“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, … and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived”
Thoreau (Walden)
http://thoreau.eserver.org/
I agree with the second prong of that famous quote – the part about not wanting to discover upon dying that I had not lived – but can’t swallow the part about living deliberately in the woods. To the contrary, the woods are a place to experience chaos, mystery, and the wild.
So, when things get particularly crazy in my life, I find a way to bug out to the woods.
Bill WolfeRed eft eastern newt. Summit of Cascade Mountain, Adirondack High Peaks Region(more on the jump)
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“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, … and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived”
Thoreau (Walden)
http://thoreau.eserver.org/
I agree with the second prong of that famous quote – the part about not wanting to discover upon dying that I had not lived – but can’t swallow the part about living deliberately in the woods. To the contrary, the woods are a place to experience chaos, mystery, and the wild.
So, when things get especially crazy in my life, I find a way to bug out to the woods.
Bill WolfeRed eft eastern newt. Summit of Cascade Mountain, Adirondack High Peaks Region
(more on the jump)
Read more…
Press and local businesses blame DEP – real economic and pollution problems ignored
In the popular National Public Radio Show “A Prairie Home Companion“, we are treated to the good news from Lake Wobegon, where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average,”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Wobegon
Not exactly the news these days from Lake Hopatcong, NJ.
No, the Hopatcong story is closer to the narrative dynamics of the classic Ibsen play “An Enemy of the People“. That timeless play anticipated the Bush Administration’s war on environmental science and the need for Al Gore to tell his “Inconvenient Truth”
Bill Wolfe(more on the flip)
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Take a photo tour of the Majestic Musconetcong
[Update: 5/24/09 – The Ledger article today modifies slightly my negative assessment – posted yesterday – of their coverage to date. The money quote from today’s Star Ledger story is by DEP Director of Watershed Management, Larry Baier:
“We can’t jeopardize the Musconetcong River to help Lake Hopatcong.”
See: State looks to balance interests at lake
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/morris/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1243137934308750.xml&coll=1
Today’s Star Ledger coverage warrants a repost of yesterday’s post:
The Star Ledger’s coverage of the Lake Hopatcong water level issue is not only biased towards short term economic considerations, it fails to inform and by doing so, actively misleads readers.
DEP is trying to maintain the flow in the Musconetcong River. A minimum river flow is required to protect water quality in the best fishing river in NJ.
Bill Wolfe Read more…
I was recently the victim of an illegal police search of my vehicle and seizure of my personal papers and effects, so Mr. Lacey’s earlier post on the US Supreme Court’s recent decision in an illegal police car search demands response.(for Lacey’s post, see: http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2009/05/car_search_and_seizure_supreme.html
Mr. Lacey failed to provide readers with an understanding of the Constitutionally protected liberty and privacy interests at stake. He omitted the core of what the Court actually said and it’s supporting rationale. He also failed to note the context, e.g. that a conservative court wrote the opinion.
Below are excerpts of what the court actually said, with a link for readers to read it for themselves:
ARIZONA, PETITIONER v. RODNEY JOSEPH GANT
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-542.pdf
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Few people realize that the law actually prohibits the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from adopting standards to clean up, protect, and restore damaged fish, wildlife, natural resources and ecosystems impaired by toxic chemicals polluting the environment at over 20,000 sites in New Jersey.
As the result of political concession to the chemical industry who fought to escape this huge liability, the cleanup laws were amended in 1993 (16 years ago) to stop DEP from adopting these standards until an Environmental Task Force was appointed and made recommendations.
Bill Wolfe Read more…
“Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any trumpets blowing, on the judgement day.
On the bloody morning after, one tin soldier rides away.”
~~~ “One Tin Soldier”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCCR2huE2m8
Bill WolfeIn case you can’t read it in the photo, the inscription across the entire facade of the building behind that limo is:
“Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself”
“Yeah, the back of the roadhouse,
They’ve got some bungalows.
[...]
When I woke up this morning
And I got myself a beer.
The future’s uncertain
And the end is always near”.
~~~ “Roadhouse Blues” (The Doors – 1970)
http://toprocksong.blogspot.com/2009/04/roadhouse-blues-doors.html
Bill Wolfe Read more…