In response to my last post, which alluded to the question of why I live like this, I got an email saying, in part, ‘Everyone would live like that if we could afford it.’
My response to this response is I don’t think so.
I’m writing from here: the view in the not-a-photo/not-a-film below is right behind me…(click these to enlarge)
My impression is that I was overly successful with my imagery of the beautiful and relatively unspoiled environs I happened to be sequestered at for the moment, and that the author of the sentiment expressed hadn’t really thought things through; he was still mired in the ‘this is a vacation’ or ‘an assignment’ perception that in the post I had attempted to negate.
Think about it. You drive around and yes you see beautiful scenery and yes it’s all new and interesting and yes the folks you meet are different (more to come on this when I do you or someone else the favor) and yes you have everything you could possibly need right there with you and so forth… but…
Times you wonder What’s the point?
…but what’s the point?
I mean, even if this were a surf trip (which gives an aesthetically satisfying, innate meaning to travel), which it isn’t (although my surf stick is lashed to the roof), at least not for the moment, living like this is a whole different ball game when it’s actually your life.
Then, six hours later, with Big Blue filling your view out the window…
One more time: I’m not on vacation!
Okay. I’m going to ask my long-time (and in some cases long-suffering) followers (by which I only mean those who’ve been reading my ramblings/viewing my imagery for a while) to bear with me as I once more outright explain – mainly for new subscribers – what I’m up to…
My goal in all I write and visual-image-make in this blog is to do my bit in saving mankind from an apocalypse of its own doing.
So you figure you’re gonna save the human race, huh, Al?
No, but if I don’t give it a shot, do my part, what good am I? Of what use am I?
My means of giving it a shot is to pass on the knowledge and insights I’ve gleaned from a decade of diligent study of world events (mainly since World War Two), plus my life-long observation of how cause becomes effect, not only in the affairs of humans but in the physical world of ‘inanimate’ objects, from the very small (see my goofball look at subatomic physics in my novel Cosmic Banditos) to the incomprehensibly vast (think my cosmological musings in various venues).
If you think this is a normal jet contrail, see ‘What on Earth Are They Spraying?’ on Youtube. (Shot two nights ago from this campsite.)
Regarding world events, further narrowing my means-to-an-end: My interest is in How the World Works (HTWW) via the Implications of Impossibilities (or extreme improbabilities).
I italicize the above for two reasons: 1): It’s really, really important. 2): Although, (whether we know it or not) all of us use this aspect of critical thinking in our daily lives, as far as I know, the idea of the implications of impossibilities is my own. I believe I’ve done a useful thing in defining it outright. (See my essay by clicking here)
More on roots and methods when we discuss the means of critical thinking called ‘The Trivium,’ defined by good old Wikipedia as ‘…a systematic method of critical thinking for deriving certainty from any information coming into the mind via the five senses.’
Notwithstanding that this is a horribly constructed sentence by Wikipedia (did you notice?), its meaning is basically correct. But for now don’t sweat over this concept; like the implications of impossibilities, it’s a fancy term meaning, basically: ‘Hey, Numbnuts, use your fucking head!’ But as with my ‘original’ concept, it’s useful to know how and why critical thinking works, and why it’s so important. It’s also cool to know it’s been around for a long, long time (it was Plato who first popularly defined The Trivium).
But here’s the capper, and here’s why I’m risking losing some of you with this digression: It is no accident that critical thinking/The Trivium/’use your fucking head!’ is in no way part of the curriculum in the public educational system in the U.S. of A (or any Western country). The story of how this came to pass is truly riveting. More on this – mostly via the insights at Tragedyandhope.com – to come. If you’re not interested in this subject and at the same time you either have children or care about them: Shame on you.
So: What this blog is about is a specific approach to understanding How the World Works via the practice of critical thinking, with the ultimate goal of saving our species from self-destruction through the belief in untruths.
A theoretically good question: If the above is the rational for this series of essays/imagery, why am I spending so much time (and I am) making a film about the tides at the Bay of Fundy?
If there is a good example of HTWW that I have experienced in my lifetime – along with the Swell of ’69 on the North Shore – it’s the tides here at Fundy. (The above view from my camp is another not-a-photo/not-a-film offering…)
Plus, Hey, I’m a Renaissance kind of guy!
Combining knowledge with aesthetics and, especially, a good laugh equals a well-rounded human.
But back on point, back to my response to the idea that ‘everyone’ would live like this if he could afford it, and the ultimate question of what’s the point?
No, I would not be ‘living like this,’ absent two factors:
A good dog to travel with.
You, the personal you, to communicate with.
Yeah, YOU!
To briefly touch upon the subject, I might have in any case ‘left Montauk,’ but in a completely different way. (I am in fact working on a short film as the first real installment on the matter of Why I Left.)
So, for what it’s worth, you are very important to me, to my way of living (it’s a dog and you that keep me motivated). Please bear this in mind if you decide to hang in with this blog. I’ve written three books and made a film (my ‘major’ accomplishments). This blog, although different in several ways from my past projects, is a very serious matter for me. (My old ‘Down South Perspective’ offerings were of a different, and with a couple exceptions, a lower, order.)
Now the favor I promised, which is not (directly) concerning HTWW or impossible implications. We gotta mix in some fun and some mindless pleasure…
In case you haven’t noticed: I really like it up here in Canada, more specifically Nova Scotia province. And I knew I would. How did I know?
I’ve been here before, almost exactly (maybe to the day) 20 years ago, in August of 1994, when my old pup Shiner and I drove up here to take some pictures.
Can you tell which photo is from 1994…
Yeah, the two decades were kinder to those islands in the background (part of Five Islands, Nova Scotia) than my sorry ass…
…and which one I did last night?
The other thing you might notice is that I was a better photographer back in those days, the days of transparency (slide) film, when what you shot was what you got and you often didn’t know what you got for days or even weeks…
For those interested in tech matters: The image from ’94 was done on Type B (indoor) film, which gives a blue cast to outdoor stuff. Which is why the distant islands and sky have that pleasing blue tone. I put a red gel on my flash to bring my skin tones back to normal. But I didn’t know if it worked until I got home and had the film processed. With the shot from last night I was able to see what I’d gotten immediately; I had to try a few different exposures to get it close to right.
But back to Nova Scotia and the favor I’m trying to do someone: Listen, on your next ‘vacation’ or whatever you call it when you go somewhere new to enjoy yourself, come up here. To put it simply: As mentioned in my last post, it’s like Eastern Long Island in the 1950s. If you want to party in mobbed bars and wait on line for dinner, it’s not for you.
Another thing. First gas station after crossing into N.S., a woman pulls up beside me, motions to roll my window down. Says, ‘Are you okay? You look lost.’ Then she offered to guide me to where I was going. ‘Follow me,’ she said (a middle aged woman with no agenda, I assure you). I thanked her profusely but begged off.
Inside the gas station I’m asking for directions, right? The guy behind me says, ‘I’ll take you to that exit. Follow me.’
This happened one other time, a couple days later; someone offering to guide me where I was going. Half a century of asking for directions Stateside, this has never once happened. Three times in a week up here.
By way of directions (from me), this is all you need…
So just think about doing it. Drive up here then follow the coastline of the Bay of Fundy. Camp or stay in guesthouses. Just maybe do it.
Yeah, this travel suggestion is the favor I promised…
Speaking of promises, last time I told you I’d send you to Part Two of my Tragedyandhope.com studio time with Rich Grove. Here it is but be advised: You ain’t gonna hear much from me in this part of ‘my interview.’ Rich gets on a tear – it’s long, over an hour – that, if you hang in, will blow your mind, as it blew mine. And you’ll understand why I’ve been harping on your spending time at his website.
Rich’s ‘Brain’ (you’ll have to see what I mean) is the way history should be taught.
Allan
One other thing: Got some good news this morning via email. Water Time; Surf Travel Diary of a MadMan is a selection of the International Film Awards Berlin. Cool! I’ve missed the Chain NYC Film Festival but will try to make this one (early September). Problem is, I can leave the rig somewhere up here – the folks who run the Five Islands Ocean View Resort have offered to take care of the rig (still José) – but Gus is another matter…
The part of the Bay of Fundy I’m looking at has been rated one of the Wonders of the World (by whoever does that). The owners of Five Islands Ocean View, Tim & Sandy, are… just great.