A Conspiracy of C(r)ows ....

Hello Folks,

Yesterday was the 30^th anniversary of the ‘miracle on ice’ – the United States hockey team beating the Soviet Union. I remember watching the game – it was just one of those games where hard work, strong goal tending and opportunistic goal scoring produced a result that no could have predicted. I often wonder how much money was made and lost on that game – the account on both sides must have been large.

There are those that claim that the game was thrown by the Russians – there are a number of postulated reasons why – they come under the heading of what I refer to as conspiracy theory. The ‘theory’ works like this,

a)  a) The USSR at the time had arguably the world’s greatest hockey team, having embarrassed Canada in The Challenge Cup of 1979,

b)  b)Two weeks before the Gold Medal Game, the USSR beat the US team 10 -3  at Madison Square Garden,

c)  c)the USSR head coach, Viktor Tikhonov pulled Vladislav Tretiak after the first period in the Gold Medal game,

d)  d)In the final minutes of the game, USSR – down 4-3, did not pull their goaltender,

e)  e)US-USSR tensions were running high in 1979/1980 and President Carter of the US was considering a boycott of the 1980 summer games in Moscow – a win on ice for the US might change Carter’s mind and result in much needed US support for the 1980 summer games.

It all makes sense right – well it is plausible – but that said highly unlikely.  I say that for two reasons,

a)  a)If you watch the game, Jim Craig, the goaltender for the US, literally had to stand on his head to keep major rubber out of the US net – the physical evidence does not support the theory,

b)  b) Three men/women can keep a secret if two of them are dead – information runs uphill – we have heard nothing to support this ‘theory’ from anyone involved with the USSR team, anyone involved with the USSR summer games of 1980, and anyone involved in the USSR regime of 1979/1980 – and the majority of them are still alive.

What concerns me about ‘conspiracy theories’, in general, is the amount of attention they garner from all of us. If we spent as much time self educating ourselves on issues that we can actually have an impact on moving forward, as dwelling on ‘single bullet theories’ from the past, as interesting as they may be, we might have cured cancer, improved healthcare, reduced our dependence on foreign oil, reduced hunger and poverty in our own backyards, listened to the rationale voices of scientists, economists and major thinkers – all to our betterment.

It’s time to have a conspiracy theory that looks at the future and how better it would be if we conspire to take action to ensure we all have enough to eat, that we all have adequate shelter, that quality healthcare is available when it is needed, that quality education at the university level is available to all comers and that we hold accountable all those elected who tow a party line and do not push local initiatives.

Drove into Canyonlands National Park yesterday and hiked to Mesa Arch.  Mesa Arch is famous because it has been photographed about a million times at sunrise – with the sun just rising over the far landscape and captured in the Arch opening. 

This what some of those Photoshop books have done for us – they have us taking the same photo, at the same time, with the same equipment and then processing with the same moves in Photoshop.

I absolutely refuse to take that picture – I am looking for a different method of expressing the Arch and its impact on me – I hope a couple of these pictures approach that.

After the Arch, drove to the end of the Canyon and hiked along the rim to the ‘Green River’ side – a great hike and a brilliant, sunny day – it had snowed 5” in the Canyon the previous night so the snow accented the canyon scenery beautifully.

Yes – the charcoal, over grown canary, former dinosaur, was out there ... riding the canyon winds ... floating along effortlessly ... actually becoming over confident.... maybe a bit fat ... on the way out of Canyonlands, I was attacked by a four legged ½ ton menace ... a black steer ... and then it dawned on me that the black steer was really the raven crow beast in another form ... and now I realize that the winged meanace is an anti-vampire ... a shape shifter by day ... he also must find blood by day ... so he is probably a politician ... so I am safe at night .. .therefore the final confrontation must occur at sunset .... could I shoot him with a garlic camera ....

To quote from verse 719 of the Krome Koan,

‘Definition of politics: Poly – many; tics – blood sucking creatures’

More later,

Phil