Why did St. Thomas More never publish his history of Richard III?

Some have speculated that Thomas More became disenchanted with what he had been taught about Richard as a child. He was an apprentice in Cardinal Morton's household as a boy of twelve. Cardinal Morton was one of Richard III's enemies, a firm supporter of the Tudors. The only history he knew of those events came from this and other Tudor partisans. For over twenty years the manuscript lay unpublished among More's papers, Thomas More having made the choice not publish it. It was until long after his death that the Tudor Court received a copy of the manuscript. They then published it and it became the foundation for Shakespeare's Richard III.

Always remember that the extant portraits of Richard III have been retouched by Tudor Partisans to show a "hunchback", which apparently is made out of whole cloth, if the Countess of Desmond is to be believed:

Richard was the handsomest man in the room except his brother Edward, and was well made. - Countess of Desmond describing dancing with Richard, Reported by Horace Walpole, 1768

"...three fingers taller than myself...also much more lean; he had delicate arms and legs, also a great heart..." - Nicholas von Poppelau, Diary,1484

One aspect, which may have troubled Thomas, was that in all the charges that Henry Tudor brought against Richard III, not once did he accuse him of killing his twelve-year-old nephew, King Edward V and his ten-year-old brother, Richard. When Parliament declared Edward illegitimate and gave the crown to Richard, Edward was no longer a threat to Richard. But he was a threat to Henry Tudor(VII), because even if he overthrew Richard, that would put Edward V on the throne again, not Henry. Henry's whole rationale for becoming King was that Richard III usurped the Throne. And an odd coincidence, The Lord of the Tower of London in Richard's reign was Henry Stafford, The Duke of Buckingham. Henry was a relative of both the houses of Lancaster and York and himself stood in line for the crown. But he had the same problem Henry Tudor had. Overthrowing Richard would not make him King, but overthrowing Richard and killing Edward V and his brother, Richard, Duke of York could. Many have speculated as to whether Henry Tudor and Duke of Buckingham conspired together, or acted independently, but both are the main suspects in killing the Princes because they were the only ones who gained by their murder.

One of the main tenets in solving crimes is to first check to see who benefits from the crime, because they are always your best suspect. Richard III gained nothing from the death of Edward V and Richard Duke of York, but Henry Tudor and Henry Stafford did, because they became heirs to the throne on Richard's death....

All historians agree on one point, Richard III was the bravest man on the field at Bosworth. While Henry Tudor cowered behind a bodyguard of a hundred, Richard fought alone, bravely and without fear. At the end of the battle, when he knew the battle was lost(after the treachery of the Stanleys), Richard charged towards Henry, cutting a swathe through his host, only cut down in the last twenty feet of his quarry.

Henry ordered Richard's body stripped naked, then dragged behind a horse, ripped apart by rocks, thickets and bushes. That is not the way for the bravest man in a battle to be treated in death.

Nicholas II one of History's Much Maligned Heroes

2009-08-14T21:21:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows that Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra, were one of the great romances of history. But almost no one knows that in the calamitous events leading up to World War I, it was Nicholas, alone, who tried to avert the war. Had the world listened to him 20,000,000 people would have not been needlessly slaughtered in "The Great War".

Nicholas championed the Hague Conventions which sought to outlaw Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes. The Hague Conventions were the antecedents of The Geneva Conventions which followed. He was in fact the first to call for the 1899 Hague Convention. Nicholas and American President, Teddy Roosevelt, led the call for the 1907 Convention. One of the main tenets of these conventions was that disputes between nations be settled by arbitration under the authority of the world community. Many people consider this the forerunner to the League of Nations and, later, The United Nations. He was the first European Leader to propose that Poison Gas be outlawed.

Nicholas proposed that the Assasination of Austrian Grand Duke Franz Ferdinand be submitted to an International Tribunal for Arbitration.

Nicholas personally pleaded with Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany not to Mobilize the German Army and promised to reciprocate. What if they gave a War and nobody came?

Trent Bernard Junior Durkin

2009-08-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

July 2, 1915 - May 4, 1935

After someone dies, I think that you have a moral duty to show them and their memory respect. I stumbled across the story of Junior Durkin in researching Jackie Coogan. History has recorded four things/events about him.

Unfortunately, two of these are less desirable stories that have become integral to his biography, the third is his distinguished resume, the fourth is the story of the horrible wreck which killed him.
When Trent came to Hollywood in 1930 he was 15, within 5 years he made 13 films(and some of these were starring roles too; but more impressive is the fact that Trent was not under contract to any studio at the time; he had to go out and audition and win each and every role he got), making him one of the busiest and most successful actors in Hollywood.

His most famous roles:
Tom Sawyer(1930) w/Jackie Coogan, playing Huck Finn
Huck Finn(1931) w/Jackie Coogan, playing Huck Finn
Hell's House (1933) w/Bette Davis, Pat O'Brien

One reviewer said of his performance in Hell's House, "this gawky lad with an expressive face...dominates the screen whenever he is present." In fact, Junior Durkin was listed ahead of both his co-stars, Pat O'Brien and Bette Davis in the films credits. Leslie Halliwell in his "Who's Who in Movies", describes Junior as one of the four great child stars in Hollywood's infancy(Pre-1940 films); the others Judy Garland, Jackie Coogan and Junior Coughlin. Famed Hollywood Director Cecile B. DeMille personally cast Trent as the central character "Steve Smith" in his film, "This Day and Age", but a scheduling conflict prevented Trent from taking the role. The National Council of Teachers handbook to the Movies describes Junior's portrayal of Huckleberry Finn as "remarkably convincing".

After watching Hell's House and his portrayal as Huck Finn, he seems, at least to me, a lot like Henry Fonda in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath". A quiet, gentle man(boy) who brought much more depth and character to his roles than anyone would have thought possible.

Trent Bernard "Junior" Durkin's Complete Filmography:

Little Men (1935) .......................Franz
Chasing Yesterday (1935) ........ Henry
Big-Hearted Herbert (1934) .... Junior Kainess
Ready for Love (1934) ........... Joey Burke
Man Hunt (1933) ......................Junior
Hell's House* (1932) ............... Jimmy Mason
Huckleberry Finn (1931) .... .....Huckleberry Finn
Conquering Horde, The (1931)
Tom Sawyer (1930) .... ............Huckleberry Finn
Santa Fe Trail, The (1930) .......Old Timer
Recaptured Love (1930) ........ Henry Parr
Fame (1930)
Law Rides West, The (1930)

*also known as "Juvenile Court"

Broadway

Some Night(Harris Theatre, September 23,through October 5, 1918; uncredited, Cupid at age 2 1/2)

The Lady(Empire Theatre, December 4, 1923 through May 1924)

Poppy(The Apollo Theatre, Starring WC Fields, September 3, 1923- June 2, 1924)

HMS Pinafore(Century Theatre, April 6, through May 1926; Gilbert and Sullivan)

Courage(Ritz Theatre: October 8, 1928 through June 1929, 280 Performances)

Growing Pains(Ambassador Theatre, November 23 through December 31, 1933; 29 Performances)

The New York Times describes Courage(1928) star Janet Beecher's brilliant performance as Mrs. Colebrook which earned her 10 curtain calls and thunderous applause, then qualifies its praise by saying that "Junior Durkin" almost stole the show by his performance...

Trent had two sisters, Gertrude(d. 1970, married to Western Actor James Ellison 1937-1970) and Grace(July 17, 1914- November 26, 1991) All three kids began acting on the stage before the age of 5. There mother was Florence Edwards Durkin, who worked as a secretary at the Shubert Theatre Chain's Headquarters at 225 West 44th Street in New York City. Florence died in 1930, after a long illness(apparently having separated from their father some time before). For at least part of the time during her illness, Grace, Gertrude and "Junior" lived at St. Mary's Convent(Orphanage/School). By 1930, Trent, Grace and Gertrude were on their own.

From what little information I can find, it seems that their father was alive when Trent was killed, Gertrude, Grace and Dad sued Jack Coogan(Sr.)'s insurance company. Apparently their Dad was an actor; their mother may have been an actress before she became a secretary at the Shubert Theatre.

Gertrude, Grace and Junior were placed under the guardianship of Marian Gering, a Broadway and, later, a Hollywood Producer and spent much more time on the stage than being kids or a family. Though, even years later they were ferociously loyal to each other. I've seen Grace's family scrapbook in which she kept every press clipping about her brother. She loved him, that's obvious.
Unfortunately, Marian allowed 16-year-old Trent "Junior" to go to Los Angeles and stay with his Hollywood Agent, Henry Willson(Henry worked for Zeppo Marx's Talent Agency). Henry Willson was supposed to act as Junior's Guardian(in locus parentis: to protect a child while serving as a temporary parent) while he was in California. It didn't turn out to have been the best decision she could have made about her ward. Henry Willson's reputation for better or worse started with Trent "Junior" Durkin.

The second story is worse. Trent was invited to a party at Bette Davis's house during the filming of "Hell's House". Trent(and Bette) starred in this story about Boys in reform school. While watching rushes, Howard Higgin, the Director, discovered an embarrassing shot of Trent while being held, comforted and embraced by Bette Davis. He had the scene from the film developed so he could show it at to his friends and at parties. Everyone broke out laughing, except the 16-year-old. Trent was so humiliated that he ran out of the house crying.

That story was told by Humphrey Bogart, who was at the party and said that he was so angry by the way Trent was treated that he said that he would never allow anything like that to occur in his presence again. And according to the book, Bogey said that if he ever ran across a young person with a crush on him, he would be sure to treat them with compassion and understanding. And that's what happened in 1944 when 44 year old, Bogie, met 20 year old "Baby"(Lauren Bacall/Betty Perske) while filming "To Have and Have Not".

But I end this post with one little story which tells you a lot about him. While appearing at The Pasadena Playhouse in 1934 in a production of "Growing Pains" produced by Arthur Lubin, Trent did a favor for his fellow cast members. The Pasadena Playhouse had a reputation for being a stop for actors on the way up or on the way down. Few of his fellow cast members had cars, so Trent volunteered to pick up five of his castmates(friends) who lived in Hollywood, Pasadena and LA and take them to the theatre and drop them off home everyday.

I think that any of us would give a friend a lift, but how many of us would go all over Los Angeles to pick up five people and give them a lift everyday? A Damn Good Friend would.

That isn't something anyone would repeat, but it certainly something his friends would remember when a few months later he was killed in a traffic accident.

Trent was scheduled to star in a Production of Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness" when he got back from his vacation with the Coogans. He had also just signed a 7 year contract with RKO Studios. Trent Bernard "Junior" Durkin had everything going for him, except time.

Trent lies buried on the "Sunrise Slope" at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. I doubt that very many people visit his grave. More should, because few have ever shown more promise, in any field, than young Trent did.

One person did. Close friend, Anglo-American Actress, Screenwriter and Director, Ida Lupino attended Trent's funeral and chose to be buried a short distance away. She was a very close friend of Trent and his sisters, Grace and Gertrude. Ida would tell friends for years afterwards, that the day Junior died was one the worst days of her life and his death was a loss from which she never totally recovered.

My Favorite Movies

2009-08-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

1) A Man For All Seasons(1966)

Laurence Olivier said that Paul Scofield took a Saint and made a human being out of him. He called Paul Scofield's portrayal of St. Thomas More, the most brilliant performance of his lifetime. I agree. I remember that there was a story about Paul receiving a multi-million dollar film offer right after "A Man For All Seasons" was released and became a big hit. He turned it down. For one of two reasons, either because his family had just bought a new dog and that he was training him, or that his kids were more important to him than any film. He loved them too much to spend any prolonged period of time away from them. Had he taken the offer, it would have required him to be away from his wife and kids for six months. He asked what of kind of father and husband would do that. Paul was an individualist. He was famous for acting in some of the most brilliant performances ever seen on the English stage, year after year, but every night he would avoid the parties and the press to catch the first train home to his wife and kids.

2) A Witness for the Prosecution(1957)

What a great movie, with impeccable casting. And how could you not love, Marlene Dietrich. She left Germany in the early 30's right after she received a request for a meeting from Adolf Hitler(some say he asked for a date, which she turned down). She gives a brilliant performance, one of the best in the history of film and certainly the best of her career. She obviously was the smartest character in the movie and she makes the complicated story believable(with all apologies to Agatha Christie). If you ever wondered why Charles Laughton is considered one of the best actors Britain ever produced, this movie and his performance in it show why. I don't know of any movie that Tyrone Power appeared in that I liked. His pivotal role in this movie, proves that he was one of the great actors of his generation.

3) Zulu(1964)

The true story of the battle of Rorke's Drift during the Zulu uprising. After the stunning defeat of a British Expeditionary Force under Lord Chelmsford at Isandlwana(1,300 British dead), the Zulus spread out and attacked several British Outposts, including one at Rorke's Drift. Outnumbered 10 to 1, Rorke's Drift is located in the middle of Zululand. It came under attack by the largest army the Zulus ever put in the field. It is a story of courage and character, the British contingent of less than 200 held out against impossible odds for 48 hours. Britain's highest military honor, The Victoria Cross, was awarded to eleven of the men fighting in the battle, the most ever awarded in a single engagement.

4) To Kill a Mockingbird(1963)

One of the great books, movies or stories of our time. Gregory Peck through the character of Atticus Finch, showed us what real courage and character are. Released within a few months of the massacre at Philadelphia, Mississippi, where Civil Rights Workers, Goodman, Cheney and Schwerner were murdered by the Philadelphia Mississippi Police Department for registering blacks to vote. Better than anything else, that event and this movie show the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. While this film was being made Gregory Peck was taking part in Martin Luther King's march on Washington. He was there at the Lincoln Memorial when MLK gave his "I have a dream" plea that all men are created equal. Tweny years earlier he had joined with Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Houston, etc... in fighting Joe McCarthy and the Pogroms of the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities. That took real courage.

One little footnote, Mary Badham's father was in the military and her mother was a TV annoucer in Alabama , neither of whom could come with Mary to Los Angeles for the filming. Gregory Peck and his wife Veronique volunteered to act as her guardians during her stay in Los Angeles. Mary says to this day that this was one of the happiest times and best experiences of her life. Gregory and Veronique treated her like their daughter and, though she missed her parents, it was a far happier and better experience than she had any right to expect. You know, Gregory Peck found that portraying a decent human being is a lot easier when you are one.

5) Lawrence of Arabia(1962)

One of the most beautiful films ever photographed and one the most interesting stories ever told. Assigned by the British Foreign Office to help the Arabs revolt against the Turks, TE Lawrence became convinced that he was a tool of destiny. And as an advisor and leader of the Bedouin the Arab Revolt became his mission. There is a very famous quote of Oscar Wilde, "Be careful what you wish for; there is the awful possibility that your wish will be answered and then you will be in real trouble". After the Arab Revolt, the British and French role as overlords of the Middle East were numbered.

6) Dr. Zhivago(1965)

A great story at one of the most signifigant moments in history. Few films ever communicated the sweep of history better than Dr. Zhivago. And there is no more beautiful woman than Julie Christie.

"Shocked, shocked, I say, to learn that there is gambling going on in this establishment." Tobey Zeigler, The West Wing(Aaron Sorkin, writer, rewriting Claude Rains in Casablanca): To learn 50 years later that Boris Pasternak won the Nobel Prize in Literature because of the machinations of the CIA.

7) Lord of the Flies(1963)

It won a Nobel Prize for William Golding and continues to be one of the most thoughtful and provocative movies ever made. Peter Brook the director got his start at Cambridge with Shakespeare. You get a definite feel that there is something Shakespearean about the story. It will haunt you long after you've seen it. I remember having nightmares about it when I was 6. A little footnote, I ran across a website which included an interview with William Golding. One of the pictures that came with the story, showed Mr. Golding teaching a class at an English "Public" school(like Eton or Rugby). One of the boys(around 12-years-old) included in the picture has Vladimir Nobakov's Lolita sitting on his desk in front of him. Somehow that seems appropriate to the spirit of "Lord of the Flies".

8) It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World(1963)

And funny too. Everyone is in it and there are enough laughs for a hundred movies.

9) The Changeling(1980)

George C. Scott moves into a haunted mansion. Jacques Tourneur was a director who advocated keeping the monsters hidden, which is more frightening than the monsters you confront face to face. Kolchak the Nighstalker was a direct result of this school of horror movie.

10) The Usual Suspects(1993)

Brian Singer's clever, thoughtful movie, which harkens back to the time of the Maltese Falcon and Film Noir. You have to pay attention to the story or you will get lost. Kevin Spacey is wonderful in the starring role and is supported by a great story and a great supporting cast. I especially like the way "Dave Kujan" discovers who Keyser Soze is. The one thing missing from movies today is great writing. The Usual Suspects is proof that there are a few really good writers left, Christopher McQuarrie of the "Usual Suspects" is one of them. Brian Singer went from Directing "The Usual Suspects" to being Executive Producer for the wonderful "House MD".

11) The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca

Dashiell Hammett, wrote mysteries like Ernest Hemingway wrote short stories: he wrote masculine stories, with short succinct sentences, which are governed by their verbs and without flowery expository prose: he cut to the chase. Considered the grandfather of Film Noir, John Houston, Humphrey Bogart et al. created the greatest detective story with the most memorable cast in movie history.

Casablanca

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in a love story set in an exotic location with some of the best dialogue ever written. A movie that gets everything right.

Jackie Coogan and Trent "Junior" Durkin

2009-08-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

JACKIE COOGAN HURT; AUTO PLUNGE KILLS FATHER; 3 OTHERS.

JUNNIOR DURKIN AMONG DEAD IN CANYON TRAGEDY EAST OF SAN DIEGO; ELDER COOGAN DRIVES OFF ROAD TO AVERT HEAD ON COLLISION.

(By The United Press)
San Diego, May 4. -- Four men were killed and JACKIE COOGAN, 20 year old former boy film star, was injured tonight when an automobile in which COOGAN and his party were returning from a hunting trip into Mexico plunged off the road at high speed into a creek bed on the El Centro Highway, fifty miles east of here.
The dead were:
JOHN L. COOGAN, SR., father of the former boy actor.
JUNIOR DURKIN, 19 year old motion picture actor.
CHARLES JONES, foreman of the COOGAN Ranch, near here.
ROBERT HORNER, 25, Hollywood film writer.
JACKIE COOGAN was reported not seriously injured.
The San Diego County coroner at Pine Valley, where the dead and injured were brought, said the automobile left the road on a curve, plunged over a bank, and rolled over four times before it came to a stop in the bottom of the creek.
JACKIE COOGAN, bruised and shocked at the death of his father, said the automobile left the road in attempting to dodge another machine. COOGAN, SR., was driving.

Jumped Out.
"I crouched down in the seat as the car turned end over end twice," Young COOGAN said. "Then I straightened up and jumped out. I saw the automobile turn over two or three more times."
JACKIE said he seized the foot rest in the rumble seat and held on, riding with the car end over end.
DURKIN, who had been in pictures since early childhood, was riding with him in the rumble seat.
Their friendship started when DURKIN played the title role in Huckleberry Finn, and JACKIE took the part of Tom Sawyer in the same film. The partnership was seated in death when DURKIN lost his grip and was hurtled from the rumble seat to fall dead in the rocky creek bed.

Father Dies Later.
JACKIE'S father died shortly after the car smashed into the rocks. JACKIE, dazed and bruised, and his fater were the only survivors of the accident when passersby first arrived.
The elder COOGAN died of his injuries with his famous son by his side. The younger COOGAN was brought to the Pine Valley store, where he received treatment, but was found not to be seriously injured.
Postmaster JAMES RUSSELL of Pine Valley called in a nearby priest to comfort JACKIE.
JACKIE'S mother, and PATRICIA ELLIS, pretty young actress who has ofter been seen with the young actor, chartered a special airplane to fly to San Diego. They planned to proceed by car to Pine Valley.

Has Chest Injury.
DR. H. G. WESTPHAL, Glendale physician who flew to the scene with JACKIE'S mother and MISS ELLIS, reported that JACKIE suffered a chest injury, including two injured ribs, possibly broken, cuts and bruises. An ambulance was dispatched to Pine Valley to bring him to San Diego.
"They were traveling west on the highway," DR. WESTPHAL said JACKIE told him, "when an automobile which JACKIE said he thought he could identify approached from the opposite direction, on the center line of the highway, and swerved over."
"The other machine forced the COOGAN car from the highway. It swerved into an eight-foot ditch."
"JACKIE and JUNIOR DURKIN were in the rumble seat. JACKIE saw the other car swerve toward them. COOGAN, SR., lost control. When the car left the road it cut five heavy posts, turned over five times and crashed into the rocks."
"All but JACKIE were thrown out as the car landed in the creek bed."
"Young COOGAN picked himself up and went first to the unconscious form of his father. He dragged his father up to the roadside, then brought all the rest up.

Flags Motorist.
"JACKIE flagged down M. E. MAGEE of El Centro, a passing motorist. MAGEE had to drive thirty miles to the nearest physician. Before that doctor arrived, all the critically injured except JACKIE'S father were dead."
"MR. COOGAN died in his son's arms a moment after the physician arrived."
Deputy Coroner DAVE GERSHEN of San Diego County said the COOGAN automobile was traveling at a high rate of speed, "seventy miles an hour, at least."
He said that it skidded 100 feet on the pavement, 125 feet after it struck the fence and then hurtled into the creek bed.

Planned Weekend Party.
JACKIE COOGAN had planned to have a number of Hollywood friends as weekend guests at his ranch.
Among others who had planned to go were PATRICIA ELLIS, TOBY WING, with whom JACKIE'S name has been associated romantically, both film actresses, and WILLIAM JANNEY, juvenile film actor.
JACKIE went down alone Thursday and was followed Friday by DURKIN, HORNER, DURKIN'S two sisters, GRACE and GERTRUDE, and PAULA STONE, daughter of FRED STONE.

The Fresno Bee Republican California 1935-05-05

Jackie Coogan and the missing $4 Million Dollars

2009-08-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

Shortly before he died Jackie Coogan was interviewed by a British Magazine. What struck me was the last words Jackie said. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I have a beautiful wife, wonderful kids and grandkids and the best friends, who could ask for anything more."
A lot of people would be amazed by that. Jackie was the world's first child star, appearing in "The Kid" with Charlie Chaplin in 1918. During the 20's Jackie's movies were actually making more money than Rudolf Valentino's, Douglas Fairbanks' and Mary Pickford's were.
I've been looking for a picture of Arthur Bernstein, Jackie Coogan's step-father. I finally found one in a story from Life Magazine 1938. I had seen a picture of Jackie with his Mom and Dad before, but I wanted to see a picture of the guy who was driving a new Rolls Royce while his stepson drove a used Ford, which he had purchased with his stepson's money, of course. Not a memorable face, but unforgettable for what he did. When Jackie's Dad, Jack, was killed in a traffic accident(which also killed Jackie's best friend, Trent "Junior" Durkin) near Pine Valley, California, Jackie was worth $4 Million Dollars. When Jackie's Mom, married his agent, Arthur Bernstein, 18 months later, he was still worth $4 Million Dollars. After giving excuse after excuse, Jackie won a subsequent lawsuit(1936) in which the settlement was half of the money that was left, around $136,000.00. About half of that went to pay off his debts.
How much money was $4 million 1935 dollars in today's money?
$100,000,000.00, that's $100 Million Dollars, which his mom and step-father blew through in 3 years through extravagant spending, traveling, partying, bad investments and, purportedly, drugs and booze. Amazing!
Worse than anything they did was what they said. You have to read it for yourself. They said that Jackie may have earned it, but the money belonged to them. Clarence Darrow once said that he could tell the intelligence of his clients by the amount they said. The less they said, he assumed, the more intelligent they were.
Jackie said that he was the luckiest guy in the world. I don't know about that, but the one thing of which I have no doubt, is that his wife, kids, grandkids and friends were. And maybe us too, because we had Jackie in our lives.

Rico Carty

2007-12-22T03:10:00.000-08:00

In 1969 I saved box tops from Post Raisin Bran and got a free ticket to an Atlanta Braves Baseball Game. With the passage of so many years, I don't even remeber who won or loss. But there is one thing that I remember.
In 1967, Rico Carty was struck down with Tuberculosis. He had begun his career with the Braves in 1964 and showed great promise, batting .330 and finishing second to Roberto Clemente in the batting championship. Everyone assumed that his career was over after contracting tuberculosis, but they failed to take into account his character and determination. When he returned to the Braves in 1969, he batted .342, but 1970 was even better, Rico batted .366 and won the batting championship(the highest batting average since 1957 when Ted Williams batted .388).
After the game, some of the players "hung around" to sign autographs, for us kids. Some signed autographs like atomatons, without comment and encouragment, most of them left only after a few minutes; some signed politely and moved on to the next kid as quickly as they could, they also left early; a few engaged in actual conversations, but eventually they also left; only one stayed until every kid who wanted an autograph got one. He was Rico Carty.
He also engaged us in real conversations. If you played baseball, he wanted to know what position you played, but also what your grades were. If you didn't play baseball, he wanted to know why. He preached a variation of: "Mens sana in corpore sano," to have a healthy mind you had to have a healthy body. Even through his think Spanish accent and his Dominican Republic dialect we knew what he was saying, because he was speaking our language.
When he got to me, he asked whether I played baseball or not. I was kind of "geeky" looking so I guess my atheletic prowess was open to some doubt. I wasn't offended, because you knew he really cared. There wasn't a false note, nor an ounce of phoniness in Rico. He was what he was. And that was what made him so wonderful to us.
I said neighborhood games mostly. He said that there was nothing wrong with that. His happiest memories were playing baseball with his friends as a kid; by High School, Baseball had become a career. He missed those games from his childhood. He told me that there was nothing wrong with reading books, but as soon as I got through with one, I should call my friends and get a game started.
Rico Carty was never a star, he was one of us: he was just a good guy, who became a great baseball player. That was to be expected, because we knew that he already was a great man. But, more importantly, as that last kid left got his autograph, we knew, which was better, that he was a good man. And being called good is a far better complement than being called great.

2007-12-09T04:59:00.000-08:00

Imagine by John Lennon

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

I was at work one day a few years ago and it was kind of slow, somehow the subject of heroes came up and I mentioned Carl Sagan and John Lennon. Carl Sagan because he said something which has stayed with me since my teens: "Only people seeking the truth find it; People who know the truth, never do". John Lennon because he spoke for peace before it was popular and was attacked for it. It is easy to do the right thing when everyone agrees with you. Courage is doing the right thing when no one agrees with you.

Both of these of men possess that courage that John F. Kennedy spoke of, Grace under pressure.

I was attacked for my choice by several very religious people with whom I worked; they were relentless in their attacks and, what was more, they offered no quarter. I remembered Carl Sagan's words and asked for none. I stick up for my friends and I don't apologize for them when they haven't done anything wrong.
I must have been listening. My Nana always said that you can how intelligent someone is by how much they listen. Intelligent people always listen more than they talk.

The Original idea may have come from Henry David Thoreau, but the second Greatest Attorney in American History, Clarence Darrow, gave us the quote which comes down to us:
"If you are right, you are a majority of one."

Candle on The Water

2007-12-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

Candle On the Water

I'll be your candle on the water
My love for you will always burn
I know you're lost and drifting,
But the clouds are lifting,
Don't give up, you have somewhere to turn.

I'll be your candle on the water
Till every wave is warm and bright
My soul is there beside you,
Let this candle guide you
Soon you'll see a golden stream of light.

A cold and friendless tide has found you
Don't let the stormy darkness pull you down
I'll paint a ray of hope around you
Circling in the air, lighted by a prayer.
I'll be your candle on the water

This flame inside of me will grow
Keep holding on, you'll make it
Here's my hand, so take it
Look for me reaching out to show
As sure as rivers flow,

I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go

Written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn

One of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard was in a movie called Pete's Dragon, made by Walt Disney in the 1970's. The song was "Candle On The Water". I bought the album and played it so much that I eventually wore it out. I would tape record this song and send it anonymously to friends of mine who were having a rough time of it. I always figured that it was better to find out that you had an anonymous friend, than to find out you had an anonymous enemy. I think some of the most beautiful expressions of love and hope are included in this songs lyrics.

An interesting footnote: when Pete's Dragon came out on video, I bought a copy of it. I remember it was very expensive: $69, a lot of money at the time. Can you imagine how stunned I was when I got home and found that Disney had cut the song when they released it on video. Sometimes people can be incredibly shallow..., even at Walt Disney. But then again, when The Wizard of Oz was released some executives at MGM felt that it ran too long, so the first thing they wanted to cut was "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". When Breakfast At Tiffany's was released, an audience test said that movie was too long too. So the studio executives wanted to cut Audrey Hepburn singing Moon River. That was stupid. Marnie Nixon sang for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. And certainly Marnie Nixon has a beautiful voice. But in Breakfast At Tiffany's it the was fact that Holly couldn't sing that made the song beautiful. It was about love, ideas and feelings, not talent. We all have those, whether we can sing or not. Audrey Hepburn gave one of the most wonderful performances of all time. I wouldn't change anything. I'm glad that someone had the common sense to make the argument; and we are all the better for it.

If

2007-12-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

The Truth is hardly ever where you look for it, but always where you find it.

2007-12-08T04:44:00.000-08:00

"Awed by nature ...and a little odd by nature"

Borrowed from Rich Blundell, but oh so true.

Jack Bresnahan signed my Sandy Springs Annual in the crease of the binding "I bet I'm the first guy to sign your crack." To return the favor, I signed "Life Sux and then you die." We both told the truth.

Carl Sagan

2007-12-08T04:25:00.000-08:00

The universe is neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.

Only people seeking the truth find it;
People who know the truth, never do.

Carl Sagan

A Prayer written by Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanov

2007-12-08T04:12:00.000-08:00

Give patience, Lord, to us Thy children
In these dark, stormy days to bear
The persecution of our people,
The torture falling to our share.

Give strength, Just God, to us who need it,
The persecutors to forgive,
Our heavy, painful cross to carry
And thy great meekness to achieve.

When we are plundered and insulted
In days of mutinous unrest
We turn for help to thee, Christ-Saviour,
That we may stand the bitter test.

Lord of the world, God of Creation,
Give us Thy blessing through our prayer
Give peace of heart to us, O Master,
This hour of utmost dread to bear.

And on the threshold of the grave
Breathe power divine into our clay
That we, Thy children, may find strength
In meekness for our foes to pray.

A poem found in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg inserted in one of Olga's books and written in her own hand after her execution on July 18, 1918 by Yakob Yurovsky on orders of Yekaterinburg Soviet Leader Sverdlov, Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin. Found by forces under the command of the Commander of the White Russian Forces under Admiral Kolchak.

Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov

2007-12-08T01:48:00.000-08:00

With the recent recovery of the bodies of Alexei and Maria Romanov, I was reminded how I have always believed that Anna Anderson was Anastasia Romanov. Well, it turned out that I was wrong. In fact, it was Grand Duchess Maria Niklovena Romanov who was missing, not Anastasia. I don't feel foolish about it. Looking for something good from something awful is never something for which to apologize.
Anna Anderson and her handlers were merely among the greatest frauds in all of history, certainly not worth anymore consideration than that.
I guess that I wanted to believe that someone survived that awful day in July 1918.
But there is one thing that I can believe in: Nicholas and Alexandra may have been horrible as Autocrats of all the Russias, but as human beings and parents there has never been anyone better.
It reminds me how Trotsky lied about Lenin's knowledge of the massacre of the Romanovs. We now know that Trotsky, Sverdlov and Lenin gave direct orders to Yakob Yurovsky to kill the family.
In my mind there is nothing good that you can say about somebody who would do that.

Ask Not for Whom The Bell Tolls

2007-11-22T05:14:00.000-08:00

"No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."John Donne (1572-1631)

Dedicated to Wes Steiner, smarter than anyone gave him credit for having been, but everyone knew that he was as good a friend as anyone could have. I remember and miss you to this day, thirty years later.

Death Be Not Proud

2007-11-17T03:52:00.000-08:00

Death Be Not Proud

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

by John Donne/1572-1631

2007-11-11T22:38:00.000-08:00

ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

Robert Frost

Meaning

2007-11-09T02:10:00.001-08:00

“Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.”

Sylvia Plath

Lost at Sea

2007-11-06T03:53:00.000-08:00

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.

I remember seeing "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1962 when I was five. When I started school, I remember looking for a biography of TE Lawrence. Of course, what I found was a childish, simplistic, sanitized version of his life, but it still kept my interest and I read it straight through. I remembered this quote from that time.

Carl Sagan's Tools to use when in search of the truth.

The following are suggested as tools for testing arguments and detecting fallacious or fraudulent arguments:

Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the facts
Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.
Arguments from authority carry little weight (in science there are no "authorities").
Spin more than one hypothesis - don't simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.
Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours.
Quantify, wherever possible.
If there is a chain of argument every link in the chain must work.
"Occam's razor" - if there are two hypothesis that explain the data equally well choose the simpler.
Ask whether the hypothesis can, at least in principle, be falsified (shown to be false by some unambiguous test). In other words, is it testable? Can others duplicate the experiment and get the same result?

Additional issues are
Conduct control experiments - especially "double blind" experiments where the person taking measurements is not aware of the test and control subjects.
Check for confounding factors - separate the variables.
Common fallacies of logic and rhetoric
Ad hominem - attacking the arguer and not the argument.
Argument from "authority".
Argument from adverse consequences (putting pressure on the decision maker by pointing out dire consequences of an "unfavourable" decision).
Appeal to ignorance (absence of evidence is not evidence of absence).
Special pleading (typically referring to god's will).
Begging the question (assuming an answer in the way the question is phrased).
Observational selection (counting the hits and forgetting the misses).
Statistics of small numbers (such as drawing conclusions from inadequate sample sizes).
Misunderstanding the nature of statistics (President Eisenhower expressing astonishment and alarm on discovering that fully half of all Americans have below average intelligence!)
Inconsistency (e.g. military expenditures based on worst case scenarios but scientific projections on environmental dangers thriftily ignored because they are not "proved").
Non sequitur - "it does not follow" - the logic falls down.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc - "it happened after so it was caused by" - confusion of cause and effect.
Meaningless question ("what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?).
Excluded middle - considering only the two extremes in a range of possibilities (making the "other side" look worse than it really is).
Short-term v. long-term - a subset of excluded middle ("why pursue fundamental science when we have so huge a budget deficit?").
Slippery slope - a subset of excluded middle - unwarranted extrapolation of the effects (give an inch and they will take a mile).
Confusion of correlation and causation.
Straw man - caricaturing (or stereotyping) a position to make it easier to attack..
Suppressed evidence or half-truths.
Weasel words - for example, use of euphemisms for war such as "police action" to get around limitations on Presidential powers. "An important art of politicians is to find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the public"

Carl Sagan's Baloney Detector