Jack Burns Lives!

I recently returned from my first trip to New Mexico, where I did a little “Abbey touring.” Like Ed, I was impressed by the landscape and horrified by everything else. Swarms of humans, dependent on government teat and the weapons industry. And the Albuquerque Chamber of Horrors is doing everything it can to recruit more people, and more business , despite major water issues.

The insanity continues, unabated.

The trip report is here.

Finally got around to scanning and loading those documents from the Showman’s Manual I posted about in July.

It’s really an interesting look into how film producers marketed their products in the ’60′s, and it’s also full of some interesting tidbits about the film. Some well known. Others perhaps not so well known.

There are interviews, biographical information, suggested radio spots, images for print. You can see what I’ve scanned so far here.

It’s a good time to be reading the book and watching the film. Follow up with Good News.

And here’s why…

We’ve got Cheney spouting off about a “gut feeling” that America’s next terrorist attack “will be nuclear,” and Michael Chertoff’s “gut feeling” that America “will soon be hit hard.” Add the fact that the U.S. military is flying nukes over the continent, a new tape supposedly from “Bin Laden,” Israel “discovering” nuclear installations in Syria and the ongoing barrage of Iran propaganda, and well, I’d say something is going to happen.

The question that should be on everyone’s mind is exactly who or what should we be scared of? The answer might surprise you.

And don’t forget to throw in climate change, peak oil and shrinking aquifers. That should really make things interesting. Seems damn clear that folks need to be making some plans. Some changes. Preparing for a vastly different world.

Yes, we need more Paul Bondi’s and to broaden the scope of peaceful resistance. We need more rugged anarchists like Jack Burns. Guys and gals willing to make a stand for what’s right. Real defenders of democracy and wilderness.

Perhaps the real question we face is how to best go about bringing forth positive change? Within the system? A new system? A combination? That’s the real challenge, getting millions of people that consider themselves “progressives” to really do something progressive. To throw a real monkeywrench into the system by pulling away and making it irrelevant.

The prevailing system is in place because it provides the desired results for the people who benefit from it and manipulate it, and it’s been that way from day one in this country. The system is quite resistant to change despite the obvious inequities that it sustains, and it is so phenomenally powerful and so intimately inculcated into our society, that it is therefore most likely impossible to change.

And how on earth can you have a rational and sane society when 90% of the people believe in a God, Heaven and Hell and look to an old man no one has ever seeen to tell them how to be good?

The whole thing is nuts, but eventually, these things run their course. Take comfort in knowing it can’t last forever. Do your part to make sure it doesn’t, and in your spare time, read some good books and catch a good film every now and then.

Cheers,

Edward Abbey – A Voice in the Wilderness
http://youtube.com/v/_LvfSoDdWLc
Well, since I’m on the YouTube train tonight, might as well post another one.

This short clip shows Ed at his former station in Arches, a place I visited in September ’06.

I was shocked at the numbers of people, but shouldn’t have been. Ed warned us the man swarm cometh.

Got a brand spankin’ new visitor center packed full of shit you can buy and help keep the NPS in business.

Hotels in Moab are packed and The Chamber of Horrors folks are happy. Industrial tourism full bore ahead.

Lonely Are The Brave-An Interview with Kirk Douglas Pt1
http://youtube.com/v/onzqlL3rey8
Here’s an interview with Kirk Douglas about his role in Lonely Are The Brave.

It’s sad how the stroke has affected him, but I’m deeply grateful for this interview.

Boy what I’d give for a chance to examine the script he shows during the interview!

Nice to see the old buzzard gettin’ some attention again, this time for The Brave Cowboy in Ben Gore’s review “Fiction: The Lone Ranger and Don Quixote Joust,” appearing in The Brooklyn Rail. Interesting and happy to see this after just doing a podcast on the subject.

There are a few inaccuracies. Ed didn’t have a PhD. And I believe the Burns character only appeared in three additional works after his initial appearance in the The Brave Cowboy, not four. Five appearances would have placed in him in either Fools Progress or Black Sun, and I don’t recall him in either.

But that’s not really important.

Gore seems to have a good understanding of Abbey, and I’m grateful for the article. In a short piece, I believe he’s accurately communicated the major points of what Abbey’s writing was all about, especially the fact that Abbey was not a nature writer. That point cannot be emphasized enough. He wrote about the environment, of course, and very specifically about the flora and fauna found within the western landscape; however, the primary message almost always concerned how that landscape is threatened by the actions of man.

The essay does seem to cut off prematurely. Not sure why I couldn’t find the rest or why it ended as it did.

I’m going to also copy, paste and save the article here, since the original links tend to get broken over time.

Enjoy

Okay, so I’m going to violate my own recent edict and stray from topic. I’m going to post about something other than Abbey. Which is fine. I’ll post about the critters in my yard.

We’ve had a significant number of hummingbirds in the garden for the past two weeks. They’re getting fat in preparation for the long journey back to Mexico later this month. Some will linger through October.

The little guy in the pic has been guarding his territory with tremendous vigor. Hummingbirds are highly territorial and quite aggressive. They’ll stand vigil and chase off any other hummers that attempt to enter their realm, as well as other species. This one is particularly aggressive and has dive bombed my head more than once.

If you click on the poor quality pic, you’ll link to a poor quality video of him this morning. Please excuse the shaking. I was holding my camera with my hands after a bit too much java. Listen for the train in the background and apologies for the large file size. (14M)

We just received a much needed, refreshing rain.

Cheers

Today’s podcast topic is Edward Abbey’s 1956 work, The Brave Cowboy.

After my last rant I guess it’s clear that I need a change in direction. Less involvement in controversial and troublesome subjects, even though I was the one calling for more people to stand up and be heard. Oh, well. Abbey was full of contradictions. Why can’t I be?

I have an idea, though. A way I can be true to my convictions with less Tabasco and habaneros.

For this website it means more Abbey. In fact, only Abbey. That means I’ll be posting less, but I will resurrect the podcast and start reading more Abbey selections. After I get a high quality mic, so you can hear it. It’s much better to hear Ed’s writing than read my rants about the environment, development, war, politics, fundamentalists and my own personal universe.

I mean, how much negative energy can you take!

So, if you want to read about Abbey or hear readings of his works, wander through every once in a while. Grab the feed through Feedburner or iTunes. Whatever works for ya.

Back to basics….

I’ve grown weary of debate, and I’m ready for a little peace and quiet.

I’m tired of the fighting, finger pointing, gnashing of teeth, name calling and the general ugliness in political, environmental and social justice circles. I’ve grown weary of infighting in the environmental community, especially people that point their judgmental fingers at others while attempting to apply some sort of bizarre litmus test to other greens. That pisses me off more than the amazing level of insouciance in the general population.

I’m sick of the news.

I’m fed up with so-called progressives and liberals that keep looking to the same old places for solutions: government and centralization. More than ever, I’m convinced that standing governments, along with growth capitalism, are the biggest threat we face. Government and business go hand-in-hand and are so completely interdigitated in this country you can barely tell the difference between the two. Governments are the protectorate of global capitalist expansion, and working together as a seemingly unstoppable force, they are, without doubt, the single greatest threat to life on earth.

“Where would species be without government protection? What about our parks and wilderness areas? What would have happened to them without government protection?”

And to that I say this….

Governmental protection of species and wilderness was made necessary because of rapacious capitalist expansion and greed. And government “protection” (exploitation) really isn’t about protecting natural resources. It’s about economic growth, namely, tourism. The establishment in 1872 of Yellowstone, the nation’s first national park, was first proposed by an agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad. He obviously understood that more tourists meant more tickets sold.

Go to any national park, and you’ll see what I mean. It’s all about making it easier for tourists to motor around in their RV’s and SUV’s. Fancy new visitor centers. Towns full of hotels and shopping and development that would not exist if it wasn’t for the national park that’s next door. Moab is a great example.

Carefully examine the practice of grazing on public lands. It’s all about money.

But hell, this is nothing new. Abbey wrote about this in the late ’60′s.

And is there any wilderness remaining? In New Mexico, the ubiquitous presence of non-native flora and fauna is so prevalent there’s no question whatsoever that no wilderness remains. Wilderness, at least according to the guvment, is defined as “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man.”

I sure can’t say that about the Smokies or Arches.

A better solution to the problem is bioregional societal organization and a steady state economic system bound by biological and geophysical constraints. Living in balance with earth and not viewing nature’s bounty as something that exists primarily to fulfill human needs and economic lust.

A return to the commons and to local, bioregional land management by an informed, active populace. Read Gary Snyder’s The Practice of The Wild for more background on this subject, including successful examples.

There’s a lot of talk about how the Democrats are going to “take back” the White House. Talk of great change. Peace even. Withdrawal from Iraq.

It’s amazing people believe this shit. Read very carefully what Obama and Hilliary say about Iraq, al Qaeda and market expansion. It’s the same old story, people. GOP Lite.

“I will not hesitate to use force, unilaterally if necessary, to
protect the American people or our vital interests whenever we are
attacked or imminently threatened. We must also consider using
military force in circumstances beyond self-defense….” Barack Obama

And he’s supposed to be the most liberal of the candidates, after Kucinich.

Something else I recently griped about was all of this talk about a return of the draft. Again, so-called progressives supporting an expansion of government, ostensibly to curb Republican blood lust. The theory being they won’t be so keen on going to war every three months if their little Johnny might have to go face the boogeyman.

That might work with a few of them, but what you’re really doing is further strengthening centralized government and giving it the power of law to force more of our children to die for the cause of economic expansion. It’s frankly unbelievable to me that anyone that considers themself a progressive or an anarchist would consider such a thing.

Well, like I said before, no one in my house is going anywhere. Jail is a better option.

Everyone has an agenda, including me. But now mine has changed. My agenda is to live a quiet, contemplative life as a Taoist, hopefully in a cabin deep in the woods or as far away from syphilization as possible. Way, far away, from this fake plastic world.

So, I’m taking my books, art, music, rifle, fly rod and wine and going home. Let everyone else sort it out. I know how to live, know how I want to live and even exactly where I want to live. Last week, I put the wheels in motion to move. A new bioregion. One where I can easily escape to the mountains for days if need be. One where I can continue my present vocation, yet escape the noise and ugliness of the city.

Turning my back? Maybe. That’s how I feel today. Tomorrow I’ll probably feel like jumping upon a fleet steed, sword in hand, and marching on Washington. I waver between hopelessness and unbridled anger. A “cracked polystyrene man who just crumbles and burns.” Some days off the map entirely.

Long way to go toward that Taoist state of being….

“That’s not green at all. What if everyone wanted to do that! There’s not enough land for all of us to live some idyllic, Thoreau like life in the woods.”

And to that I say this….

Thoreau only lived about two miles outside of town. My own version of Bron-Yr-Aur will much further from the man swarm.

I plan to find some land and maintain it “as is” in perpetuity. I plan to restore native flora and make a haven for native fauna. Developers be damned. My children will need to agree to those terms or upon my death it will go to some worthwhile nature organization.

Allison and I leave in a couple of weeks to begin our search. I plan on being out of the Delta by fall ’08, one year from now. Alex will graduate, and my wife and I will be empty nesters. We’ll need much less housing space and far more open space.

The quiet, contemplative life of a mountain hermit. This all depends on finding affordable land. Developers have been swarming in the southwest since the arrival of Anglos, and thanks to competition and growth, an affordable tract of land is hard to come by. Recent abominations like the sale of the New Mexico Atrisco Land Grant to SunCal, a California developer, make it even more difficult. (you’ve got to read about it to believe it) It seems no place on the continent will escape the creeping, metastasizing cancer Abbey frequently railed against.

Land speculation and over development are the scourge of the earth. A filthy business making enormous profits at the expense of all life. The profiteers have mortgaged Mother Earth to the hilt and foreclosed on the future of our children.

In today’s economic system, there are strong economic incentives to make fast use of natural resources, without regard for the long term effects. To many, self-restraint equals self punishment. What’s needed is more verguenza, the self-effacing probity that restrains a person from advancing at the expense of others.

Egalitarianism. Altrusim. Love. Peace. Forgiveness. Compassion.

I’ve pretty much given up on finding an abundance of those qualities in humans. In fact, I believe it’s so bad that I’m circling the wagons and restricting access to only family and few close friends. I’ll probably just write about chickens, goats and yard birds. Flowers, plants, trees, rivers and mountains.

Things that won’t disappoint me. Adios.