WOODSTOCK

Before my topic of today, a bit about those Southern California wildfires.

• These fires are usually caused by Santa Ana winds that can come from October through March.

• 
  Of course, you also need certain environmental conditions, like drought and global warming, plus some ignition source.  Power grids are especially of concern.  And lightning.  
• Human causes, like campfire accidents and arson.  In fact, here is what Google AI says:

Santa Ana wildfires are not typically caused by a single natural weather trigger; rather, Santa Ana winds act as the dangerous weather accelerant that spreads fires, while nearly all the actual ignitions (90% to 95%) are human-caused. [1, 2].

• 
  I had a posting last year about them.
• Apparently, those fires now in Southern California have peaked.
• Of course other areas in California will remain vulnerable.
• Certainly, this is not only a California problem, for the Global Fire Dashboard today shows 6926 hotspots around the world.

• Global warming will further exacerbate these conditions into the future.

Now on to the topic of the day.  My life has been wonderful, but very little of my goals have come to fruition.  I like to think this is because my objectives were too magnificent and lofty.  At least, I tell myself, I've started something, and there are others and only time for some of them to attain reality.

• Read my posting of two weeks ago on my life highlights.
• Spent time at the NASA Ames Research Center on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, and the truth is that we have yet to make any contact with Aliens, and maybe never will.  My previous three postings dealt with this subject.

• 
  THE TRUTH ABOUT FLYING SAUCERS: Part 1
• THE TRUTH ABOUT FLYING SAUCERS: Part 2
• THE TRUTH ABOUT FLYING SAUCERS: Part 3 Why Are There No Aliens on Planet Earth?

• I drafted the hydrogen bill in the U.S. Congress when I worked for Senator Spark Matsunaga.  Created the national program and heavily influence other countries.  I don't see a true Hydrogen Society for another 50 years.

• 
  Worked for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on Laser Fusion, and commercialization must also be half a century away.

• 
  My final major effort was to initiate The Blue Revolution.
• 2012:  THE STORY OF THE BLUE REVOLUTION
• 2017:  THE LATEST PROGRESS ON THE BLUE REVOLUTION
• 2024:  THE BLUE EVOLUTION
• Someday there will be a Blue Revolution.  But when?

I saw last night a PBS documentary:  American Experience--Woodstock--3 Days That Defined a Generation.

In August 1969, nearly half a million people gathered at a farm in upstate New York to hear music. What happened over the next three days, however, was far more than a concert. It would become a legendary event, one that would define a generation and mark the end of one of the most turbulent decades in modern history. Occurring just weeks after an American set foot on the moon, the Woodstock music festival took place against a backdrop of a nation in conflict over sexual politics, civil rights and the Vietnam War. A sense of an America in transition — a handoff of the country between generations with far different values and ideals — was tangibly present at what promoters billed as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music.

• 

  Maybe this was the first of my many unfulfilled activities later to come, for Woodstock represents another failed potential.
• To quote an earlier posting.

In August of 1969 my wife and I were driving from Baton Rouge to Montreal to interact with the remnants of the recent World Expo.  We spent the night in Hershey, Pennsylvania to visit the chocolate company.  I then read about a concert in Woodstock, New York, just 250 miles away.

I had a personal desire to go because in 1967 I had organized a rock concert in Naalehu, where the rodeo was later scheduled, maybe the first outdoor event before Woodstock.  Of all my life accomplishments, this could well make the top ten.

There was no rush to get to Canada, and Woodstock perfectly between Hershey and Montreal.  We heard some rumors about Woodstock being kind of crowded and maybe even a mess, with a storm approaching.  Interstate 87 went directly to Montreal, almost 275 miles away.  At Kingston, only about ten miles from Woodstock, we saw that the traffic to get off was a problem, so we continued on to Montreal.  That's one of the better decisions I've ever made.

First, those Woodstock concerts were never held there.  The original occurred in Bethel, 66 driving miles away.  Thirty-two acts performed for 400,000, and it actually went on for four days.  But it rained.  Mud.  A mess.  Yet, the pivotal moment in popular music history, defining the counterculture generation.  Joni Mitchell wrote the song, Woodstock, but never appeared.  Here she is singing this song a few weeks later.

In any case, Woodstock:  3 Days that Defined a Generation got good reviews from Rotten Tomatoes.  Scores of 86/86.

• Originally released in 2019.
• Both Amazon Prime and Apple TV carry this documentary.
• Organizers planned for 50,000 attendees....and got maybe up to half a million.
• Some Woodstock history.
• The original plan was to hold a concert in Woodstock, New York.

• 
  Finally ended up being held on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, 60 miles southwest of Woodstock.
• The 3-day ticket price was $18 (equivalent to $160 today).
• The organizers ran out of time to build a strong fence, so the event was made free.

• 
  The festival was remarkably peaceful given the number of people and the conditions involved, although there were three recorded fatalities: two drug overdoses and another caused when a tractor ran over a 17-year-old sleeping in a nearby hayfield.^[52][53] Births were claimed to have occurred, one in a car caught in traffic and another in hospital after an airlift by helicopter, but extensive research by a book author could not confirm any births.^[54] Several miscarriages were reported (sources range from four to eight)^[55][52][53] and over the course of the three days there were 742 drug overdoses.^[56]
• 
  Who performed?  Bob Dylan lived in Woodstock, but did not appear.
• As was earlier mentioned, Joni Mitchell was slated to perform, but did not, and instead later composed Woodstock, inspired by what she saw on TV.
• Roy Rogers was asked to close the festival with Happy Trails, but declined.  
• 
  Thus, Jimi Hendrix played the final two hours on the fourth and final morning, ending with his zeitgeist version of our National Anthem.  Here is a special treat.  A black and white movie taken by a spectator (22-year old Albert Goodman) who wandered unto the stage and filmed this 1 hour and 27 film sitting behind the drummer.
  
• Watch the entire 1 hr 50 min film, Woodstock:  The Festival That Defined a Generation.  This landmark 1970 movie won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1971.  Got good Rotten Tomatoes scores of 86/86.
• The yellow bird in Peanuts first appeared in 1967, but only given a name, Woodstock, in 1970.

• 
  On August 2, 2019, the Rhino/Atlantic released Woodstock – Back to the Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive, a massive 38 disc, 36-hour, 432-song completists' audio box set of nearly every note played at the original 1969 Woodstock festival (including 276 songs that were previously unreleased).

• In August 2019, the United States Postal Service released a Forever stamp commemorating Woodstock's 50th anniversary.^[170] 

So do I now regret skipping Woodstock?

• No.  We thought we could find a close-by motel and daily walk to the performances.  But we had no reservations (not even knowing that there were no motels in the vicinity), no advanced tickets, read reports of rain coming and saw that Interstate 87 was backed up, even though Bethel was more than a hundred miles from the highway.  One of the best decisions I ever made was to continue on to Montreal.

• 
  I asked Google AI how bad were the conditions at the concert.

The spectators at the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival endured severe shortages of food, water, and sanitation, alongside torrential rain and thick mud. While billed as "3 Days of Peace & Music," the event actually spanned four days—from Friday, August 15, to Monday morning,

• However......  It would have been memorable.

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