Drinking Espresso and Thinking about Apple...

Sometimes something happens that just makes me think. Something difficult, complex or just plain fascinating. The case of the Chinese iPhones is just such a thing. Everyone loves iPhones and iPads, right? But no one likes "slavery". 

And yet, somehow those two things are becoming inextricably associated with one another after a series of articles in The New York Times. If you're curious to know what exactly is being discussed, here are some links:

First, the original New York Times article about why Apple chose China.
And another one from the New York Times called "Human Costs are Built Into an iPad."
For further perspective, here is an analysis of the situation from Forbes.com. Predictably pro-business  but with some valid points, nonetheless.


Those are the facts. But I have my own take on the situation that I haven't read anywhere else, so here is my take on it:

A. Apple is a historically great organization. It is the Giza Pyramid of the information age, a crowning jewel of  21st Centure "civilization." Historically, of course, much that has been considered "great" by Western Civilization has been built on the backs of human suffering and even slavery. So, nothing new here.

B. Steve Jobs the genius, demanded a level of dedication, perfection and complexity from his products that could no longer be effectively delivered by the American chain of supply and manufacture.

C. Also, once Apple started delivering goods of such exceptionally high standards, Americans started expecting them: to the point that the expectation and reception of new Apple products has practically  become an American past time. Americans  have wanted our Apple stuff but we haven't given much thought to where it comes from (same as with meat and cheap food). Again, nothing new here either.

D. The Chinese, on the other hand, are in a different historical moment than the Americans are and are hungry for work and growth. In their hunger, they are much more tolerant of harsh conditions and demands than we are. In China, by the way, 17$ a day does NOT mean what it means here.

E. Put these conditions all together and you get the iPhone 4.

F. So, is Apple "wrong"?

G. First, Apple's genius is in design and functionality, NOT labor and production. That doesn't make them not wrong. In fact, perhaps in their drive to represent the apex of design and functionality, they will take on labor and production as their next frontier -  if that's what their consumers demand.

H. Second, could Americans produce the iPhone 4 at this point in time? To the satisfaction of Apple? To the satisfaction of the Apple consumer? Jobs said "no" and the American labor force was insulted.

I. I say, yes, Americans could do it. But not right now, not with the current state of the American psyche. Americans could do it if they were willing to trade being part of something "great" for personal "lifestyle." The great era of American manufacturing was an earlier era when people didn't live on credit, when consumption was not at an all time high, when other things were valued in American culture besides having gadgets, technology and "convenience". If the American psyche could  tolerate accepting "less" in terms of money, time, "rights" etc.  in exchange for being part of Apple, maybe we could make iPhones now.

J. What it would take to get there would be a combination of a restoration of an American work "ethic" and either profound compromise or profoundly transformational  leadership on the part of Apple. In other words, both sides would have to give in order to step up to that plate.  The capacity of Americans to achieve what the Chinese are achieving - under current conditions - would represent a revolution. If we could create our own way of inspiring similar results to the Chinese  without resorting to the conditions of the Chinese that would be incredible.

If we could make it worthwhile for Americans to work that hard and that well, and if we could make it worthwhile for Apple to invest in the American workforce, that would be beautiful and, I believe, part of a great transformation of American society and a breakthrough in corporate culture. 

But just because Apple is capable of thinking out of the box technology does that mean they're capable of thinking out of the box leadership wise? I would hope so. Just like I would hope Americans can do the same.

WEEK THREE

We've been house-bound for days. First it simply snowed. Then came the "storm". Then the ice. On Facebook, I read that Tacoma called it a "state of emergency." Though we lost power for a few hours one morning, the only real emergency here was that the satellite cable didn't work.

Almost everyone I meet asks me how I'm dealing with the weather. I love it. It reminds me of growing up in New York. It reminds me of my twenties in Chicago. It reminds me of life.

I continue to be surprised by how much of myself is reawakening in the cold and dark. In a strange reversal, I feel as if I'm thawing out. I like walking in snow, I like stomping through slush, I like feeling the sting of sleet on my face and my nose freezing when I'm outside. I enjoyed it back when I used to visit Utah during Sundance, but this is different. I'm not on some wild trip, I'm at home and I feel very...at home.

I keep wanting to start projects and make grand plans, but something deeper (my cards, my intuition, my friends) keeps telling me to wait and see. Apparently, this period of time is not about commitments, it's about feeling our way around, finding out who we are and what we need in this new environment.

I keep trying to fix the problems I had in California. Not that I don't or won't have problems here, but they're different Washingtonian-I-live-with-my-Mom-now problems. An entirely different kettle of fish.

So for now, I'll just continue feeling and paying attention and taking notes and letting this new life guide us.

"I HAVE SAND SKILLS" said the 3-year old

My mother lives minutes away from Chambers Bay, a jaw-droppingly spectacular golf course set on gently rolling hills that drop down straight over Puget Sound.  To merely call it picturesque would be to miss the point. It's a 24-7 meditation in action. Simply being there  is more like surfing than anything I've ever done. Now, especially when it's cold, it is an immersion in divine creation, a veritable baptism in beauty and the elements of earth, air, water and the fire of the setting sun.

I already love it and so does Ashton.

Long before we moved down the road from Chambers Bay, one of Ashton's favorite books was a hand-me-down from his sister called "My First Golf Book."  Discarded clubs, balls and tees  frequently littered our backyard in Culver City and he's gone through more drivers and putters in three years than I have in a lifetime. Still, it didn't occur to me how blessed we were to have come here until I brought Ashton to our local course for the first time last week.

It was his first opportunity to visit a real-live golf shop and he went bananas with glee. Brandon, the guy behind the counter, ended up lending him a perfectly sized 7-iron and some balls to for the short game range.

That was Sunday and we golfed until the sun went down.

Monday and Tuesday were Brandon's days off, but we returned today to discover that he had set aside "Ashton's club" in case we returned. Then he drove us down to the range in the shuttle and Ashton chipped away at a bag of balls and practiced his sand skills in the traps.

The sky turned yellow, then gold, then gaudy pink and we caught the last shuttle up the hill, nearly numb with cold but exhilarated with adventure.

Never - in a thousand or a million years - did I think this move would leave me standing on a world-class golf course over the Puget Sound considering I may have found my new hobby. But there you go. Life is full of surprises.

We May Be On To Something

Of course, when we told people we were moving from Los Angeles to Washington State, they had an idea why. A more relaxed pace, cleaner, more breathable air, and the outdoorsy lifestyle that brought me and Brian together in the first place. Plus my mom.

The part I told some people, but not everybody, was this...I was going crazy in Los Angeles. For the usual reasons, yes, but for some more unusual ones as well.

Home schooling itself was a challenge.  But then there was the reason I'd started home schooling in the first place: a daughter possessed of a highly intense and idiosyncratic intelligence, coupled with a seemingly never-ending variety of behavioral and health challenges.

Sleeplessness. Lack of appetite. Obstinacy. Irritability. Frightening bouts of hysteria, or tantrums, or something, during which she would be completely overcome by uncontrollable emotions. We saw it all.

Except when she was outdoors. Except when she was in the natural world she loves: the creeks, trees, animals, insects, winds and rains that always calm  her down and bring out her mellow side.

While still in LA, Brian and I visited with Deena Metzger, poet, healer and "wise woman." We were overwhelmed and confused - about Trinity as well as about the direction our lives were taking. She asked if we would consider relocating to a more natural setting for Trinity's sake. We said yes.

Tonight, she took her first bath in months. Over the last few years, she'd developed an often paralyzing fear of water due to the painful abrasions and rashes that plagued her skin. Consequently, she rarely bathed. Tonight, she said, she took the best bath of her life and wants to take a bath every night if she can.

Then she added that maybe all her fears were just associations with life in Los Angeles and that "In my new life, I love the water and my trauma is gone. This is the new chapter of my life. If my life was a video game. I  moved to the next level."

You really had to be there. But that was the main idea.