Project Tektite: Living Research in the Sea 1969-1970

2010 Updates: See the Tektite Exhibit in Second Life at The Abyss Observatory; the Tektite Underwater Habitat Museum; Project Tektite 40th Anniversary Reunion in Lameshur Bay, St. John, Virgin Islands, November 6, 2010. (end date)

2009 Updates: Wikipedia Articles about Tektite I and II and Tektite Gallery Page

Project Tektite 40th Anniversary Reunion at the Virgin Islands Environmental Research Station (VIERS) on February 15, 2009 (begin date)

Project Tektite was an oceanographic research project conducted in 1969-1970 in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The fall and winter of 2007 seem to be dedicated to searching for information about my life and activities 40 years ago. One of the events in my life as a young man that has influenced my professional and personal life, was my participation in 1970 in the Tektite II project.  I have reconnected with one of my colleagues in Tektite, Kenny Meyer, and in my cerfing the web for more information, I found this excellent photo on Flickr.com, taken by aquanaut Ed Clifton, whom I have never met. Further research actually found a description of the beginnings of the project in 1969, from a personal view, by the photographer of this photo and aquanaut who was involved in Tektite from the beginning. Tektite Habitat Uploaded by Tom Clifton

An Evening on a Tropical Beach by Ed Clifton (Tektite I & II)

Read Full Post »

Multi-Media Shows at UT Austin – Media 70

OK, here’s some ancient history, to mix in with the future history. In the late 60’s a group of UT Student Orientation Advisers put together a ‘multi-media’ show for new students arriving in the summer before their entry into life on the Austin campus. The show was designed to be entertainment after dinner in the dormitory, at the new Academic Center Auditorium (AC 21). AC 21 was a wonderful gallery type lecture hall with 4 giant rear projection screens, a center stage level film screen, and clear walls above the stage for more front projection from the booth. People filed into the darkened room tentatively, wondering what was going on, here?

With the room still dark, a rock and roll sound track started off with the raucous voices of the Stones (She’s a Rainbow) and ended with the sweet tones of Judy Collins (Who Knows Where the Time Goes), and for 30-40 minutes the kiddies were pounded with multiple screen images (35mm slides, film, TV) of campus life, anti-war protests, football (Go, ‘Horns), parties, and oh yeah, classrooms. The sons and daughters of Texas and the world got a dazzling taste of life in the new world of 1968-70 in Austin.

… Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto. The times were definitely changing, and for the group calling itself Media 70, it was like a prehistoric version of Second Life, with mind expanding ‘stuff’, music, images, issues, people. The group went on to do other shows for different venues, on and off campus. The most ambitious was a theatrical show that brought live actors on stage (and on film) into the AC 21 for a psychedelic Moog version of the Wizard of Oz, called The Wozard of Iz (written by Jacques Wilson with music composed and performed by Mort Garson). Students being what they are, very little survived of the images, sound track or script for this and other shows, but here is replicated the flier produced to handout all over campus to fill the house for the 8 night, 24 performances of The Wozard. Wow.

Read Full Post »

A Purposeful Life

While browsing the stuff available to put in my FaceBook profile, I ran across “Which Chinese Philosopher Are You?” Hmmmm, what an interesting concept. So I took the short quiz, and up popped my new ‘old’ mentor. Mo-Ztu (Mozi) lived 410-390 BCE, during the Warring State Period and was known as a pacifist and a hard worker. He argued against Confucianism and Taoism. His teachings (Mohism) were stamped out later by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi and in the 20th century have been re-examined as more important than earlier thought. In the short time that I have been looking at information about Mo-Tzu, I have found some concepts of Mohism that could have been written for me, about me, by my father.

Read Full Post »