I first heard of Ferguson’s study of the rise of Western Civilization some time ago on NPR, and have been anticipating getting my hands on a copy.  A professional historian of some repute in the UK, he identifies the key concepts that developed in the West starting about 500 years ago, that eventually led to the dominance of Western Culture throughout the globe today: Science, competition, the rule of law, modern medicine, the work ethic, and  consumerism. I have yet to delve behind the book cover, so I’ll leave it at that for now… but it promises to be a great read.

Aside from that, I’m still ticking-off Steve Berry novels at a rate of one-per-week, so that entertainment resource will eventually dry up in the coming weeks. I recently finished The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Alexandria Link, and The Venetian Betrayal. I am currently happily immersed in The Paris Vendetta.

As I get to know the many recurring characters in these novels, I keep wanting to see Ian McKellen play the fictional Danish billionaire, Henrik Thorvaldsen if these novels could ever get to the screen. Equally compelling, would be the casting of Judy Dench as Stephanie Nelle, head of the secret government agency that the protagonist, Cotton Malone, used to work for. (Though I fear that both these venerable actors may be a bit too old by the time these movies ever do get made!).

I still can’t decide who could play the erudite, taciturn government agent-turned-bookseller, Cotton Malone, or the mysterious femme fatale, Cassiopea Vitt… oh well!

I am looking forward to several web and exhibit projects in the next few months, including the two web sites I’m currently constructing for a retired museum curator, and a 50th-Anniversary exhibit for the Cal-State East Bay Athletics Department. Life is never dull as long as you seek out some form of mental stimulation – I’ve been fortunate, in retirement, to have these activities readily available! 2012 should be a great year!

Boy was I shocked to find out how little I knew about this period: everything from the Mexican policy of inviting American settlers into their Texas frontier as a buffer to raiding Plains Indians, to the Indian bands themselves. The Comanches, apparently, were undisputed masters of the Plains, adapting the Spanish mustang (perfectly suited to their environment) to their war-making and hunting activities. Armed with single-shot muskets, and trained to dismount to fight, Mexican – and later, U.S. –  foot soldiers had little chance against these uber-warriors who fought guerrila raids on other tribes and European settlers alike at lightening speed, and could unleash 20 deadly accurate arrows in the time it would take the dismounted opponent to get off a single shot!

Gwynne does an admirable job of recounting the history of the southern Plains, and especially Texas, where the great American advance clashed with the Comanches over the decades from the 1820s to the 1870s. This is a case of truth being so much more strange than fiction, that even a minimal story line and sparse reportage pretty much provides its own drama. Without embellishing, or providing value judgments of either side in this clash, the author allows the reader to see the complexity and inevitability of two ways of life converging at a single point in history. His characters are all real, of course, and his research is copiously footnoted, without getting in the way of the compelling narrative. A really great read!

New to me, then, was Steve Berry, who’s been writing it seems for a decade now, with a dozen or so adventure novels under his belt. A couple of weeks back, I read The Emperor’s Tomb, and Templar Legacy – both by Berry - and found them to be really pleasurable reads. I rather warmed to his recurring characters, but thought I’d take a look at a “stand-alone” novel he wrote about 2002, The Amber Room. It, too, dealt with historical speculation around which a really good mystery is woven: in this case, it dealt with an 18th century palatial room made entirely of amber, and finished by Catherine the Great of Russia.

When the Nazis confiscated it during World War II, the Amber Room went missing before it could be returned to Russia. The plot, of course, deals with the competition between the Good Guys and Bad to discover its whereabouts and get the prize. A lot of fun!

I’m currently reading Berry’s Charlemagne Pursuit, which, again, deals with his recurring protagonist, retired spy-turned-bookseller, Cotton Malone (I know it sounds like a stretch!). Anyway, this volume appears to shed some light on Malone’s personal history, so I’m looking forward to it.

The twenty-two 3-by-6-foot panels hang throughout the Library, and were relatively easy to design and research, mostly using our own Archives, with some help from the Hayward Area Historical Society. This time, with only slight modification, I was also able to post the material on the web at the same time we opened. It can be found at http://www.historigraphics.com/gems/.

Simultaneously, I’ve been working with another museum and exhibit colleague to create a website that encompasses his entire 40-plus-year career in museology. I’ll have more to report on that next time, no doubt.

Our next display – sometime in October – will focus on local aspects of the infamous Japanese-American Internment by the U.S. government in World War II. Even though I had done my Masters’s thesis on the topic back in 1975 – and produced an hour-long video in the process – I was unaware until last week (!) that many of the most famous photographic images of that event (by pioneering photojournalist Dorthea Lange, et. al.) were actually taken right here in Hayward – on the exact day these American citizens were told to report to the City Plaza for deportation. Seems like there’s always more to learn – and this horrific episode in American History is one NO ONE should ever forget!

I’ve had to struggle to keep my thinking on an even keel in the midst of all this, and am reminded of the importance of gratitude as a mental habit, if not spiritual exercise.

Growing up, I had both my mother and grandmother to thank for teaching me the importance of disciplining one’s thinking. Basically, observing how your thoughts are affecting your moods and actions (ours was in religious terms, but you get the idea). I also had my not-so-religious father as an example – a guy who just loved people and his work, and was perennially optimistic.

So, now, when I find myself a bit distraught, I realize how far I’m letting myself slip. I also find that the best method for righting myself in the shoals of life’s ocean is to simply express (aloud or internally) the gratitude I genuinely feel within.

It might not seem that much to start, but the more you exercise this way of thinking, the easier it becomes. Gratitude, after all, is a form of prayer – i.e., a recognition of the good (God, Principle, etc.) all around us.

The concept is to celebrate the CSUEB Hayward campus and its 50 years on its current hilltop site. To do that this time (we did a much more formal 10-panel exhibit for the institution’s official 50th in 2007), the Library Director and I have opted for a breezy, quasi-expose treatment of familiar campus building and place names, as well as curious “factoids” about the university itself.

Having started at CSUH during its first Summer Quarter in 1965, I’ve found that I’ve been able to write most of the stuff off the top of my head; my familiarity with the University Archives and its media stash makes the process even more fun, as I marry and modify the various images with the brief paragraphs that explain each topic.

So it looks like the latter part of August I’ll be going into print mode for the large banners, and will be hanging them in early September, for a change (most years, I’d be shooting for October 1st).

All-in-all, having this as a summer project in retirement has been a good tonic to balance out my weekdays.

Looking back now, I can’t honestly remember Northern California weather ever actually being that way – though I still think it may have been that way back in the 1950s or 60s. Who knows? I guess I could check with the National Weather Service and its statistical log, but, again, I fear it would be pointless: this is clearly a metaphysical issue – do I accept things as they are and enjoy them for their intrinsic, natural qualities, or do I continue to rail, all the while anticipating and being disappointed?

The truth is, when you look at it, each day is already beautiful for any number of reasons that cannot easily be quantified ahead of time. Admittedly this is tough for me on dark, cold and/or wet days (those without sun are the hardest), but if I honestly attempt a closer look, I always seem to find something good in each. I’m going to give it all I’ve got this season, and just relax and enjoy!

Albert – “Bertie” as he is called – is a shy and highly sensitive heir to the English crown, along with his older brother (the future Edward VIII). He has difficulty speaking and performing other public duties even as a young prince, so his wife (the future Queen Mum to the current Queen Elizabeth II) seeks help from a speech therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush. With Bertie suffering from a pronounced stammer and a fear of public speaking, actor Firth takes the viewer through a kaleidoscope of emotions (shyness, fear, anger, awkwardness) with complete believability. One is finally aghast at the close of the film, to realize that this was not only a true story, but the character is question was a monarch (albeit a symbolic one) who rose heroically to help lead his country through one of their darkest historical periods.

This production reminds me, especially, of just how good a historical teaching tool film can be. Inevitably historical facts and events get compressed and otherwise distorted when translated to a 2-hour dramatic-film format, but, if done well, the production can pique the interest of the viewer to the point that s/he actually learns something of value.

At the end, even if the viewer is simply inspired to look up several references on Wikipedia, or to delve more deeply into a professional biography, or even if one just internalizes the personal meaning of what has been presented on screen, film can truly enrich our cultural and historical dialogue. That is certainly the case with this production!

Apart from the predictable pomp and ceremony that the Brits do so very well, I was most impressed with both the theatrical elegance and technical brilliance of the event itself that was so evident in the “live” television broadcast. Flawless from a purely technical-production point-of-view, the staging of the event was visually interesting at all times – and all this despite what had to be a stifling security presence. The whole thing won my admiration with the passing of each moment of the broadcast.

And, of course, apart from all that, was the substance or content of the event – the royal marriage. Not a big fan of royalty myself, I was forced to admit the institution in Britain, at least, still has a certain utility in these rapidly changing times:  It was somehow comforting to know that the Queen, for example, is still there – as she has been since I first saw her crowned in 1953 on black-and-white television. Of course it also helps that her role is mostly ceremonial and that her persona seems a bit ambiguous. As a symbol, however, the current British Royals seem to be bringing more folks together in recent weeks, than tearing them asunder. Could William and Kate actually redefine the role of a useful monarchy?

Or maybe this is all just my own rationalization borne of the fact that I found myself holding back tears as those inside Westminster broke into God Save The Queen.

Last week, my wife and I had the entire week off together with no commitments, but discovered there wasn’t a dry patch of land within 2 days’ driving from here (as if one could afford to drive, in any case!). We ended up staying home – indoors – the entire week (except for a few daytime walks at Alameda Beach and Lake Chabot).

That said, the dark weather at least set the stage for the first rays of sunshine in recent memory this past Monday – we even managed to get a fairly normal Tuesday and Wednesday out of the deal. I’m psyched – I need Spring, and I need it NOW. There’s nothing more beautiful than the California hills in the springtime.

It’s been exactly one year since I purchased the Z roadster for just the sort of weather we’re (hopefully) going into now. After a lazy early evening, as I watch the sun set ever further north just now, I need to start planning some day trips soon.