Views from a Hill

The Munchkin Update

markbittner — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:50:30 +0000

The Munchkin Close-up

I no longer believe that the Munchkin got kicked out of the flock. There seems to be something not quite right with him. I did make an effort to lure him into a cage so I could take a close look. But he was hipper than that—which was fine. I really don’t want another bird. Judy and I have our hands full here now with birds and projects and the usual disturbances of life. I’ve stopped seeing him in the last day or two. I don’t know whether that’s good news or bad news. Best of luck, little Munchkin.

Daily Visits from The Munchkin

markbittner — Sun, 05 May 2013 00:58:44 +0000

The Munchkin and Parker

For more than ten years, Judy and I have been taking care of two injured birds (Parker and Big Bird) from the wild parrot flock. Since some trees near our house were cut down, visits by the wild birds have become rare. But last week we started getting daily visits from one of them, who seems to be attracted to Parker. They sit next to each other—Parker in the window sill and the wild bird (whom we call The Munchkin) on a railing on the other side of the screen. There have been two days when The Munchkin was here the entire day, leaving only briefly to eat. I was puzzled as to what was going on until I saw The Munchkin come under attack on two separate occasions by passing members of the flock. It looks like he’s been banished for violating flock rules. I’ve seen this happen in the past. Eventually the ban gets lifted, and the outcast is allowed to return. The last couple of days, The Munchkin has been around less.

We Must Be Just

markbittner — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:58:02 +0000

Although my views fall well within territory that most people consider ultra-liberal, I have never called myself left wing, progressive, or liberal. I think “left wing” and “right wing” are especially deceptive terms. It’s logical to assume that there is some middle ground between the two. But I think left wing is just shorthand—or has become shorthand—for “humane,” while “right wing” now means “philosophically egotistical.” There isn’t any sane middle-ground between those two positions. One problem I see with those of us who want to be humane is that while we invariably support calls for justice at a macro level, some of us are not above taking advantage in our personal, day-to-day dealings. I once rented a room in a house full of Marxists, and one of them was one of the least just individuals I’ve ever met. Yet he regularly marched in favor of justice for the oppressed peoples of this world. If we want peace, it’s essential that we be peaceful. And if we want justice, we have to be just—down to the smallest transactions. I think a lot of people can agree with this easily. But there are always “grey areas.” That’s where we have to be especially disciplined and thoughtful. I think one difference between a “left winger” and a “right winger” is that a “left winger” can read something like this and think it over, while most “right wingers” will immediately scoff…and consider me a fool.

Think It’s Time for a Change

markbittner — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:22:00 +0000

I started doing this blog shortly after Obama was elected in 2008. I saw better times coming and wanted to talk about where I believed we should go after all the years of Reaganism. It hasn’t turned out that way. First there was the much-deeper-than-I-foresaw racist reaction to having a black male as president. And then there’s been Obama’s inclination toward Reagan-like policies. (Yes, things could be worse—like, say, a McCain or a Romney presidency. But we are still heading toward hell, just at a slower pace.)

Lately, things have gotten so crazy that I find myself constantly conjuring up comebacks to all the negativity in the form of posts that I end up not writing because I’m tired of writing about this stuff. It’s my intention to stop reading and thinking about the violent and greedy egomaniacs in our midst and to start talking about where I believe we should go, or, at the very least, where I want to go. There are solutions to what ails us, and it’s not too late. I don’t think many people recognize what those solutions are, though. We’ve become too frivolous and distracted. But this is where I am going to put my energy now.

Changing My Political Affiliation

markbittner — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:59:00 +0000

Last week when I read in the New York Times that Obama was going to submit a budget that proposed cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits, I decided that if he really did this, I was going to leave the Democratic Party. For what it’s worth, I wrote the White House saying so. (No response and no quaking in boots.) Well, he has done so, and I’m changing my registration today. Some people are saying that what he’s done is merely a tactic to try to make the Republicans look bad or something. I don’t care. I want someone who stands up and openly does what’s good and what’s right. I’m sick of the political games. I’m sick of compromising with evil. I don’t know exactly what happens next, but I’m not staying on this track anymore. The Republicans managed to pull the country into hell by being uncompromising. Maybe we have to be uncompromising to make our way into the heavenly realm.

In more pleasant news, I just found out that my book, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, has gone into an 11th printing as a paperback. (It did four printings in hardback.) Next February, the book will have been in print for ten years, a happy milestone.

Defining Greed

markbittner — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:57:01 +0000

Recently, I developed a perception of how many Americans, particularly right-wing Americans, look at greed. Just last night I had my perception confirmed. I think it’s simple and pretty obvious, but we have to make these things clear if we’re ever going to deal with them.

I read an article in the New York Times about some multi-millionaire hedge fund manager who has been on a buying binge. New houses, a painting by Picasso, etc. I and a bunch of others saw him as being an example of the grotesque excess that characterizes those with obscene amounts of wealth today. One person suggested in a comment on the article that it would be a good thing to be able to confiscate some of that wealth. A reader responded to that, saying:

“By what right would you or anyone confiscate the property of another? And how would you decide what is ‘excess’?”

I felt like responding to the response and, in a slightly prickly mood, I wrote:

“In a sane world excess is taking more than you need to live a decent life. Let’s amend the constitution if need be.”

This motivated yet another reader to respond to me:

“Mark, your ‘sane world,’ where those who work to earn are ‘takers,’ must be one heck of a horror show.”

My response, which I’m making only here, is that we are already living in a horror show. And it’s largely because of those “earners.” This is right at the heart of my perception. They say it’s not greed if you’ve earned it. But greed is, precisely, working to obtain great wealth. Morally, no one is entitled to go after as much as they can “earn.” “Earn” is a self-deceptive term here. If you insert the word “get,” the meaning changes. And it’s more honest. You cannot earn a billion dollars. Invariably, someone will ask, “So, how much do you think one should morally be able to earn?” I think enough to make a living, but not a killing.

Calling Me Back

markbittner — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:26:05 +0000

I start every morning by turning on the computer and checking email, reading the news, sometimes doing a little bit of research regarding something that came up while I was writing. Occasionally, I will rent a movie and watch it at night. But I’ve come to despise computers and the Internet. I’m convinced that staring at a computer is bad for me. I know that my vision is more shallow since I started using them (not eyesight, but vision). This morning I was giving myself a little talking-to about how I need to stop using the damn thing. Stop reading the news for starters. I don’t need to know the details of how ugly the world is getting. It’s never harmed me in the past to get away from the daily assault of news stories. I wasn’t thinking “every now and then,” ”a day or two,” or even a week. I was thinking months. I need months away from it to get healed.

Immediately after my little talking-to, and just prior to getting down to work on Street Song, I checked email. Only one came through, a blast from Tammy Baldwin, the new senator from Wisconsin, whose campaign I’d given money to. The subject line read “Hibernation=not an option.” I’m not sure I agree, but it was a pretty strong coincidence. Sometimes I steer by them; sometimes I don’t.

My Uncompromising Positions

markbittner — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 04:28:18 +0000

The Republican Party has a bunch of positions that, come hell or high water, it refuses to compromise on. I have some positions like that, too, and I thought I’d list three of them. These are all positions I’ve never backed away from and never will.

Cut military spending drastically. Begin by eliminating all overseas bases.
Raise taxes on the wealthy.
Raise spending for social services, particularly for the poor. Free health care for everybody.

A Clever Rejoinder

markbittner — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:38:27 +0000

I’ve been edging toward putting up a more serious post on a subject that, since my return from Santa Barbara Island, has been taking up a lot space in my head. But I’m not quite ready to write it. So in the meantime…

I love clever rejoinders. We probably all do. This week I was reminded of one of my favorites. It’s a well-known rejoinder, but I repeat it out of affection for its humor and for those who might never have heard it.

Steve Earle is a singer-songwriter whose big inspiration was the singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. (Singer-songwriters were once extremely important to me. I wanted to be one.) Steve Earle was asked to write a blurb for a Townes Van Zandt album and came up with this: “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” When Van Zandt was asked about Earle’s blurb he replied (spontaneously, I hope), “I’ve met Bob Dylan’s bodyguards, and if Steve Earle thinks he can stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table, he is sadly mistaken.”

Progress Report #86

markbittner — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:43:55 +0000

Just before starting the third draft, my final draft, I wrote that I was going to back away from the frequency of these progress reports, that I didn’t want to write the book while sitting in a department store window. I also said that from time to time I’d let people know where I was in the process and how it was going. This seems like a good place to do one.

One unexpected thing happened right at the start. My first and second drafts took me around five or six years to write. (I don’t remember anymore.) Both drafts started from a particular point in time. But as I was writing the second draft, which took me four years to complete, I gradually changed my mind about where the story should begin. But by the time I got to the end of the second draft, I’d completely forgotten that I’d changed the original idea. So when it came time to begin the third draft, I found that the material I wanted to work with didn’t exist. I’d never written it. So, since September or October of 2012 I’ve essentially been working up first, second, and third draft material for the opening section. It was a disappointment to have to go through all that again. I’d been eager to get to the more developed material of the second draft and elevate it. This week I finally arrived got there, and the writing is going faster now. I recently described the process of writing a book as driving across a landscape. Sometimes you get to travel at the speed limit; at other times, you have to slow down—for the curves and when it gets dark. Interestingly, my current favorite chapter is the second, which I’d feared was going to be especially tedious. It describes my family background. Was it my upbringing that sent me to the streets? In a way, yes. But not in the way one might think.

For years my shorthand description of the book has been “It’s about the years I lived on the street.” Now it’s become, “Have you ever wondered when you saw someone on the street how they got there? It’s the story of how I got there.” My story is different than that of most others. But everyone’s story is different. I know I said that somewhere else recently. Maybe here…Whatever…Writing a book is exhausting. It’s almost as if nothing else exists.