Blogvious

The Camp Pendleton wildfires are back - Big Time.

In an October 8th post I shared photos of the 1,000 acre wildfire on Camp Pendleton near my home. Photos of that fire can be seen here. Well, the fires are back - and they are MUCH closer this time.

The Santa Anna winds were blowing again today. That hot, dry wind started a new fire on Camp Pendleton. This one is smaller, but so close that the air here is thick with smoke. Friends called to ask if I was evacuating.  Evacuating? Are they that close? Turns out they were. Homes only a few miles away were evacuated. The top photo was taken from my driveway looking down the street. The lower photo was taken about three blocks away. To see a few more of today’s photos click here.

On my way home from the airport last night I saw a glow in the sky to the north. Since it was clearly past sunset, and since it’s California, that can only mean one thing. Wildfires. Turns out that part of Camp Pendleton, the huge US Marine base was ablaze. 

The fire consumed over 1,000 acres. While that is a lot of area, Pendleton is over 125,000 acres (it’s huge) and this fire was in a remote area of the base.

I took these shots at about 9pm last night at a spot about three blocks from my home. The actual fires were much further away. We were never in danger and the fire was largely under control by this morning. I apologize for the quality as these were handheld shots. To see this one in more detail, or to view more of them click here.

As far as I know, no one was hurt.

– Carl Melville / Blogvious

I’ve gotten emails from several folks asking why I’ve not commented on the Cubs and the thrashing they received from the Dodgers. Short answer: I was in mourning.

I concede that it’s silly to get that invested in a baseball season. After all, there are real problems in the world. However, this year was special. For the first time since 1969 I really beleived that this was the year. Even in 2003 when hapless Steve Bartman was blamed for breaking the streak, I was holding back my enthusiasm. This year however, it as all out there. It had been 100 years - and this would be the big one.

In fact, I had already budgeted $1,500 and 25,000 air miles to fly home to Chicago, catch a game at Wrigley, party with friends, and fly back to San Diego. The Cubs were going to be in the World Series - and it was going to be in Chicago - and I was going to be there. So much for plans.

Is there a curse?  It’s fun to talk about, especially when such talk is fueled by good friends and some cold beer. There is high entertainment value in it - and something to focus on while we look to the future.

Growing up in Chicago as a South Side Cubs Fan (a rare creature frequently subjected to Sox fan ridicule), there were three truths which anyone from that time and place can relate to:

1. Vote early / vote often
2. Never chew gum in church
3. There’s always next year

So, here we are again. 100 years and counting. I keep remembering that 104 year old man throwing out the first pitch at the first playoff game.  How old will I be when the Cubs finally pull it off?

To next year. Eamus Catuli.

– Carl Melville / Blogvious

I’m sitting in San Francisco International Airport waiting for my flight. It’s 9/11/08. Seven years ago today the world was going mad. Today the air is thick with 9/11 tributes, which I find completely fitting and proper. Those touched personally of course have a special kinship with the event that the rest of us have been spared. I was home in San Diego when it happened. I was up early and saw plane number two hit in real time. It was like a surreal nightmare which one could not fully comprehend - or awaken from. No one I knew personally was touched, but like all Americans, I was forever changed.

When I was two years old JFK was assassinated. I grew up in a world of adults frequently asking one another ”where were you when…?”  Because I was a baby, I never experienced the horror of that event. The closest I ever came to understanding it was in 1985 when the Challenger exploded, killing all aboard, including the first teacher in space. Nothing of course could prepare any of us for the atrocities of seven years ago today. Now I too ask, “Where were you…?”, as do so many others.

There was also a frequent refrain about how much the world had changed since that day in Dallas. Phrases like ‘the end of innocence’ and ‘the end of Camelot’ were frequently used. Since I did not know a world before that date, I could not relate to any change at all. Was the world better?  Was the world worse? We tend to idealize the past. It’s a universal human tendency - and it’s usually incorrect. The world is a much better place today than it was 40-odd years ago, but it certainly is different as well. 

How about the the youngest among us today?  They are born into a world of color coded threats, encroachments on civil liberties, US troops fighting in far off lands, stringent security and global terrorism (and global warming). They do not know life before this…then again, they will not know of ‘duck and cover’, ‘cold war’, ‘mutually assured destruction’ or other relics from a nightmare era I hope we have left in the dust bin of history. Their world, on balance, is a better one from many perspectives.

Is the world better overall? Is the world worse on balance? People tend to find what they are looking for, so the answer to both could be yes. If you want to believe the world is worse since 9/11, you can find ample evidence. If you want to believe the world is better in spite of 9/11, and that humanity, for all the warts and indiscretions, continues an upward spiral of accomplishment, then there is plenty of evidence for that as well. As an optimistic realist, I strongly hold the latter view.

However, and regardless of your world view, today is a day for all Americans to reflect on what has happened, what changed, and what we learned. To remember that the world can be a dangerous place, and that ideas do matter. Some of those ideas are worth defending at any cost. I’m not wrapping myself in the flag here. Our nation was based on dissension and revolution. We need many voices in the public square. Today however is a day to quiet those voices and reflect.

The sun will come up again tomorrow, and we can again begin our quarrelsome discussions. It’s also a good time to ask someone “where were you when…?”

– Carl Melville / Blogvious

On a personal note, I have a problem that is both frustrating and engaging at the same time. Those that know me are aware of the considerable girth I have unwisely accumulated in the past few years.  Much of it is still in place but a considerable portion is melting away.

The problem you ask?  None of my clothes fit.  I’m writing this on my way to a meeting wearing slacks that have been taken in twice already - and are hanging on me like kid wearing his Dad’s pants.

Given a choice between problems, this one is not a bad one to have.  Happy Monday.

– Carl / Blogvious

Living in Southern California and traveling for business across the US, I am frequently asked about our legendary Southland traffic congestion  (for the uninitiated, that’s everything from just north of Los Angeles to the Mexico border).

Well, yes. It sucks. However, it sucks pretty much everywhere else too. In fact, many places are much worse. If you live or work in a major US city, you are probably dealing with horrendous traffic on a regular basis.

I was in Atlanta a few weeks ago. They have an Interstate Highway (285), which forms a 70 mile loop around the city. It is actually a 70 mile long used car lot. Nothing moves. Houston, Phoenix, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Boston -  the list is endless. So, the next time you hear about Southern California traffic, you are actually hearing about traffic across our fruited plain.

This picture, by the way, is a city in Europe. It has nothing to do with the story but is the coolest traffic jam picture I’ve ever seen.

 Wanting a new main header for my Blogvious blog, I ventured into my photo archives for just the right picture. Well, an hour later I was still not sure what I wanted to use. I’ve visited and photographed many beautiful places, but San Diego is my home. I finally settled on a series of skyline shots I did for a project a few years ago.

So, the new header - if it’s still at the top of the page - is downtown San Diego by night as photographed from Coronado island, across the bay. It’s a nice shot, but does not do justice to the beauty of seeing it live. Being from Chicago and a fan of great architecture, it took me a while to appreciate the beauty of this amazing city at night.

So, that explains the new header on a slow news day. These photos and many more are in my photo collection, ZoomLens, which can be found on Smugmug. If you ever visit San Diego, make the time to enjoy some of the unstructured beauty the city offers - for free.

So after years of starting and stopping my blogging efforts, I have again taken the plunge. Why? Fair question. One reason is that my friends are tired of being the sole recepients of my thoughts, tirades, and brain droppings - so now a wider audience can suffer. Also, I feel that I have more to say.

I am busier than I have ever been in the past eight years so boredom is clearly not the issue - though it could be an acquired malady I give my readers. We will try to prevent that. My goal was to make my first post as meaningless and banal as a Seinefeld episode and much less entertaining. I guess I’ve succeeded. Onward. (the good news is that no one will read this post anyway)