Imponderables! Part 2
Due to popular demand, here's another one of my "Imponderables" from my upcoming book. This came to me as I was chatting with David Geffen at the recent Barack Obama fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton. He had a perplexed look on his face when I asked him if he had a napkin and a pen handy, but he soon understood after I explained to him that I needed to quickly jot my thoughts down before they vanished into the ether:
There's been a lot of talk of space aliens lately, but is calling them "aliens" really the right term? Sure, we don't know where they're coming from, and for all we know - or have been told - they could be from many solar systems, but shouldn't we call them something else? After all, to them they aren't "aliens". I don't know anything about them, but I do know that they don't refer to themselves as aliens. In fact, I'm sure they refer to themselves in the same way that we refer to ourselves: as people, or whatever they are. Since we have that in common, is there really that big of a difference between us and them after all? Shouldn't we instead think of them as part of "we"?
Posted by Ward to Ward Beecher at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)
Boycott Diesel Clothing!
Diesel Clothing - based in Italy - has started an advertising campaign making fun of global warming. My response isn't to laugh, it's to start a boycott. How dare they? Global warming is the single biggest threat the world faces today. They make fun of Mt. Rushmore being partially submerged under the waves, but what of their city Venice? As each day passes the water rises more and more; soon the entire city will be under water!
They pretend this is a bit of reverse psychology: making fun makes a "bigger shock", leading people to think about this. Well, I'll tell you what: people need to think about An Inconvenient Truth, learn from it, and watch it over and over until that inconvenient truth sinks in!
Tomorrow I'll be bundling up my Diesel jeans and other items and returning them to the Diesel Store at the Beverly Center. I won't ever be buying any of their products again, and I urge everyone across America to do the same. Good riddance I say: they're so down-market already, they even have an outlet store out in Ventura County somewhere!
In fact, I might even hold a "clothing burning", right at the corner of Santa Monica and Wilshire! How's that for a "bigger shock", Diesel?
Posted by Lori Gold to Lori Gold at 11:40 PM | Comments (1)
Imponderables!
What a long, strange several months it's been, and I want to apologize right up front about not posting here for so long. But, as most of you are aware, I was spending a lot of time trying to assist Rob Reiner's campaign to be California's Education Secretary. Day and night I criss-crossed the state, attending appearances and giving speeches on his behalf. I was never involved with the day-to-day management of the campaign however, and I had no involvement with the finances. So, it was a complete surprise about what happened, and I certainly had no idea he'd be forced to withdraw from the race at the last moment. And, once again: I had no involvement whatsoever with the financial aspects of his campaign. While I haven't had the chance to speak with him since that fateful day, I want to stress that he has not been tried yet and his guilt is not completely assured. I wish him the best.
With that out of the way, I want to tell you about a new project I've been working on. While traveling from city to city for the campaign, I would frequently pass the time waiting in airplane company lounges and the like jotting down various thoughts in a series of notebooks. Some of these thoughts are more "long form", but others are much shorter, and I decided to release them in book form.
I call them... "Imponderables"!
For instance:
Why is it that when a football team is on offense, their "offensive line" is actually "on defense" in that they're defending their terrority against the team supposedly on defense? Likewise, aren't the linebackers of the team on defense actually on offense against the offensive line of the opposing team?
Ponder that one! Or, try this:
Like me, have you ever simply made a typing mistake and entered "online spell cheker" into a search engine?
Or this:
In Thailand, hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizza are... exotic food!
By thinking through these "imponderables", I hope to help millions of people understand better the world around them, and approach an understanding of our most fundamental truths.
Posted by Ward to Ward Beecher at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)
"An Inconvenient Truth"... or just a dodge?
When I first heard the news that the English government was going to send Al Gore's wonderful documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" to every secondary school in their country, I (literally!) jumped for joy. But, then I dug a little deeper...
Sure, English Environment Secretary David Miliband sounds like wants to do something:
"The debate over the science of climate change is well and truly over, as demonstrated by the publication of today's report by the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]... Our energies should now be channeled into how we respond in an innovative and positive way in moving to a low-carbon future."
But, reading between the lines of these articles I realized that they were only sending a "global warming information pack" to those schools. They were not requiring every student to watch the film.
A true effort to educate youth on the effects of the coming global superstorm will involve making Vice President Al Gore's movie part of the curriculum. It will require the state mandating extensive testing to make sure that students have watched and understood the entire film. It is only through such means that full enlightenment to the causes of global warming can be assured.
Posted by Ariadne to Lori Gold at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)
No drilling in my back yard!
Although my main residence is in Brentwood, I also have a weekend getaway on the beach in Malibu. The cool, fresh sea air invigorates my senses, and the view of the sunset clears my mind after a long week of investigating corruption in Washington and uncovering the malfeasances of the Bush administration.
However, if a new plan has its way my view might be blocked, and I and several of my friends intend to do something about it.
On Sunday, a small group of my neighbors gathered to protest the proposed building of an oil platform off my beloved, tranquil beach. This oil rig would pollute the seas from Point Mugu to Venice; it would be an unsightly menace; and, it would encourage even more gasoline consumption when what we should be doing is encouraging the use of electrical cars or personal wind farms.
Halle Berry - an Oscar winner - was there, as were Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke and Tea Leoni. Loretta Swit oversaw the catering for the event, and we had a wonderful pancake breakfast with elderberry jam, sourdough pancakes, soy sausages, and - for those not vegans or octo-intolerant, free range eggs. Afterwards, David Faustino on his blue board, and Daryl Hannah on her pink board surfed out to a wonderful prop that Ivana Trump and Nicole Ritchie had constructed meant to represent the evil oil drilling platform that the Republican forces want to construct.
Did I say "Republican forces"? Why, yes I believe I did. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has it within his power to stop this drilling plan, but so far he has not. While lately he's moved to the center in some ways, apparently he's only willing to go so far. (I intend to chat with Maria in an attempt to change his mind, and I'll report back.)
As it said on the prop in a wonderful reference to Arnold's famed character as well as our demands: "Terminate it!"
We shall see which side Arnold is truly on.
Posted by Ariadne to Ariadne at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)
