Eric Schlosser spoke about his new book Command and Control at Rollins College.

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Eric Schlosser‘s new book, Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety is about the insanity of keeping a nuclear arsenal. He began research on the book after hearing horror stories from enlisted men who are tasked with maintaining these aging nuclear weapons. Many documents have recently been declasifIed, making research possible. He told a story about a simple maintenance worker in a launch silo who was tightening a bolt and accidentally dropped his wrench. It clamored downward and just missed hitting a device which would have caused the bomb to explode.

The nuclear bombs that exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were apparently very inefficient devices. Only 30% of the uranium was part of the nuclear fission used in the blast. The rest of the uranium was just dissipated by the explosions. Had these bombs been better designed, the devastation of the blast would have been much greater. I didn’t realize that an atomic bomb is designed to explode in the air just before impact. This means that none of the blasts downward percussive force was wasted.

The arms race resulted in countries hoarding as many weapons of mass destruction as possible. There is something known as the Titanic Effect. Basically every machine eventually fails which is why we need to buy new cars or build new planes. No matter how many safe guards there are, a device will fail because of aging outdated components, or human error. If you have ever driven on the roads in Florida then you know that humans can’t be trusted to use machines with safety in mind. A recent airplane crash wasn’t caused by pilot error or the engine failing, instead the crash was caused by the seat back entertainment system failing and causing a fire. An airplane was used to transport a nuclear warhead from one storage facility to another. The plane crashed in the Carolinas and thankfully the bomb didn’t explode. A huge disaster was narrowly averted. Luck only lasts so long.  The bulk of our nuclear arsenal is using outdated technology from the 60’s and 70’s.

When the first nuclear bomb was exploded as a test, the scientist weren’t sure if it might burn away the entire atmosphere leaving a dead planet. Thankfully that didn’t happen but the incessant testing through the years has littered the atmosphere with harmful radiation that will last for centuries. Our need for bigger bombs as security is slowly killing us all. The Russians have created the largest bomb to date, the Tsar Bomba, with a 100 Mega Ton yield. If that puppy were to detonate above Disney World, the air blast radius would go as far north as Mount Dora and as far west as Bithlo. At 5 psi overpressure, most residential buildings
would collapse, injuries would be universal, and fatalities widespread. Of course the radio active fallout would drift further killing many more. Oh, Happy New Year!

All Shook Up Brings the 50’s to Life in Mount Dora

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Opening the Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse‘s 67th season, All Shook Up, the Joe DiPietro musical features the love songs of Elvis Presley and characters and plot devices from “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare to Mount Dora. The plot was paper thin with characters that were stereotypes with no any depth. The show was a reason  to string together as many Elvis songs as possible. Love was the driving force for the action and the music with back up by a live band backstage was fun, fast paced and at times spectacular. The set designed by David Clevinger had a barrage of commercial images and scenes. It was much like the show with many elements thrown together with no single point of interest. I became frustrated by the many set changes which would force me to stop sketching as the theater went black.

A small Midwestern town’s  moral code is set by the Mame Eisenhower decency act. Then a roustabout (Fredy Ruiz) drives into town dressed like James Dean on a motorcycle. His motorcycle needs repair and Natelie, (Whitney Abell) the town mechanic is immediately smitten. She does everything she can to win the roustabout’s love and she doesn’t succeed until she decided to dress as a boy to approach him as a friend. The roustabout only has eyes for the exotic curator at the town museum (Carly Skubick) but she sees him as a brute with no culture. When she lets her hair down, watch out! Everyone in town seems to fall in love with the wrong person and then the show spins out of control to try and find balance and meaning in unrequited love.

Director, Darlin Barry, faced challenges bringing the show to the stage. The lead actor playing the roustabout wasn’t showing up to rehearsals so she had to do something. Fredy stepped into the roll from withing the cast of about 20 actors. When everyone including the ensemble are on stage dancing the stage is close to overflowing. I was made aware of this dress rehearsal by stage mom Kathy Wilhelm Witkowski, who’s daughter Corina was in the show. Corina introduced herself before the show and let me know that she had almost been in one of my sketches last year when I sketched the Buddy Holly Story at the Icehouse. She was on stage checking her cell phone on stage right and she walked back stage before I put her in the sketch. I kept my eyes open for her but she didn’t appear on stage until very late in the first act when she posed as a statue with five other women in the museum. It was a perfect sketch opportunity, and I penciled her in the sketch several times as a statue but couldn’t find a reason for showcasing a statue in the middle of the action that I had put in the sketch already. I had to erase her for the sake of the composition.

Sylvia, (Laurie Sullivan) who owns the local honky-tonk sang brilliantly. She courted Natalie’s widowed father Jim (David Coalter). Songs in the show include “Jailhouse Rock,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “One Night with
You,” “Love Me Tender”, “Devil in Disguise” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” A five-piece
band will accompany the singers with music director Justin Ward Weber on
keyboards. The music often bought back memories of working on Lilo and Stitch which incorporated many of these Elvis songs in the soundtrack.

All Shook Up is a simple fun summer romp. It runs July 18th to August 3rd.

Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The show is already 85% sold out. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 on Thursday and for seniors. Student tickets range from $10 to $15. For reservations or for more information, call 352-383-4616.

Lakeside Inn

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Once a year, Elaine Pasekoff, Bob Newlin and Jill Ziegler make a pilgrimage to Central Florida to attend the Renningers Antique Market in Mount Dora. The last several years Terry has joined them in their all day shopping fest. She has started collecting antique women’s compants encrusted in jewels. Last year she also came home with a huge railroad crossing sign. Bob who comes from Washington D.C. collects antique silver. Elayne comes from Miami and usually walks away with some Teddy Roosevelt memorabilia. Jill, also from D.C., has joined in the last several outings collecting fine china. I didn’t spend the day shopping, but I agreed to meet the exhausted shoppers at the Lakeside Inn where they were staying the night so they could continue shopping at the Renningers flea market the next day.

I got to the Inn a little early and decided to sketch the building. A women stopped to admire the sketch. She told me that a friend of hers was an artist. Teachers bought the girls work. In time however, the art student sold her soul to the devil and became a graphic designer. The crew parallel parked across the street from me.  They unloaded their haul for the day and made their way to the hotel’s front porch for “Show and Tell.” There were several people smoking cigars, so we all moved to a smaller porch on one of the hotel’s smaller buildings.

Elaine advised me to come up with “Best Of” categories for the best buys of the day. Last year Elaine won my vote by getting four French diorama scenes that were multilayered, adding depth to the scenes.This year Terry won the Sci-Fi Award for her purchase of an unused Star Trek board game. Elaine won the Best Teddy Award for a bust of the president. The Steal of the Day Award went to Jill. Bob’s knockers won my pick for the Best Overall Award. The mini working door knockers were on a tie clip.

We all watched the sun set over Lake Dora and then went out to dinner. We all stayed at the Inn, which is the longest standing working Inn in Florida. The next day as the troops rallied to shop again, I drove back to Orlando.

Mount Dora

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Bob, Elayne and Terry are relaxing on the porch of the Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora after a full day of shopping at the Renningers antique show and flea market. After sipping drinks they each had a turn to show and tell all about the great bargains they had found. Elayne’s daughter Haley and her boyfriend, Ryan were also on hand but they decided to walk hand in hand down to the lakefront to watch the sunset. Elayne is checking her iPhone and is about to call her boyfriend Derick. She found a Mr. Oreo flexible figurine for about a dollar and a Wise Owl glass jar. Terry bought some collectible 1950s dishware and a stunning bejeweled evening bag. Bob always returns to Washington DC with collectible silverware he gets from the same dealer he has been going to for years. They all agread that this year offered unheard of bargans.