Global warming with increasing ice sheet

The global warming frenzy is being contradicted by nature.  The arctic ice sheet is 60% larger in August 2013 compared to the same period 2012.

This brings into question the legitimacy of the climate models predicting constant warming of the climate. We are constantly being fed with "propaganda" told to drive hybrid cars, tiny cars, travel by train or not travel at all. For the benefit of the climate. We are told to put ethanol in our gas tanks instead of gasoline to minimize global warming.

It is my experience that when I look out and the house is surrounded by five feet of snow - it is cold. It is also my experience that when the lakes and the seas freeze - it is cold. Scientists resort to computer models to explain that the climate i warming up. I don't need any computer models to realize that it is cold and not warm. If I look out and my roof is covered with snow, I know it is cold.

The Arctic has more ice then ever. That's because it is getting colder. It is not compatible with a warmer climate to have 60% more ice in the Arctic. Contrary to to the scaremongers it seems like the climate is actually cooling down!

Detention for the School Inspectorate

HRH King Carl XVI Gustaf and the Queen with Prince Carl Philip who attended Lundsbergs boarding school.

The decision by the Swedish School Inspectorate's to shut down Lundsbergs boarding school was overturned today by a Swedish administrative court. 

The Court agreed with my opinion that the School Inspectorate's action was lacking legal support and that there is no indications that the study environment is endangering the students. How is it even possible that the School Inspectorate and Director Ann-Marie Begler have been working with the inspection of Lundsberg boading school for months if not even years without understanding the legal framework they have to abide to?

This means that the students were traumatized and missed a whole week of education and the principal was fired for no reason. My rule is never act in panic, never act out of fear and never act by coercion. I always live by that.

Skolinspektionen får bakläxa

Kungen och Drottningen med Prins Carl Philip vid Lundsberg där Carl Philip var elev.

Som jag tidigare skrivit så är Skolinspektionens beslut att stänga Lundsberg ett dåligt och lagvidrigt beslut, som endast åstadkommit en försämring av utbildningen för eleverna på skolan. Skolinspektionen inte har laglig auktoritet att utöva tillsyn över elevernas boende. Nu går Förvaltningsrätten på samma linje som mig. Förvaltningsrätten skriver:

"Vid den bedömningen konstaterar förvaltningsrätten att utredningen inte ger stöd för att utbildningen eller skolverksamheten innebär en risk för elevernas säkerhet."

Ann-Marie Begler och Skolinspektionen har helt enkelt gjort fel, de har agerat emot lagen. Professor Olle Lundin, professor i förvaltningsrätt tror att ärendet kommer överklagas till högsta instans. Det återstår att se.

Jag tror inte att Ann-Marie Begler ställer sin plats till förfogande, så som hon borde göra efter detta spektakel. Det finns väl anledning att utgå ifrån att den inkompetens som hittills uppvisats knappast helt plötsligt kan frambringa något vettigt beslut i den frågan. Hon har utövat tillsyn över Lundsberg i månader utan att förstå det lagliga ramverket hon har att hålla sig till. Kanske om Ann-Marie Begler själv hade gått på Lundsberg, så hade hon haft den nödvändiga förmågan att utföra sitt arbete på rätt sätt.

Lundsbergs styrelse agerade lite väl halsstarrigt och förhastat om än hedervärt när man ställde sina platser till förfogande och sparkat rektorn utan att först invänta om Skolinspektionens agerande var lagenligt över huvudtaget. Det handlar om att ta ansvar. Ann-Marie Begler har mycket att lära av detta agerande av Lundsbergs styrelse som utgör ett praktiskt exempel på den "värdegrund och kultur" som Ann-Marie Begler finner så motbjudande. En sak som man kanske kan lära sig av det här är att inte agera omedelbart innan rättsläget på grund av myndighetsbeslut är klargjort .

Stolpe ut för skolinspektionen

Skolinspektionen skjuter sig själv i foten. Direktör Begler beslöt att stänga skolan, stort drama, för barnens skull och allt det där.  

Det bisarra beslutet blir ännu mer löjeväckande när det påstådda syftet med den dramatiska åtgärden av Skolinspektionen och Direktör Begler omintetgjorts av beslutet i sig själv. 

Studenterna bjuds nu in att studera på en gymnasieskola i Karlstad och får bo kvar på internatet på Lundsberg. Skolinspektionen har nämligen ingen auktoritet att att utöva tillsyn över själva internatverksamheten. 

För att förtydliga. Anledningen till att Skolinspektionen stängde Lundsberg var för att säkerställa elevernas säkerhet i den s.k. internatmiljön. Det var ingenting fel med själva utbildningsmiljön på skolan. Faktum är att de akademiska resultaten på Lundsberg är utmärkta.

När allt är sagt och gjort så är resultatet av Skolinspektionens och Direktör Beglers godtyckliga maktutövande att:

1. Studenterna fortfarande lever och bor i den internatmiljö med "värderingar och kultur" som var så anstötlig för Skolinspektionen och Direktör Begler. 
2. Studenterna bussas till en annan skola med sämre akademiska resultat. 

Internatet är alltså intakt.  Den enda skillnaden är att Skolinspektionen och Direktör Begler lyckats försämra utbildningen för eleverna på Lundsberg. Stolpe ut med andra ord.

Big drama, bad decision, think again

The Swedish School Inspectorate (SI) shoots itself in the foot. Director Begler decided to close the school by force, big drama. "Save the children" and all that.

The bizarre decision becomes even more apparently ludicrous as the purpose of the dramatic actions by the School Inspectorate and Director Begler on a mission is thwarted by the mistakes of the SI.

The students are now invited to study at a high school in Karlstad and allowed to stay at Lundbergs boarding school.  The "boarding" is not within the SI and Director Begler's authority to shut down.

This takes some explaining. The reason the SI shut down operation at Lundsberg was to secure the "safety" of the children in the "boarding school" environment. There was nothing wrong with the study situation at the school, in fact the academic results of the school, i.e. the "class room" results are excellent.

When all is said and done the results of the arbitrary power exhibition of the SI and director Begler is that:
1. The students are still living in the boarding environment with the "values and culture" that was objectionable to SI and Ms. Begler.
2. The students are bussed to another school for classes with less impressive academic results.

The boarding school is intact. The only difference is that the SI and its director have succeeded in deceasing the quality of the education for the students.

"The Beast" is in Stockholm

President Obama is visiting Stockholm and so is his famous car "the Beast." The President is having dinner with the Swedish prime minister Mr. Reinfeldt at the Prime minister's residence, the Sagerska Palace in Stockholm. During the Presidential dinner the Senate Committee approved military action in Syria.

       The Beast in Stockholm, in the rear the royal palace.

         The Sagerska Palace in Stockholm, the Prime minister's residence.

                              Mr. Reinfeldt and President Obama in Stockholm.

       President Obama will also meet with HRH King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden.

Peculiar facts: Prime minister Reinfeldt's great-great grandfather was an african American reportedly from New York Mr. John Hood, he sometimes apparently also claimed to be from Borneo and had a circus in Sweden in the 1880's.

              Mr. John Hood in the 1880's, Mr. Reinfeldt's great-great grandfather.

The road to hell is paved by good intentions

I have previously written a piece on evil.  I believe that the problem with "evil" is that it always cloaks it self in good intentions.
The communists brutal regimes around the world was rationalized by concern for the poor - that is good right? A good man is his brother's keeper, every body knows that. The Nazis was motivated by far reaching concerns for the German people - the German at least  seemed to think that was a pretty good idea at the time.

Now these ideas have hit rock bottom. Communism more or less committed suicide as did Nazism. Its a common mistake to think that totalitarian regimes doesn't mind the public opinion. In fact nothing could be more wrong. Why else did both the Nazis and the Commies spend endless resources on propaganda? Mass-meetings, education and indoctrination of the youth. Nothing is more important for a dictator than the approval of his people, there are just different ways to get it - that's all.

Contemporary politics have found the new Columbi egg of public policy - the magic words are - "It's for the sake of the children."

The Swedish government closes Lundbergs boarding school "for the safety of the children." In Sweden parents that doesn't take their children to the communal day care are suspicious, because the dogma has it that the daycare "is for the good of the children." When Swedish authorities kidnapped Domenic from his parents when they were moving to India, they did it "for the children", i.e. for Domenic, when they put Domenic's father in jail for wanting to spend time with his son it was "for Domenic's sake." The authorities were concerned that his parents taught him wrong values. Now Ms. Begler has the same concerns about Lundsbergs boarding school.

One might think that the children at Lundsberg would now if they are in any danger or abused in any way. When the whole school, all the students, say that they love their school and want to stay in their school, which has one of the best academic records of any school in Sweden by the way, the school Inspectorate only retorts that they do this "for the sake of the children." Never mind that the children lives at the school and has no way to go, at least not on such short notice (24 hours).

Ms. Begler, Director of the School Inspectorate cares for the children and that they are taught the right values.

The freedoms of all are constantly being encroached by reason of "it's for the children." Well here's an novel idea - why don't we let the parents raise their children? How about that?

I think every parent reacts if he or she thinks that their child is attending a school that is unsafe, teaches weird values or otherwise can be deemed to be unsound. It is also my experience that when people pay for something, they tend to be more demanding for quality and adequate results as compared to when people doesn't pay. This is why Hyundai owners always are more content customers than BMW buyers, it has very little to do with the cars and more to do with the expectations of the consumer.

Is there any person out there that honestly believes that the approximately 400 parents of the students at Lundsberg who pays appx $30.000,00 a year for their kids at this school, would accept that this school would act in any way - any way at all,  that would warrant that the government rush in and by force close it down, for the sake of the children?

It's ludicrous.

Lundsbergs boarding school is an excellent school

Lundsbergs boarding school is without doubt one of the best schools in Sweden. A five minute research session on internet with access to public educational statistics is enlightening. Lundbergs boarding school can show a stunning 93.3 % success rate for the graduating elementary classes according to the prevailing measurement criterion.

Students at Lundsberg, whom the School Inspectorate have "saved" from the "abusive" and non conformist value-environment which they are the victims off.

I'm a father, I have been a youth coach in martial arts for many years. I know that kids are like open books. One thing I've learned and this never fails - unhappy children cannot do squat. They can't study, they can't focus, they get bad results. It's not exactly rocket science. A 93.3% success rate tells me two things.

1. The closing of the school by the School Inspectorate (SI) based on alleged lack of safety is nonsense.
2. At least 93.3% of the students at Lundsbergs elementary program are happy campers.

One would naturally think that a government agency like the School Inspectorate would take their assignment seriously and really focus on the schools that fail miserably in their most basic educational duties, like teaching the students Swedish, math and English. If I was the director of this institution with the intimidating English name reminiscent of some ominous government agency in the mind of George Orwell I would bring the Inspectorate's attention elsewhere. There's plenty of work in many other schools in Sweden.

In Sigtuna, the communal schools only succeed in giving 70.7% of the students the most basic educational basis necessary to be able to go on to high school. 30% of the students have failed in Swedish. That is a pretty grim reality considering that the schools are in Sweden.

In Stockholm, the capitol of Sweden, the Rågsvedsskolans elementary program only succeeds in giving a shocking 31.8% of the students the necessary educational basis to be able to go on to high school. That is absolutely flabbergasting; 60% of the kids in Rågsvedsskolan graduate from 9th grade practically illiterate.

              This is a picture of Rågsvedsskolan. An example of a school that upholds the government endorsed values and culture according to the School Inspectorate and where the SI don't think that student safety is an issue.

The School Inspectorate spends millions on investigations and a media circus to defame the Lundsbergs school, an excellent school with happy students and a success-rate of 93.3%. This also effectively sabotages seniors' at Lundsbergs boarding school's possibilities to maximize their grades and their academic futures since they now must move to a school where their academic results are unknown.

Not only that, they choose to punish studious students collectively to set an example against punitive traditions(!?),

The ugly face of Swedish socio-fascism

Sweden's troublesome path towards totalitarianism and intellectual conformism becomes apparent in yet another showdown of bizarre government policy. Approximately 200 students at the boarding school "Lundsberg's" in Sweden are at the moment in shock after have been informed at a press conference that the school is forced to close. This due to government directive and the students have 24 hours to clear the premises.

                       Lundberg's boarding school, a provider of high quality education in Sweden for generations, called Sweden's Eton, now forced to close for the terrible crime of non conformity.

Ms. Ann-Marie Begler, the director of the Swedish School Inspectorate, the government agency set to control the quality and safety of schools and that they fulfill their legal obligations, stated as a good Maoist that the school is forced out of business because:
1. The school doesn't uphold the culture and the values it must and
2. The school has not been able to change its culture and values and
3. Students that attend the school also live there (?).

What has brought this conformist fury down on this excellent school is an accident during initiation of two students where they got burned by irons. Now 200 students have been made homeless and have 24 hours to get out.

This is when the outlandish and bizarre consequences of Swedish government agency lingo becomes apparent. At the press conference Director Begler on the question where these students are going to go now, stated that :

"They can call the municipalities they belong to, since they are by law required to provide a place in the communal schools for these students."

Mind you now, this is a boarding school. The students are primarily children to parents of the so called elite in Sweden, they live in Dubai, Hong Kong, New York etc. Others are students that are placed in the school with the help of the authorities. Some students are in witness protection programs, victims of honor crimes, rape and so on but also victims of severe bullying in their home schools.

Yet other students are not even Swedish. There are three schools such as this in Sweden. There is SSHL which is located my home town Sigtuna and which my daughter attended, there is SSHL's sister school in Gränna and there is Lundberg's. It is not unusual that foreign parents place their children in one of these schools, much like what is the situation with the boarding schools in Switzerland and other European countries. Who are these students going to call? Their parents in Peking? Can they even arrange for something within 24 hours? The students organization has stated in a press release that they are in shock. I can relate to them, the boarding school is in the middle of no-where, surrounded by woods, where are they going to go?

This decision is nothing more than a political attack from the Swedish socio-fascist establishment in this instance represented by the department of education and minister Jan Björklund. Mr. Björklund thinks little of diversity. He has stated that he wants to close down these boarding schools altogether, one down two to go. His outspoken aim is conformity. In an interview (its in Swedish) on homeschooling he stated that he "cannot understand why one would make exception when some parents say - "now we want to do this our selves, we don't want to attend the mandatory school" I cannot understand that idea." This policy is also clearly implemented by the administrative supreme court of Sweden denying a Jewish family the right to educate their children in accordance with their faith. Perhaps WWII is already too far away.

              Minister Jan Björklund, the most current face of Swedish socio-fascism and conformist dogma

The motivation for closing the boarding school which is said to be to secure the "safety of the students" is nothing but a lame cover. Seriously, if Ms. Begler were concerned about school children's' safety this is probably the last school in Sweden that would need attention. Some examples, in St: Olof school in Sigtuna a boy stabbed a classmate several times with a knife. The school was not closed, not only that not a single person demanded that it should. In Sävar school in Umeå a 15 year old boy tried to strangle a classmate and beat him in the face - no one demanded the school to close down. In Nave school in Norrköping a 15 year old student was beat with punches in the face, shortly after another student was also assaulted - no one demanded that the school close down. Five students at Westerlundska high school covered a student in electrical tape forced him to shower and then dragged him trough the entire school. They filmed everything to be able to post it on internet - no one demanded the school to close down. Not to mention the epidemic of assaults on female students and rapes in schools in Sweden and were female students are systematically harassed, called names, degraded based on their gender and constantly in fear for assaults and sexual harassment. As far as I know, no school so far has been closed in Sweden due to systematic sexual harassment of female students.

If initiation is such a huge problem in society, then they should also close the universities, sport clubs and lets not forget the armed forces. Close them all, they have initiation rites.

Also, as in most civilized countries Sweden claims to have outlawed collective punishment. Not so when the "offenses" at hand is a different socio-cultural value system than that which is endorsed and condoned by the Swedish ministry of education and minister Björklund.

To get to the bottom with these cultural dissidents - all 200 of them age 13 -18, the government in a brutal exposition of arbitrary power have ordered all of them to clear the premises within 24 hours. The have been directed to report to their designated communal school.




                                 

Gorilla that rocks

My daughters, Anna Grace and Jeanne benefitting from the safety glass barrier between them and the gorilla at Washington National Zoo.

At Kolmården Zoo in Sweden there has been an incident with a gorilla throwing rocks at the visitors. A woman was hit in the head and was brought to the hospital with a bleeding forehead. In the Swedish daily DN, the Zoo director Marjorie Castro said to have claimed it was the first incident of its kind. In another Swedish paper Aftonbladet, several other visitors are coming forward claiming they also have been hit by rocks thrown by the gorillas. A couple of them doesn't want to come forward with their full names.

Maybe it is time to put up the kind of safety barrier that they have at Washington Zoo at Kolmården Zoo also, in order to ensure the safety of visitors. Especially for children so that they can enjoy and explore these fantastic animals close up without risking getting hurt.

My daughters were sitting just inches from the gorilla who apparently was enjoying their company. It allowed them to safely return home after a wonderful experience, instead of being traumatized.

Fukushima is a sleeping disaster

As I wrote in my blog over two years ago Japanese authorities were sugar coating the reality about the Fukushima disaster. Now BBC is reporting that Fukushima is "much worse than we were led to believe."

The problem is cultural. Ask a Japanese for something and he won't say "no", it's considered rude, he will say "it is difficult." All Japanese knows it means "no" but westerners don't.

So when the Japanese authorities in 2011 stated that something did not go according to plan, it's code for "everything is going south."

It brings into question how this disaster will affect the rest of the world, radiation spreads and is increased in the food chain causing long lasting hazardous effects. (Updated Sep. 05, 2013) South Korean regulators have banned the import of 50 fishery products from eight Japanese prefectures because of lingering concerns of radiation contamination from the crippled Fukushima power plant.

Spicing up the cave

                              Can you pass me the Garlic Mustard please?

6000 years ago people where putting spices in their food. Considering that people 6000 years ago pretty much were like people are today minus the smart-phones I'm not that surprised although its very interesting to find out what kind of spices they used.

                        Garlic Mustard, a must in every prehistoric cuisine

PLOS ONE reports that Garlic Mustard has been found in pottery 6000 years old  in Denmark and northern Germany of today and since it has little nutritional value, they assume it was added to the food for taste, as if prehistoric chefs would have any idea about nutritional values, it's not like their food was USDA branded.

                  Mammoth in coriander and Garlic Mustard sauce for dinner

An alternate explanation except for the obvious that the people of northern Europe had a taste for Garlic Mustard would be that it was used for ceremonial or religious purposes. It is not unusual that food is connected with religion or deities. Apple, lamb, wine, cows, corn, bread etc...

Apparently the oldest find of the use of spices is from Israel where people 23 000 years ago enjoyed coriander in their food. Basically gourmet cooking can trace its roots back to Israel then. Sorry France, but 23 000 years head start is a pretty convincing argument.

Who Wants to Live Forever?

If a fountain of youth existed, would you bathe in it? That's what Drew Magary prods us to consider in his novel The Postmortal. A "cure"for aging is discovered wherein your genetic code can be altered, essentially freezing you at a certain age. You can still be killed, but you won't age.

The Postmortal was the book that all incoming first-year students were to read before arriving on campus this weekend. Yesterday morning we heard Drew deliver a wonderful talk about the book to all 5,000 or so freshmen. He talked of owning our regrets, learning from them, and making the most of our life despite (or because of?) the "mistakes" we make along the way. Afterward I gathered with 25 new students to discuss the book.

What would an ageless life be like? How would it affect your relationships, platonic, familial, and romantic? How would you approach work and leisure? Would it change how you act on your interests or passions?

As I often do, I turn to the musician-philosophers to help me think through such weight matters. Freddie Mercury and Brian May ask, "Who wants to live forever?"

And Danny Elfman answers, "No one lives forever!"

The book is a provocative reminder to live in the present and make the most of each day. The Grim Reaper may chase you, but the fun is in making the most of your life while outrunning him.

Who wants to live forever?

8 year old Gabrielle Williams doesn't age. Her tiny body, just about the size of a baby's, might hold the secrets of immortality. Dr. Richard Walker working on decoding the genes for aging is reported in the Swedish paper Aftonbladet to have said that if he can find the gene that stops the aging in Gabby Williams' body, it will be possible to stop aging altogether.

But who wants to live forever? The newspaper's own gallup pole on the issue reveals that a majority would prefer not to live forever (50.9%) and that just over 40% would prefer to be able to live forever. Really? Forever is a mighty long time.

If you are going to live forever there is a whole bunch of problems that you must address that will be new. For instance, how will you tackle family dinners? Were do you draw the line. I assume that grandchildren will be welcome and great grandchildren can still be doable even today. But is a thanksgiving dinner with 8 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and 70 great-great-grandchildren even feasible, and this is not counting cousins and what not, it's impossible!

Another problem is availability, are everybody getting their genes fixed at age 20 to stop aging or just a lucky few, and what then? Are we going to have an ageless elite relaxing in several hundred years old comfortable settings with no rush, were's the rush when you can live forever right? The rest wondering what's it like? That seems like a very strange future to say the least.

It is good to cure diseases, no one wants to get alzheimer's or dementia and a cure for these illnesses will mean so much for so many people and their loved ones. But history is a stern teacher, when there is something that can be abused - there is a risk it will end up being abused and usually the consequences are dire.

Move-in Day: The Annual Ritual Marking the Start of the School Year

Move-in day at college. What a scene. I remember mine well: my mom and dad with me at the University of Utah at good old Austin Hall (may she rest in peace). While my dad helped me bring in the stuff we had just hauled across the country from New Hampshire, my mom scrubbed the hell out of every nook and cranny in my dorm room.

This weekend students moved into campus housing at USC. As I have in past years I volunteered for a shift as a move-in helper. While I hope I was helpful to those students for whom I carried up a few boxes, I actually get something myself out of this experience. There is a sense of renewal in seeing the excitement of these new students move into the freshmen dorms (oh, I’m sorry, I mean the “first-year student residence halls”).  It reminds me of the excitement (and nervousness) I felt all those years ago.

This move-in ritual has likely been repeated since students started moving to college. In the novel, The Diary of a Freshman (published in 1900) the protagonist, Tommy Wood, moves into a boarding room (after his mother insists on them checking on five different options) in Cambridge because he didn’t get a room inside Harvard Yard. He frets over this because, "I had the idea that if you didn't live in one of the buildings owned by the college you wouldn't feel, somehow, as if you 'belonged.'"His first days are filled with getting oriented to college life and to his new town. As I watched students trying to assemble new pieces of furniture to add to their diminutive dorm rooms I thought of Tommy trying to help his neighbor, Duggie, assemble his new bed that had been delivered. "We tried of about half an hour to make the bed stand up. It looked simple enough..." but, well you can imagine the rest. 

Tommy's mother helps clean his room even and moves his bed away from the window so he won’t catch cold. As soon as she leaves to catch the train home, he moves the bed back so he can see the goings on of his new town.

I'm sure lots of new students were moving their beds back to where they wanted as soon as they saw mom and dad's tail lights pulling out of the parking lot.

Writing A New Chapter

The Book of Life is made up of a series of chapters. Today is Faculty Reporting Day at USC, which means it is the first day of the Fall Semester for faculty. You know, the day we return from our long, leisurely sojourn at our summer cabins on Golden Pond (where's that promised sarcasm font when I need it?).

So, today is the start of a new chapter, not just because it marks a new academic year, but because of the significance of this year. The past chapter was full of a lot of changes (my divorce was finalized, for example) and this next one holds its own set of opportunities and challenges, namely, as it is the year I apply for tenure. Of course, you can't start completely tabula rasa with each new chapter because the contents of the previous chapters provide context to the next one, but you can make choices about its contents and tone.

"Solsbury Hill" is a song Peter Gabriel wrote when he was making a transition from one chapter (lead singer of Genesis) to a new one (a solo career). It is a very meaningful song to me about the transitions we make in life. How perfect is it that this live version of the song folds "Ode to Joy," from my favorite symphony, into the ending? Pretty perfect, methinks, because that's what I hope this next chapter has a lot of: Joy.

"I'll show them what the smile on my face meant..." 

My wife, the only rightful heir of Mr. Elvis Presley

Many people, friends as well as strangers ask me how Lisa’s lawsuit is going? I have received quite a lot of inquiries to my blog. Now, naturally since it is not my lawsuit I don’t have all the facts, but there are some things that I can share. It is also something that I would like to share with my readers that have been a steady and returning crowd to my blog. I want to thank all the people that continue to give their unconditional love and support.

There are some true good friends out there and a whole bunch of true Elvis fans that can understand the truth. I am also grateful for my decision to bring this up on my blog so that I could be blessed with the knowledge that there are many decent and loving people out there. A true gift, and such a positive feedback that would be a comfort to anybody engaged in this important task that I have had the fortune to be a part of, and that I am grateful for every day I can partake in.

The lawsuit is now in its second year. The opposing party has tried just about every trick in the book to get of the hook, but guess what? They are in a very tight spot.

Turns out that the estate of Elvis Presley only has one defense, and that is that Lisa is too late!!! Yeah right! Like that’s gonna fly!

I have actually read court documents were they seriously claim that Lisa should have filed her lawsuit within four years of her kidnapping to Sweden!! That would mean that she would, as a victim of this heinous crime, have been required to file a lawsuit when she was 13 at the latest. I wonder if the young women that was kidnapped in Cleveland and locked in a house for ten years also only had 4 years to make their case? That would be absolutely ridiculous! If Memphis Court would come to the conclusion that Lisa only had four years(!?), they would probably end up being the laughing stock of the judicial community in the entire United States.

Well I knew Lisa when she was 13. She was an adorable girl with braids that had her head in karate, ballet and soccer. I seriously doubt she had any thought of RICO claims or racketeering activity or mafia laws or fraud or anything like that. When I was 13 my mind was troubled with problems like if Superman or Batman would win a fight between them, I’m serious this was serious stuff at that time.

Also the book “I Lisa Marie” is used and held against Lisa. That is the book that was stolen from Lisa as a blue print and that has been selling since 1999 on the black market, actually as a piracy product. Not many people know this. Luckily the illegal sale of the book, which Lisa has the copyright to has now been stopped due to the lawsuits going on in Memphis and as a consequence the violators of Lisa’s copyright will soon be brought to justice as well. This is great news. This is something that many people out there have no idea about and this illegal sale and more or less fantastic rumors about this book is something that haters have been able to utilize unopposed. Well I guess all bad things comes to an end…

Don’t believe what haters run their mouths about and even tabloids, there’s not much truth about Lisa out there. It’s not like she is running around on TV shows and doing interviews, and she’s had her share of offers I can tell you that, she is simply not interested.  Don’t you think Lisa would be out of court by now if she was not the rightful and only heir of Elvis Presley? Of course she would, it would be the simplest case in the world. The only reason she is not thrown out of court after almost two years is because she is the only rightful heir of Elvis Presley, and the only Lisa Marie Presley, and that makes this case the hardest one in history for the defendants because they have nothing of substance against Lisa, they can only try to wear her out (yeah, good luck with that, like that’s gonna happen). 

Slowly but unmistakably surely the wrongs are being set right, that’s what I call “self correcting block code.”

Also, this probably goes under the category peculiar facts; the Memphis judge stated that Lisa was very knowledgeable in the law. Well that’s gotta hurt for the defendant’s having libeled Lisa for not being a lawyer, I think “Ouch” is the appropriate word to describe the feeling here and needless to say I’m so proud of her. She is my wife and she is brilliant! I’m sure that these people - CKX and the estate at this point realize it would have been better for them if Lisa had pursued a singing career instead of law. 

When the universe goes "oops!"

Most people have probably not heard of “Doubly-even self-dual linear binary error-correcting block code” although most people are familiar intuitively knows what it proves - that there is a right and a wrong, that subjectivism is a sham.  

Invented in the 1940’s (considering the circumstances it might actually be more adequate to say “discovered”) by a computer constructor to avoid mistakes when transferring data. Today it is a tool in all current internet traffic, e-mails and what not. It is a valuable tool in order to make sure that the intended message in your e-mail to a friend is actually what’s reaching your friend and not some gibberish that got messed up on the way.  It makes perfect sense, since there is a specific purpose with the message when sending it. 

Then come a doctor in physics and expert in string theory (Dr. James Gates Jr.) and tells the world that the universe has the same thing. This is when people go, "what?” It turns out that the very fabric of the universe is self-correcting. Correcting from what? Well, errors of course. This is when it gets real sticky, especially for atheists. It seems incredibly thorny to try to explain the concepts of decisive right and wrong as a fundamental existential control procedure in a universe completely caused by random chance. 

There are obviously something that is right and something that is wrong, and apparently, the universe has an urge the make sure that “right” prevails accordingly to Dr Gates Jr,  that would be truth . Even though you can’t turn back time to make a wrong right, rest assure that the universe with the help of time will set it right. It's all very reassuring.

Another implied consequence is that if the universe can make the wrong turn, which needs to be corrected, there exists a final intended goal and purpose, otherwise there would be no need for an innate control system to keep the universe on the right track, it is self-evident. This could mean that history indeed has an ending point. At which time the aggregated sum of all that was has fulfilled the intended purpose, if not of course, the purpose is simply to keep the universe going and going, like an energizer rabbit... but then again, this is contradicted by the axiom that all that has a beginning also has an ending.

It is indeed so that truth and justice always prevails and that all that is hidden will become apparent. As it turns out, it is part of the fundamental conditions for existence and that, – you can take to the bank.  

In old times it was poetically expressed by “it is written in the stars.” Maybe the folk lore of old was more right than they ever knew.

The World Needs More Wendy's

After a few days of camping in the rainy wilds of West Virginia the kids and I were heading home yesterday. We crossed over the New River Gorge Bridge and into the quirky little town Fayetteville. It was lunchtime and I asked the kids what they wanted. Predictable responses. My idea to "find a local place; someplace that we can only enjoy here" was met with some resistance. (Sometimes democracy is not the way to go.)  When I saw the Cathedral Café I was pretty sure that was the place.

After we seated ourselves, Wendy, the owner, greeted us with a, "How are you?"

I answered honestly: "One of us is great, one of us pretty good, and one of us is a bit grumpy."

She sat down in the open chair at our table, smiled, and said, "Let me see if I can guess which one is which."  She looked at Jacob and said that he looked like he was doing pretty good but maybe not "great" since he looked a little tired. She then looked at Lauren and said, "Are you the grumpy one?"  She said it in such a way that it made Lauren smile in this bashful way that is so damn cute because you can tell she is trying her hardest not to smile. She added, "I think I might know what will make you not grumpy. We make our own milkshakes here. You want one?"

Wendy then went on to describe all the flavors they had, including one made of sherbet that tastes like a popsicle.  Jacob chimed in and asked if he could get one too.  "Of course!"

Lauren went from Grumpy McGrumperpants to Little Miss Sunshine almost immediately, even before she got her shake. And then they raved about how much they loved the pizza and how tasty it was. (My shrimp quesadilla was amazingly tasty, too.)

I then watched Wendy work her café. She knew all the locals and greeted them by name. And she welcomed first-time visitors with the same warmth as she gave her regulars. When I was paying for our lunch I asked her about the big bookshelves. She explained that customers donate books and then if you want to buy one you donate whatever you want to the book donation jar (at least a quarter!) and she donates the book donation proceeds to the Humane Society and other local charities.

Well, why can't we all just be kind to each other like this and brighten each other's day? The world needs more Wendy's.

Kindness against los golpes en la vida

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

This quote is often attributed to Plato, but some argue it was someone else. It doesn't much matter; the sentiment is there.

I have several friends who seem to be struggling right now. OK, I'll count myself among them, too, if I'm going to be honest.

We all pass through these times when no matter how bright the sun shines, we feel like we can't get out of the shadows. 

At times like this I think of the Peruvian poet César Vallejo. In his tragic poem, "Espergesia," he laments: "Yo nací un díaque Dios estuvo enfermo, grave."

How must it have felt to write that he felt that God was gravely ill the day he was born? I think of his poem, "Los heraldos negros" ("The Black Messengers") and how he cries out about the blows that life delivers us.

Hay golpes en la vida, tan fuertes... ¡Yo no sé!
Golpes como del odio de Dios; como si ante ellos,
la resaca de todo lo sufrido
se empozara en el alma. ¡Yo no sé!

Son pocos; pero son. Abren zanjas oscuras
en el rostro más fiero y en el lomo más fuerte.
Serán tal vez los potros de bárbaros atilas;
o los heraldos negros que nos manda la Muerte.

Son las caídas hondas de los Cristos del alma,
de alguna fe adorable que el Destino blasfema.
Estos golpes sangrientos son las crepitaciones
de algún pan que en la puerta del horno se nos quema.

Y el hombre. Pobre. ¡Pobre! Vuelve los ojos, como
cuando por sobre el hombro nos llama una palmada;
vuelve los ojos locos, y todo lo vivido
se empoza, como charco de culpa, en la mirada.

Hay golpes en la vida, tan fuertes. ¡Yo no sé!

I don't know why poetry, and especially Spanish poetry, speaks to me at times like this. I hope soon I will feel inspired to turn to Neruda's love poems instead of Vallejo's lamentations. But at least for now I know that someone else felt the same way I do. That I'm not alone.

And it reminds me to follow Plato’s admonition to be kind to everyone. We’re all bracing ourselves against the blows of life.


Note: I wrote this post on January 23, 2013. I don't remember exactly what caused me to write it, but I do remember vividly the emotions I was feeling. Any time I pull out César Vallejo poetry, it's certainly not a happy day. I find writing therapeutic and I wrote this as a way to help me deal with whatever it was that I was struggling with. For whatever reason I didn't hit the "Publish" button. I did copy it and share it with a few close friends, but otherwise it's been sitting here as a draft. I ran across a copy I printed out the other day and thought about it a bit after re-reading it, and then today I was reminded again about it. So, here it is.

Back in the U.S.S.R.: 25 years ago this week...

Twenty-five years ago this week I returned from the most remarkable trip I had taken in my young life. I had just spent nearly a month in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Yes, the USSR. I was a high school kid from Kaysville, Utah and I had just been to Leningrad, Odessa, Kiev, Sochi, and Moscow (and Helsinki on the way in and Frankfurt on the way out). It was quite a first international trip for a guy who had yet to leave the country (nope, not even Mexico or Canada). 

I already loved to travel and had been around western United States and had been to East Coast a couple of times. In fact, as I was traveling to the USSR my family was prepping for our move to New Hampshire. But this trip solidified the diagnosis that I had a permanent case of the Travel Bug. I immediately wanted to travel again. Although I was in high school I was able to earn college credits through the University of Utah and as such it was my first study abroad experience in addition to being an exchange program. (We had students from the USSR visit us in Utah, including at Davis High School.) 

While in college I studied abroad for a term in Mexico. And then as a professor I've taken students on three study abroad programs: to Taiwan (2009), the Dominican Republic (2010), and Cuba (2012).  In fact, it was the trip to the USSR that inspired me to make the Cuba trip a reality. I'm currently finishing my plans for the 2014 course. In addition to leading these study abroad experiences I've also been abroad for my own research or to conferences as a professor (my own "study abroad" programs, so to speak): to Canada, Taiwan, Chile, and Peru. There's practically no place I don't want to visit.  

What is it about travel that appeals to me so? In a word, curiosity. I'm curious. About language, culture, politics, history, education, economics, well, about everything (or just about everything) and there is really no substitute for "being there." And the best part of "being there" is meeting the people, not just seeing the sights. 

Mark Twain summed up why that experience of "being there" is so important: 

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.

So, as I reminisce 25 years later, here are a few snapshots of me in the USSR doing what I most love about going new places -- making new friends.

Singing Beatles songs with Russian rockers at our hotel after seeing their concert in Leningrad. One of us had just given the lead singer the "Moscow Summit" t-shirt.

After a friendly game of basketball at a Soviet Pioneer Camp.

Maybe borrowing a Red Army soldier's hat wasn't the wisest move I've made in my life. At least Doug seems to approve. In other news, Doug and I may have been "detained" by police in Leningrad for suspicion that we had allegedly, or were about to, trade on the Black Market with two friends we had met, Ilia and Dmitri. But that might be a story for another time.

A page from my photo album. Like my great cartography and Cyrillic skills showing where "Utah" is? And, no, Victoria and I didn't stay in touch.

In front of Lenin's Tomb right after meeting its embalmed occupant.

And just the year before I visited the Soviet Union another, slightly more famous American, visited the USSR.