March the seventh

I heard a very interesting interview on Terry Gross's Fresh Air today with ex CIA husband and wife Dayna and Robert Baer. They have just written the book The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story.  He has written several other books, one that became the basis of Syriana.

The Baer's had a very unusual perspective on the current situation in the middle east, actually a quite optimistic perspective. Robert says that he is rooting for "the street". Listen to the interview by following this link. He also has some very poignant comments about the corporatization of our Spy agencies through the use of independent contractors.

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I spent a few hours this afternoon with my friends Lynne and Tracy. Lynne is a world class jeweler and wire bender who learned her craft in asia, africa and afghanistan in the 1960's. She incorporates Calder, native and her own unique vision and uses a panoply of material including precious gems and found objects. She is soon to have a major exhibit downtown. Lynne has taught all over the world and is just a magnificent artist.

Today we were talking and I mentioned that I thought I would write a sci fi, post apocalyptic story about a world where Harvard MBA's starve to death while the currency of normal joe's that can fix engines and create simple batteries and possess other primitive skills is off the charts. People who can weave functional baskets for instance.

We started talking about simple baskets. You can look at a three dollar basket and not realize that it is handmade by somebody in a third world country who might have a day or two in its production. And that the thought and execution inherent in its production can be quite brilliant. Lynne seconded my observation and said that she has had a lifelong appreciation of baskets and has in fact never seen one that was machine made. She pulled out a couple from her collection. People have talked about the concept of fair trade for third world commodities in recent years but I am afraid that we are far from seeing an equitable situation in regard to most third world goods and commodities.

I started thinking about the difference between the hippie and post hippie generation and it's predecessors and successors. My mother's generation had an aversion for tribal art that still continues with many today. There was something dirty about things made by primitive, dark skinned peoples. So they flocked to modern and space age. Decor that tended to coldness but was free from any third world influence.

The sixties and seventies saw my generation reaching out to the third world for design influences, something taboo for the older patrician class, still inculcated by the caste system, which tended to only appreciate western european design influences. On the other hand, every far off tribe was fair game for the hippies, from tibet to the walpi.

I know that some women avoid my wife's store because it offers that colorful "gypsy" clothing, steel art from haiti and other ethnic fare. Those women tend to be more comfortable in the shop across the way that tends to sell solid colors in petite sizes, but more offerings for the demure, conservative person. Something for everybody on the block, I suppose.

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Tracy wants me to get back to more political writing. I tried to explain that it is getting harder and harder to write about things that I have written about so many times in the past. Things haven't changed and my views are pretty well known. I hate our current polarization and if I can find interesting things to write about that we can all agree on and mix it up, well, so much the better. But I won't neglect the political stuff either. I appreciate all of my readership, on the left and the right and am also proud that even into my fourth year, all of my commenters have remained basically civil to each other.

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Fred D. sent over this interesting link. This is a picture from the 1474 megapixel Gigapan camera. If you zoom and double click or mouse wheel anywhere on the photo you will be able to pretty much discern every face in the crowd. Couple this with a rudimentary facial recognition system and big brother has a pretty nice tool in their arsenal. Of course this link is now two years older so it's probably already antiquated.