It’s been 40 years since Richard Nixon declared war on cancer. Why haven’t we won yet?

Below the flip are a few thoughts on technology, apple picking, space travel, the State Senate crisis, DestiNY USA, the Connective Corridor, backyard gardens, physics, and youth and old age. Proceed at your own risk!

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The passing of two high-profile figures on the same day (Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson) reminds me of another such day: November 22, 1963. Everyone can tell you immediately who the most famous person was who died on that day, but while many people know who C.S. Lewis was, few people realize he also passed away that day. Poor guy… probably got the smallest and most delayed obituaries that any famous author ever received. Same goes for Aldous Huxley (author of Brave New World), who also checked out on that date.

Stranger still: Someone had the bright idea to write a theological novel about them all meeting at the Pearly Gates.

I have sometimes considered where in New York (or the Northeast) I might like to live if I weren’t living in Syracuse. It might seem crazy, but in addition to the usual factors (jobs, politics, weather etc), I find myself considering the history of a place. To me, it’s like the character of the landscape, or the atmospheric conditions. Just like you probably wouldn’t consider moving somewhere sight unseen, I wouldn’t feel like I’d done my homework if I didn’t have a sense of what was what, then - as well as what is what, now - since it’s all connected. (This is probably why, if you forced me to choose between Rome and Ithaca, it would be quite a dilemma: Rome isn’t the most congenial spot for me in terms of the physical landscape or the political zeitgeist, but I know the historical landscape fairly well. Ithaca’s history, I don’t have a feel for at all, and I would feel somewhat disoriented.)

And then there are the Finger Lakes, which are so very beautiful and appealing. But for me, it is hard not to breathe in the heavy historical smog there. This was, after all, the scene of a massively destructive military campaign. Some today would call it a national security mission, others would call it ethnic cleansing. The atmospheric conditions there today are neither overtly “bad” nor “good” from a moral standpoint, but those clouds of history are still thick. And nowhere do they seem thicker than along the big lakes, Seneca and Cayuga, and particularly between them, in Seneca and Schuyler counties. This is where I was this past week.

One of the curious things about this unnamed land between the lakes is how laden with U.S. government presence it was and still is. Outside of New York City and Fort Drum, this has been the most federalized plot of land in the Empire State. One can’t trace a clear path from the Sullivan-Clinton days to the 20th century in this regard, but it still seems like somewhat more than a coincidence that a Naval base (later an Air Force base), a heavily guarded munitions depot, and (improbably) a National Forest took form here. Indeed, the two long lakes make ideal strategic barriers… but, these being the first lands that the newly minted U.S. government took from the native inhabitants by force, one must wonder if on some deep echoing level, “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

On a human level — today — I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to make that point. Nowhere in New York is organized anti-tribal sentiment more vehement than in Cayuga country. The prospect of the landless Cayugas putting 125 acres into trust has thrown the local chapters of UCE into high alert. “No Reservation, No Sovereign Nation” signs are still up everywhere. It’s a distinctly different vibe than even in the Utica-Rome area. There are any number of socioeconomic factors driving the rancor. Down on the shorelines are the sumptuous wineries with their newly surfaced parking lots, and up in the hills are the prim white farmhouses with their shaggy coats of peeling paint. But I think history’s miasma hangs heavily too. The land is beautiful, but it was acquired expressly by sword and fire. And that stone fact cannot balance lightly on any psychic sense of safety and permanence.

However, up in the hills between the two lakes is a strange, peaceful little oasis called the Finger Lakes National Forest. I went camping and hiking there this past weekend. This is New York’s only national forest, and the second smallest national forest in the country. It’s also probably the only one that has pastures (with cows!), neatly labeled with brown-and-white U.S. Forest Service signs. Originally a land reclamation experiment, it’s a patchwork of forest and farm lands that seems like a depopulated, idealized vision of the New York countryside — what it would look like if the state were a large outdoor museum. Because the land has hardly been touched by development since the 1930s, the plant diversity is pretty amazing. I counted at least 20 different species (not including shrubs and trees) bordering my campsite alone.

Needless to say, the views from the top of the forest are incredible. You can see Seneca Lake, and almost see Cayuga Lake as well… and you can almost feel that you’re above the mists of the past and present, too.

This is Jacks Reef. I almost grew up right here (just outside the frame) - on the banks of the Erie Canal.

During this time of turmoil, let’s close our eyes and imagine New York as it once was, and could someday be again… a murky, stagnant breeding ground for mosquitoes, that no longer leads anywhere in particular.

I’m on vacation for a week. Don’t start the sacking of Albany without me!

This is apropos of nothing, but I have been meaning to link to these for some time and want to do it before I forget again… Filmmaker Errol Morris has been writing at the NY Times in a fascinating occasional series where he takes a single photograph or image and spends a few consecutive days delving into the depths of history (and mystery) behind it. He has done three of these so far:

Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg (about a famous Crimean War photograph)

Whose Father Was He? (about a family photo found on a Civil War battlefield)

Bamboozling Ourselves (about Nazi-era Vermeer forgeries)

I love his approach, which is both rambling and minutiae-obsessed at the same time.

…or is it just the whirligig of Time?

Citigroup: Destiny spent $18 million on consultants, ‘gimmicks’

Bob Congel gets spanked by Daddy Citi.

“That amount has largely gone to pay expenses for Destiny personnel, Web site creation, high-priced marketing consultants and marketing gimmicks such as painting the existing Carousel mall green, with only approximately $5.4 million spent on actual (construction) trade costs that the borrower claims are associated with store build-out, and none on tenant allowances,” the bank said.

About a year ago, Destiny repainted almost the entire interior of Carousel Center — most of it in shades of green — to emphasize the green technologies it says will be incorporated into the expansion. Citigroup also said that despite years of effort and the claimed expenditure of millions of dollars, Destiny has been unable to produce even a single executed lease for the mall expansion…

“Borrower has admitted to Citigroup that traditional approaches to leasing mall space have been a failure, and as an alternative, borrower has pursued a series of novel and previously untested leasing concepts to fill the mall,” the bank said. Those concepts include an approach the developer has named “Arendi,” in which the mall provides market research to tenants by using technology to track consumer behavior in the stores, in return for below-market rents and an increased share of profits being paid to the developer, Citigroup said.

Not sure Bob wanted that Big Brother strategy to get out just yet. Oh well.

But he promised world-class shoppertainment… and he has delivered. Pass the popcorn — I am feeling mighty shoppertained right now!

Updated: Here’s more.

Hey kids! Have you heard about the trouble at the State Senate? Is it making your mom and dad confused? Would you like to learn more about how your state government and democracy works? Don’t worry… Johnny the Friendly Senator is here to explain it all for you. Gather round, children, and come sit on Senator Johnny’s knee!

The Roberts School student council happened to be in the Senate gallery on Monday when the coup unfolded. (They were there on a field trip to watch democracy inaction.) John DeFrancisco visited the school this week to explain to them what happened…

After urging the children to read and greeting by name the granddaughter of former city councilor Bob Cecile (”you know who talked me into running for school board? Your grandfather …), DeFrancisco took the children through the background of Monday’s history maker…

“Sen. Smith, the so-called leader, wasn’t there,” DeFrancisco said. “They didn’t know what to do. Finally, they took a vote. It was 32-30. The appeal was accepted. They had to take up the resolution.”

Remember that old Star Trek episode with the orphaned children and “Gorgon the Friendly Angel”? Yeah, I’m remembering that too.

Meanwhile, he said, the coalition has been trying to do business but was thwarted Wednesday when they found the Senate chamber locked, and thwarted again Thursday because the secretary of the Senate had locked up needed paper work.

Thursday’s session was particularly unfair, as protesters were allowed near the chamber doors for the first time in Senate history, he said.

So, that’s the scoop, kids. Remember, protesting is un-democratic and just no fairs!

Wilmers quits ESDC (HT Buffalopundit)…

Just one year after becoming the state’s economic development czar, Robert Wilmers is stepping down from the post, the latest in a growing line-up of officials departing the Paterson administration.

Wilmers, who is also chairman of the Buffalo-based M&T Bank, made his resignation known in a letter to Paterson, a government official said on condition of anonymity.

With much fanfare and as a bow to upstate, Paterson tapped Wilmers last June to lead the state’s Empire State Development Corp. At the time, economic development organizations praised the choice, which raised some eyebrows because of the stinging criticism Wilmers has leveled over the years at the state government and its handling of upstate’s economic problems…

It is uncertain why Wilmers is leaving. But the agency has seen its share of infighting, sources have said in recent months, with tension between the various upstate and downstate offices of the department. A source said recently that Wilmers also has expressed frustration with the musical chairs among high-ranking officials in the governor’s office over the past year — making it difficult for the agency to get adequate attention at the Capitol.

WTF?

ALBANY – Republicans seized control of the New York State Senate on Monday, in a stunning and sudden reversal of fortunes for the Democratic Party, which controlled the chamber for barely five months.

A raucous leadership fight erupted on the floor of the Senate around 3 p.m., with two Democrats, Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens, joining the 30 Senate Republicans in a motion that would displace Democrats as the party in control.It was a noisy and acrimonious scene on the floor of the Senate as Senator Thomas W. Libous, a Republican from Binghamton and the party’s deputy leader, shouted for a roll-call vote, while Democrats attempted to stall the vote by asking to adjourn the session.

From Liz Benjamin at the Daily News:

An observer in the Senate chamber tells me Skelos was sitting in Smith’s chair with a BIG smile on his face and Smith was nowhere to be seen. The chamber has now emptied out and Republicans are talking about electing themselves to committee chairmanships.

Run, do not walk, to The Albany Project for more.

Updated: Coup not finalized? Yes, the Republicans and Democrats are busy fighting over custody of Hiram “The Slasher” Monserrate.

Also: Spitzer, who won’t go away, is loving the chaos and says it is good for us.

John DeFrancisco can spin the coup as “necessary for reform” all he wants, but in the end it was all about personal power and perks.

If anyone with money can set up their own government in New York, people without money should be able to do it as well. I mean, anything goes now, right? I used to be fascinated by the Boys’ State concept of learning about government, where you elect a mock legislative body. Call me crazy but I don’t think it would be a bad project for serious New York adults of all political persuasions and party affiliations. Call it Grownups’ State. Starting with the imperfect laws and rules we have now — or even the new ones just instituted by the Republicans — the idea would be to convene a new Senate, pass bills, make decisions on allocating funds, and then (to avoid diverging too much from “reality”) wipe the slate clean and start over again the next year. Eventually you will have a pool of people who have knowledge of how the legislature functions, and if the project gained credibility you could ask business and community leaders to interact with the decision-making process. (To keep Grownups’ State honest, you’d need media of course, and that’s where laid-off TV and newspaper reporters come in.)

Yes, it’s a shadow government concept. Why not? If a handful of “public” servants can devise a secret Senate takeover plan in an Albany bar, and then proclaim it legitimate, I suppose ordinary citizens can do the same. Enough with government watchdog groups: be the government. Then when every last crook in Albany — and their new friends — have lost all credibility, you’ll (theoretically) have a credible government of citizens ready to be installed. Just like heroin addicts need to have their blood completely changed, it would be a total government replacement. (Maybe Grownups’ State will even have stolen some of their funders, too. “Hey, you never know.”)

If the problem is the people we have in government — many of whom have been there far too long and are far too corrupted by the company they keep — the experiment should produce different results. If the problem is New York’s form of government itself, this would also become apparent in the experiment.

I’ve already selected myself alternative state senator for the 50th District, so DeFrancisco should know that in the reality alternate to the status quo — which not even a lifer like him can escape — I’m in charge. (No one else is here yet at Grownups’ State, so I’m also declaring myself Alternative Senate Majority Leader.)