As reported in the Salinas Californian, Ryann Bunnell Crow has been missing since last Tuesday, and was last seen in Prunedale; the last blip from her cell phone came from the Salinas River Beach area.
TO HELP
To report information on the possible whereabouts of Ryann Bunnell Crow, 23, of Salinas, contact detectives Brian Candaday, 831-758-7145, and James Knowlton at 831-758-7442, or Sgt. Don Cline at 831-758-7128. To remain anonymous, call the tip line at 831-775-4222 or 1-800-78-CRIME.
Abagnale, the injured sea lion from the San Francisco area who showed up in Moss Landing, has now been released back into the ocean near San Francisco. Here is video of the release.
The intrepid Maria Michaelson (see previous posts) continues on her bicycle journey south on Hwy 1, and stops to collect stories at Esalen Institute — where she is provided w/a place to stay for a few days. Having stayed there for a couple days myself, I can only say: lucky Maria!
I recently read an article and interview about how architecture and public projects are opening doors of opportunity in one of the World’s most violent cities, Medellín, Colombia. And I thought of what Maria Michaelson (a traveler passing through) said recently about Salinas, that “it seems like a sad city.”
Sergio Fajardo (mayor of Medellín from 2003 to 2007, and a presidential candidate for Colombia in 2010) has been introducing a “postive urban presence” into the poorer sections of the city through new architecture, libraries, schools and other public projects.
Excerpt:
Using a coherent and inclusive urban strategy, he has changed the face of a city that in the ’90s was considered among the most violent in the world. Fajardo has introduced a positive state presence in the poorest and most violent areas by initiating multi-level urban projects, the foundation of which is architecture, most of which originates in public competitions that are open to Colombia’s youngest architects…
…There are five new libraries, ten new schools, new pedestrian streets, and more than fifty new urban and architectural projects characterized by challenging contemporary architecture. It is not enough simply to do works if they are not done well, something that can be measured by the degree of pride that the city’s inhabitants feel for its new face as well as by the fact that Medellín has become a city to see as opposed to one to avoid. Read more HERE. From an interview in BOMB magazine.
See also L.A. Times: “Medellín Cleans Up Its Act.”
In the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Arepa, Medellín’s English language magazine, editor Robin Finley observes that the city’s new cable system has “brought city residents together, uniting what used to be a wall of barrios separating the north and south. Today we are witnessing how this interconnectivity is changing the city economy, and indeed creating a massive city-wide verve of creativity…. “
Of course, the world has an interest in cleaning up Medellín, and the city is getting huge loans from the U.S., China, and inter-governmental agencies. People are paying attention. Literally, they are invested in making it work, because what happens in Colombia affects us here too. More importantly, the city is making good use of those funds—not to create walls, but to educate and communicate.
As Kimber Solana reports in today’s Salinas Californian (Jan. 29, 2010), the small city of Salinas is trying its damndest to deal with its gang violence problems (which are also linked to the even smaller town of Castroville near where I live, and to the powerful drug-trafficking gangs in Mexico). The Salinas Ceasefire program is getting its funds “partly from a $357,021 matching grant from the State.”
Like Medellín, Salinas has a problem with perception by outsiders. When I work in the touristy, upper-class (and yes, more Anglo/white) area of Monterey, I occasionally hear disparaging remarks about Salinas. It’s partly stereotyping, and it’s partly real fear (as of mid-Dec. 2009, Salinas had 29 homicides for the year). That fear comes from a diverse mix of peoples including Latinos who are living fairly well, financially. And I’ve noticed that folks cast a “blind-eye” toward the people working north of Monterey (Seaside, Salinas, Castroville, Watsonville) in the fields and in service jobs. Citizens of Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea just don’t want to know what’s going on in the poorer communities, even though they are surrounded by, and live off the produce from the fields, and the hard work of the field laborers, waitpersons, clerks, and vendors in those communities.
But what the story of Medellín tells me is that, aside from the important “offered employment opportunities, training and personal services,” somehow, an environment of hope also needs to be created, places, structures to go to within the neighborhood; places that become an important part of the neighborhood, where one can learn and grow — not just on Main Street, but where those who need it most are located. What happens in Salinas and Castroville and in “peripheral” neighborhoods affects us. Success stories in those areas will be our success stories too.
By the way, you can listen to Medellín’s English-language radio, Prime Cuts, right here. (Thanks to deejays Robin and Jeff!)
To get back to my previous post about Maria Michaelson’s story collecting, here are some of the stories on audio for January 25. I’m the first voice you hear on the audio. By far, the most interesting stories (from the garden project and Dorothy’s place) follow mine! I also love that this clip ends with some lovely piano music. Hearing the stories strung one after another gives one a touching feeling of connection to so many different people.
Here’s where I go into my “rural but connected” mode:
In a New York Times “Opinion Page” from October 14, 2009, Alan Liu and others weighed in on how our brains are adjusting to e-books and reading onscreen. I still can’t concentrate for long periods reading online–there’s too much to distract me. No such problem on the Kindle e-reader, although I miss being able to jot notes in the margins; and getting a physical/visual sense of the “whole” text by flipping through paper pages seems to facilitate the reading process, physically. Reading the printed page feels relaxing in comparison to reading on screens, even though the Kindle is fairly easy on the eyes. The Kindle and its competitors are good for some types of content, and nice to take traveling. But e-readers also make me appreciate the print book.
Via a tweet by Ernesto Priego, here is another article that claims the demise of print books—and here’s a little video essay on why digital will never totally replace print. It’s the big angst of the new year among writers and readers. The author, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, has just begun using an e-reader. I’ve been there and done that, so I can tell you the initial fascination wears off—but the utility of the e-reader remains. Still, I think that print books will stick around, while acquiring a different or enhanced value. The well-made print book, along with graphic novels, special editions, and gift books, will rise in our estimation (along with their prices).
Another category will emerge for readers; these are books that we may find interesting or entertaining (e.g. “summer reading”), and educational (although e-reader designers will have to figure out how to make graphics more legible)—but somewhat transient. Supposedly Apple’s Tablet (now iPad) device will revolutionize content, and give writers new ways to bring in income. But it will still keep content behind a “screen,” which is in many ways still a “wall” for e-readers, because it still can’t quite interface comfortably with the print-cozy human eye and brain—and more importantly, the sensorium.
In an article in Wired, John C. Abell suggests that Steve Jobs is out to save the publishing industry (while, I suggest, killing the print industry). He also notes that the new device will have to make readers forget the printed page. If it does, then when the the old print reading public dies off, the only alternative for print will be to take on the glow of paper “art objects” that become special acquiring a personal, deeper meaning for the reader.
In one scenario I see print books lumped in with artifacts of the industrial age. Steam punk conventions will be replete with bookseller’s stalls, peddling nostalgia. After all, steam punk is a literary movement, too.
In the meantime, what will happen to bookstores? Small, independent bookstores (like the Literary Guillotine, pictured above) are already comforting spaces of nostalgia to which print-book aficionados retreat in order to get their fix of the feel, smell, and visual candy of the book. Will big box bookstores then fold up, taking with them the big malls? Will anyone care? Perhaps they will go through an awkward period, downsizing, and trying to make their environments more homey, more “local,” before falling apart altogether (personally, I’ll be happy to see them go).
There may be continuing squabbles between print vs. electronic camps. But if you think that there is a big difference between electronic vs. print use of natural resources, you might want to think again. And I’ll give Don Carli of the Institute for Sustainable Communications the last e-word:
…this isn’t a time to fight back with underfunded and ill conceived campaigns based on zero-sum arguments. Trying to pick a “pixels vs. paper” fight is a no-win proposition. Business, government and society cannot afford to become dependent upon a digital media mono-culture any more than it can afford to be solely dependent on fossil fuel energy. This is not a time for the print media pot to call the digital media kettle black. The fact is that neither print nor digital media supply chains are sustainable as currently configured. This is a time to call for transparency and truth in advertising. We need media that is greener, not media that just says it’s greener. The whole article is worth reading.
* * *
—My article is revised from an earlier blogpost in http://okir.wordpress.com
A Post-Script:
Pictorial Webster’s: Inspiration to Completion from John Carrera on Vimeo.
Carrera is founder of Quercus Press.
It’s also on youtube, but you have to go to youtube directly to watch it.
This is a pretty amazing video…
Wow, I didn’t know that the CCC still existed (where’ve I been?). According to a recent article from the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, it certainly does exist. In fact, the Governor nearly dismantled the organization in 2009, but it was saved, thanks to the efforts of its advocates. It’s no longer the Civilian Conservation Corps originally formed in the 1930s, however. It’s now the California Conservation Corps. They are planting a “massive” amount of acorns on the El Chamisal Ranch property, in an experiment that is supposed to help fill in a 12 ft. deep gully. The youthful workers of the corps (many are from at-risk populations) do hard, often exhausting, yet very useful work for minimal pay, although they have access to scholarships and can continue their education through the program. I wonder what kind of stories the current crop of CCC workers have to tell? Here’s a video report about the history of the “CCC – then and now}:
Spending my evening learning fingerpicking and strumming techniques on my ukulele.
Walking Gracie near the “back door” of Elkhorn Slough (Kirby Park), I encountered two women working on a bicycle with a strange contraption hooked up to it.
Brittney, my dog Gracie, and Maria.
Stopping to talk to them, I learned that the contraption is a traveling recording booth. Well, that accounts for the prominent ears sticking out of it! Maria Michaelson, the owner of the booth/cart is on a bicycle journey “onward” to collect stories from people she meets. She was delayed by the big storm and stayed in Santa Cruz for awhile, and met up with her friend Brittney in Elkhorn. Brittney works at Dorothy’s Place in Salinas. Maria is now on her way to Salinas to collect stories from the women’s shelter (Dorothy’s Place).
Maria is keeping a blog record of her journey called “We Share the Same Stomach.”
This reminds me of my recent post, “Farmworkers, Gleaners, and the Stories They Tell.” I think it can be said that food and stories can both be nutritive—or not. In either case, it’s good to pay attention.
Maria also collected a story from me. Sounds familiar, eh? I’ve been reading a lot about people on the road, or the rails, lately. It just seems to be the theme of the month. Perhaps because I’ve named this blog “Local Nomad,” I’m now just drawn to nomadic types. Or maybe there are just more people wandering about. Maria has a purpose, though, which she says is a project of “interaction and empathy.” She’s spinning our tales with her wheels on the road. I wish her well on her journey!
Moss Landing boats in a rainstorm.
