Special to Bayview Hill-Jake Sigg's Nature News

1. Job opportunity in invasive weeds
2. Important Restore Sharp Park hearing Thurs 30 April 1 pm
3. California Wildflower Show at Oakland Museum May 1, 2, 3
4. CNPS field trip May 2/Program May 7 - CA Academy of Sciences' Living Roof
5. Words on the environmental crisis from Denise D'Anne
6. Two great people at SF MOMA in May: Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams
7. Green Hairstreak Corridor's last field trip May 9
8. Birding and plant tour of Glen Canyon Saturday 2 May
9. 5th Annual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Sunday 3 May/Native Plant Sale May 2 & 3
10. Feedback: SF Botanical Garden fee/Sharp Park Golf Course
11. An evening with Tuolumne River Trust and Sean Elsbernd April 30
12. CNPS member discount days at Middlebrook Gardens May 2 & 16
13. Budding threat to global food supply: wheat stem rust
14. Assault on false ideals of progress: Gray's Anatomy
15. Obituary: Maurice Jarre, film composer
16. Words of wisdom from Marion Berry, former mayor of Washington DC

1. The Bay Area Early Detection Network is seeking an early detection Coordinator. For the right candidate, the position is a rare opportunity to revolutionize invasive plant management in the Bay Area --and beyond!


ABOUT THE BAY AREA EARLY DETECTION NETWORK:
The Bay Area Early Detection Network (BAEDN) is a collaborative partnership of regional land managers and invasive species experts which serves the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The BAEDN coordinates Early Detection and Rapid Response to infestations of invasive plants, proactively dealing with new outbreaks before they can grow into large and costly environmental threats. This “stitch-in-time” approach prevents the environmental and economic damage caused by these invaders; educates citizens regarding natural resource stewardship; and reduces the need for the planning and resources required to control large, established invasive plant populations.


POSITION DESCRIPTION:
The Coordinator will lead development and implementation of the Bay Area Early Detection Network (BAEDN), with input and direction from the BAEDN Steering Committee.
The position is largely office-based, with some site visits and outdoor trainings expected. Office work may involve extended periods of sitting and using a computer, mouse, and telephone. Work location is flexible, and travel throughout the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region is expected and will be reimbursed. The Coordinator will be hired on a contract basis at billing rate $23-$30/hour, depending on experience. Alternative work schedules will be considered.

This is very condensed. For more information, email gluesenkamp@egret.org

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2. Restore Sharp Park - SF Board of Supervisors hearing Thursday the 30th, 1 pm

At the hearing, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee will consider a City ordinance to restore Sharp Park for expanded recreational uses instead of only for golf. It should also be managed for the federally-listed endangered species: San Francisco garter snake and California red-legged frog. It further provides for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department either to manage Sharp Park jointly with the GGNRA or to transfer ownership to them outright.

San Francisco City Hall Room 263
Thursday 30 April, 1 pm

The off-leash dog advocates and golfers will be out in force, and could conceivably kill this legislation. If you want to get into the room you must be there early.

Two websites for more information:

http://www.restoresharppark.org/

The San Francisco Preservation Society's news page: http://www.sfpsociety.org/news.html
features an adapted version of the SF Chronicle story from April 8th on the Sharp Park debate.

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3.
California Wildflower Show 2009
Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak@ 10th St
One block from Lake Merritt BART


Preview: May 1, 5–9 p.m.
Saturday May 2, 10–5
Sunday May 3, 12–5


Included with museum admission. Hear from the experts and savor the colors and fragrance of hundreds of freshly collected native flowers.


Saturday, May 2, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
11 a.m. Dr. Richard Beidleman: "In the Shadow of Darwin"
12:30 p.m. Dr. Linda Vorobik: "Sierra Nevada: A Celebration of Wildflowers"
2 p.m. Dr. Frank Almeda: "Sustainability and the Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences"
3:30 p.m. Glen Schneider discusses native plants for the garden


Sunday, May 3, 12-5p.m.
1 p.m. Bob Case: "Invasive Plants: A Serious Threat to California Wildflowers"
3 p.m. John Farais talks about cooking with native plants


Presented in collaboration with the California Native Plant Society, the Jepson Herbarium, the University of California Botanical Garden, and Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour.
SHOP the Museum Store for all your Wildflower guides!
PHOTOGRAPHERS – California Wildflowers Show is for you! Plenty of flowers to photograph – No flash – Visit the museum on Flickr -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oaklandmuseumofcalifornia/
Exhibition on view:
The Future of Sequoias: Sustaining Parklands in the 21st Century
http://www.museumca.org/exhibit/exhi_sequoia.html

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4.
California Native Plant Society field trip
Baker Beach Bluffs
Saturday 2 May, 10 am
Leader Michael Chasse

Once dubbed the "Great Sand Waste," the dunes of San Francisco are now mostly covered by roads, buildings, and weedy back yards. Some of the best examples of coastal foredune and dune scrub habitat remain along the western shore of the Presidio at Baker Beach. Years of persistence in the removal of European dune grass and iceplant have renewed the diversity of these communities, including the return of extirpated species such as beach morning glory, Calystegia soldanella. Come explore these remnant and restored dune habitats with Michael Chasse of the National Park Service. Meet at the south Baker Beach parking lot at 10 am. Call Michael at 561-2857 for directions and to RSVP.


California Native Plant Society program - free and open to the public
California Academy of Sciences Living Roof
Speaker: Dr Frank Almeda
Thursday 7 May, 7.30 pm
San Francisco County Fair Bldg

Dr Almeda's presentation will cover the planning and implementation of the new Living Roof at the California Academy of Sciences. He will discuss the challenges of assembling it; its many environmental benefits; its performance; and the ways in which it is being used not only as a sustainability feature but as a public exhibit, outdoor classroom, and as a setting to conduct research on a dynamic living landscape and its interaction with local biodiversity in Golden Gate Park.
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5. BEYOND CHRON, April 21, 2009

Dear Editor:
On April 22 we will be celebrating, the 39th anniversary of the beginning of Earth Day. It began because of people’s concern with population growth and the first conscious glimmer of global warming. Earth Day was supposed to make us more aware of the need to have a sustainable environment. Recycling became de rigueur. And guess what, corporations started to take advantage, especially those producing various packaging material. No reason to complain about excess packaging because it can be recycled. We now have more things swaddled in plastic and other unnamable material than ever before. But, it can be recycled.

We could be celebrating unEarth Day. We are at the point of no return as far as the environment goes. The planet is on life support, but remember we can recycle our way out of this tragedy. At last, we can also compost. This is done with thousands of truck trips picking up our compostable material. And the trucks will run on bio-fuels. To get this fuel, just un-forest the forests and plant food crops, not to eat but to feed the beast - our pets - the automobile.

Oops, forgot to mention electric cars. Everyone in world can have one, if only we could knock down all the structures standing in the way of getting these cars around.

HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYBODY!

Denise D'Anne
San Francisco

The Story of Stuff: http://www.storyofstuff.com/


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6. SF MOMA May 2009
Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams met in 1929 while in Taos, New Mexico, and began a lifelong friendship based on a profound shared appreciation for the natural world. This new exhibition brings together some of their most important works, revealing numerous parallels between their distinctive visions of nature.

“With a resolute whisper, Lobos Creek flowed past our home on its mile-long journey to the ocean. It was bordered, at times covered, with watercress and alive with minnows, tadpoles, and a variety of larvae. Water bugs skimmed the open surfaces and dragonflies darted above the streambed. In spring, flowers were rampant and fragrant. In heavy fog the creek was eerie, rippling out of nowhere and vanishing into nothingness.”
From Ansel Adams’ 1985 autobiography. Adams grew up near Lobos Creek in the early 1900s

“Both the grand and the intimate aspects of nature can be revealed in the expressive photograph.” Ansel Adams

“Nobody sees a flower, really. It is so small it takes time—we haven’t time—and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.”
Georgia O’Keeffe

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7.
Nature-in-the-City's Green Hairstreak Corridor has gained much attention of late--eg, an outstanding article by Josiah Clark in the current Bay Nature magazine. Two walks this spring have led to many more people seeing these amazing creatures. Quickly sign up for the last walk of the season: Saturday, May 9th. at steward@natureinthecity.org Meet at the corner of 14th & Rivera. A $10 donation will be asked for at the end of the walk to go towards the project. Two hours (11 am-1 pm) strolling a beautiful part of the city few people realize is there.

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8.
Miraloma Park Improvement Club Presents a Grand Bird and Plant Tour of Glen Park Canyon


Friends and neighbors, you have a treat in store. Allan Ridley and his wife Helen McKenna-Ridley will be giving a 2-hour walking tour of Glen Park Canyon on Saturday, May 2, followed by a chat about what we’ve seen (and not seen) at the Miraloma Park Clubhouse. Allan may be familiar to some of you who have gone on his wonderful birding tours of Mt. Davidson in past years.


Allan Ridley, MS, taught biology and ornithology at the Urban School of San Francisco. Helen McKenna-Ridley, MS, taught biology and environmental science at George Washington High School and became principal of Raoul Wallenberg High School. Helen is an experienced docent at the San Francisco Botanical Garden (SFBG) in Golden Gate Park. Together they have traveled widely and have led birding and natural history trips to Costa Rica, Ecuador, New Zealand, and Australia. On the first Sunday of each month at 8:00 AM, they lead a bird walk through the SFBG.

Event: Birding and plant tour of Glen Park Canyon with Allan Ridley and Helen McKenna-Ridley
Date: Saturday, May 2
Time: 9 AM for the walking tour, 11:15 AM for gathering at the Clubhouse
Place: For the walking tour, meet behind the Recreation building in Glen Park (enter from Elk St. behind tennis courts). For the gathering after, Miraloma Park Clubhouse, 350 O’Shaughnessy Boulevard at Del Vale (enter the parking lot from Del Vale). See miralomapark.org for more information and directions.

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9.
Fifth Annual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Companion Event: Native Plant Sale Extravaganza Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, 2009


Digital photographs available at www.BringingBackTheNatives.net

This free, award-winning tour features 50 pesticide-free gardens that conserve water, provide habitat for wildlife, and contain 50% or more native plants. This self-drive tour showcases a variety of Alameda and Contra Costa county gardens, from large parcels in the hills, to small lots in the flats. Space is limited and registration is required; register early to ensure a place. Volunteers are needed. Please register or volunteer at www.bringingbackthenatives.net

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10. Feedback

Robert MacConnell:

Regarding item #12 "Slaughter of birds by communication towers". This note is to inform you that not all towers are killers. I spend 4 hours/week over the last two years at the KPFA site on Grizzly Peak. I have yet to see a single dead bird there. Many live ones but no dead ones. Perhaps it would be a good study to find out why this is so.


Dennis Antenore:
Jake, I very much appreciate your facilitating a dialogue about the proposed fee to enter the Arboretum (Botanical Garden). First let me say that I am a very strong supporter of the Botanical Garden as are most people opposing the fee. Personally, I am a member of the Society and would not be affected by the fee. I have tried to look at both of sides of this issue and am somewhat disappointed that the proponents merely respond with orchestrated rhetoric. I know that there are legitimate issues here that need to be addressed, but also have come to believe that charging a fee is, overall, a negative development. Many of us have visited the Garden regularly for decades and appreciate its value more than can be easily expressed. Most people treat the garden with respect and see it as a quiet retreat for relaxation away from the traffic and noise. One regularly observes parents with baby carriages strolling through the garden, elderly people sitting on benches enjoying the sun and others sitting in a secluded corner reading. Obviously the proponents are correct in pointing out that there have been abuses, but I know from very regular visits over decades that these are rare. The proponents of a fee seem to be using this bad behavior of the few as an excuse for punishing the many. The garden has survived beautifully for many decades without a fee, and the resources to deal with occasional damage have been found. I ask the proponents to please look at this issue from the perspective of the vast majority of the visitors who see this, rightly or wrongly, as a seizure by special interests of control over a public resource. The idea of a so-called public-private partnership is anathema to many. There is obviously a clash of visions for the future of the garden. Raising the issue of the long range plans to develop a cafe is far from a red herring, but is emblematic of this clash. We feel that decisions about the future of the garden should be in the hands of the public not controlled by the few, however well intentioned they may be. Some people have opined that because of the seriousness of the budget crisis opposing this fee in the face of drastic cuts elsewhere in the City budget can't be justified. But, on the other hand, many of us see this as more of a development scheme than a response to the budget. When the economics are examined and the costs of building gates and hiring personnel are considered it requires unrealistically optimistic assumptions about potential revenues from the fee. Visitorship will obviously drop dramatically, as has happened, for example, at the Japanese Tea Garden. The issue of maintaining public access to this resource should be seen as a very valuable asset in and of itself. Dennis Antenore
Dennis: I will do my best to respond to a number of statements you made--mostly those in regard to the three correspondents you refer to, all of them friends of mine. Two of them are closely connected to the Garden as either staff (of the supporting Society, not the City) or long-time volunteer. The other, now living in Portland, was a frequent visitor to the Garden. All three are people of integrity; they may have biases, but can not be accused of orchestrated responses. The opinions expressed are coming from them, and are as sincerely held as your opinion is.

In this discussion it's important to make distinctions. There are two entities involved in management: The City & County (which owns the land, pays the salary of the director, the gardening staff, and garden maintenance), and the support organization, the SF Botanical Garden Society (which funds a large staff and all the many educational programs, the superbly-run Helen Crocker Russell Library, the volunteer program, special projects (design and installation costs of many of the gardens: Arthur Menzies Garden of California Native Plants, the Cape Province Garden, the New World Cloud Forest, and many, many other projects too numerous to mention).

I feel myself willy-nilly wandering into deep waters here. It is a very complex matter and not given to easy answers. Add to that my own personal history with the Garden and with City employment, and it begins to resemble a can of worms. As I stated before, when I was on City staff through the 1970s and '80s, we were discussing an entrance fee then, and I was split down the middle regarding its desirability. Like you, I am opposed to privatizing and paying for what have been free. If it were a simple matter of this sort--which seems to be the way you view it--the decision would be easy.

The main reason I differ from you is that I sense that you are reasonably happy with the current state of the garden, including maintenance. I am not, and it is a source of deep unhappiness with me. Although the Society touts it as a "world-class garden", that is just pretense, something that we're used to in San Francisco. The horticultural knowledge and garden maintenance are sub-standard. If they aspire to world-class status, a number of things need to happen:

1. There is a need to rationalize the bizarre management structure (referred to above). One reason it is a problem is because the garden is run by the City, with all the well-known defects of its Civil Service, the union, governance by one political party, &c. It has resulted in the City being employer-of-last-resort and lacking accountability. Public service attracts a very high caliber of people who want to do that--serve the public. However, once hired, motivated employees encounter all sorts of obstacles and frustrations, and good people are stymied in their efforts. Some persist in spite of these obstacles, but they are seldom promoted on the basis of merit. This is not a recent phenomenon; it goes back several decades, at least to the death of John McLaren in 1943. Civil service was originally designed way-back-when as a merit system. It has evolved into a demerit system.

2. In addition to lack of professional training, staff size is inadequate to create a world-class garden. One hears only of inadequate budgets. Budgets are a problem, but a secondary one. First is poor management--starting at City Hall with the Mayor and Supervisors.

3. The SF Botanical Garden Society needs to be educated regarding standards. It is too prone to surface show and self-promotion--style without substance. I don't want to be too hard on it because it is in a difficult situation, the garden location being an integral part of Golden Gate Park and under the above-referenced management. There may be unspoken discontent on their part, but they are stuck with a difficult situation. Less pretense and more dealing with nitty-gritty would be helpful.

4. Too much is made of "privatizing" the garden. It is public land, it's maintenance is funded by the taxpayer, and it cannot be privatized, nor do I think that is the intention of the Society. The purpose of a fee is to provide funding to improve horticultural and management standards. Those standards are sorely in need of improvement. People are so accustomed to paying to go to the museum, symphony, opera, or whatever. Our botanical garden is the sole exception in San Francisco, and this is not fair. For better or worse, Americans don't publicly fund these things on any large scale.

5. As you can see, I have ended my 30-year inner conflict whether to charge an entrance fee: I think it is desirable. I would like to see a first-class botanical garden here, and you're not going to get it unless it is better funded and led.

6. For whatever it's worth, I have no love for the Society. My reason is the treatment I received from them in 1988, and I still harbor resentment. But this is too important a public matter to let personal animosity influence my decision.

My attitude has just been given a fillip. After writing the above six items, I just read the most recent Yodeler of the Sierra Club Bay Chapter. It contained a tendentious article on the subject, inaccurately headlined "Fee proposal would move towards privatizing Arboretum". Among other distortions and inaccuracies, it equated the cost of the entrance fee to the cost of becoming a member of the Society. That is dishonest. And the Club used the technique so often used against the Club when they were, eg, opposing logging of a forest, in which case the local logging communities trotted out the kids, who were exploited by being portrayed as dependent on the income from the logging to pay for their schools. The Sierra Club uses the same tactic in this article, and it is shoddy journalism. The Club should look in the mirror. It is yet another example of the Sierra Club Problem: dependence on volunteers to do most of its work, especially at the local level. The Club is confronted with many complex and difficult issues, and only volunteers to master and explain the issues to the members. The results are often bizarre and damaging.

I am not unmindful of the downsides of an entrance fee. But there are many ways the program can be structured to compensate for hardships.

Well, there is much more to be said, but this is way too long now. I hate to differ with you, Dennis, because I understand your thinking, and I know you're coming from a good place. But there are too many cogent reasons why I must differ.

A final shot: the problems of the botanical garden are nothing compared to the problems of Golden Gate Park, which I regard as becoming a basket case, with no hope in sight. The neighborhood parks have the Neighborhood Parks Council to advocate for them. Golden Gate Park is an orphan. But that's for another day.
My apologies if I misinterpreted the motivations of your friends. It just seemed to me that there was a consistent line with the same arguments and language being used in every forum in which this is discussed. From what you say, I was probably wrong in this case.

Mike Mooney:

Hey Jake, I'm an avid golfer (and weed warrior, as you know) and I just played Sharp Park. There's only part of one golf hole that seems to be affected by the flooding of the wetland area. It'd be a shame if the entire course would be closed due to this conflict. Although golf courses could do better, obviously, they do provide a fair amount of natural benefits, such as habitat, open space, fire breaks, etc.

I am not opposed to golf--to the contrary--and I'd like to provide for everyone's need on this increasingly crowded planet. I can't go into the details of a complex subject, but the main reason I am for converting this to a nature center and restoration site is because of the natural values it has and its possibilities for enhancing those beleaguered values. And the course does imperil two federally-listed endangered species.

The need for connection to nature by city dwellers, the need for education regarding natural values where the young can be exposed to the real world, the need to feed their natural curiosity--these are overwhelming needs, and they trump providing diversion to adults. Where can young and old go to satisfy these desperate needs? Sites are few, and diminishing. To put the frosting on the cake, the course is losing money for San Francisco, where crucial needs are not being met because of funding. The status quo is out of the question, because legal requirements for upgrading the course and protecting endangered species necessitate huge expenditures which neither San Francisco nor Pacifica can afford.

That's all I can say in a few sentences; there is much more to it.

“We are the children of the earth and removed from her our spirit withers.” George MacCaulay Trevelyan

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11.
An Evening With Tuolumne River Trust
And Special Guest San Francisco Supervisor Sean Elsbernd to discuss The Tuolumne River and Water Conservation
Hosted by Ann & Stephen Clark
Thursday, April 30
7:00 – 9:00pm
2000 Monterey Blvd
San Francisco
Please RSVP to karyn@tuolumne.org


7:00 wine and hors d’oeuvres
8:00 30-minute presentation
childcare provided

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12. CNPS Member Discount Days - May 2 & 16, 2009

On May 2 & 16, 2009 Middlebrook Gardens is hosting a special discount day for CNPS members, and we will also be giving two free lectures each day. The first lecture is at 10 am, and the second will be at 2 pm. The lecture is open to the public. A 10 % discount will be offered to CNPS and CNGF members on all plant purchases on these days.

76 Race Street, San Jose, 408-292-9993

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13. Budding threat to global food supply

Stem rust, the wheat pest that was vanquished by science five decades ago, has returned in a destructive new form

A virulent new version of a deadly fungus is ravaging wheat in Kenya's most fertile fields and spreading beyond Africa to threaten one of the world's principal food crops, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Stem rust, a killer that farmers thought they had defeated 50 years ago, surfaced in Kenya in 1999, jumped the Red Sea to Yemen in 2006 and turned up in Iran last year. Crop scientists say they are powerless to stop its spread and increasingly frustrated in their efforts to find resistant plants.

Nobel Peace Laureate Norman Borlaug, the world's leading authority on the disease, said that once established, stem rust can explode to crisis proportions within a year under certain weather conditions. "This is a dangerous problem because a good share of the world's area sown to wheat is susceptible to it. It has immense destructive potential," said Borlaug.

Coming on the heels of grain scarcity and food riots last year, the budding epidemic exposes the fragility of the food supply in poor countries. It is also a reminder of how vulnerable the ever-growing global population is to the pathogens that inevitably surface somewhere on the planet.

...Unlike common rust infestations, which reduce but do not wipe out yields, stem rust can topple a whole field. "It can take everything," said (the director of Australia's rust-control programme). "It is the most damaging of the rusts."

Excerpted from Washington Post

“Our competitors are our friends. Our customers are our enemies.” Retired president of one of the major U.S. grain companies

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14.
In a hurry to go nowhere
John Gray's assault on false ideals of progress is timelier than ever

Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings, by John Gray

John Gray is far too forbearing to tell us that he told us so, but he did. The title of one of his key works indicates his foresight - False Dawn: Delusions of Global Capitalism. What is significant is that this closely reasoned polemic came not from the pen of some hot-eyed zealot of the left or a green-fingered son of Gaia, but from a liberal conservative thinker of a quietist cast of mind, an admirer, albeit in a qualified way, of Margaret Thatcher, a shrewd commentator on the likes of Friedrich Hayek and George Soros, and a dedicated foe of Enlightenment values. He is surely the most incisive political philosopher that we have, and one whose time has, sad to say, definitely come.

Sad, because no one wants to be around when Cassandra's prophecies come true, not even Cassandra herself. Gray excoriates the follies of our globalised world more in sorrow than in anger. He has no grand solutions to offer for the troubles of our apocalyptic age, and urges a programme that is radical only in its mutedness: "Other animals do not need a purpose in life...the human animal cannot do without one. Can we not think of the aim of life as being simply to see?"

..."For Saint-Simon and Comte, technology meant railways and canals. For Lenin it meant electricity. For neo-liberals it means the internet." The conviction that our own time is at last "modern" and that we are the "last men" is, for Gray, one of the most lamentable of the many delusions that humankind allows itself. We imagine ourselves original yet are mired in the past. He quotes Keynes's apposite insight: "Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling the frenzy of some academic scribbler of a few years back."

Keynes was writing at a time when public policy was governed by outdated economic theories. Today it is ruled by a defunct religion. The social engineers who labour to install free markets in every last corner of the globe see themselves as scientific rationalists, but they are actually disciples of a forgotten cult.

...For Gray, the Enlightenment idea of the soul progressing in tandem with technological advances is pernicious. Progress in science is real - painless dentistry and the flush lavatory, he concedes, are certain goods - but spiritual progress is a myth. "Scientific and technological advance has not, and cannot, diminish the realm of mystery and tragedy in which it is our lot to dwell."

Gray is rightly dismissive of contemporary millenarianism which, until very recently, considered that we had arrived at the "end of history" and the dawn of a new age of endless expansion - "the project of promoting maximal economic growth is, perhaps, the most vulgar ideal ever put before suffering humankind" - and sees, in the destructive and exploitative activities of Homo sapiens, an unwilled urge towards our own destruction. He argues for an entirely reformed attitude to the world and our place in it, and above all urges that we relinquish the delusion of progress.

In the long essay An Agenda for Green Conservatism - which, by the way, every Green politician, and voter, should read - he sets out his case most subtly and persuasively: "The idea of progress is detrimental to the life of the spirit, because it encourages us to view our lives, not under the aspect of eternity, but as moments in a universal process of betterment. We do not, therefore, accept our lives for what they are, but instead consider them always for what they might someday become."

Recognise the truth of this contention and we are on the way to the getting of wisdom.

Excerpt from review in Guardian Weekly 24.04.09

"The most difficult values to jettison are those that have helped you in the past." Jared Diamond

"The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos." —Stephen Jay Gould, Dinosaur in a Haystack

LTE, Guardian Weekly
Sir: Joseph Stiglitz continues to refer to the absurd concept of negative growth--apparently, growth is such a totem that we must continue to refer to it where it does not exist. Please consider, in future, calling it exactly what it is: contraction.
Adam Williamson, Vancouver, BC, Canada

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15. Obituary: Maurice Jarre, composer for film, died on March 28th, aged 84

THE cinema, as he remembered it, was off Trafalgar Square. It was small, stuffy and dark. And there, over 40 hours in early 1962, Maurice Jarre watched the first rough cut of David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia”. The showings started at 9am on a Monday and did not finish till the Friday. And he was mesmerised. Peter O’Toole, the blue-eyed, white-robed Lawrence, rode his camel along a beach at dawn. He crested the dunes and gazed out over a landscape of shimmering oranges and greys. Cavalcades of Arabs, keffiyehs flying, raced across the sand. It was astoundingly beautiful. And it was completely silent.

Mr Jarre’s commission was to write the music for it. It was extraordinary that he had been asked. Sam Spiegel, the producer, had heard only his ten-minute score for a French film called “Sundays and Cybele”, written for bass, counter-bass, flute and table-harp. Now he was supposed to produce, in six weeks, two hours of music for a 100-piece orchestra. Back in his room in Half Moon Street he tried to read all he could about T.E. Lawrence, including the huge “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, as well as searching for that little swatch of notes that might turn into a theme. Search, search, search, search, as Stravinsky said. “Sam Spiegel told me, you have the job of Superman!” Mr Jarre joyously recalled.

...Few directors, Lean apart, really understood how powerful music could be in film. Mr Jarre did his best to tell them. Music, he emphasised, could reveal emotions no words or pictures could. The drama and effort of the barn-building in “Witness”, underlined with the mounting rhythms of a passacaglia; the first stirrings of sexual feeling in “A Passage to India”, pointed by sitars; and Lawrence bowing ecstatically to his own flowing shadow in the desert, a moment now never recalled without Mr Jarre’s soundtrack welling behind him.

Excerpted from The Economist 18.06.09