So...

I’m trying to get everything done in stages, including packing. I don’t want to come up to the day of the move and have 20 different things I’m still trying to do.

Not Ronald Reagan or Oprah Winfrey

This month’s Smithsonian contains a list of some of the most culturally influential people of our generation called Innovators of Our Time. Not necessarily the most famous or most powerful, but the artist, scientists and adavocates whose innovations have made a lasting difference in world culturally and physically in the last 30 to 40 years.

On the list are:

Wynton Marsalis – Musician & Composer
Margaret Burbidge – Astronomer
Bill Gates – Software Mogul and Philanthropist
Mark Plotkin – Ethnobotinist
Richard Leaky – Anthropologist and Conservationist
Annie Leibovitz – Photographer
Clyde Roper – Zoologist
Jane Mt. Pleasant – Native Agriculturalist
Andy Goldsworthy – Natural Artist
Robert Langridge – Computer Imaging Geneticist
Daphne Sheldrick – Conservationist
Julie Taymor – Set Designer
Wendell Berry – Poet
Edward O. Wilson – Sociobiologist
John Dobson – Astronomer
Mark Lehner – Archeologist
Sally Ride – Astronaut
Gordon Parks – Composer, Biographer, Poet
D.A. Hendrson – Doctor
Renee’ Flemming – Soprano
David Attenborouh – Natural History Filmmaker
Tim Berbers-Lee – Computer Programmer
James Watson – Scientist
Wes Jackson – Agriculturalist
Maya Angelou – Poet, Biographer, Activist
Yo-Yo Ma – Cellist & Humanitarian
Dan Janzen – Naturalist & Conservationist
Ed Bears – Historical Conservationist
Frank Gehry – Architect
Janis Carter – Naturalist and Conservationist
Robert Moses – Civil Rights Activist and Mathematician
Maya Lin – Architect
Douglas Owsley – Forensic Anthropologist
Chuck Close – Artist
Steve Spielberg – Filmmaker

You probably haven’t heard of most of them, heck other than David Attenborough, who’s “Life on Earth” and other nature specials inspired me to go into biology (alas, for my mathematic skills) and Maya Angelou whose “Phenomenal Woman” I first encountered in my teens, with a handful of others, I hadn’t heard of many of them. But their contributions are such that while we may not know their name, our children probably will. So pick up the latest issue or click on the link above and learn a little more about who is really moving and shaking our world.

2000

I did not participate in this vigil because I did feel that it was arbitrarily exploitive. The first soldier to die for the president’s lies, stupid bravado and incompetence should be as equally mourned as the 2000th or 2016th. The whole thing is a tragedy, not just arbitrary mathematical landmarks.

Atlanta – Now THAT’s what I’m Talkin’ About!

Now that was a race, long green flag runs and few cautions on a multi-groove track that allowed three and four wide racing made for a great race! Atlanta isn’t just fast, it fast with guys hairy masses of 20 cars all jockeying for position while the lead is swapped back and forth by guys running high, running low and just running all out. Dale had a great day leading, dominating the most laps *Yes!*, though Mark Martin, Jeffy-Pop and Carl Edwards cars all came in late in the race to push him back to 4th. Elliot had a frustrating day in he started out in the lead and hanging out in the top 5, but a caution caught him on pit road, putting him a lap down and then he got lapped. He managed to claw his way back to 10th. *Bravo!* Mark came in 3rd, advancing him yet another spot in the Championship, but he is 143 points out with three races left so it’s a real long shot.

My friend has gotten me a ticket to one of those meet-and-greet events drivers do. This one is for Dale Jr. She’s more worked up than I am and she’s a Robby Gordon fan. Last time we talked she was talking about dressing me up, doing my make-up and curling my poker-straight hair, etc. etc, etc. Making sure I am “ready”.

Am I meeting Dale Jr. or King Kong? Jeezus. ;)

Halloween

Halloween is a great time for the kids and a lot of fun for adults too. The weather here in So Cal is balmy and mild, perfect for trick-or-treating…or partying out on the patio of the Blue Café. It’s all good (as long as everyone is safe). But to my faith, Samhain (pronounced Sow-wan) is one the biggest holidays of the year.

Samhain (which is the word for November in Old Irish) is the Celtic Day of the Dead. Our year follows the life cycle of the God as represented by the Sun moving though the seasons. Samhain is the time of the Gods death in the last harvest and therefore one of the time the veil between the worlds is the thinnest therefore rituals will often include contacting the dead. I happen to think the dead have other concerns. :) But it is also the end of our ritual year as we enter “the Dark Time”, a period of rest and planning for the coming year beginning with the Gods rebirth in the Winter Solstice. It a time to wrap things up, process all that has occurred in the last year and leave it behind, taking with you only that which will do you good.

So to all you non-Pagans, have a wonderful Happy Halloween and to all my Pagan friends, a Peaceful and Merry Samhain.