This article and its photos are making its rounds on the internet -- Revealed: The ghost fleet of the recession. The article talks about how those manning the empty ships are afraid of pirates. Are they not allowed to have arms on their ships?

Cupertino Fall Festival

This coming weekend. 95.3 KRTY will have a presence there. The closest Cupertino gets to an Oktoberfest. Not that there has ever been a significant German-American population to warrant having one? Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day, everyone's German for Oktoberfest, etc.

Oktoberfest used to be held at the Cupertino Village shopping center. I'm not sure where it was after it moved--Memorial Park? Now it's at the Library/City Hall.

I know Sarge and I wouldn't mind going to southern Germany (specifically Bavaria) for a real Oktoberfest... I think Christendom College still has a celebration of Oktoberfest, or sorts.


Model Sandra Schuster presents the official Oktoberfest beer mug in Munich August 25, 2009. The 176th Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, runs from September 19 until October 4 this year. (Reuters/Daylife)

The official Oktoberfest beer mug is pictured in Munich August 25, 2009. The 176th Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, runs from September 19 until October 4 this year. (Reuters/Daylife)

When there is an official beer mug being produced, can the death of meaning and true festivity (and gratitude) be far behind? The Munich tourist bureau must be busy advertising the "festival."

Eh well. Some more photos.

Picture taken on September 23, 2007 shows a waitress serves beers in one of the Oktoberfest's many beer tents at Munich's Theresienwiese fairground during the Oktoberfest beer festival. You know things have got really bad when Germans cut back on their beloved beer but figures out on April, 30, 2009 showed that, faced with the country's worst recession since World War II, Germans are not turning to the amber nectar to drown their sorrows. (Getty/Daylife)

Michael Rensing (R), goalkeeper of Bayern Munich and his girlfriend Saskia Treffkorn attend the Kaefer beer tent during the Oktoberfest beer festival October 5, 2008 in Munich. (Reuters/Daylife)

Bayern Munich soccer coach Juergen Klinsmann, right, pose with assistant coaches during their arrive for the gathering of the first soccer Bundesliga division team FC Bayern Munich at the beer festival Oktoberfest in Munich, southern Germany, on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. (AP/Daylife)

A vendor presents a skewer with roast chicken, an Oktobervest speciality, on September 26, 2008 at the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, southern Germany. Organisers of the world's largest folk festival running until 05 October expect up to six million visitors to enjoy Bavarian beer in huge tents and fun rides on the fairgrounds. (Getty/Daylife)


People in traditional clothes march during the Oktoberfest parade in Munich September 21, 2008. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. (Reuters/Daylife)

Boys in traditional clothes march during the Oktoberfest parade in Munich September 21, 2008. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. (Reuters/Daylife)

Men in traditional Bavarian clothes wave during the Oktoberfest parade in Munich, September 21, 2008. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. (Reuters/Daylife)

Children in traditional Bavarian clothes wait during the Oktoberfest parade in Munich, September 21, 2008. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. (Reuters/Daylife)

A girl in traditional Bavarian clothes touches her hat during the Oktoberfest parade in Munich, September 21, 2008. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. (Reuters/Daylife)

MUNICH, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 21: Bavarian dressed children participate in the traditional riflemen's parade on September 21, 2008 in Munich, Germany. The riflemen's parade marks day 2 of the Munich Oktoberfest beer festival. (Getty/Daylife)

People wearing traditional Bavarian clothes take part in the parade to the Oktoberfest beer festival on September 21, 2008 in Munich, southern Germany. Organisers of the world's largest folk festival running until 05 October expect up to six million visitors to enjoy Bavarian beer in huge tents and fun rides on the fairgrounds. (Getty/Daylife)

Bavarian state premier Guenther Beckstein (R) and his wife Marga wave in front of the Theatiner church during the traditional Oktoberfest parade in Munich, September 21, 2008. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. (Reuters/Daylife)

Women wearing traditional Bavarian clothes clink their beer glasses at the "Theresienwiese" of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, southern Germany on September 21, 2008. Organisers of the world's largest folk festival running until 05 October expect up to six million visitors to enjoy Bavarian beer in huge tents and fun rides on the fairgrounds. (Getty/Daylife)


Women wearing traditional Bavarian clothes ride on the "Top-Spin No. 1" at the start of the Oktoberfest beer festival on September 20, 2008 at the "Theresienwiese" in Munich, southern Germany. Organisers of the world's largest folk festival running until 05 October expect up to six million visitors to enjoy Bavarian beer in huge tents and fun rides on the fairgrounds. (Getty/Daylife)

Women wearing traditional Bavarian clothes pose for a photo in front of a Ferris wheel at the start of the Oktoberfest beer festival on September 20, 2008 at the "Theresienwiese" in Munich, southern Germany. Organisers of the world's largest folk festival running until 05 October expect up to six million visitors to enjoy Bavarian beer in huge tents and fun rides on the fairgrounds. (Getty/Daylife)

Bavarian state premier Guenther Beckstein toasts during the opening ceremony of the Oktoberfest in Munich September 20, 2008. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest. (Reuters/Daylife)

A waitress carries 7 litters of beer at the start of the Oktoberfest beer festival on September 20, 2008 at the "Theresienwiese" in Munich, southern Germany. Organisers of the world's largest folk festival running until 05 October expect up to six million visitors to enjoy Bavarian beer in huge tents and fun rides on the fairgrounds. (Getty/Daylife)

Festival visitors drink beer at the start of the Oktoberfest beer festival on September 20, 2008 at the "Theresienwiese" in Munich, southern Germany. Organisers of the world's largest folk festival running until 05 October expect up to six million visitors to enjoy Bavarian beer in huge tents and fun rides on the fairgrounds. (Getty/Daylife)

MUNICH, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 19: U.S. actor Larry Hagman poses with two Bavarian dressed girls at Trachtenmoden Angermaier on September 19, 2008 in Munich, Germany. Hagman got dressed with 'Lederhosen' (leather trousers) to visit the Oktoberfest beer festival. (Getty/Daylife)

Related links:
The Oktoberfest website.
Munich Oktoberfest 2009 - Discover Munich
Oktoberfest SF
La Crosse Oktoberfest

Northern California Renaissance Faire

Northern California Renaissance Faire
Open Weekends
September 12th through October 18th, 2009
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

$25 for one day adult admission. Still, I'd think about going.

Some photos from 2007:



Related links:
MySpace page for the NCRF
Renaissance Faires By State
Medieval Fantasies Company

Thomas F. Bertonneau, “The Catastrophe” - Part 1: What the End of Bronze-Age Civilization Means for Modern Times

Tonight on KQED QUEST: Algae Power. (7:30 PM)


QUEST on KQED Public Media.

I'm not surprised by the lack of rigor in a "science" story like this on KQED. Not that it is aimed at a popular audience and hence limited in its presentation, but it fails to critically examine whether this is a feasible replacement for a significant portion of the gasoline consumed in this country each day. Sure, whoever wrote the story is somewhat skeptical, questioning whether it can live up to its promise, but there is no serious number-crunching -- an examination of the costs involved with respect to energy input and materials, and so on. Where's the thorough EROI analysis?

To take one example: the plan of Aurora Biofuels is to use 1000s of acres of land to produce 120 million gallons each year, using just saltwater and non-arable land. Where's the water going to come from? How much energy is required to move that water to the algae farms? What other nutrients are required to grow the algae? And how much energy is needed to extract the oil from the algae?

Mainstream liberal environmentalists, unlike the peak oil heralds, just don't get it. They're looking for a techno-fix just like everyone else, one that will make the perpetuation of the American way of life possible. It's the mentality of many (or most) liberals in San Francisco and Berkeley?


Related links:
Niyogi Lab, UC Berkeley
NOVA | scienceNOW | Algae Fuel: Ask the Expert | PBS
Aurora Biofuels
Aurora Biofuels Doubles Algae's CO2 Uptake and Fuel Production
OriginOil

Sandro Magister, A Free Church in a Free State. How Ruini Sees It

With a book first and then with a major conference in Rome on nothing less than God himself, the cardinal reintroduces the "cultural project" of the Italian Church. Which coincides with the "priority" that Benedict XVI has designated for his pontificate

Winslow T. Wheeler, Obama and Pentagon Pork and Franklin Spinney, Bin Laden's Latest Message and the Nuttiness of the War on Terror

How the World's Biggest Corporations, From Starbucks to Wal-Mart to Barnes & Noble, Claim to Be 'Local'
Stacy Mitchell, AlterNet (via EB)

The Virtues of Deglobalization: Has the time finally come to reverse and end globalization?
Walden Bello, Business Mirror (via EB)

11 pillars of the alternative

There are 11 key prongs of the deglobalization paradigm.

1. Production for the domestic market must again become the center of gravity of the economy rather than production for export markets.

2. The principle of subsidiarity should be enshrined in economic life by encouraging production of goods at the level of the community and at the national level, if this can be done at reasonable cost, in order to preserve community.

3. Trade policy—that is, quotas and tariffs—should be used to protect the local economy from destruction by corporate-subsidized commodities with artificially low prices.

4. Industrial policy—including subsidies, tariffs and trade—should be used to revitalize and strengthen the manufacturing sector.

5. Long-postponed measures of equitable income redistribution and land redistribution (including urban land reform) can create a vibrant internal market that would serve as the anchor of the economy and produce local financial resources for investment.

6. Deemphasizing growth, emphasizing upgrading the quality of life, and maximizing equity will reduce environmental disequilibrium.

7. The development and diffusion of environmentally congenial technology in both agriculture and industry should be encouraged.

8. Strategic economic decisions cannot be left to the market or to technocrats. Instead, the scope of democratic decision-making in the economy should be expanded so that all vital questions—such as which industries to develop or phase out, what proportion of the government budget to devote to agriculture, etc.—become subject to democratic discussion and choice.

9. Civil society must constantly monitor and supervise the private sector and the state, a process that should be institutionalized.

10. The property complex should be transformed into a “mixed economy” that includes community cooperatives, private enterprises and state enterprises, and excludes transnational corporations.

11. Centralized global institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank should be replaced with regional institutions built not on free trade and capital mobility but on principles of cooperation that, to use the words of Hugo Chavez in describing the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, “transcend the logic of capitalism.”

William Lind, The Taliban’s Air Force

AP: Bernanke says recession 'very likely over'

Whether he keeps his job or not should be based on the truthfulness of statements like this. Will he shown to be right? Or very very wrong?

Here's thread.com; will it be more successful than friendster?

Chip Ward, Red Snow Warning: The End of Welfare Water and the Drying of the West (via Rod Dreher)

The Thinking Housewife: The Sound of a Man. (Her reaction to Serena Williams's behavior at the U.S. Open.)

Rod Dreher appears to be taking upon himself the mantle of the voice of reason on the conservative side, disassociating himself and true conservatives from the irrational, angry mob to be found at Tea Parties and criticizing mainstream conservative media personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. (See also here, here, here, here., here, and here, here, here, here, here.)

I sympathize with his criticism of mainstream conservative pundits, which isn't new, and he may be correct in his assessment of average members of the American right, the extremes that the polarization of America may be reaching, and emotional partisanship that scorns anything "intellectual" as "elitist." Some have claimed that Mr. Dreher is just trying to please his "liberal" readers. I just don't understand why he would focus on this topic at his blog. Whom is he trying to convince? How many Americans who consider themselves conservative even know who Rod Dreher is? It seems to me that these examples underscore the problems associated with being a professional pundit--having an opinion and expressing it, whether it be in a newspaper or on a blog.


(An opposing view that sees something positive in the taxpayer protests -- VFR: The return of Sam Francis: MARs rising?)

Edit 9/28. His most recent post on the topic: Dreher vs. Glenn Beck.

Peak Oil is not a theory; Peak Oil is the reality of past and future oil production.

Kjell Aleklett, ASPO International

Over the past five years, Mr. Michael Lynch and I have debated future global oil production at meetings in Gothenburg (Sweden), Paris and Shanghai...The fact that he is an economist and I am a natural scientist means that we see the future of oil production from two different perspectives, but are in agreement that access to oil is of great importance to the world economy and our future.

(original)

Mexico Loses Its History By JOHN ROSS
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bicentennial

The Health Care Deceit By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
It is the War in Afghanistan Obama Declared a "Necessity," Not Health Care

The Lords Prayer in Aramaic (Angel voice)


Abeer Nehme

Abeer Nehme - 2008-10-26 - Abun d Bashmayo

Zenit: Ennio Morricone: Faith Always Present In My Music
Composer Talks About the Spirituality Behind His Work

He has some things to say about sacred music:

We turn to the subject of another keen musician: Pope Benedict XVI. Morricone says he has a "very good opinion" of the Holy Father. "He seems to me to be a very high minded Pope, a man of great culture and also great strength," he says. He is particularly complimentary about Benedict XVI's efforts to reform the liturgy -- a subject about which Morricone feels very strongly.

"Today the Church has made a big mistake, turning the clock back 500 years with guitars and popular songs," he argues. "I don't like it at all. Gregorian Chant is a vital and important tradition of the Church and to waste this by having kids mix religious words with profane, Western songs is hugely grave, hugely grave."

He says it's turning the clock back because the same thing happened before the Council of Trent when singers mixed profanity with sacred music. "He [the Pope] is doing well to correct it," he says. "He should correct it with much more firmness. Some churches have taken heed [of his corrections], but others haven't."

Today the home parish was celebrating its patronal feast, so I dropped by to say hi to the pastor and to someone else, both of whom I had asked to write a letter of recommendation for me. Lunch was very nice, and I liked the pork ribs and tri tip. KK and her family even showed up, and it was good to spend some time with the nephew. The lunch was an opportunity for the parish to celebrate its ethnic diversity, so there were foods from different countries all over the world. The parish (and the city it is in) have changed much in the last 20 years. No more big orchards...

Perhaps the bishops can't do anything but accept the demographic reality, instead of trying to prevent it or at least bringing about assimilation. If sections of a city are going to become predominantly Hispanic, can bishops do anything to change that and their way of life, if they do not want to assimilate? As for selecting only those who can speak Spanish to be bishops of major sees in the United States... are there that many Hispanics migrating to other parts of the United States to justify this becoming a de facto requirement?

However if the bishops do not think that assimilation is part of their mission and that of their priests, can they do anything to prevent lay Catholics from doing this? I could see some American bishops succumbing to PCness and characterizing such efforts as xenophobic, racist, or intolerant.

Gerald Warner, The beginning of the end for Political Correctness: the counter-revolution has begun in Doncaster (via VFR)

I just watched the trailer for The Boys Are Back. Based on a true story, the movie, despite its affirmation of fatherhood, seems to be a feel-good movie that doesn't really have much to say to single parents (or fathers) who are not widowed but divorced, are not well-off with cushy job benefits but struggling to make ends meet. I had a similar reaction to the trailer for Paris, even though it stars Juliette Binoche. It seems to be the typical life-affirming (but ultimately spiritual empty) movie for moderns. While it may have a right focus on the love of others, the movie probably mixes love with carnality and neglects God. (As the movie seems to focus on the brother and the sister, there probably isn't an opportunity to throw in a homosexual couple.)

Stephen Hand has transcribed The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.

Practice God's Presence
CCEL
gutenberg.org

Unladylike conduct?

Serena Williams berates official, loses match for conduct violation by Chris Chase

We laugh at video of John McEnroe's past bad on-court behavior. How is hers any different? Do we hold men and women to different standards with regards to sportsmanship and civility?

Ensemble Organum - Concupivit rex decorem tuum