Western Tribune column January 13, 2010: Avatar

This is my Western Tribune column for January 13, 2010. I have seen Avatar twice, and probably will see it one more time. There are so many lessons to be learned from this film, it's hard to explain in 400 words. Here goes:

Picture credit: James Cameron's Avatar Wiki page

I will assume that most readers have seen the movie Avatar, but just in case someone reading this has missed the record breaking sensory feast, there will be no spoiler here. The details that I reveal have already been mentioned in news stories.

On Pandora, the planet like moon where the story takes place, a world is seen where the creatures and plant life – nature – are in tune and exist in a sort of harmony that still allows an acceptance of death and sorrow.

But in the year 2154 our planet has become “brown” and humans have found a new source for resources that are much needed on earth.

With that set up in mind, some conservative and religious leaders are claiming that there is a hidden message promoting a liberal tree-hugging, anti-Christian agenda.

Hardly. I mean, the message is not hidden; it’s the theme of the movie, with a love story entwined.

Nature is a powerful force, and we witness this every year with hurricanes and tsunamis and mudslides and such. Nature affects us in other ways as well, from the microbes that help us digest our food to the diseases that we seek to conquer.

On Pandora, rather than battling nature, the Na’Vi (the indigenous blue-skinned stars of the film) enjoy a spiritual connection to the other species with a simple understanding of the circle of energy and life.

We have tried to separate ourselves from the rest of nature, in part due to religious beliefs that promote us to a status above the animals over which we have dominion and just below the God we worship, but also because of what we have accomplished with the larger brains and opposable thumbs we developed.

In doing so, we link God and nature together in much the same way the Na’Vi link their natural life with their spiritual force, Eywa. We, or most of us, just don’t admit it.

Oddly enough, we have chosen to abuse our planet and ignore the signs of peril and the results are becoming evident, through climate change, and epidemics and such.

Nature versus God, or nature equals god, are arguments as old as humanity itself.

But as in the movie, nature “does not take sides.” Yet we will continue our attempts to shift the balance of life in our favor.

We may have to wait on the promised Avatar sequels to learn how that works out.

When I get married, I'm gonna wear shoes

These sentences got me thinking.

***Note: I just wanted to clarify that I don’t hate homosexuals. I actually know a couple gay and lesbian people and they’re great folks. This, however, does not mean that I agree with their lifestyle choices.

This is part of a post from The Barefoot Bride, a blog about weddings, where the writer is being critical of this article from the Winter issue of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. In the article, Jeremy and Andrew's wedding is featured, quite nicely I might add.

Joe.My.God created a post about it and then Homer did as well, so I might as well add my 2 cents worth.

So, back to the quote.

I just wanted to clarify that I don’t hate homosexuals. I actually know a couple gay and lesbian people and they’re great folks. This, however, does not mean that I agree with their lifestyle choices.

I am so tired of people claiming to like gays as they think its OK to treat us as second class citizens.

I agree with Homer's response:

My response: "Back in the 1960s a lot of Ku Klux Klan folks knew great Negroes too, as long as they kept in their place and didn't clamor for the same rights that the Bible granted White folks."

She also said this:

I may not always agree with the lifestyles and life choices made by all the people featured in every publication I read, but I do not appreciate picking up my favorite magazine to see photographs of homosexual couples being affectionate.

I grew up in the 60's, and while I may not specifically remember this, I bet there was a time when The Birmingham News did not feature photos of black weddings. And I bet when the first photos appeared, that similar comments were made and letters written to the paper by white Alabamians who were offended by seeing black people being "affectionate."

Homer said that he was taught that whenever he learned of someone's plans to marry that he should offer "congratulations" regardless of his personal feelings.

"The more I think about your blog post, the more I keep coming back to the very basic thing I was taught about weddings. When someone tells you that will be or have been recently married, the only proper response is "Congratulations." Anything else, no matter what you think of the situation, is just bad manners."

As for people that may know my partner and me but share the view that the barefoot bride holds, that we are "great folks" yet think it's OK that we be treated as second class citizens, I don't need you. I have enough friends that support equality that I don't need to waste time associating with those who look at me as less than equal.

And I will continue to confront you and your pre-historic views. If I choose to show affection to my partner in your presence and you are offended, that is your problem, not mine.

And if you (or others like you) are showing affection in public, or discussing your dinner plans with your spouse in front of me and my kids, then I have the right to discuss our plans in front of you and your kids. Like the other day when we were getting haircuts. My partner finished first, while I was still waiting among kids and adults. He told the person at the counter that he wanted to pay for mine as well, and she said to just wait until after my cut.

When I finished, he was in conversation with some people sitting around him, so I pulled out my card to pay. "You wanted to pay both of yall's, right," the cashier asked, motioning toward my partner. "Right," I replied, "but that means he has to pay for dinner," which started a whole conversation about how we do this each time and where to go eat and such.

Everyone who works there knows we are a couple, so the conversation was just chatter to them. The adults sitting there had to realize that we are a gay couple, and maybe the kids figured it out, or asked questions later.

My point is, people need to see gay and lesbian couples in public, not ashamed of who they are, acting naturally.

If we feel the urge to kiss in IHOP or snuggle for warmth while standing in line in sub-freezing temperatures, and you are offended, then that is your problem, not mine. If your kids don't understand then you are at fault for not explaining to them about the diverse world they live in, and you can let it be a teaching moment.

OK, I'll climb down off the soapbox and work on our own wedding plans. And when it happens, I will be sure and let the barefoot bride know. Oh, and we will both be wearing shoes when we marry.

Jobs, jobs jobs

Jobs are coming to Bessemer.

The Birmingham News is reporting that a Pennsylvania company will create 80 new jobs with a new plant in Bessemer near the CSX railroad hub in Interstate Industrial park. This is at the former site of the Pullman-Standard rail car manufacturing plant.

Update: By the way, the Bham News claims "News Exclusive," when in reality this was reported and printed in the Western Tribune on December 2, 2009. Looks like the News snoozed when the story broke.

Also, J C Penney at Colonial Tannehill has a "now hiring" sign up. The planned opening of the store is in March of this year. I don't know how many people they will be hiring, but now is the time to apply.

I took this picture near the JC Penney yesterday. Think this driver is interested in a job?





Today is a good day to spend watching video.

At Bessemer Science and Nature, the Symphony of Science videos are entertaining and educational.

At The Examiner, there is a video that can convince anyone to stop the hate and that equality for gays and lesbians is the right thing. Also, there is a link to the video of the Prop 8 trail which begins today in California.

Bama - National Champs, Ron Sparks moving up

My friend Neal made an interesting observation.

The Crimson Tide is the National Champion-but keep in mind that the Tide defeated Texas by 16 points and Florida by 19 but Auburn by a mere 5! War Damn Eagle!

Congratulations to Alabama. Many of us Auburn fans pulled for Alabama in last night's BCS championship. Let's see how many Alabama fans will pull for Auburn next year when we are in that game.

So Tuscaloosa developer and Bessemer developer Stan Pate paid for the banner that flew around the Rose Bowl urging impeachment of Governor Bob Riley.

Picture credit Mark Almond

While Pate's explanation certainly holds water, his action shows a complete lack of class.

"Look, this guy is trying to shut down businesses that employ thousands of hard-working Alabamians while he's out there for a football game on the taxpayer dollar. I think what this guy tried to do in Dothan Wednesday was an act aimed at putting Alabamians out of work, and somebody has to hold him accountable and that's what the banner is doing."

"Impeach corrupt Alabama Governor Bob Riley," the banner read.

Regardless of who the governor is, when they are trying to promote our state, we should not detract from that. This was a celebratory event, even before the kickoff, and flying a banner around just seemed childish.

Oh, yeah. It was Stan Pate.

Riley will be gone soon enough. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that he will be removed from office before the regularly scheduled departure following the election this year.

The only question is, which democrat candidate will be replacing him?

Artur Davis' popularity is falling, and Ron Sparks' is rising. That's not based on polling, it's just based on listening.

Ron Sparks had the following to say about Governor Riley's failed plan to raid Country Crossings in Dothan.

“Governor Riley’s latest attempt to shut down gaming operations at Country Crossings in Dothan, Alabama is just one more example of why the State of Alabama needs to once and for all address gaming in Alabama and pass comprehensive legislation that regulates it, controls it and taxes it.

“Bob Riley’s campaign against an industry that employs thousand of working people across the State, has already cost the Alabama taxpayers in the millions.

“Country Crossings, in the short time that it has been open, has already generated over a million dollars in revenue for Houston County as well as employing some 2,000 workers.

“Regulated and taxed gaming will create jobs and jobs will create economic prosperity in our State. This is the right path for Alabama on the gaming issue and one that I will take as Governor.”

Western Tribune column January 6, 2010 Testosterone

Waiting on snow and Alabama football (that's hard for an Auburn fan to say) and wondering why homophobic hatred is replacing racial hatred in Birmingham.

I had so much fun writing this column and love sharing the information.

Western Tribune column

Now we understand anti-Obama frenzy

After Barack Obama took the oath of office it didn’t take long before those who voted against him to ramp up the rhetoric in opposition. Led by their leaders Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, they reached a frenzy during the summer with wild accusations hyped at “tea party” rallies.

Now we know why, extrapolating from a report in the January, 2010 issue of Scientific American.

Biologists from Duke University and the University of Michigan have determined that male voters who back a losing candidate experience a rapid drop in the hormone testosterone following a loss. Specifically, levels of testosterone remained stable for males who voted for Obama, while those who voted for John McCain and Robert Barr had a decline.

One of the effects of testosterone is increased libido, and when levels decrease, well, a man might get frustrated and angry as a result.

The study also showed that women’s levels of testosterone levels did not change significantly after a win or a loss by their candidate. But I suppose they might react to a decrease in affection by their mate.

The research team admits that there are many factors that influence testosterone levels and they controlled for many of these during their election night sampling. They do not know how long the effects due to the election loss will last, but they conjecture that since the dominance held by a winning presidential candidate lasts at least four years, it’s plausible that testosterone levels could remain suppressed in males for that long.

That’s a long time to do without, so don’t expect any taming of the rhetoric anytime soon.
And while my conclusion about libido and anger was not among the conclusions expressed by the researchers; they did state that the McCain voters reported feeling significantly more unhappy and unpleasant after the loss.

The researchers now want to focus on spectator sports to see if fans, lacking a direct influence on an outcome like voters do, exhibit similar changes in testosterone after a loss.

That makes me wonder if outcomes of policy battles (health care) might lead to fluctuating testosterone levels among members of congress that will be voting but also among the supporters and detractors of reform.

And I wonder as well just how much of how we act and what we do is controlled by hormones and chemicals in our body and not by our minds as we would like to believe.

Global cooling - not the way to go

Every year on a cold morning I take a picture of the fountain in its frozen state and post it on this site. As far as I can tell, the goldfish and their brown progeny are still alive, but I won't know for sure until the thaw takes place. They have survived previous freezes.



But its cold for us southerners. Of course, my brother in Minnesota would laugh at us for being such weenies when it comes to cold weather.

Speaking of weenies, and the cold, I wonder if David, standing near the fountain, experiences "shrinkage" related to the cold weather.



But what if the cold weather became permanent. While our immediate and more pressing concern is climate change in the other direction, there is a theory about global cooling that could occur if a local nuclear skirmish between India and Pakistan occurred.

Scientific American has an article where Alan Robock and Owen Brian Toon explore that possibility. (The entire article is only available online if you are a subscriber. I have the magazine if you want to borrow it).

Here are the key concepts from the article.

Nuclear bombs dropped on cities and industrial areas in a fight between India and Pakistan would start firestorms that would put massive amounts of smoke into the upper atmosphere.

The particles would remain there for years, blocking the sun, making the earth's surface cold, dark and dry. Agricultural collapse and mass starvation could follow.

Cooling scenarios are based on computer models. but observations of volcanic eruptions, forest fire smoke and other phenomena provide confidence that the models are correct.

Here is why the smoke particles from the fires would not just be brought down to the earth by rain and gravity.

"Fires ignited by bombs would send smoke up through the troposphere within two days." (That's up about 12 kilometers). "The sun would then heat the tiny particles and loft them into the stratosphere," by day 49. (That is up to 50 kilometers). "Precipitation never occurs there, so particles would take about 10 years to fully settle to earth's surface. Smoke in the troposphere washes out within a week or so."

The sky would look overcast everywhere.

Less sunlight and cooler temperature would shorten the growing season everywhere.

The authors report on the effects of volcanoes and forest fires. the most remarkable was the 1815 Tambora eruption in Indonesia which darkened the skies and produced a global temperature decline of about 0.5 degrees C for a year. "1816 became known as 'The Year without a Summer' or 'Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death.'"

"In New England, although the average summer temperature was lowered only a few degrees, crop-killing frosts occurred in every month."

There are more examples of past effects and future possibilities in the article.

A solution is offered as well: Abolition of nuclear weapons.

"...on September 24 (2009), the president led the United nations Security Council to approve a draft resolution that would step up efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Our modeling results only strengthen the reasons to support further progress on such policy."

Here, Molly discusses the effect on our world from a nuclear war. While her scenario is a bit more explosive, the results are the same.

Don't be stupid

On a cold morning this was the view as I emerged from the Kirklin Clinic. Maybe not too noticeable in the photo, but jumped out at me, was this woman sitting on the edge of one of the planters.

Cut to the chase. Smoke exiting her lungs. Oxygen tank by her side (to her right, it is almost blocked by her purse in the photo).

See the little sign among the plants? See that there are three visible in this photo. Here is what they say.


In each of the planters are signs like this facing in all directions.

Now, I will be the first to admit that quitting cigarettes is difficult. I began smoking in the 8th grade, quit when I went to college, started again after college, quit again when fatherhood neared.

But worse, I watched my father suffer and die because of cigarettes. He tried to quit numerous times, and even tried acupuncture to help. He had heart disease, emphysema and COPD. He died.

Have you ever watched someone who couldn't breathe? I mean, really couldn't breathe?

The best way to quit smoking is to not start in the first place. If you are a young person reading this, don't be a fool. You can be cool without smoking. And you won't smell like a smokestack, your teeth won't be yellow and kissing you won't be like licking an ashtray.

If you already smoke...quit! Here are resources.

This is a kind of funny anti-smoking ad.