John Barlow's Blog

BarlowFriendz

While I was wandering around Wikipedia this morning I found a link to John Barlow's blog. I realize that he's a busy guy, but I wish he wrote more. It's a great blog, aside from the French spam in the "comments" section. He also co-founded one of my favorite places out on the internet, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Go to this link right now and poke around; there will be something there to outrage you and get you passionate about freedom, I guarantee.

After the "Katrina snub" in the President's State of the Union speech this year, Barlow had this to say about New Orleans in his blog:

"Again, I'm thinking of moving there. Some time back, I spent close to a year wearing a button that said, "I am Salmon Rushdie." In much the same way, I would now be proud to declare myself a citizen of New Orleans."

I really hope Mr. Barlow makes good on his promise to move to New Orleans. That town needs intelligent, vocal, involved people to push it past the current quagmire and get it back up to speed. Personally, I hope I can be one of "those" people. As of this writing, I cannot say how long I'll be living in New Orleans. I hope to at least be there through Mardi Gras--and even a bit longer. Only time and circumstances will tell if I'll just be a drifter landing for a few months, or something else entirely. I'll make no plans and see what synchronicity sends my way. That's always the most fun.

So, John Barlow...go ahead and move to New Orleans, or at least buy something and visit often. Aside from your other interests and skills, at the least the place needs a poet-in-residence. The recent flap over the state poem is reason enough for you to move to Louisiana.

XM to Ax MSNBC

Save MSNBC (Ch 130) on XM Satellite Radio

On September 4, XM will discontinue its feed of MSNBC on Channel 130. As a regular MSNBC viewer and listener via XM, this decision makes me mad--pig-biting mad, even. I found an online petition to sign for XM subscribers who agree that XM should keep MSNBC as a news outlet. If you like a varied choice of news channels on XM, follow the link above and sign the petition.

I am no industry insider. I don't know if MSNBC didn't want to be carried, or if they wanted more money, or if XM just didn't want them anymore. I don't even know if 300 or 400 names on a petition will make a difference anyway if the money end of this agreement is why it broke down. But this sure makes me sad because I was sooooo looking forward to having MSNBC via the XM when we moved since we won't be hooking up the TV or Dish Network anytime soon.

*SIGH*

You bastards!

Utah ISP blocks Wikipedia

8e6 Technologies

Where I live, we have a small, rural, private phone company that also provides internet service. Mercifully, I do not have this internet service; I am on a private network.

I was over at a friend's home last night who does have the local internet service and she said to me:

"I tried to get on to Wikipedia yesterday and this page came up saying my access was denied."

I, too, had noticed this page when I was browsing with my laptop on a network that used the local phone company's internet. 8e6 Technologies provides blocking software for internet providers. It seems as though our local internet service, provided by the little private phone company, is threatened somehow by Wikipedia. On their website, I see that "Kid Proof" Content Management is available with internet service. I didn't know Wikipedia was something that needed to be "kid proofed."

After looking around Wikipedia at length last week finding out all kinds of things about the history of the Mormon church, interesting photos, as well as discussion on a whole range of topics from the sacred to the profane, there was no question in my mind why the little, local, teeny-tiny rural phone company would decide to block access to Wikipedia. Good church-going folk wouldn't want kids asking too many questions.

It seems as though the phone company can provide a password code for those that want to view the evil website Wikipedia, and perhaps the phone company offers access if its more open-minded customers want that. I will find out more sooner or later and report it here. I am curious, though, as to what other web sites have been blocked.

Although my current provider has problems, I am SO happy I chose it over the phone company's service.

Wikipedia...who knew it could be so threatening? I love it. If I had a page on Wikipedia, if I somehow became a personage of note, I would go in and change stuff in it all the time, like...my house was made of candy...that I was born by the river in a little tent...that I use ten toothbrushes, all red, at any given time...can you imagine? It would be SO FUN! But then the serious Wikipedians would clamp down, I'm sure. Those people DO take the site very seriously, and I think that's what makes it great. Too bad the locals here don't get it.

My internet service.

My internet service is really sucky right now. I may not blog again for a few days, unless I go over to a friend's house and get online.

*sigh*

Small town living, you know...

What's next?

I suppose that the name of my blog will no longer be fitting unless I move somewhere that has canyons, which I may do, but not necessarily within the next year. So I've come up with an alternative in the mean time that, as we approach the final move, I will present here. I have not yet decided what will become of the Canyon Journal...I may keep it and reformat it, or retitle it, or put it in hibernation until I am sure of where I am living. It's an exciting problem to have, to be sure. I will begin writing in another blog about New Orleans if all goes as planned and we get moved there temporarily. I may, at that point, reveal my identity.

I still have not decided whether or not to remain anonymous when we move on. Right now it's easier for me to feel comfortable about keeping my identity a secret since I live in such a small town where I would be fairly easy to locate if someone wanted to find me. I hate that thought, especially if the person looking for me didn't like what I wrote. I also have a business to consider--and personal politics are everything in the "outdoor" industry. I still need this last season of hikers in my life before we leave.

So for whoever reads my inner thoughts at this blog address, don't panic. Something interesting will happen as we get moved...where ever that may be. Again, it's an exciting problem to have. I can live with that unknown, and as a woman, I'd say that being able to do that is a miracle of the first order.

Almost Gone.

It is finished.

We will be leaving Utah. Our real estate deal is now finalized. We have around three months to linger here, finish our tourist season, get packed, and get moved. The plan is to return to New Orleans for a few months, maybe even if this Ernesto storm hits. There is no telling at this point since that whole landfall scenario is a week away. We will play it by ear. I have been consumed with our real estate deal of late, and I've hardly been motivated to write anything in the blog until this contract stuff was finally concluded; we close the deal December 1st. The day that we signed the last papers and initialed the last addendums, a solid rain fell from late afternoon into the night. There was an incredible rainbow, a full half-circle, over the town and surrounding landscape for the duration of the sunset. It was beautiful. It was a sign. We saw a rainbow over town the day that we first moved here in 2000. To me, rainbows will always be the promise of a good new beginning in life. Since that recent rainy evening, something else has been in the air here...a feeling and a scent that can only be described as autumn returning.

After much hand-wringing about the cooling real estate market, I feel blessed that this deal will be closing and we will get on with a new life before the elections in the fall begin to make a difference in American lives...as always, there is never any telling how politics and congress can change what goes on in the lives of Americans. I feel freed of obligations, although we do have to do some due diligence concerning the business end of the sale. Utah has been an interesting era in our lives. As of this writing, I don't want to say anything more about Utah until I am freed from its borders. Once I am gone, however, I know that I may manage to squeeze out some essays about small town living and Utah oddities that are only known to residents that commit to being here for some time. Possibly the worst part about having lived in Utah will be driving around with a Utah license tag on the car until we get a new tag; it's the damndest thing, but on the highway I swear people always stare when we pass, or they pass us. I guess they want to see if there are any other wives in the car. Then there will be the explanations to those we meet anew..."Oh no, we're not Mormon...we just lived there for a little while."

There will be sadness at leaving, too. I am reminded of a book I recently read, "The Prophet." Of course it's a classic, but I never got around to reading it until my friend Kim sent me a copy. It's a beautiful book. I love the premise: a stranger about to return home, leaving a foreign land he has lived in for years, gives some parting advice to his adopted community. Honestly, with what we have lived through here, I could write my own version of this book and it would be just as profound and soul-jarring as the original. I may yet do something along those lines for the few dear ones we will leave behind when we move away--if I'm not busy with a yard sale, or cleaning my home for the last time, or busy with a tourist. I feel that it will be our last full fall in the southwest...for some reason, I don't feel as though we will ever live here again. I love New Mexico, and it was on our short list as a place to possibly move, but it is not within the top two spots right now. Perhaps the southwest will return to our lives at a later phase.

Hitler's...cafe?

New restaurant bears Hitler's name - Yahoo! News

Ordinarily, I'm all for free market entrepreneurial start-ups. I fully support imagination and creativity in any small business venture. I'm really struggling with this one, though. This restaraunt would be out of business in less than an hour in the United States or Europe...because someone would have burned it down or there would be a thousand protesters in front not allowing access. It just seems like such a BAD idea to name a restaurant after Hitler...what ARE they serving in there, anyway? Ugh. Even that thought conjures unsavory ideas.

Uh...Okay.

Passengers Can Expect Double Screening

I am thrilled the new terror plot was uncovered and stopped. Something is working correctly to protect us. Hooray.

I am shocked that the airlines would make everyone throw out any liquid before boarding the plane. This is ridiculous because there are quite a few airport-search-proof ways to smuggle liquids onto a plane. This does absolutely nothing, NOTHING, but inconvenience the 99.99% of air travelers that just want to get from point A to B. At least now the media has made a big enough deal out of this that people know not to bring liquids in their carry-on baggage. But really...it took me exactly five minutes to figure out how, if I wanted, to get a liquid on the plane.

Goodbye to this n' that. Thankfully.

It has been difficult to transition back to Utah. I'm distracted by the thought of finally moving away, and by world events that are completely out of my control. I am pleased that we will be leaving the state before anything worse happens in the world. Oddly, we closed on our Utah property the week of 9/11/2001, and we were scared shitless. We didn't know if the world was ending, if the tourist market would even be relevant if it still existed, and were half-certain we made a mistake. As it turns out, we did NOT make a mistake, and business got better every year. Now, we are simply bored and ready to do something else. Once the sale on our property is final, we will be free agents for awhile in New Orleans while we wait and see how the world deals with its current crises. For the time being, that is the plan. Otherwise, we have no other plans...except to attend Outdoor Retailer this weekend.

Outdoor Retailer. Disgusting. I have little desire to attend since I still feel like I just got back home. Moreover, I have come to some conclusions about the Outdoor Industry that are not flattering. My opinions are not dishonest by any means, however...

1. Men and women alike in this industry seem to do this outdoor thing because it's "cool." I have met some dedicated outdoor folk that are basically dirtbags that just dig being outside. They don't care what anyone thinks. And you know what? They are not in the outdoor industry.

2. The clothing is disgustingly Chinese-mass-consumer-at-the-mall crap. So is the gear. Very little is manufactured at home anymore.

3. The egos. The egos. I feel the bile rising in my throat right now thinking about all those sales "brahs" with their monkey hair and baggy pants. Then there are the old guys in their second or third mid-life crisis that are cooler than you and me because they have an H3 and are buyers for Bass Pro Shops or Dick's. Wow. My stomach hurts.

4. The utter lack of attention from salespeople for anyone or anything that might threaten the level of coolness, or be a waste of time if your business does not spend as much as the big guys. This particular aspect of Outdoor Retailer used to bother me the most. Now I'm past caring. I know what I'm worth--and it's not a monetary value that comes to my mind. I'm worth what I love the most. There is my treasure...right now, that does not include outdoor industry salespeople.

5. There is a TON of garbage generated at this convention that is a symptom of the excessive drinking that occurs in the aisles after the show closes for the night. It's cool that beer is flowing so happily in Utah, even if it is 3.2% Utah crap. It's just a bummer there's so much damn garbage. In an industry that values the outdoors so much, it's creepy to see the excessive paper/plastic/petroleum products used in the gear/sales material/gimme-giveaway-thingys. Blecccchhhhh....

I know I may have ripped on Outdoor Retailer before in a similar vein, but I have to say that every time I've attended this thing after the very first one, it has just sucked. SUCKED! I don't hold out much hope for this year's gathering, either. I always think I'll meet somebody cool and get to network with them for an hour or so. Never happens. I've met cooler people in my store, which is just as well. You know, you think you'll love something as a job because you love it as a hobby. In this instance, that has turned out not to be true. Once your love becomes your work, the mystery is gone and it slowly becomes drudgery. Camping gear? I used to love it...now, well, so what. Hiking? I still like it as long as I can hike where I want, not because I'm working. The people that have been my customers are the best part and they always have been--mostly because they are my window on the average life, the outside world that works hard and plays very little. I live vicariously through them. I am a people person. I don't think that will ever change. But I will never look at or judge someone in the outdoor industry in the same way ever again. I know that sounds bad from an outsider's point of view, but...well, I will explain that more in a longer essay I plan on writing. It's weird, but there are a disproportionate number of narcissists and sociopaths in this industry. Okay, I'm whining...like there AREN'T a disproportionate number of narcissists and sociopaths in, say, cable news or the petroleum industry. I suppose this is where Dorothy Parker got the idea for that wonderful quote: "If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to."

Outdoor Retailer, this may be the last time I visit your crowded aisles and your crafty salespeople. We shall see what the future holds. Even if we do stay in the "outdoor" industry (that is a horrid oxymoron, isn't it?), I will be hard-pressed to return to your gleaming Salt Palace plastic convention.

Home semi-sweet home.

So we made it home to Utah. The picture is a bridge over Glen Canyon/Lake Powell on the way home.

We drove from Santa Rosa, New Mexico day-before-yesterday in one 12-hour road binge. As we drove toward Lake Powell on Highway 95 over Cedar Mesa, a turkey came out right in front of us. Of course, we were the ONLY car on this road. And of course, this crazy turkey had to step out right in front of us. We slowed down, and as we did the big bird came to a stop almost in the middle of the road. A loose feather was hanging out of its tail, and as the turkey decided to run across the rest of the road after a split-second of negotiating whatever it thought we were, the feather floated free and came to land on the yellow lines. We were now past the bird-car intersection when I decided I needed the turkey feather and we stopped. I ran back to fetch the plume, but the turkey itself was long gone, having finally run into the brushy pinon and juniper woodlands. The feather was still warm when I picked it up. It was a nice "welcome home" gift, I think. It sits to my left as I write this. The day before that, driving home through Texas, we decided to cruise around Hill Country before heading west. We were on a backcountry road when we spied an armadillo (I've never seen one alive before--only squashed by the road). I needed a photo so we stopped. I opened the car door and the thing proceeded to walk up to me. I took the picture--then I told it to run along, and it did. It was very cute.

I just have to say that America is BEAUTIFUL...the drive across a third of the country really allows for the time to see the small places, the nowhere places, and the big places in the middle of nowhere that contrast the beauty of red rocks, old buildings, historic locations, the zen of the plains, I don't know what else...America is BEAUTIFUL. I just want to jump up and down and laugh thinking about how lucky we all are to live here. I wish everyone could see what I've seen, and know how great freedom really can be when you have the time to indulge it.

Our last morning on the road I ate a McGriddle for the first time in my life, and it was so good I started laughing. Really. I suppose I should explain that dining out where I live doesn't really exist like it does for the rest of America. We have no fast food in my town, and about four to six restaurants that are maybe open most of summer, and not at all in winter. It just reinforces my opinion that Utah is a culinary black hole, (WHICH IT IS--trust me on this) with the exception of Cafe Diablo in Torrey, which is over the mountain from us, and only open in summer. I can't wait to move somewhere where there is food passion--for flavors, for tradition, for the pleasure of cooking and dining. Of course, Taco Bell and McDonald's can be great too, in moderation.

That would be nice...Taco Bell every now and then.