I 5 to the Pacific. Go Pro. Hard Light Filter.
Test Flight 2 from Jason Atkinson & Flying A Films on Vimeo.
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 Best comment on this photo — from the Courier-Journal’s Joe Gerth: “You look awfully pasty, Jonathan”
Day 2 of my great hemp adventures in Washington with Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has just begun. But as we trek around Capitol Hill and up Pennsylvania Avenue, I wanted to share with you the picture at left — the highlight of yesterday’s marathon visits with Members of Congress and senior Obama Administration officials. It’s funny, but I did not share with the Speaker my political party affiliation. Although I did mention my daughter is his constituent at Miami University in Ohio. And sorry to disappoint my fellow progressives who feel comfort in demonizing our political opponents as “enemies” or rotten people: Speaker John Boehner was engaging, extremely generous with his time, and very serious about the hemp legalization issue. He asked dozens of penetrating questions, digging deep into the agricultural and economic development potential of the crop; and fortunately Commissioner Comer was around to to provide substantive answers.  I’m the old man with Congressman Massie and Commissioner Comer I also really enjoyed meeting Tea Party favorite, Congressman Thomas Massie. Massie is wicked smaht (a good description of an MIT grad), very warm, and was really eager to find common ground with me, discussing his involvement on issues such as hemp legalization, drone oversight, and providing flexibility on mandatory minimum sentences. Of course, I did get to turn the tables on Commissioner Comer with several meetings with my fellow Democrats, including Obama Administration officials at several agencies, as well as my favorite Congressman, Louisville’s John Yarmuth (SPOILER ALERT: an hilarious photo is forthcoming.) The feedback was consistent — those who were already educated on the issue were very supportive. Our critical task in Washington — as it was in Frankfort — is to simply share the facts and dispel the myths. Once that task is complete, hemp will be legalized. I’m confident. As always, we strongly encourage to get involved — NOW. Here are three very simple things that you can do — right now, at your computer — to register your support for legalized industrial hemp and pressure Washington to fulfill the people’s will:
Anochi afar v’efer. In Hebrew this means, “I am but dust and ashes.” Seems to be a less than perky reminder about the inevitable, I know, but it does offer supportive wisdom actually. In the Jewish spiritual tradition of Mussar (the Hebrew word for ethics), the soulful human trait of humility plays a fundamental role in a life of balance. To realize that each of us no matter our accomplishments, inevitably become part of the physical earth, is humbling. Given the truth of this ultimate reality, how can any of us believe we are inferior to others, or superior? Anochi afar v’efer, it’s a perspective grabber, and a cool equalizer. This raises a significant question about what it means to be human in the time we have. How do we strive to fill in the time between life and, ahem, the alternative? How do we make our lives meaningful even in the mundane? How is one’s “mundane” existence actually not inferior to someone else’s life of adventure, leadership, intellectual contribution? We think of all kinds of answers here, or maybe we don’t even know where to begin.
The mastery of something refers to the inner realm, the part of us expressed through the soul traits we are all born with but that each of us have in varying degrees of development and measure: humility, patience, gratitude, compassion, order, equanimity, honor, simplicity, enthusiasm, silence, generosity, truth, moderation, loving-kindness, responsibility, trust, faith, yirah (awe of God). Read the rest of… Like any woman in show biz, I’ve had a long history of crushes on gay men. There was the cute scene partner in acting class, the fellow waiter who won my heart by knowing who Ella Fitzgerald was, and the incredibly talented sax player who had me fooled for awhile since musicians tend to be not just straight, but straight with a vengeance. And there was the awkward-but-sweet college buddy with whom I reconnected after he’d come out to (and in) San Francisco and transformed himself into a buff, bronzed hunk, but with the same sweetness and intelligence. We spent so much time commiserating about our bad luck with men that we half-seriously began to think we should just marry each other. (My mother heard about this and objected, “But Lauren, you know there would be a problem marrying him – he’s not Jewish!” When I told her that perhaps being gay might be a bigger obstacle, her response was “Oh, that’s no big deal, they can fix that.”) (In case she reads this column I should explain, that was over 20 years ago and she’s MUCH better informed now.) Having a crush on a gay friend can be really frustrating, knowing that he’d be perfect for you except for the sex thing. (My college friend and I did try to date a little, but it just didn’t work, for obvious reasons. He told me that if it wouldn’t work with me, he knew it could never work with a woman, which I hope was a lovely compliment instead of evidence that I turned men gay . . . ) But having a crush on a gay celebrity is stress-free – you know there’s no chance of anything happening, it’s just a fun fantasy. And it’s not as illogical as it seems; these guys are never going out with me regardless of their sexuality, so why not have fun? Plus when a celebrity comes out as gay, he simply adds to his attractiveness by his honesty and bravery. My list of celebrity crushes has included Ricky Martin, Nathan Lane, Victor Garber, Neil Patrick Harris, David Hyde Pierce, Nate Silver (he’s the political statistician who writes the NYTimes ‘538’ column and accurately predicted the outcome of every state in the presidential election – smart is almost as much of a turn-on as funny!) I’ve never really followed sports, other than knowing my husband will be in a foul mood if ‘his’ team loses (which makes no sense to me, he doesn’t actually know any players on the SF Giants or the Warriers or Sharks, so why does he care?) (In case he reads this column, I realize that on the other hand, he doesn’t understand my crush on Nathan Lane, et al., and since he doesn’t tease me about it, I won’t give him any grief about the team thing). But I am now following the sports scene, thanks to Jason Collins coming out as gay. Collins didn’t just come out, he expressed himself beautifully, he handled criticism with grace and dignity, and he comes across as smart, articulate, and thoughtful – but I almost can’t keep my mind on all those wonderful qualities, I keep getting distracted by his gorgeous physique, his rippling muscles, and that matinee-idol smile. And I don’t think the depth of my crush is at all impaired by the fact that before his announcement, not only had I never heard of Mr. Collins, but I’d also never heard of half of the teams listed in his bio. (Memphis Grizzlies? Minnesota Timberwolves?) So while I still admire all my previous crushes, and I look forward to more cute-and-funny celebrities coming out, I only write love songs for really special gay men. Nate Silver qualified during the election, but I think even more people will understand why I need to sing about Jason Collins! (In case he reads this column, I would LOVE to meet him and I promise not to drool – at least not too much.)  Commissioner Comer speaks to USDA officials It’s been a packed day of very productive meetings on hemp legalization in our nation’s capital. After a morning filled with briefing sessions with our allies from other states, we have moved on to sales mode, convincing Obama Administration officials and Members of Congress about the economic and environmental benefits of hemp legalization. Our first effort was an hour long session with officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including senior executives from various sub-agencies, including Farm Development and Rural Development (as well as Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary Tim Vilsack, Robert Bonnie — a Louisville native and a college classmate of mine). Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer held them captive with the dozens of potentially exciting applications of industrial hemp — from food to automotive products to clean energy production. They told us that Secretary Vilsack is constantly approached by Americans about the economic viability for hemp, and we hope that he will become a partner in our efforts within the Obama Administration. Later this afternoon, we will be meeting with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House to discuss environmental applications — both in the cleaner burning of fuels, as well as the more sustainable agricultural practices associated with hemp. Currently, we are sitting in Capitol Hill, awaiting meetings with Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie (R) and John Yarmuth (D), who will be introducing us to key Members of both parties to help build support for the legalization legislation that are co-sponsoring. As always, we strongly encourage to get involved — NOW. Here are three very simple things that you can do — right now, at your computer — to register your support for legalized industrial hemp and pressure Washington to fulfill the people’s will:
Practical and helpful negotiating advice I learned from my father “Give a little, take a little, but don’t break up the game.” We need each other and the best long term strategy for being someone wants to so business with is to be fair to others. They deserve it and will appreciate the respect —and help the “game” keep going (and with you in it).
You will go farther in life being average and kind than smart and condescending: Besides who wants to “play” with people like the latter category anyway? Be a person who gives and little and takes a little and is in the game. James Comer, hemp, and the Fiddler on the Roof
When my alarm clock rang this morning at 4:30, my first thought was to remind myself — never again travel with a farm boy. Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer and I left on a 6 AM flight for DC this morning to begin our lobbying efforts on behalf of hemp legalization. Comer who’s run a beef cattle farm since he was old enough to…uh, what exactly do you do on a beef cattle farm? Well, it is clear that like most farmers — who Paul Harvey eloquently stated were created by God on the eighth day — beef cattle farmers like Comer like to get up really early — way too early for this city slicker. But fortunately Comer’s early waking habits have put us in good shape for a full day’s of productive meetings in Washington. While we will meet with an alphabet soup of federal agencies this afternoon — EPA, DOE, USDA, CEQ, WTF — we have started meeting with experts on the issue: Michael Bowman, who has led the successful fight for hemp legalization in Colorado, and Eric Steenstra, who leads Vote Hemp, one of the leading national organizations supporting hemp legalization. One early lesson: A key focus of our efforts will be to seeking an amendment of the Farm Bill with hemp legalization language. So, as we head back into our meetings, please help us out. Here are three very simple things that you can do — right now, at your computer — to register your support for legalized industrial hemp and pressure Washington to fulfill the people’s will:
If the friend of my enemy is my enemy, then is the friend of my date going to be my date? A lot of guys may want it that way. (and some girls too.) What about the Facebook friend of my date? Facebook doesn’t make it easy to keep your dating life on the down low. If you are Facebook friends with your date, then chances are she has her ways of finding out who else you are dating. And that’s a good thing in my book. If you are really trying to two-time your girlfriend with her best friend you should at least have the decency to be stealthy about it. The public nature of Facebook also makes it complicated to use Facebook for dating. You want to use your social network to find dates, but you also don’t want everyone in your social network to know everything you’re doing.
It’s been scientifically proven that your mate is highly likely to be within 2 degrees of separation from you. [I read this in Scientific American] One of the biggest complaints that I hear from singles is that it’s so hard to meet people. So you have to start with who you know and the easiest way to find them, i.e. Facebook. Read the rest of… Re-thinking old assumptions and Prince Charming. We go through life locked in to certain beliefs, goals and aspirations. That is fine but many of the beliefs we carry with us at ages 20,30, 40 and beyond are based on subconscious decisions we made when we were children. We adopted a belief about ourselves, the world and what we wanted to do in life and, in many instances, have never pulled out those beliefs and looked at them from an adult perspective. Maybe they were good assumptions we made about life and we decide, as an adult, to keep that belief. But others won’t be as sensible to our grown-up selves as they seemed when we were, say, age 10. Think about Prince Charming. Ladies this is for you. We men are told that all women want to marry a Prince Charming.
“Sure,” I conceded, “he was handsome but what would you talk about after the first date? Probably him. It would be all about him. You can tell by looking at him. Do you really want that?” I honestly can’t remember anything else about that conversation. It probably ended then. My real goal was to set the bar much lower for me than Prince Charming so I could step over it. I did successfully set the bar lower. Whether I have stepped over it or not is a question only Rebecca can answer. But at least I’m not a “Dandy” Get up close and personal to whales, icebergs and flying penguins…what’s not to love about an Antarctic zodiac ride? A certain highlight of any Antarctica expedition are the zodiac rides cruising between massive icebergs, having whales swim up to check you out and seeing the unexpected beauties of Antarctica. While the view from the ship is great and the landings incredible, the zodiac rides provide an opportunity to get close to key parts of the Antarctic ecosystem. .
. How often do you get to be in a boat that is dwarfed by an animal? Not just an animal, but a curious animal that wants to see what you’re all about? The sealife’s interest in the zodiacs is unforgettable, especially if you get to have a leopard seal try to eat your zodiak (it can’t, but that doesn’t stop them from taking a bite). .
Icebergs are beautiful from a distance, but stunning up close. Often I found myself just staring, mouth agape, at the array of colors, textures and angles of the icebergs. What my mind tells me should look like giant ice cubes are really so much more, acting as kaleidoscopes, coloring everything nearby. .
This Georgia O’Keeffe iceberg beckoned our zodiac closer with the array of colors and…uh…welcoming shape. You know, like her flower paintings… .
As the light of the day changes so do the colors reflected by the icebergs. By the later afternoon the contrasts between blues and whites increase as the shadows progress around the seemingly infinite shapes. During the still morning and evening hours the reflections become supreme, revealing the true vastness of Antarctica where the views are truly endless. .
As you can see, the zodiac rides are an unforgettable part of a journey to Antarctica. When booking your Antarctic cruise make sure that your ship has enough zodiacs for all passengers to disembark at the same time and that these rides are part of your trip. Interested in exploring Antarctica yourself? WHEN YOU GO:Choose a guide. The crews of many ships are multi-national. To get the best experience choose a guide that natively speaks your language, ideally with cultural similarities because they’ll understand what you want to see. Dress warm. Of course, it’s Antarctica…but the zodiac rides are even colder because of the wind, make sure you have and wear wind/waterproof jackets, pants, hats and gloves. Actually just wear everything you brought… Consider a waterproof camera. While they take terrible photos most of the time, the underwater photos and videos of sea lions and whales people took were incredible. Of course this requires sticking your hand underwater…so have waterproof gloves or a dry back-up pair to slip on after submerging your hand! |
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