The bright sun that launched the day has become hidden behind clouds as I progress south on the train into New York City. The fall colors still show themselves and we are definitely making a walk toward winter.
It snowed yesterday, three inches, quickly gone with the cold seeping deeply into my bones while I layered clothes for the weather.
Today and tomorrow, I am going to be attending “Produced By,” a conference held by the Producers Guild of America, of which I am a member. There are several sessions that should be helpful as I work on producing “First Guru,” a film about Vivekananda, who brought Yoga and Hinduism to the US in 1893. WTTW, the PBS station in Chicago, will be the presenting station. Near the Art Institute of Chicago, where Vivekananda gave his first speech, there is a Vivekananda Way.
There is much talk in the world today of “mindfulness,” pausing a moment to find yourself in the clutter of noise that surrounds us. As I was writing that sentence and attempting to be mindful of myself and the beauty around me, I received an email that put me out of mindfulness into gratitude.
Several weeks ago I was requested to submit a proposal to The University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Presidential Politics and Policies to do a consulting assignment for them and an email arrived while I was on the train that they had accepted my proposal and wanted to start moving.
Which generated a flurry of activity as I reached out to thank my references for graciously supporting me. Followed by other things and setting up a conference call with The Miller Center for Monday afternoon and before I knew it, the train was gliding into Penn Station.
After stopping at Tracks Restaurant in the belly of Penn Station for a bowl of their clam chowder, I am now at the apartment, finishing the letter before going off to the first session of the conference.
As I was driving to the station today, I noticed that there were many Trump/Pence signs and no Clinton/Kaine signs. Pondering that, I wonder if the liberals in Columbia and Greene Counties tend to be “closeted.” Political discord can run deep in the Hudson River Valley. I’ve been told the tale of a Greene County resident who years ago registered himself as a Republican because until he did his County services were, shall we say, spotty…
There is another FBI look into Clinton’s emails. The two big burly men seated next to me at Tracks as I chowdered were none too happy about that.
Anthony Weiner, who fell from Congress because of his sexting problems, apparently had some emails that somehow connected to the Clinton case on the computer the FBI seized after his most recent sexting troubles. His wife, a close confidante and aid to Hillary Clinton, left her husband after it was discovered he was sexting someone while their son slept next to him.
The “Produced By” Conference is being held at Time – Warner Center. Time Warner has just been purchased by AT&T.
The single most catastrophic merger in the history of corporations was the merger of AOL and Time Warner. Now, it is hoped that Time Warner and AT&T will do better. But as a friend of mine, Jeff Cole, Executive Director of USC’s Annenberg School of Communications Center for the Digital Future, has observed that it is a little hard to imagine a phone company meshing well with a Hollywood behemoth.
We will see, if the regulators allow it to happen.
And, in Jerusalem, researchers have opened, for the first time in centuries, what is believed to have been Jesus’ tomb. Since the days of Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor, there has been a building there to make the spot. Constantine sent his mother, Helena, to Jerusalem to find it. [Maybe a good way to get a pesky mother off your hands for a few years?]
Marble has encased the slab where is body is said to have rested. Careful archeological work will be done over the next months and years.
Off to the conference…
Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From Claverack 06 28 2017 Too beautiful a day to waste…
June 28, 2017Yesterday, I determined I would go down to the city to attend the Producer’s Guild Annual Meeting. This morning, walking out of the studio after my program, I made an abrupt determination that I was not going. It is just too beautiful a day to be in the city; when I left the studio, I knew what I wanted to do was to be sitting on my deck, a good strong mug of coffee next to me, with my fingers tapping on my laptop, which is where I am now.
The sky occasionally greys over but it is still a pleasant day, a little cooler than I would like but not by much.
The creek is clear, meandering gently to the west where it will eventually pour itself into the Hudson River. The coffee is a rich mix of Honduran and Nicaraguan beans, freshly ground, from Tierra Farm, a local business that is at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and from whom I buy my coffee. Now that I know they have a retail store, I won’t need to worry about stocking up between the Summer and Winter Markets.
On Wednesday afternoons, during the summer, there is a smaller market in the park across from Proprietor’s Square. Perhaps I’ll go down there this afternoon; I have friends who sell their flavored D’arcy butters there.
Once I made the decision not to go the city, I felt playful. When I woke this morning, as the sun was just beginning to ascend in the eastern sky, I was thinking it would be fun. Then I read an article about the deteriorating state of the subway system and remembered the achingly long waits for the C Train last time I was in the city but was still determined to go.
Until the moment I walked out and saw how beautiful it was and breathed in the sweet air and thought: why? Yes, I would like to go to the Annual Meeting but was it worth a two-hour ride down and two hours back, an overnight stay, especially when my other meetings had cancelled or not confirmed? And I decided the beauty of where I was would beat the beauty of where I was going. I came home, threw my overnight bag onto the bed to be unpacked, made coffee and came out to the deck.
Opening my email inbox, I ruthlessly deleted anything that was not personal. Delete, delete, delete to all the emails from all progressive causes pleading for money. Delete, delete, delete to all emails referencing politics while savoring several teasing me with recipes I would like to make one day.
In the political chaos of our time, I have been seeking solace in the carefully laid out steps in recipes, promising a decent outcome if one follows the road map. Out there in the real world, there is no real road map and anyone attempting to create one, is not having much success.
McConnell’s gamble on secrecy in creating the Senate version of the American Health Care Act, seems to have backfired on him, leaving him postponing debate and a vote until after the July 4th recess. It does not go far enough for the conservatives and too far for the moderates while the Democrats are not having any of it.
The U.S. spends more than any other country on healthcare and, in at least some studies comparing it to other countries of similar economic status, comes out dead last in quality. Just fix it, please. Go ahead, guys, get together and put together a plan that works. Republicans! Democrats! Please. Aren’t we all Americans? Can’t we do better?
Everywhere I wander on news sites today, I am flooded with ads for Pepper, a Soft Bank Robotics robot, that they are offering to help in retail and offices. One package will replace your receptionist. It’s about 4 feet high with big eyes, a wide range of movement and what looks like an iPad plastered to its chest. They may be coming for us.
There is another ransomware attack hitting, mostly in Europe and Asia right now. It’s called “Petya” and is derived from code hacked from the NSA. Perhaps the next war won’t be fought with tanks, ships, planes and soldiers but by bunkered hackers working to bring their enemy to its technological knees.
Outside, it’s a beautiful day, a good moment, jazz standards are playing on my Echo and I am going to head to the Wednesday Market and see what’s for offer today instead of plying the subway lines of New York City. Yes, that sounds like a very good idea on a beautiful day.
Tags:Amazon Echo, C Train, Claverack Cottage, Claverack Creek, D'arcy Butters, Democrats, Hudson River, iPad, Jazz, Mitch McConnell, New York City subways, NSA, Petya Virus, Producer's Guild of America, Republicans
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