Dim Blues at the Organic Festival

 The dim blue eyes struck the first impression.  Earlier, in the parking garage, quiet whimpering was trying to pass for the glory of conservation. Then through the lobby, where dynasty and luxury sat waiting, to be victimized. After all, this was a business conference about food. Yet food was craftily disguised as a lifestyle status symbols, and a weird expensive model to the impoverished left.

I made my way downstairs. The loading docked moved at a leisurely afternoon pace, music was playing upstairs. Thematically, bluegrass, jazz electronic music, blues, and jam music are all complementary to healthy foods. I made my way back to the upper floor of the Anaheim Convention center. A bad crowd gathered around a punching bag crowd, where a Sri Lankan exhibitor was being egged on to punching competitively. Aggressive work play was developing in a weird thunder-dome reality.

Nevertheless excitement pervaded the floor, and the appeal, pardon the pun, was fresh. Families, immigrants, people from other countries, big midwestern agriculture, small California operations, storefront networks, all into economic activity. I spoke to farmers market worker who had started a carbonated drink operation. His van was the big appeal with the counter door propping open at the sides.

In the basement, an ocean of cold beverage kiosks. A young girl who looked Hawaiian and was representing a Hawaiian Spring Water company, turned out to be Chinese, not Hawaiian. I discovered this as I tried speaking to her in Native Hawaiian. Suddenly a 6 foott 8 inch native moved his way into the conversation and claimed to be a member of the Hawaiian Royal Family. I claimed to be Tiki God. 

I discovered drink companies, one was chartered by a former Naval Cadet. A gummy vitamin company begun by a surfer from San Diego. He was aiming for big the contracts. A significant portion of the floor reserved for Turks. and other countries scattered: India, Indonesian, Ceylon (Sri Lankan), Europe and Latin American. Teas representing the small, niche areas, homeopathy, and herbs and spices. “These consumer are aware of the markets” said one exhibitor, touting the intelligent lifestyle. Many others agreed that a large percentage of organic and natural food come from a higher income bracket with built in budget cushions. One representative from a bigger fish said “They are not afraid to purchase online or from services who can meet their needs.” As mentioned, the separation from chain supermarkets is fuel for better or for ill. 

Grains consumption brings midwestern big agriculture into the sector, displaying subtle grandiosity. Their ability to hide amongst small operations is a nod in the right direction, for bullshit anyway. The Grain products, flooding the show dwarfed everything but the delivery man, but the big-agro wants to appear toned down and righteous. The other products played lesser roles needing to pop branding out of the big crowd, and risk going to market with a dead zinger. The assortment included meat substitutes, cold drinks, source bottled water and fruits, spices and herbs.  

Not Surprisingly, California’s organic agriculture does not incorporate grains into their statistics. The California State Organic program follows the USDA National Organic Program Includes regulations and law. The organic share of total food sales in the country has grown to upwards of 6%, which only scratches the surface. Worldwide sales of organic has grown at approximately 130 billion dollars, 60 billion of which are in the United States. Consumer spending changes account for shopping at discount stores and ,purchasing more in bulk, and online. . A contract with a large retailer can quickly turn a small farm or producer into a market player. By far, fruits and vegetables lead sales in the product category with beverages running second, followed by dairy and eggs. Finishing a distant fourth are baby products. 

An ongoing consolidation of the Organic food industry has quietly emerged.  Cooperative buying, a once popular item, had its business model stolen, franchised, then bought out. It happened under the mirage of perfect competition and with the help of banks. Who in recent decades , have taken to commodities in the same tone as mortgaged backed securities. Nevertheless it seems like the political charge behind cooperatives who are often lean socialist is being consumed by self-proclaimed forces of the free market and/or greed. I suspect this big mid-western agriculture is behind this, but that is another article entirely. This shake down of cooperatives was orchestrated through “the ability to offer more product choices to customers”. Meanwhile, similar schemes involved organic products themselves. Fortunately Organic farming was spared the impending doom. This is because farming does not appeal to buyouts, economic bullying or consolidation. The big boys don't stick their beak into the bank's business, as the new holy grail of the new greed. Most organic farms are considered risky in the eyes of big agriculture. Despite the risk, a large number of people have purchased farmland in places such as anywhere north of San Francisco and are taking a chance on farming life and all the woes and uncertainties that go along with it. 

Despite the fall out of many cooperatives, in areas where grassroots politics protects little where large retailers fear to tread for fear of boycotts and stonewalling. These areas lucratively coexist in a socialism frenzy with association based neighborhood markets. Loyal, zealous customers have the ability to keep things going but must spend, and wealthier people can pay exorbitant fees, and feel hip, cool, righteous a wide range of options, growing exponentially.

As mentioned, the sector of Health and Wellness has also moved into the big market. Many HMOs are adopting homeopathy as alternatives to unaffordable medical care and promoting community health programs, services, and products. The HMO community is willing to grab a piece of the organic market and incorporate it into their diet and wellness programs. Meanwhile the entire conservation sphere of politics is vying to gain economic advantage and failing in both fields. Some people know this and skirt around the atmosphere aiding and promote the wicked agenda of the other side.

The conference ran through the ides of march where Jay Sherry, a motivational speaker, was giving a keynote address. The organization running the event did pulled off a stunt of a large scale organic marketplace. However, digging into the smaller, darker corners in transportation, land use, contracts and bids would yield a mixed bag of doomed, grey areas, and entrenched local politics. Petty local politicians mercilessly hide mines in the juicy details which lie eerily dormant inside municipal archives.   

The economics of natural foods are weird to say the least, not in a good way. The big markets feel it is bad business to devour the entire thing. Smaller opportunities are available in open market entrepreneurship. Yet healthy untapped big market opportunities remain. My prediction is that the price of certain fruits but not others will keep rising. Fancy Chinese Apples from China and Mangoes from Vietnam will continue to run parallel with healthy markets. The price of fake meat will remain a rip-off almost everywhere, as a reminder shoppers that it has zero nutritional value, and will surely bring an onset of diabetes when they return to eating meat.

 

As time marches on and tastes change, natural foods might nestle itself comfortably into a smaller niche or it might continue as a big fad that refuses to go away. Regardless, when food is in center discussion, as always, it is not to be taken lightly. 

Giant Electromagnetic Circus? Or Radioactive Laboratory?

 Giant Electromagnetic Circus? Or Radioactive Laboratory?


The Consumer Electronics Show is a once-a-year festival of electricity in the dreary Las Vegas desert. It is more of a corporate event where they have already set all the rules and there is no room for an independent journalist. I was going to say that the electricity surfaces and shocks you right after the new year excitement is over and done with to keep all the business people going until football season. That being said it is important to remember all the jobs are sold to the Chinese, where more robots can be made to replace regular jobs. Whether this is a good or a bad thing remains to be seen.

 They are trying to make it the biggest in the world with a lot of juice. Although it is safe juice, it spreads rampant throughout the giant exhibition area in equal proportions; as if the Chinese government rationed jolts from Hoover dam for some sort of country exhibition. I kept pointing that out to the engineers, but they were not having it. The Chinese were only people benefiting, luring unsuspecting browsers into their cubicles and perform using them as bait, just like the rude clerk in any Los Angeles bodega.
 

 Exoskeletons can lift 150 lbs without flinching. An Airline CEO was proudly bragging about every airport goon getting one. He also peddled terminal “special” mirrors on the display screen tailored individually and guaranteed to spark paranoia panic through the airport. A few days later one of the company's planes dumped fuel on a school playground.

Then came the CEO from Silicon Valley to muscle business from the one place where cabbies are in high demand. Las Vegas will continue to be safe-haven for the cabbie, where people will pay cash and appreciate a no-questions-asked, no-nonsense service. He was not welcome, nore were the other self-promoting hacks from "Valley". Most of them no brighter than a Pizza Boy, kept far from the main show, yet close enough to fleece for the many jackals in the crowd.

  I noticed other journalists brain storming. The point is of course to be a serious journalist, and I have tried covering science and technology. Regardless the pulsing slow rhythms of electricity dispersed evenly  lulled the crowd into a pleasant afternoon coma. 

Which brings us to the point of Electricity. Lazy, comotose and Zombie/preferred. This is a reality for all, especially in the business sector which swallows 9-5 electricity more than any combined household aggregate.  With it, a cool breezy sense, the electricity however is dazed and sick to its stomach. This the reason for the Chinese beating the Americans. They will beat the electricity into submissiom, as the "menace" who will be defeated and they will prevail through thick and thin. Meanwhile, in storefronts, in stores purchasing items, and in factories and offices, sequestered, they will consume electricity in their own way, and suffer through the boredom and frustration on the other end.  A few cigarette breaks and they are always in top form.  However, Las Vegas is Lizard territory. This comotosness feelings are also the reason the champion of modern consumer electronics, the television screen display, even at its very forefronts was able to be captured by non other than Richard Millhouse Nixon, as he reeled from his original embarrassment on National Television debating John F. Kennedy. Cutting into the Golden age of Hollywood to make excuses and Hit Home, possibly his greatest talent all. He sunk his teeth into the lazy fuel of Television, and never looked back, the country went along with him. Kennedy had been dead for over a decade by the time Nixon had been re-elected, and it was his show now, never to make the same mistake again, never to look weak in-front of the camera. To use the camera to it's ultimate end... produce mindless voting zombie machines. Which brings us to today.

Quack, Quack! Step right up! Buy a round-the-clock a digital robot doctor. Star Trek Operating rooms were for Sale, and then thing got even weirder. Walking by the 3D printer I felt a sudden burst of radiation. A cancerous ooze. My brand-new Nikon digital camera would not work due to the interference.  

 The show shuts down at night, but the city does not sleep. In this case, the Convention had taken over the city. It was surreal to see all the people from daylight hours sitting in the  European style cafe's of the Parisian and the Venetian eating, drinking into a giant panorama, yet missing the cactus awareness of the Mojave. They were punished  for their obliviousness directly following the show with the dawn of COVID.

The next day, I sought other journalists who were serious about the trade. What I found was an Asian American gentlemen works for a Mainland China paper and stating "China’s problems are worse than America." Which is true, but of course we could fix all of their problems once we fix our own. 

Silicon Valley is present at the show, and in National Politics. I once traveled up the 5 freeway to San Jose and Silicon Valley to start asking questions; I crashed into the San Jose Power Base. They like to recruit talent from the high school talent scene. Get them young while they are idealistic and pepper their ego until they are twisted into the fabric of the mainline establishment. Or just pluck them fresh from High School and offer them the enticing big bucks. It is sort of a nerd-combine for talent, with the same drop-off repercussion, just no permanent health injuries, only obsolescence, if they get them working in a tunnel for decades.

 I eventually escaped Las Vegas and pulled off the highway at a point where I knew there would no longer be near electricity. I could have driven 2 miles down a dreary, to safety away from the radiation, but I did not have the right vehicle nor did I want to get my car washed. I came to my senses and drove back in record time. I thought perhaps what was next for me to cover in the World of Electricity and Technology. I thought about the Green Technology and conservation, maybe the big power behind Silicon Valley getting into Conservation, in the end I think it is about attention, and who wants to give back seat quarterback attention. One thing I do know is even if they are on top, we will make them stop laughing. 

 Paul Levon





Below is stock Footage: From my Nikon Digital Camera:

A few of the many girls hired to promote products.

This is the President of the Organizing Association .

Start Trek Operating Table

These girls were with one of the TV show Funded Companies.

Dancing Robots

Complete Redo of Health Care

The new buzz about the current assault to repealing the Affordable Care Act downplays the commitment of the still Clinging Republicans.

The System is  targeting higher rates for those in need, and giving concession for the healthy. Trump is promoting less comprehensive health insurance with gaps. This of course is consistent with a large proportion of his policy agendas. Patient advocates and independent experts are saying this is a laxing of the rules which, as mention before is taking money from those in need. This can gravely hurt sick patient.  

Trading Post

To this very moment Global Trade gasping at the Hostility of the trade climate. Retailers are in the process of examination of their Sale Revenue and are discussing with the Merchandising Team Leader if they should bring in foreign Items. The Sales racks will be reduced in variety significantly. Consumers will have a hard time getting utility out of their shopping as now their is significantly less options. The papers are throwing big numbers on the front pages, what will happen is anyone's guess. But the claim that this was a choice is wrong. Some say that trade was mismanaged. The truth is that the Crony's decided to up the game by giving everything to the Chinese. They are now reaping the benefits with Skyscraper like stacks of merchandise sitting at eye level with the Vincent Thomas Bridge. Now they are building another bridge so everyone can see their fine  "everything from one place" advertisement.

Tiger's A Foul!!

As I saw o the final calling of what's left of west I decided that it would be better to consider the other side.  Those American Born and Breds making life difficult for the rest of us.
 Then those who have not had their Day in the Sun.

As always, music seems to be the most important context, considering the theme. What is the Theme? Knacks are heavy, yearns are plenty, but don't forget to wash your mouth, with soap.
The moment I discovered the calling, I felt as if I should loosen the lips, and then I remembered George W. Bush.

His father was delivering Messages sneakily for most of his presidency and before of course. His final message came too late for most of us.

Or were we the victims? Jr. Went to Business School.

We really should be discussing the black sheep.

Final Calling is fun topic. Like basketball.  Football that brings us all together. For now the best thing to do is recognize that for all extensive purposes,the sports season is over. I sincerely thought Lebron would pull his team into serious contention. The fact remains, however, that a hot Curry took the steam out of Lebron. A tree point bombardment an Ice down Kevin Durant Milk Tea "no respecto" to Lebron leads up to a serious loss and a changing of the way basketball is played.

Its not owners vs team's is a rotation of owners vs. players, we get that now. It's not taking leaders and talent and building around them, it is the hope that maybe talent will come to you and you will be able to cash in on it for a few years, hoping for a championship. For the Clippers, the shadow of the Lakers was too much for them, they could not win in the same sacred hall of Kobe, Shaq, and the Percentage belonging to Magic Johnson. Now their moving to the Forum, banking Older haints being kinder. After All Magic, Kareem are still front and center for the Lakers, and they might be able to butter up Magic into giving them their blessing, and Jerry West is still alive. So

The owners can easily say it is the talent drain and start righteously mighteously cutting down salaries. The college then farm down the big money and keep things alive and getting a bigger cut


So why baseball and politics. You betcha buster!! Its the only place where crowds can gather without disgusting Swine Pressure and the Political Universe. I suspect, things are happening in baseball, as Football, Basketball, and of course "What's left of the West"  See you on the other side!!

Pillow Talk at the Met!!

Well actually the Hollywood Bowl. You know where the cops try to muscle out the masses, especially now that the place is allowing Devil Music in season. The Rock N Roll Sleaze is out, but they have no backing like before.

Popular culture and little culture together.  Careful now, wouldn't want to wake up old San Gabriel!

El Presidente and the Lips

Yet as they were making there way into the land of brave and free, what was old Bubba Up to? He was spearheading a nice university crowd, making sure it was juicy tender for an Asian Economic Assault, and on his way to building a "Foundation" what, what!! Just another fool in the "Know" getting his last kicks before it all goes to hell. The saddest part of all is seeing the generations of Junkers once, Oceans away and happy now joining forces with what's vomitting money in our economy. He does not want me telling you this, just like George Bush does not like me spouting my mouth on his business.