In his time as a passenger on what he called Spaceship Earth, Fuller realized that human progress need not separate the “natural” from the “unnatural”: “When people say something is natural,” he explains in the first lecture (embedded above as a YouTube video above), ”‘natural’ is the way they found it when they checked into the picture.” — Open Culture
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STALKING BUCKMINSTER FULLER
I had a bad habit of stalking Fuller. I knew when he was town to visit his daughter and I knew which coffee shop ( at the time the only 'organic' cafe in Santa Monica) he would lunch at and I would sit in the next booth, eavesdropping.
He was always there with his cronies. um followers. People I knew that worked with him on projects, writers he co-wrote books with. similar devotes hanging on to every word. All it cost me was a cup of coffee.
When Fuller was getting his honorary Los Angeles AIA Lifetime Award at the LA Biltmore my friend Jan and I videotaped his speech. It was very strange. Also there were Shelly Kappe (Ray Kappe's wife) and Periera of Luckman / /Perieria associates, Shelly Kappe got her award for helping to start SCI-Arc; Wm Periera got his because he was old. Fuller too was old and talked about God. He was different that night. Maybe he sensed death close by.
Fuller, that night, seemed to reject everything he did before and said something like it wasn't man that designed but God. It was all God. This coming from the writer of 'No More Second-Hand God'
Jan and I were finishing our 'free' hundfred dollar a plate prime rib dinner and wine watching this confession unfold from the balcony. We were still talking about it at the entrance of the hotel when we were spotted with our video camera. Back then these were huge clumsy b&w video tape set up on a tripod to record lectures at SCI-Arc. This one had the Number 2 painted on the side. We had to return this to SCI-Arc and It was the night of the annual Beaux-Arts Ball.
A voice called out "Hey is that thing on?" Jan, my very attractive friend, said no its off. Are you a reporter he asked again. It was Tommy Lasorda, of the Dodgers. He had been drinking alot.
Are you Tommy Lasorda? Jan asked?
No I am his brother. hahah. And Tommy went on and on some more.
'Were goning to a party n Santa Monica, wanna come?
So we put Lasorda in the back of Jan's car then put on a Sinatra cassette with headphones while Tommy sang. Lasorda's cronies followed in their car. When We got to SCI-Arc we told everyone that that had to carry a piece of video equipment, a cord or something. to get in. I think the party was too weird a scene for him and there was no liquor only beer. He left after 30 minutes. The Fuller tape got lost.
Pls Someone out there must also been at the Biltmore that night. Write what you remember. It was a strange night.
eric chavkin
I have been hearing this story for at least 20-30 years. I remember another night of re-enactment in almost abandoned Biltmore's empty kitchen where Robert Kennedy was assassinated.
What do you think of what I quoted ?
.
Yes, That was the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire in Los Angeles. I worked there as a bellman for over a year, heard all the Kennedy stories including the conspiracy ones. Before the Ambassador shuttered we had a weekend arewell party showing anyone who wanted the infamous kitchen where Robert Kennedy was assassinated, The bullet hole in the ceiling was never covered up.
Designating natural or not-natural is alot like chosing the facts to fulfill a pre=concieved theory. Is what is natural a consensus? And do we ignor the unexplainable because it doesn't fit an explanation.
sorry i was wrong. ambassador.
eric that sounds like a very interesting night... to say the least.
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