Preserving Culture Through Art
Artist Draws on Native Heritage 

[Excerpt]

from Lewis County Chronicle online

By Carrina Stanton
For The Chronicle

Though too humble call art a talent, Charles Funk of Chehalis does say it's been a part of his life as long as he can remember.

"I went to a school reunion once and my second grade teacher came up and said, ‘I remember you. You used to draw in the margins of all your papers,'" Funk said. "It's become a way of life."

Through a lifetime of artistic endeavors, Funk has thrown himself into a variety of media. Just to name a few, he's been involved in commercial art, illustrative work, oil paintings, watercolors, screen printing and carving. A common thread through most of his endeavors, though, is the inspiration from his family history and childhood memories of Willapa Harbor and the Chinook Indian Tribe.

"When I'm just sitting and loose drawing things I do Willapa Harbor," Funk said. "That or dancing bunnies, but that's for the children."

Funk has been involved with the Chinook Tribe and the Quinault Indian Reservation since his grandparent's generation. His father worked on the reservation in the Indian Conservation Corps, which was an organization similar to the Civilian Conservation Corps. More recently, Funk has been a member of the Chinook Tribal Council for two years.

The 2,000-member Chinook Tribe, based near Astoria, Ore., is not yet recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, though they are working on reinstatement. Funk said Northwest Indian is a popular art style with local artists, but what makes his art unique is it is drawn specifically from the traditions of the Chinook Tribe. Though it is similar to many local Native art styles, it has its own flavor, he explained.

Image -Chronicle online.

Posted SwanDeer Project at 5:50 AM PST

Updated: Tuesday, 29 January 2008 6:00 AM PST

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After Cheri's Christmas visit and hopefully the last editing we will do, the First Edition is now available online. The novel is printed and bound on a demand basis which means that we do not get a volume rate nor do we get any free copies ourselves that would have allowed us to gift the book to friends and family for Christmas. If you'd like to purchase a copy online you should received it in about a week's time. If you want a copy but do not want to buy it online contact us and we'll arrange the way for you to do that.

Click on Image to go to our Online Book Store

 

"Rose Blake and her family in England are trapped in circumstances and events that are destroying their lives.
Jacob Hannah is a violent man called to a preaching ministry by Brigham Young in an effort to save his soul.
Based on an actual historical event, And Should We Die is human nature at it's best and worst, a struggle to survive against an unforgiving mother nature. And Should We Die is ultimately a love story from out of the history of the American West."

Back Cover

And Should We Die was drafted and written as my first attempt at a novel. The writing was finished over a period of time from October, 1986 to early 1987. As a novel the writing was submitted and returned by two literary agents as not-marketable as written.

I made several attempts at a re-write but each time came very quickly to an inability to change anything with any kind of enthusiastic creativity; a circumstance I attributed to mental burn out with the novel itself.

Now I view it differently. The writing is a novel but more than that a reflection of what has been inside the writer. The final drafts and an assortment of redrafted parts are in my possession. The original first draft, after subsequent drafts were written, was relegated to use by myself and family as scratch paper.

In retrospect, that original writing may very well contain the purity of expression before editing and perhaps a bit more of the essence of what was in my mind. However, the original process of editing was merely a polishing of the rough draft in the first place and a case could be made that such polishing further refined and made accurate the precise messages coming from within.

This is the value of And Should We Die. It is my equivalent of "survivor art", if you will, where someone in a therapeutic context attempts to portray in pictures what exists and is felt inside. This is very personal writing from within. It expresses feelings, beliefs, attitudes and other emotions that were no longer willing to be bottled up and which, as a result, pushed out into a written expression in 1986.

However, for a long time there was no one to read and comprehend. As the source of the writing, I myself saw it only as an attempt to write marketable historical fiction; an attempt that accomplished nothing more than to reveal to me an aptitude for writing. However, I had only a superficial understanding that what came out on paper was very revealing of personal inner thinking. Although I was very proud of and devoted to the writing, I saw it only as an attempt that had failed.

Although I attempted once or twice to read it to the family, I myself did not sustain that effort. There seemed to be no one else who could or would take the time to read it and the drafts lay in boxes in my home for 12 years. On two occasions in the past five years I’ve attempted to read parts to my wife, Lietta, and each time I was brought to tears by what I read.

I did not understand at those times why such would be the case except for the fact that the writing represented a time when I worked like hell to give birth, if you will, to something restless within me. People use the phrase of “having a novel in here that needs to be written,” and this for me was a blood-sweat-and-tears effort that defined part of a writer's task.

However, recently, while on vacation, my wife invited me to read the novel to her from the start. I no sooner started to read than found myself again in tears. But this time I saw something quite disturbingly clear. This writing was created for my eyes in particular and it contained images that suddenly sprang into view much like commercial pictures that contain smaller hidden pictures.

The more I read the more frequently I was moved to tears until it became obvious that 12 years ago, I had subconsciously put in words much of what I was unable to say out loud. The act of reading these words aloud to another person somehow served a therapeutic purpose that elicited responses way beyond being involved in reading fiction.

The writing is multi-layered. The characters all speak, obviously, from within my perceptual source. The characters are, as any writer will tell you, extensions of myself more than they are creations modeled on someone else. The characters reflect different points of my own view and, being multi-layered, there are many levels of perception.

I read this novel with very strong emotions and, twelve years after it was written, I acknowledge that it represents the essence of how I see myself in terms of ancestry, culture and background. For me it is an anthem to who I am and the kind of courageous people from whom I am descended.

In transcribing this writing from the paper copy which was done with a typewriter I have made a few corrections of grammar, spelling and syntax for clarity purposes (to the degree I am able to do good proof-reading). I would not add to, delete or change anything in this material, as it comes directly from my inner world and reflects too much to try to change it after the fact.

A.C.R., South Bend Washington, October, 1999

Posted SwanDeer Project at 7:17 AM PST

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 I'm taking the pledge. When the guy at the party has to fart to get a crowd to pay attention, the best way to get him to leave is to ignore him.  How better to puncture his credibility than to leave publicity and notoriety to his dwindling choir.

Imagine the moral handstands necessary to remain aligned with the dwindling base Reflublican candidates would have to employ to look credible beyond that base.

BTW, it seems that there doesn't seem to be any Republican presidential front runner who doesn't come across as feeble-minded as did Mike McGavick did during last year's Washington Senatorial campaign.

I pledge now that unless Flush becomes a legitimate news story in which he actually says or does something with legitimate social impact, I'm going to ignore him.

If I want to know what Flush Limbaugh says,  what Squawk Hannity and Fracture O'Reilly say - in fact any news or commentary defecated from Fox News - I go to Media Matters.

Posted SwanDeer Project at 8:01 AM PDT

Updated: Saturday, 29 September 2007 4:15 PM PDT

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Who ya gonna believe?

A Hollywood storyteller whose creation admittedly is fiction but has at its core a point of view with depth and meaning? 

Or a broadcast stampeder whose creation is unabashedly touted as commentary on truth but who offers nothing but shallow bathwater thinking and name-calling?

Who teaches truth with greater impact, actors performing roles that teach us about ourselves and each other - or a seller of snake oil whose real forte is being nothing more than a "phony patriot?" (And whose face at the business end of a cigar resembles the business end of loudmouthed bloodhound leaving a big one in the family living room?  

[Excerpts] from the Christian Science Monitor  

from the September 28, 2007 edition

Cambridge, Mass. - After the end credits for "In the Valley of Elah," an antiwar drama starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron, a visibly moved Iraq war veteran stands to address a hushed audience in the dim theater light.

"When I first went [to Iraq], I didn't necessarily agree with the reasons I went to war,"

says Ian LaVallée, a member of the organization Iraq Veterans Against the War. Fielding a question at the Kendall Square Cinema during a discussion after the film, he says he believes his fellow veterans died for the wrong cause.

"For me, this movie resonates with some of the feeling I had coming back."

... But how will "Elah" and several other Iraq war-themed films opening this fall – "Grace is Gone," "Lions for Lambs," "Redaction," and "The Kingdom" – play elsewhere in America?

... "message" films laden with stars such as Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, and John Cusack. Hollywood is on a mission to bring the war home. But critics, pundits, and the filmmakers themselves wonder if audiences might be indifferent to the war, fatigued by it, or not looking for films to engage them in serious topics.

"The challenge for these films is whether large numbers of Americans want to see [them]," says Owen Gleiberman, film critic at "Entertainment Weekly." "People are more apathetic now. It's easier to bury your head in the sand, bury your head in the entertainment."

... Filmmakers hope to cut through the clutter of daily news – bombings, violence, dead US soldiers – and tap into mainstream disenchantment. Yet some fear their messages may hit too close to home.

"It's like a bad marriage or bad relationship. We never want to get into the pain of it while it's happening," says Patricia Foulkrod, director of last year's documentary "The Ground Truth."

... This year, Iraq is that "800 pound gorilla you can't ignore," says Professor Charles Merzbacher [chairman of Boston University's Department of Film & Television.], who contends that producers – blinded by dreams of Academy Awards – aren't considering whether there's a demand for war movies. "That's what's wrong with these films."

Entertainment-seeking viewers may also be leery of "message films," even if support for the war is clearly waning. And conservative audiences may dismiss films driven by "liberal bias" – even those with star power, like the Robert Redford/Meryl Streep/Tom Cruise juggernaut "Lions for Lambs."

Peter Suderman, associate editor of "Doublethink" and blogger at theamericanscene.com, condemns "Elah" in the National Review Online for being a "lame-brained slam against soldiers. ... It's sort of absurd to think a fairly large-budget Hollywood film will stop the war."

 

...  "Audiences would rather see something fun and nonconfrontational," writes Sean P. Means, movie critic for the Salt Lake Tribune, via e-mail. "Movies about serious topics usually become hits only after critics praise the film and awards are handed out."

It might be naive to think blockbuster films can change the nation. But movies can reflect a growing sentiment, or help focus a vague sense of disgruntlement. "Having respected institutions check in on this makes a huge difference," notes Mr. [Charlie] Richardson of Military Families Speak Out.

But Hollywood may not be the most reliable of institutions to serve as a national conscience. Movies are a business first, a harbinger second. Which might explain why, even with the participation of an Academy-Award winning director (Paul Haggis) and three Oscar-winning actors (Jones, Theron, and Susan Sarandon), "In the Valley of Elah" has not yet had a wide release.

"We still see the timidity," Richardson says, "until they run it up the flagpole and see who salutes."

Posted SwanDeer Project at 6:40 AM PDT

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via Aberdeen Daily World 

MENLO — The sole of a county fair is hooves.

And fairs don’t get much more down home than the event at Menlo — celebrating its 111th birthday starting tomorrow.

Just look down and you’ll see why the Pacific County Fair’s 2007 theme is “Just Hoofin’ Around.”

Hooves are everywhere — contented cows lounging on their sides; feisty pigs dodging their handlers; handsome horses peeking out of their stalls as their shoes are checked by attentive 4-H’ers.

As for the people, they’ll be checking it all out — the displays of blue-ribbon jams, jellies and pies; the entertainment, food and rides.

Add dogs, cats, rabbits and poultry to the mix, and you’ve got an event that leaves a lot of footprints on the Fairgrounds, which are six miles east of Raymond on Highway 6. The fair runs from Wednesday through Saturday.

“It’s family fun and a community gathering where you can see the friends, neighbors and relatives you haven’t seen since last year’s fair,” says Leslie Goodin, the fair manager. “You can enjoy good food and the animals.”

Fair classics

The opening ceremonies start at noon Wednesday with a flag ceremony by Raymond VFW Pacific Post No. 968 at the flag pole.

The 2007 Pacific County Princesses — Hillary Wildhaber, Rikkilee Stepp, Hillary Smith, Lindsey Antilla, Gracie Manlow and Megan Martin — will be introduced at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the grandstand area. Then, the Fair Queen will be crowned at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

You can learn a new cheer at the 23rd Annual Cheering Demonstration at 8 p.m. Thursday in the grandstand area.

The Show & Shine car show will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Willapa Valley High School practice fields, followed by the Diamonds to Dust Horse Drill Team at noon in the horse arena.

The free Bee Safe Program will educate the crowd about topics from fire safety to dating at 1 p.m. Saturday.

In the livestock arena Saturday, the Community Appreciation Awards will be presented at 6:30 p.m., followed by the 20th Annual 4-H/FFA Livestock Auction and the Kenneth Hurley Original Painting Auction at 7 p.m.

Carnival rides will be in operation every day at the fair. All-day carnival ride tickets are available at Everyone’s Video in Raymond, the Security State Bank branches in Raymond, Pe Ell and Grayland and at The Menlo Store in Menlo.

There will be children’s arts and crafts at 10 a.m. and kids games at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Exhibits galore

Each day features different animal shows, so pick your favorite breed and check the fair schedule at Pacific County’s Web site at www.co.pacific.wa.us. Click on the Fair tab once you get there.

Little ones might enjoy watching “duck dipping,” when ducks get regular swims throughout the fair in a colorful kiddie pool.

Check out the animals during their off-time in their different buildings and barns. Their owners are always happy to answer questions and most areas also have posted information about each type of animal.

There will also be exhibits featuring flowers, vegetables, clothing, sewing and more. Stroll through the exhibits to get ideas for a new table setting or sewing pattern.

Special acts

The New Life Fellowship Singers will perform at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Musician Virgil Stortroen returns to the fair with performances at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday, and noon and 2 p.m. Friday.

Zona Calda will take the stage at 8:45 p.m. Thursday, while the Rocking HW will perform cowboy poetry and Western songs at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Hypnotist Chip Pemberton will dazzle the crowd at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, and 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday.

Chris Guenther & The Honky Tonk Drifters are slated to perform at 8:30 p.m. Friday. Guenther used to show cattle at the fair when he was growing up, and now he’s back to perform years later.

All performances are on the mini stage.

Food fans

As always, the food booths will feature favorites, including hamburgers, hot dogs and cotton candy.

Or stop by the cowboy breakfast sponsored by the 4-H Leaders Council from 7-11 a.m. on Saturday.

Call the fair office at (360) 942-3712 for more information.

Posted SwanDeer Project at 6:59 AM PDT

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Seattle PI, 08/08/2007 

State's newest retreat draws artists to 'a far reach from the rest of the world' in Oysterville

By R.M. CAMPBELL
P-I MUSIC/DANCE CRITIC

[Excerpts]

Tucked at the end of the Long Beach Peninsula, between the thunder of the Pacific and the serene calm of Willapa Harbor, Oysterville is a pastoral setting in its purest form. There are deer and coyotes and sandpipers as well as salmon berries, Scotch broom, rhododendrons and chrysanthemums.

The value of retreat

Artists' colonies are sprinkled across the United States and Europe. The most famous U.S. ones are the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire and Yaddo in upstate New York, and those with international standing include the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation on Lake Como in Italy.

For a state that prides itself on its writers, Washington has two retreats in addition to Espy: Hedgebrook on Whidbey Island and Centrum at Fort Worden, in Port Townsend.

The Espy program offers monthlong stays for up to five residents in March, June and October and additional months if possible. In addition to housing, residents are given a stipend for food. Emerging and established artists are eligible.

Posted SwanDeer Project at 6:47 AM PDT

Updated: Saturday, 18 August 2007 6:50 AM PDT

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Daily Writing Tips

Whether you are an attorney, manager, student or blogger, writing skills are essential for your success. Considering the rise of the information age, they are even more important, as people are surrounded by e-mails, wikis, social networks and so on.

It can be difficult to hone one's writing skills within this fast paced environment. To solve this problem we decided to create Daily Writing Tips, a blog where you will find simple yet effective tips to improve your writing.

Do not forget to grab our RSS Feed, or to subscribe by email, and stay tuned for your Daily Writing Tips!

6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know

Whether you like it or not, foreign expressions represent an integral part of the English language (and of many other languages, too). Knowing the meaning and usage of the most used ones is very important. First of all because it will enable you to understand pieces of text that include them. Secondly, because you might also need to use those expressions on particular situations (avoid using them just to sound smart though). Below you will find 6 foreign expressions commonly used in English, enjoy!

1. De Facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means “actual” (if used as an adjective) or “in practice” (if used as an adverb). In legal terms, de facto is commonly used in contrast to de jure, which means “by law.” Something, therefore, can emerge either de facto (by practice) or de jure (by law).

And what of the plastic red bench, which has served as his de facto home for the last 15 years and must by now be a collector’s item? (NY Times)

2. Vis-à-Vis

The literal meaning of this French expression is “face to face” (used as an adverb). It is used more widely as a preposition though, meaning “compared with” or “in relation to.”

It’s going to be a huge catalyst in moving the whole process forward and it really strengthens the U.S. position vis-a-vis our trading partners (Yahoo! News)

3. Status quo

This famous Latin expression means “the current or existing state of affairs.” If something changes the status quo, it is changing the way things presently are.

Bush believes that the status quo — the presence in a sovereign country of a militant group with missiles capable of hitting a U.S. ally — is unacceptable. (Washington Post)

4. Cul-de-sac

This expression was originated in England by French-speaking aristocrats. Literally it means “bottom of a sack,” but generally it refers to a dead-end street. Cul-de-sac can also be used metaphorically to express an action that leads to nowhere or an impasse.

But the code of omerta was in effect for two carloads of fans circling the cul-de-sac to have a look at the house. (Reuters.com)

A cul-de-sac of poverty (The Economist)

5. Per se

Per se is a Latin expression that means “by itself” or “intrinsically.”

The mistake it made with the Xbox is that there is no game console market per se; there are PlayStation, GameCube, and Xbox markets. (PCMag.com)

6. Ad hoc

Ad hoc, borrowed from the Latin, can be used both as an adjective, where it means “formed or created with a specific purpose,” and as an adverb, where it means “for the specific purpose or situation.”

The World Bank’s board on Friday ordered an ad hoc group to discuss the fate of President Paul Wolfowitz (CNN)

Posted SwanDeer Project at 6:27 AM PDT

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I've posted excerpts from an excellent Memorial Day article in a country that still see's American foreign policy in terms of emphasizing the big stick at the expense of walking softly. The original rambo-character without the anti-social psychotic nonsense, John Wayne - if he wasn't going to put his body on the line but stay home and make a career out of pretend - probably exerted a useful influence during the Second World War when in this country the good guys and the bad guys were more easily perceptible. You know, when we didn't start it but we sure as hell ended it.

Of course as victors we then by force of arms owned the right to define ourselves as noble, violent purveyors of truth, justice and the American Way.

In the years between my own military service as it seemed we were between catastrophic foreign policy disasters, my own son was too young to face the consequences of point-of-a-gun American imperialism disguised as noble advocacy of global democracy.

Now nearly 30 and also a father, he just might be too old to get sucked into the meat-grinder even via a draft. But when he was a child, my son and I had a favorite film - meaningful to both of us in different ways. For me as a father and future grandfather and for him as a son.

The film was Big Jake. 

Excerpts from TruthDigg article: Memorializing the Deadly Myth of John Wayne.  Click on link to read entire article.
Posted on May 26, 2007                                         

Ed Rampell and Luis I. Reyes

This Memorial Day is the centennial of John Wayne, born May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. The 2007 Harris poll of America’s favorite movie stars places the Duke at No. 3. A remarkable ranking, considering Wayne’s last picture was 1976’s “The Shootist” and he died 28 years ago.

Wayne, who didn’t win an Oscar until late in a six-decades-long career, is Hollywood’s most underrated actor. He was arguably a better actor than the fellow Midwesterner and two-time Oscar winner to whom he is often compared, Marlon Brando, the Method actor who played antisocial misfits in films ranging from the 1954 biker flick “The Wild One” to 1973’s sexually charged “Last Tango in Paris,” which critic Pauline Kael called “the movie breakthrough” that “altered the face of an art form.” If Wayne portrayed the strong, silent type in films such as 1952’s “A Quiet Man,” Brando was known for bellowing “Stella!” in 1951’s “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

... Wayne was full of contradictions. Although the star of countless Westerns such as John Ford’s 1939 “Stagecoach” and 1953’s “Hondo” owned a ranch, the Duke “didn’t particularly like horses and preferred suits and tuxedos to chaps, jeans and boots,” according to his son, Michael Wayne. The prototypical cowpoke also favored the sea over the prairie.

... Wayne was not only missing in action during the 1940s’ liberation of the Philippines and Europe, he wasn’t a cavalry officer, a Vietnam commando or a Leatherneck—flying or otherwise—for he was never in the military.  

According to Gary Wills’ book “John Wayne’s America,” the man who portrayed the archetypal, battle-hardened Marine, Sgt. Stryker, in 1949’s “The Sands of Iwo Jima,” actually avoided the draft during WWII. Wills contends that the Duke did not reply to letters from the Selective Service system, and applied for deferments. Apparently, Wayne—who had sought stardom during years of B-pictures following Raoul Walsh’s 1930 frontier drama “The Big Trail”—got his big break during the struggle against fascism when many Hollywood action heroes like Tyrone Power enlisted and shipped out overseas.

... Wayne was a vocal conservative, and his critics contend that the onscreen “Injun killer” was racist off-screen. In an infamous 1971 Playboy magazine interview, the Duke made insensitive comments about blacks and said this about America’s indigenous people: “I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”

...  A virulent anti-communist, Wayne was president of the right-wing Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals and cheered the Hollywood blacklist during the House Un-American Activities Committee’s purge of entertainment industry leftists. He starred in Red Menace movies such as 1955’s China-set “Blood Alley” and 1952’s “Big Jim McLain,” based on the case of the Hawaii 7, wherein suspected communists, including longshoreman union leader Jack Hall, were charged with advocating the overthrow of the American government. Wayne plays two-fisted federal agent Jim McLain (his name bears the same initials as Sen. Joe McCarthy’s) who busts Honolulu’s commies.

... In the crowning irony of the conservative’s career, Wayne finally struck Oscar gold for playing Rooster Cogburn in 1969’s “True Grit”—written for the screen by ex-communist Marguerite Roberts, blacklisted in 1952 for refusing to inform on leftists.

... An outspoken hawk during the Vietnam War, Wayne co-directed and starred in the Pentagon-subsidized propaganda picture “The Green Berets.” Duke denounced antiwar protesters, reportedly saying: “As far as I’m concerned, it wouldn’t bother me a bit to pull the trigger on one of  ’em.”

Wayne was, in reality, a draft dodger. America’s archetypal soldier was in fact a chicken hawk. He was a cheerleader and champion of militaristic patriotism and combat he had never experienced. Wayne had “other priorities” during WWII—achieving superstardom (and saving his neck) was more important than defeating fascism. Much like Vice President Dick Cheney, who sought numerous deferments during the Vietnam War, Wayne was the quintessential war wimp. 

According to Pilar Wayne, her husband “would become a ‘superpatriot’ for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home” during WWII. Like Wayne, the current crop of GOP chicken hawks are great actors, overcompensating for their previous patriotic failings (draft dodging, etc.) by sounding the jingoistic battle cry for a new generation of working-class sons and daughters to go to war.  Or, as George W. Bush did in a priceless moment of Hollywood flourish, dressing up in a flight suit to declare a failing and deadly war in Iraq a “mission accomplished.”

Wayne convinced us through make-believe that he was Davy Crockett, the Ringo Kid, a Flying Tiger or D-day parachutist Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort in 1962’s “The Longest Day.” Pretending is the essence of acting, and that’s why Wayne was a better actor than Brando, who usually played versions of himself. Wayne, on the other hand, created imaginary characters fabricated out of whole cloth.

Unfortunately, in an America manipulated by the military-industrial-entertainment complex, as Ford’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” put it: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” But these lies and fantasies have consequences in real life for those mistakenly buying into them. Veteran Ron Kovic, who was portrayed by Tom Cruise in Oliver Stone’s 1989 “Born on the Fourth of July,” declared after he was paralyzed from the waist down in Vietnam: “I gave my dead dick for John Wayne.” It’s interesting that Wayne’s last public appearance was when he presented the best picture Oscar in 1979 to Michael Cimino’s “The Deer Hunter,” a Vietnam film that raised questions about honor and patriotism.

... On the 100th anniversary of the Duke’s birth, Americans need to distinguish between myth and deadly realities. We must re-examine America’s love affair with settling disputes through gunplay, and question people and institutions that demand that the young sacrifice their minds and bodies in tribute to these actors (of the stage and political theater) and the violence they celebrate.

 Excerpts from TruthDigg article: Memorializing the Deadly Myth of John Wayne.  Click on link to read entire article.

However, be that as it may, just as Christians remain in need of the real or mythological example and inspiration of Jesus of Nazareth, many Americans remain in need of the real or mythological example and inspiration of John of Hollywood.

Posted SwanDeer Project at 9:24 AM PDT

Updated: Sunday, 27 May 2007 10:05 AM PDT

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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

The Northwest Folklife Festival, May 25-28

Folklife, Seattle's grand, multicultural community picnic, offers hundreds of groups on 25 stages at Seattle Center — from Hawaiian slack-key guitar to East Indian dance to hip-hop — from here and around the world. Some featured artists: Hawaiian icon Brother Noland, Ghanaian master drummer Chata Addy, oud player Maurice Rouman, fiddler Paul Anastasio, Chinese zither player Wu Ziying, western singer Jo Miller, the Vela Luka Croatian Dancers and the Total Experience Gospel Choir. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. May 25-28, Seattle Center; free, but a $10 donation per person ($20 for families) per day is requested. Also, a ticketed benefit concert featuring Canadian musicians David Francey and the Creaking Tree String Quartet is set for 8 p.m. May 26, Bagley Wright Theatre; $15-$18 (206-684-7300 or www.nwfolklife.org).

Sasquatch! Music Festival, May 26-27

The annual Memorial Day weekend fest at the Gorge has a lineup with dozens of acts from near and far. On May 26: Björk; Arcade Fire; Manu Chao and Radio Bemba Sound System; M.I.A.; Citizen Cope; Neko Case; the Hold Steady; Grizzly Bear; Ghostland Observatory; Electrelane; Two Gallants; the Slip; Loney, Dear; Aqueduct; the Thermals; Viva Voce; the Blow; Gabriel Teodros; and the Saturday Knights. On May 27: Beastie Boys; Interpol; Michael Franti and Spearhead; Spoon; Bad Brains; Ozomatli; the Dandy Warhols; the Black Angels; Mirah; Tokyo Police Club; Money Mark; St. Vincent; Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter; Smoosh; Common Market; the Helio Sequence; Stars of Track and Field; Minus the Bear. The mainstage host is Sarah Silverman. At the Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road N.W., George, Grant County; $65 through Monday, then $75 (www.livenation.com).

Olympic Music Festival, June 23-Sept. 9

Just east of the Hood Canal Bridge, an 1890s dairy farm is the bucolic site of barn concerts (you can listen on the lawn, too) featuring great chamber music at 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, starting with two piano recitals by Paul Hersh. Excellent for families. Alan Iglitzin is the founder/director (206-527-8839 or www.olympicmusicfestival.org).

Summer Music Festival and Aronoff Chamber Music Series, July 1-5

Held at Bastyr University in Kenmore, this 17-year-old festival offers an annual series of concerts that feature some commendable string players of this region (heavy on the violists) in sonatas, quartets, trios and other ensembles. Tickets are unusually reasonable; one of the concerts is free (360-898-5000 or http://home.earthlink.net/~pf28/mavi/aronoff.html).

Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festivals, July 3-27 and Aug. 1-10

This long-running and popular festival, founded by Toby Saks, draws great players — including William Preucil, Stefan Jackiw and Seattle's Joshua Roman — for concerts of famous and new repertoire. Lots of ambience, too. July 3-27 at Lakeside School, Seattle; Aug. 1-10 at Overlake School, Redmond (206-283-8808 or www.seattlechambermusic.org).

Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival, July 7-29

Up in the Cascade foothills near Leavenworth, this festival is directed by Lisa Bergman, who has programmed everything from Brazilian jazz to Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time." Guests include the Avalon String Quartet, cellist Nathaniel Rosen and Seattle Symphony clarinetist Laura DeLuca (877-265-6026 or www.icicle.org).

Ozzfest, July 12 and July 14

The tour heads to Washington with a new twist: free tickets. You do have to buy Ozzy's new CD, "Black Rain," though (out Tuesday; preorder at www.ozzy.com); or log onto Ozzy's site June 12 and get 'em while they last. If you get tickets, you're in for a bill including Ozzy himself and Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Lordi, Mondo Generator, Ankla, Circus Diablo, Nile, the Showdown, Behemoth, 3 Inches of Blood, ChthoniC and In This Moment. Times to be announced, July 12 at White River Amphitheatre, Auburn; and July 14 at the Gorge Amphitheatre, George, Grant County (www.livenation.com).

Chelan Bach Fest, July 14-21

Small and friendly, this festival at Lake Chelan offers Bach (of course) but also some Handel, Mozart, Copland, Beethoven and lots more. George Shangrow, founder/conductor of two Seattle groups, heads east of the mountains to be the Bach Fest's new conductor (509-667-0904 or www.bachfest.org).

Marrowstone Music Festival, July 26-Aug. 5

The summer festival presented by the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra at Western Washington University in Bellingham has student orchestral concerts, faculty chamber concerts and a July 26 presentation by the Corigliano Quartet. Some concerts, including those by the chamber orchestra, are free (360-650-6146 or www.marrowstone.org).

Methow Music Festival, Aug. 3-12

In various venues in and around Winthrop, pianist/director Lisa Bergman presents the renowned opera/recital singer Frederica von Stade; competition-winning pianist Stephen Beus; Seattle's odeonquartet; Northwoods Wind Quintet; and other players in intimate concerts (www.methowmusicfestival.org or request ticket information via e-mail: mmf@methownet.com).

Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, Aug. 5-12

Violist Helen Callus, formerly of the University of Washington faculty, is the new director of this festival held on the Olympic Peninsula. This year, they have Trio Solisti as guest artists, along with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec, who composed his winning composition ("Tempest" Fantasy) for this very trio, which they'll play Aug. 10 with clarinetist Alan Kay (800-733-3608, 360-385-5320 or www.centrum.org).

Vans Warped Tour, Aug. 18

It's a day of alt-punk-rock at the Gorge. Bad Religion, Tiger Army, Cute Is What We Aim For, Paramore, Coheed and Cambria, Killswitch Engage, Chiodos, New Found Glory, Hawthorne Heights, Pennywise, Circa Survive, Pepper, As I Lay Dying, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Amber Pacific, Flogging Molly, Poison the Well, the Starting Line, k-os, Escape the Fate and many others. Doors open at noon, Gorge Amphitheatre, George, Grant County; $26.75 (206-628-0888, www.ticketmaster.com or www.warpedtour.com).

Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, Aug. 20-Sept. 1

It's the 10th season for this charming little festival up in the San Juans, and they're celebrating with the first free outdoors concert: Jon Kimura Parker playing "Rhapsody in Blue" with orchestra. Also on tap: several works by Peter Schickele, including a world premiere, and a concert extending from Bach and Mozart to Miles Davis. Tickets on sale June 1 (360-376-2281 or www.oicmf.org).

Bumbershoot, Sept. 1-3

Seattle's annual music and arts festival has yet to announce its entire music lineup, but here's what's set: the Shins, Wu-Tang Clan, Panic! At The Disco, Crowded House, Lupe Fiasco, Steve Earle, DeVotchKa, Devendra Banhart, Gogol Bordello, Kill Hannah, Norma Jean, Plain White T's, the Gourds, Lyrics Born, Roky Erickson & the Explosives, the Holmes Brothers, the Avett Brothers, Yungchen Lhamo, Allison Moorer and Magnolia Electric Company. Three-day passes: $75 through Aug. 17, $95 thereafter. Single day: $30 July 13-Aug. 17, $35 thereafter (www.bumbershoot.org).

Annas Bay Music Festival, various dates

Last year's inaugural festival on the south shore of Hood Canal clustered all the concerts in a concentrated time span; this year they're doing something different, with concerts spread out over a number of weekends. This very weekend, in fact, the festival presents a program called "Black Roses," a Nordic chamber program at 8 p.m. today; and a "polka party" at 8 p.m. Saturday, featuring the Smilin' Scandinavians Polka Band. Subsequent programs with everything from classical guitar to jazz and flamenco are set for July 6-7, Aug. 24-26, Sept. 28-29 and on through the end of the year. Harmony Hill Retreat Center, Union, Mason County (360-898-5000 or www.annasbay.org).

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com

SIFF: Where the films are

Books: Cool Reads for a Hot Beach 

Theater: STG Lineup includes lots of song and dance 

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 Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

Posted SwanDeer Project at 8:51 AM PDT

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Interesting view out of Great Britain. Is this what we original Trekkies anticipated? The Times online - To Boldly Go and Interfere By Patrick West September 08, 2006 [Excerpts]

TODAY IS THE 40th anniversary of the first Star Trek episode broadcast on American television. And while we Trekkies will dutifully be honouring the birthday of this often hammy, frequently absurd but nonetheless compelling show, it is also an occasion for lamentation, a time to reflect on the baleful effect the programme has had on the American mindset — namely Star Trek’s message of liberal imperialism, a philosophy that uncannily has since been realised in real life. ..... Some may contend that this is unfair, in that Star Trek promoted gender equality and that the crew of the Enterprise was multi-ethnic. True, but it was an American alpha-male who was at the helm of the ship, with a Brit (Scottie), a Russian-Ukrainian (Chekov) a Japanese man (Sulu) and an African- American woman (Uhuru — or should we say Condi Rice) remaining decidedly subservient. .....

Then what of the show’s celebrated “prime directive”, that the explorers should never interfere in alien civilisations? The problem here is that the prime directive is blatantly and persistently violated. Not an episode concludes without one of Captain Kirk’s sermons, his incessant moralising to troubled alien civilisations that they should follow his lead and cherish life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Star Trek represented not the ethos of mutual, egalitarian co-operation, but of multinational interference firmly under the leadership of Americans. Rather than having succumbed to the urge to boldly go and meddle with strange new worlds he didn’t understand, Captain Kirk should have stayed at home and sorted out his own people’s problems.

Posted SwanDeer Project at 12:01 AM PDT

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