hang drum

I so want one of these drums. I saw a hang drum video on YouTube the other night and I really like the sound that resonates from it. Hang (which is pronounced hong) is a Burmese word relating to the hand, thus a Hang Drum is a hand-drum. It is played by striking eight notes (located around the bowl-shaped upper half of the drum) with the fingers, thumb, heel of the palm or a combination of the three. Most hang drum players rest the drum in their lap while playing, although it can be placed on a drum stand as well. The hang drum consists of two steel halves fused together. Notes are hammered into the upper half, while the bottom half is smooth with a fist-sized hole in the center. The drum has only been around since 2000 and is only available from its inventors, who just happen to live in Switzerland. Drums are made by appointment only and each one is hand tuned to suit its new owner. Now here's the clincher . . . in order to buy one, you must go to Switzerland. From what I can find out about the drum, it costs roughly a thousand dollars (and up). Like I said, I so want one of these drums, but the reality of it is . . . I won't be getting one any time soon. There are only a few hang drums on the planet.

I think the hang drum would be a great companion instrument to the didjeridoo. If anyone reading this post has knowledge of hang drum music available on CD or as a download, please let me know.

-------------------------------------------------
Song 200: Hey Jude
Artist: The Beatles
Album: Hey Jude
Year: 1970
-------------------------------------------------

Hey, Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Hey, Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better.

And any time you feel the pain, hey, Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
Well don't you know that its a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder

Hey, Jude! Don't let her down
You have found her, now go and get her
Remember, to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey, Jude, begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you, hey, Jude,
You'll do, the movement you need is on your shoulder

Hey, Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

the cup

Have you ever worked on a project and when it was finished and actually worked the way it was supposed to, you felt like yelling out loud so everyone around you would know that it worked!?! Today was one of those times.

The challenge:
Imagine, if you will, a poster with a cup on it. The cup is filled with dirt and there is a sunflower growing in the dirt. The dirt and the sunflower have to remain, but the cup has to be replaced with another cup. The poster has a burlap background.

Steps to the solution:
First, I separated the dirt and sunflower from the original cup. Thank goodness for PhotoShop.

Next, I had to shoot the new cup. I took the cup into the digital studio, staged the shot, turned on the studio lights and began shooting. Raising the tripod after each shot, hoping that the angle on ONE of the shots would be exactly the same as the angle on the original cup. It had to be exactly the same, because the dirt and sunflower have to sit in the new cup just like they did in the old cup. None of the studio shots worked. Even after adjusting the lighting several times, there was still a brown tint on the new cup. Adjusting the levels, curves, hue and saturation in PhotoShop made the new cup look washed out.

Then, I set up a small desktop impromptu studio on my desk, complete with a curved, white board for the cup to sit on (so the background would be seemless . . . no sharp angles. I began shooting the cup, once again trying to emulate the angle of the original cup. That pesky brown tint still haunted the new cup. And PhotoShop could not correct it.

Finally, I glanced out the window and saw that the afternoon sun was at just the right angle to cast the shadowing that I needed. I grabbed the cup, my white curved background board, and my camera and rushed to the elevator. I guess the security guards and receptionists thought I was insane as I rushed out the front door, set up a miniature studio in the front driveway, facing the afternoon sun and set the cup in position. I laid down on the pavement in front of my subject matter and clicked away, paying close attention to the angle of the cup. I had printed out a copy of the original cup earlier to use as a gauge.

I took my shots back upstairs and copied them into my poster design as separate layers, set their transparency at 20 percent and one by one I overlaid them on the original cup. One of the driveway shots fit PERFECTLY over the old cup. After only minor adjustments, I increased the transparency on my new cup to 100 percent, set it in place on my poster, took out the white background behind the new cup so it would fit nicely on the burlap background of the poster, threw the old cup in the trash and . . . finished. I've already printed the posters that I need. Tomorrow I'll mount and trim them.

The whole process took about three hours. Next time I have to shoot an off-white cup, I'll just head for the driveway first.

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Song 199: Heavy Church
Artist: Three Dog Night
Album: Naturally
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

Light my way with incensed candles ooh.
Rug so soft beneath my sandals, ooh.
I've never been in here before
Like to feel the glory.

Mercy, mercy on the love defenders
Have pity on the pretenders
A little help from all lifes losers
A little truth from the mind abusers
Ooh I need them playing in the Heavy Church

If you judge the way they're living ooh,
Try to see the truth their giving you
They only want to touch your hand with understanding.

Mercy, mercy on the love defenders
Have pity on the pretenders
A little help from all Lots losers
A little truth from the mind abusers
Ooh I need them playing in the Heavy Church

Mercy, mercy on the love defenders
Have pity on the pretenders
A little help from all lifes losers
A little truth from the mind abusers

Mercy, mercy on the love defenders
Have pity on the pretenders
A little help from all lifes losers
A little truth from the mind abusers
Hear them, hear them, hear them, hear them
Run and see the truth they're giving you
Hear them, hear them
Run and see the truth they're giving you
Hear them, hear them
Run
Hear them, hear them
Run and see the truth they're giving you
Hear them, hear them
Run

canarywood drum

One of our family friends emailed us a link to a video he and his son took this past weekend. It's a 2 minute capture of a UFO they sighted on their way home from the mall Saturday night. I don't know exactly what it is they were videoing. He hasn't told me yet. While we were on YouTube were saw another video link to Hang Drum at Pinnacle. It wasn't the drum that caught our attention. It was Pinnacle. Pinnacle is a great peak just west of Little Rock, Arkansas. My family and I go there at least once a year. It's a nice climb to the top. Once we started downloading the video the drum caught our attention. It looks like a the inside of a steel drum, turned upside down. And the music sounded very cool. Now I will have to google hang drum and see what comes up.

Listening to the hang drum made me want to play my wooden drums, so I got this South American canarywood drum out and played it for a half hour or so. Wooden drums have a very unique xylophonic sound. I almost forget where I am when I start playing these drums. The sound is mesmerizing.

--------------------------------------------------
Song 198: Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Album: Pendulum
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

Someone told me long ago theres a calm before the storm,
I know; its been comin for some time.
When its over, so they say, itll rain a sunny day,
I know; shinin down like water.

Chorus:
I want to know, have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin down on a sunny day?

Yesterday, and days before, sun is cold and rain is hard,
I know; been that way for all my time.
til forever, on it goes through the circle, fast and slow,
I know; it cant stop, I wonder.

Chorus
Yeah!
Chorus

silk art

My wife and I visited the River Arts Festival on Saturday. I wish the girls could have gone with us. Kids are much busier these days than they were when I was a teenager a million years ago. Anyway, we had a fantastic time looking at all the art and photography being offered by vendors from all over the country. Literally all over the country. We saw artists from Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Iowa, Missouri . . . I think the organizers tried to get artists from every state in the lower 48. There were over 200 artisans on hand. I enjoyed talking to the artists as much as I enjoyed seeing the art. One of our favorite stops along the route was the artists in motion booth sponsored by our local art supply store. They were inviting children in to paint silk discs with a specially formulated fabric paint. After the kids completed their art, it was hung on a huge fish net overhead to dry and sparkle in the sun. The picture above is one of the silk discs. And of course we had to stop at the local art supply store on our way home and pick up a silk disc art kit to take home with us. My wife teaches art and she is always looking for new and interesting projects to introduce to her classes.

--------------------------------------------------
Song 197: Hang On To Your Life
Artist: Guess Who
Album: Share the Land
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

Thinkin’ ‘bout the people gone by
Screamin’ that I don’t wanna die
You can push your head
But don’t you push it too far...

Thinkin’ ‘bout it’s here and it’s real
Wonderin’ how I really should feel
You can sell your soul
But don’t you sell it too cheap...

Hang on to your life
Hang on to your life

Thinkin’ ‘bout betraying a friend
Thinkin’ ‘bout delaying the end
You can ride the wind
But don’t you ride it too high...

Hang on to your life....

(Spoken, from Psalm 22)
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint:
my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my
jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death

in memory of (f)uzzhead

Yesterday was a heavy day. We lost (f)uzzhead and we miss him terribly. He came to live with us when he was a year old. And he brought attitude with him. When he first arrived he had no patience with us at all. He didn't like to be touched. He didn't like to make eye to eye contact. He was a very temperamental dog. The first time I met him, I was almost nose to nose with him, talking and getting acquainted. I blew in his little face and he would have no part of that. He had definitely had enough of me. As fast as lightning he snapped and before I could retreat, he had hooked his teeth in my nose. I never blew in his face again. (f)uzzhead and I became very tight friends over the next thirteen years. He was my buddy. He loved my wife more than any of the rest of us. She took very good care of him, talked to him, bathed him, trimmed his hair, made him look handsome. Although she was the most loved, he loved us all. He enjoyed being brushed almost as much as he enjoyed snuggling up close. Many times over the years I would lay down in the den floor and within seconds he would be lying next to me, nudging my hand to rub his ears and neck.

A couple of years ago (f)uzzhead began to develop some problems. We thought we would loose him back then, but we took him to the vet and thus began his daily routine of medication and a special diet. He survived his ordeal and enjoyed a year and a half or more of quality time. The picture above was taken this spring in our backyard. He had spring in his step and a smile on his face. He was enjoying life with us. A few weeks ago he began to show signs of fatigue and weight loss. A change in diet and medication helped a little but a few days ago he began to shut down. He stopped eating. He wouldn't even eat his favorite treats. He went from being a vibrant, energetic dog to a desperate, thin one. Our visits to the vet were not fruitful. He gave up yesterday morning. Friday was one of the most difficult days we have had in a long, long time. This morning was very strange. I kept looking in the places where (f)uzzhead would normally be, but he wasn't there. I knew he wouldn't be there, but I wanted him to be. We spent most of the day away from home, just because it felt so lonely without him. Tonight is better. We are all here together, my wife, (t)onks, (r)ouge and I. We have accepted the inevitable. (f)uzzhead will be missed, but we have thirteen years of sweet memories. He brought happiness to all of us, and I think we brought happiness to him as well.

tickling the ivories

In our house, any time is an opportunity to play the piano and sing. (t)onks lives on campus but she comes home every weekend. We look forward to seeing her so often. She always brings stories of her week's adventures home with her. Sometime during the weekend she will sit down at the piano and begin to play quietly and sing. And like a magnet her musical interlude draws (r)ouge to the piano for a duet. When (t)onks is at the piano (r)ouge is more than content to sing and not play. They both play and sing beautifully. I love to listen to them make music together. During the week, while (t)onks is away at college, (r)ouge tickles the ivories and sings a bit. When she picked up the camera this evening and began to snap pictures around our house, the final shots revolved around our piano. I could almost her hear playing as I watched her quietly snapping her pictures. The picture above was taken by (r)ouge.

--------------------------------------------------
Song 196: Hand Me Down World
Artist: Guess Who
Album: Share the Land
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

(Winter)
Anybody here see the noise, see the fear
And commotion,
I think we missed it
Anybody here see the love, see the hate
Being motioned...

(Chorus)
Don't Give me no hand me down shoes
Don't Give me no hand me down love
Don't Give me no hand me down world
Got one already.

Anybody here see the long distance cheer
For the notion,
I think we missed it
Anybody here see the sky weaping tears
For the ocean...

(Chorus)

Anybody here see fuzzy-wuzzly loving cup explosion
I think we missed it
Anybody here see the changing of the year-end emotion...

(Chorus)

Don't give me no hand me down world

I don't wanna take it and I really don't need it

rainy day train

There has been a slow, drizzly rain falling for the past five days. The temperature has steadily fallen since Monday. Tomorrow will be around 50 for the daytime high. The forecast calls for warmer, drier weather next week. This past Sunday was rainy, but warm (around 75 degrees). When (t)onks left to go back to her dorm Sunday she took her winter clothes with her and she commented that maybe she would get to wear the coat she found on sale this summer soon. When I talked to her tonight, she took full responsibility for the cooler weather. But then we decided that it would have been cool even if she had not wished it.

On my way home from the office this evening, I had an opportunity to take a few pictures of a train as it crossed in front of me. The raindrops on my window and the blurred train in the background would make an interesting canvas.

As I close my post for this evening, my thoughts and prayers are with all the people who have been displaced by the fires in California. The last report I heard on NPR listed the number of homes and businesses lost at 1800 with 600 square miles of property burned. Most of these fires are 10 percent contained or less. The loss of life and property from this disaster will be tremendous. I think back to March 2006 when I joined a group of college students on spring break as we traveled to New Orleans to do all we could to help those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Even six months after that natural disaster the city was dark and desolate. We spent that week gutting houses, hauling out moldy debris which had been left untouched since the storm. All of us wore Hazmat suits (white hooded jumpjuits with gloves and respirator masks) as we entered these former homes, pulling out floors, walls, ceilings, furniture, clothes, bulletin boards with water-damaged, curled up family pictures still hanging on them, pots, pans, dishes . . . everything. That was one of the most emotional weeks I can remember. We meet several of the owners as we gutted their homes. I can still see their faces. Hear their stories. And I wonder where they are tonight. I wonder how many of them moved away from New Orleans. How many of them stayed. When I was there only about 2 percent of the people in the neighborhoods we were working in were there, living in temporary FEMA trailers. It is devastating to a community and our nation when these events happen. I feel for the people in California!

--------------------------------------------------
Song 195: Green-eyed Lady
Artist: Sugarloaf
Album: Sugarloaf
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

Green Eyed Lady, lovely lady
Strolling slowly towards the sun

Green eyed lady ocean lady
Soothing every wave that comes

Green eyed lady, passion's lady
dressed in love she lives for life to be

Green eyed lady feels like I never see
Setting suns and lonely lovers free

(Organ solo)
(long instrumental break)

Green eyed lady, windswept lady
moves the night the waves the sand

Green eyed lady ocean lady
child of nature, friend of man

Green eyed lady passions lady
dressed in love she lives for life to be

Green eyed lady feels like I never see
Setting sons and lonely lovers free

flawless launch

The flawless launch of space shuttle Discovery occurred this morning, sending seven astronauts on a milestone mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This mission (STS-120) marks the first time in the 50-year history of manned spaceflight that two women are in charge of two spacecraft at the same. Shuttle commander Pamela Melroy and space station commander Peggy Whitson will meet later this week as the shuttle docks to begin a two-week construction mission. During this time the astronauts will install a new compartment (named Harmony) which will house docking ports for the upcoming European Space Agency's Columbus module and the Japanese Kibo laboratory module. The Columbus and Kibo modules will hitch a ride to the ISS on the next two shuttle missions. The first of those missions is scheduled for December.

As I was reading about this mission today, three things seemed significant to me. (1) This is first time in history that two women commanders have been in space at the same time. There has only been one other shuttle mission commanded by a woman and no space station missions. It's about time. (2) The compartment that will be installed during this mission weighs 14 tons. I know the boom will be doing most of the manipulation of this compartment, but wouldn't it be fun to be able to push a 14-ton module around with just a little pinky finger? (3) The ISS is scheduled to be completed in 2010. That's only three years away. The shuttle is going to be retiring after its ISS missions are complete. After that, our country will be without manned space vehicle capabilities for several years. We will have to rely on other nations to transport our astronauts to and from space. We should have planned better.

--------------------------------------------------
Song 194: Get Back
Artist: The Beatles
Album: Let It Be
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

Get back, get back.
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back.
Get back to where you once belonged.
Get back jojo. go home
Get back, get back.
Back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back.
Back to where you once belonged.
Get back jo.

muddy trail

Before stopping for lunch today, I checked the weather report. The screen showed 68 degrees and cloudy with a slight chance of rain. It had been raining off and on all morning but I decided to hike anyway. When I arrived at the trailhead the sky was very overcast but the temperature was comfortable. I locked the car and was soon splashing along on an extremely muddy trail. Water flowed along the trail like a small stream. Tree limbs hung heavy with raindrops. Navigating the slight elevation changes was a challenge at times, as the trail through most the the section I hiked today was clay. Slippery clay. About ten minutes into my hike a light rain began to fall and within a couple of minutes it was pouring. I had to stop several times to brush the beads of water from my glasses. Perhaps today would have been a good day for a set of miniature windshield wipers (or a hat). It seems like just about every time I go backpacking it rains. I have grown comfortable hiking in the rain. Most of the time I would rather hike in the rain or snow. I enjoy weather. All kinds of weather. Sunny days. Cold days. Rainy days. I like the variety. Today was no exception. I enjoyed my hike. I only wish it had been a little bit longer.

A bit of exciting news (at least for Mac users)
The fiscal fourth quarter report just can out today. Mac sales (not iPod or iPhone . . . just Mac sales) were up 34 percent over this time last year. This is a record for Apple. Over 2.1 million Macs shipped in the fourth quarter. Add that to 10.2 million iPods and 1.1 million iPhones and I'd say Apple had a pretty good fourth quarter. Don't get me wrong. I like PCs. I'm not a PC basher. It's just that I started using a Mac in 1984 and have used Macs continually since then. I love Mac computers. At one of my previous jobs I had a Mac and a PC. I have occasion to use a PC where I currently work and I'm comfortable with them, but I'd rather have a Mac. (t)onks catches all kind of grief in her dorm because she just got a new MacBook recently to replace her old PowerBook (which is still a great laptop -- she just wanted a more powerful one). She just smiles and continues making movies, watching movies, playing, working and using her Mac along with the other 2.1 million people who bought a Mac in the past three months. You go Apple!

--------------------------------------------------
Song 193: Gallows Pole
Artist: Led Zepellin
Album: Led Zepellin 3
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while,
I Think I see my friends coming, Riding a many mile.
Friends, you get some silver?
Did you get a little gold?
What did you bring me, my dear friends? Keep me from the Gallows Pole.
What did you bring me to keep me from the Gallows Pole?

I couldn't get no silver, I couldn't get no gold,
You know that we're too damn poor to keep you from the Gallows Pole.
Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while,
I think I see my brother coming, riding many a mile.
Brother, you get me some silver?
Did you get a little gold?
What did you bring me, my brother, to keep me from the Gallows Pole?

Brother, I brought you some silver, yeah.
I brought a little gold, I brought a little of everything
To keep you from the Gallows Pole.
Yes, I brought you to keep you from the Gallows Pole.

Hangman, hangman, turn your head awhile,
I think I see my sister coming, riding many mile, mile, mile.
Sister, I implore you, take him by the hand,
Take him to some shady bower, save me from the wrath of this man,
Please take him, save me from the wrath of this man, man.

Hangman, hangman, upon your face a smile,
Tell me that I'm free to ride,
Ride for many mile, mile, mile.

Oh yes, you got a fine sister, She warmed my blood from cold,
She warmed my blood to boiling hot to keep you from the Gallows Pole,
Your brother brought me silver, Your sister warmed my soul,
But now I laugh and pull so hard And see you swinging from the Gallows Pole

But now I laugh and pull so hard And see you swinging from the Gallows Pole
Swingin' on the gallows pole!

african drum beat

I think I mentioned in one of my recent posts that I do not play a musical instrument. That's not exactly right. I love to play around with drums. Not a drum kit or bass drum or any of the conventional drums. I collect drums. Native American drums. South American wooden drums. The Native American drums include a tomtom, a ceremonial dance drum, and a tree drum. I actually met the Native American who carved this drum from the two-foot diameter trunk of a tree. On one of my backpacking trips back in the eighties I found a Sassafras root along the trail and carved a drum beater from it. It's still my favorite beater. During that time of my life I taught Native American studies to Boy Scouts and drummed for a ceremonial dance team. We had the privilege of performing at campfires, jamborees, and district events for two or three years.

It was about then that I also became interested in South American wood drums. These drums have a unique sound, not unlike a xylophone. I have acquired several South American drums over the years and I can spend hours playing them. When my daughters were in in elementary school, their teachers would invite me to visit the school and share my drum collection with the students. What a great time. I always found it amusing to see the expressions on the kids' faces when they first heard the sounds of the drums . . . unlike any drum sound most of them had ever heard.

While visiting Epcot two or three years ago, my family and I stopped by the Africa section just as two demonstrators were asking visitors to participate in a drum circle. We all sat down and listened as the two drummers instructed us on the art of African drumming. They went around the circle and showed us different beats they wanted us to keep and when the performance began, I was amazed at the beautiful sound that came from this drum circle of a dozen or so individuals from all walks of life. That day began my interest in African drums.

Yesterday, the African drum pictured above made it home with my wife. I spent the next hour and a half playing it. During the crafts fair that I told you about week before last, one of the stage performances was an African drum circle by a group of middle school students. I listened to their entire performance. Yesterday brought back recent memories of that group.

Last night, my wife and I had a dinner date and dropped by a bookstore afterwards to look for art books and search for new music. The listening stations at this bookstore make it extremely easily to find new music that would otherwise be overlooked. We found Afro Celt Sound System. It is a fantastic fusion of African drums and Celtic instruments. Today has been a musical adventure, listening to our new music.

------------------------------------------------
Song 192: Life Begin Again
Artist: Afro Celt Sound System
Album: Volume 3: Further In Time
Year: 2001
------------------------------------------------

This is the day, and the hour
The time where the changing begins
The land, and the sky, fall quiet
Silence moves over the plain
The heat of Cwymhr still burning
The heart still beating within
Her songs echoed the fallen
For life to begin again
(Mi a glywais fod yr Ehedydd)
(Wedi marw ar y mynnydd)
This is the day and the hour
(Pe gwyddwn i mae gwir y geirie)
Land and the sky fallen silent
(Awn a gyrr a wyr ac arfau)
Fire moves o'er the plain
(I gyrchu corff yr Ehedydd adre)
Fire moves o'er the plain The silence moves over the plain
The land and sky fall quiet
The art is beating within
Her song echoes calling
For life to begin again
For light to begin again

guitar factory

I took these pictures during a recent visit to a guitar factory near here. All the guitars are hand crafted. Spray painted by hand. Strung and tuned by hand. Each guitar is played on site to make sure the sound is right. This was such a treat, watching as the artisans worked their magic and created one guitar after another. I was fascinated by all the different processes one guitar goes through. Choosing the wood. Cutting the shapes. Soaking the wood to make it flexible enough to bend around the body. Gluing it and tying cloth strips around it to hold it in place while it dries. Sanding. Smoothing. Painting. Polishing. Stringing. Playing. Packaging. I never realized how much attention to detail and how much loving care goes into creating a guitar. This experience has changed the way I view musical instruments. I have great respect for the artists who make them and those who play them.

Here's an added little tidbit. Just heard this on Skunked TV.
Close your eyes and try to imagine hair. That's what I do.
Then (r)ouge added, Yea dad, close your eyes and try to imagine hair. That's what you'll be doing when you're as old as your brothers.
Great. Thanks daughter!

--------------------------------------------------
Song 191: Funk 49
Artist: James Gang
Album: James Gang Rides Again
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

Sleep all day, out all night
I know where you're goin'
I don't think that's actin' right
You don't think it's showin'
Jumpin' up, fallin' down
Don't misunderstand me
You don't think that I know your plan
What you try'n'-a hand me?
Out all night, sleep all day
I know what you're doin'
If you're gonna act that way
I think there's trouble brewin'

I LOVE THIS SONG! What an appropriate song for today's post too. The guitar work in Funk 49 is incredible. I cranked it up when I was a kid in 1970 and I still crank it up today. If you have not heard it . . . you have to find it and play it . . . loud!

the spectrum of light

It has been a week since my wife and I saw Across the Universe. The movie chronicles the late sixties, set to Beatles songs from the same period. The reviews I have read say the movie is pointless and assign perhaps 2 stars of 4. I grew up in the late sixties. I think the movie depicts the mindset of the urban youth of my generation. I was fortunate to have grown up away from the urban youth scene (all the psychedelic drugs and turbulence) but I saw it on television and I heard it in the music and in many aspects that culture spilled over into my rural life. I am listening to the soundtrack for Across the Universe right now. In particular, I am listening to Let It Be, I love the Beatles version of it, but this version is incredible! The first verses are sung by a young African-American boy, and the final verses are sung by a gospel choir. The scene behind this song is the most intense and emotional scene in the entire movie. It portrays the violence and anger of the racial riots that shook this country during that time. When I look at the world today I wonder if we have matured in our relationship skills, or are we just a moment away from a repeat of the sixties. I wish we could all just grow up and get along.

When you first look at the picture of the sun above, your brain draws you right into the circle of brilliant light. Only after you concentrate on the image do you notice the clear blue sky and the spectrum of colors surrounding the sun. Sometimes I think humanity is like this picture. At first glance, we see all the conflict and problems (the blinding light). It's only when we take a closer look that we see the spectrum of the one race that we all share (the human race). You can't see the spectrum in the center of the light, but you can see it distinctively in the clear blue sky. We must all strive to see the spectrum.

--------------------------------------------------
Song 190: Fire and Rain
Artist: James Taylor
Album: Sweet Baby James
Year: 1970
--------------------------------------------------

Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to

I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

Won't you look down upon me, Jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things
to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now

Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now

what a great day

This was a great day on several levels. At work. At play. At service.

At work
I have not always been a coffee drinker. The only time you would find me with a cup of coffee in my hand would be early morning on a backpack trip off in the wilderness somewhere. A great family friend introduced my wife and I to gourmet coffee about a year ago and now I enjoy a good cup of coffee at the beginning of my work day. That little bit of coffee helps me jump right into a busy day. Today was a busy day. I feel like I accomplished a tremendous amount. Moving through graphic challenges one right after another. I am developing materials for a seminar on sustainability that will be presented next week in the northeast. Proofs went out. Approvals came in and most of the materials are now in production. I love it when things go so smooth and quick.

At play
A huge thunderstorm swept through our area last night, slamming us with wind gusts of 30 miles an hour and dumping about three inches of rain. My first thought when I started the day was . . . this will be a great day to take a hike. This was a great day for a hike. At lunchtime I headed over to my favorite trail. The storm left the trail soft and comfortable to hike. Newly fallen leaves blanketed my path. Fallen tree limbs dotted the landscape. I cleared limbs from the trail as I hiked, worked around the largest ones, jumped over the manageable ones. Standing water and mud puddles spread across the trail at regular intervals. I felt like a kid again as I trudged along the muddy trail. What fun!

At service
Some time ago I volunteered to conduct a digital camera workshop for our community. It has been listed in our local newspapers for the past several weeks and when I called yesterday to get the final tally, I was told that the class was full and there was a waiting list. Wow! I had an incredible time this evening. Each participant brought their digital camera with them and we had fun learning what all those settings on their cameras actually mean. I shared tips and techniques. Showed them how to download, label, store and use their images. Answered questions. Shared some of my favorite shots. During the two hour event, the participants went on three digital field trips. The first field trip was inside, outside and all around the facility, taking pictures of shapes, angles, textures, colors. At the beginning of the second field trip, my wife and (r)ouge passed out brown bags for each table of 8. Inside the bag they found toys. Their task was to discover and use the macro capabilities of their cameras. The last field trip was in search of people. Close-up shots of each other, of themselves, of people around the facility that didn't have a clue we were having a digital workshop. (Of course I asked the participants to get permission from willing models before they started snapping pictures. What a great evening.

What a great day!

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Song 189: Father and Son
Artist: Cat Stevens
Album: Tea For The Tillerman
Year: 1970
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Father
Its not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, thats your fault,
Theres so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but Im happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that its not easy,
To be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Son
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
Its always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now theres a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

Father
Its not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You're still young, thats your fault,
There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.
(son-- away away away, I know I have to
Make this decision alone - no)

Son
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
Its hard, but its harder to ignore it.
If they were right, Id agree, but its them you know not me.
Now theres a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.
(father-- stay stay stay, why must you go and
Make this decision alone? )

Tea for the Tillerman is by far my favorite Cat Stevens album. And Father and Son is my favorite song on the album.

just basic colors

I have been racking my brain for over two weeks, trying to come up with an idea for a project at work. It's for a line of products that will be presented at an international conference next month. Huge scrim graphics will be produced from what I design. The catch . . . I can't use any logos or product names on the graphics. And I have to have four similar but different pieces of art. That's just about all the direction I received before starting this project. I was coming up blank, until last night. I thought, why not just use screens of color to represent abstract landscapes. With the review meeting looming just over an hour away, I sat down at my Mac this morning and cranked out these four elements. In forty minutes I had them drawn and large-format printer proofs produced.

I presented the elements as the first phase of a concept. The gentlemen at the table looked at them and told me these were just what they were looking for . . . no changes. That never happens to me. I go through 30 or 40 concepts sometimes, but never ONE.
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Song 188: Don't Let Me Down
Artist: The Beatles
Album: Hey Jude
Year: 1970
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I'm in love for the first time
Don't you know it's gonna last
It's a love that lasts forever
It's a love that had no past

Don't let me down
Hey, don't let me down
Don't let me down
Don't let me down

after the rain

I enjoyed my lunchtime hike so much today that I extended it by about an hour and worked over to compensate for the extra time spent on the trail. It rained in our area yesterday afternoon and last night. We got about two inches of rain altogether. Today was overcast and the trail was absolutely perfect. The section of trail that I chose today was about six miles long, with a good variety of terrain. You can't really tell from the pictures above, but there was a bit of elevation change . . . nothing like hiking in the mountains, but at least it wasn't all flat. Wet leaves covered a good bit of it, gray clay covered other parts. My favorite section today was the sandy trail which traced the bluff of the river for a couple of miles. The sand in this section is very loose, perhaps two or three inches deep. And of course there were puddles of standing water dotting the landscape, left over from the rain. One of the distinct characteristics of this part of the country is the gray clay. It is very good at retaining water . . . for a long time. Even if it doesn't rain the rest of the week, there will be water standing in these puddles.

Today was the most enjoyable hike I have been on in a long, long time. I think it's the best one this year. There weren't very many hikers out. I saw the tracks of two or three hikers, a couple of dogs and one horse. I passed one hiker and one guy on a trail bike passed me. So, most of my hour and forty minutes on the trail were uninterrupted by traffic. I encountered one deer. He didn't see me until I was about ten yards away from him. He bounded away rather quickly. Other than him, I only saw a couple of squirrels this time. The lack of wildlife surprised me a bit. The forest is usually teeming with activity.

BTW: I accomplished the entire six miles barefooted.

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Song 187: Country Road
Artist: James Taylor
Album: Sweet Baby James
Year: 1970
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Take to the highway wont you lend me your name
Your way and my way seem to be one and the same

Mamma don't understand it
She wants to know where I've been
I'd have to be some kind of natural born fool
To want to pass that way again
But I could feel it
On a country road

Sail on home to Jesus won't you good girls and boys
I'm all in pieces, you can have your own choice
But I can hear a heavenly band full of angels
And they're coming to set me free
I don't know nothing bout the why or when
But I can tell that its bound to be
Because I could feel it, child, yeah
On a country road

I guess my feet know where they want me to go
Walking on a country road

Take to the highway won't you lend me your name
Your way and my way seem to be one and the same, child
Mamma don't understand it
She wants to know where I've been
I'd have to be some kind of natural born fool
To want to pass that way again
But I could feel it
On a country road

Walk on down, walk on down, walk on down
Walk on down, walk on down a country road
Country road
Walking on a country road

I'm not a singer, but James Taylor's songs are just about the only ones I can sing and do a pretty good job at it. Country Road and You've Got A Friend are two of my favorites. Even though this one came out in 1970, I still sing it regularly. I find myself singing it just about every time I take a drive in the country, or hike in the mountains.

planes trains or automobiles

This is my contribution to Blog Action Day. Click on the banner at the bottom of this post for more information on Blog Action Day.

I thought it would be interesting to compare the costs and fuel efficiency of different modes of transportation: car, train, airplane. What I found out was very interesting. I travel quite a bit on company business. Most of those trips require travel by plane. When my business travel is within 500 miles of my home, I always rent a car, rather than fly. Train travel is not practical, timewise, for business travel unless the business is in St. Louis or New Orleans. I choose to rent a car for the close (500 miles or less) trips because I enjoy driving and seeing the country up close, but after researching a bit for this post, I will not only rent a car for those close trips, I'll rent a hybrid car.

Here's the comparison. Fuel efficiency translates into less greenhouse gases.
[01] a tour bus (or large passenger bus) uses approxiamtely 946 BTUs of energy per passenger-mile.
[02] an Amtrak train uses approximately 2,100 BTUs of energy per passenger-mile.
[03] an automobile uses approximately 3,597 BTUs of energy per passenger-mile.
[04] a airliner uses approximately 3,890 BTUs per passenger mile.

Those figures are just for fuel efficiency. Now if you factor in air, water and ground pollution, there are even bigger differences in the comparisons. The bottom line, it is better for the present and the future of our planet if you take a bus or train when traveling. A bus is the most efficient. A train uses up to 70 percent less energy and causes up to 85 percent less air pollution than an airplane. One coast-to-coast flight for a family of four creates more CO2 than that family would generate at home in an entire year. That same coast-to-coast trip would produce about the same pollution as a car would produce on a 12,000-mile journey.

Short flights and direct flights (the ones that require you to stop one or more times before you reach your final destination) are especially bad for the environment, because of the extra energy required for the additional take-offs and landings. If you must fly, try to fly only for long distances, and then try to use nonstop flights. Nitrogen oxides and other high altitude pollutants are another disadvantage to plane travel. These high-altitude pollutants could triple the impact on your atmosphere.

If you travel by car, consider renting (or purchasing) a hybrid. Use biofuels when you can. You can go online and find out what service stations offer a biofuel alternative before you begin your trip, so you can plot your course and determine in advance which service stations you will use.

Think about your environment. Play smart. Work smart. Find out all you can about ways to help the environment recover from the damage we have done to it. Plant trees. Work for companies who are environmentally-friendly. I feel fortunate to be working for an environmentally-friendly company. Do your homework. Help ensure that our children inherit a planet they can live on.

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Song 186: Come And Get It
Artist: Badfinger
Album: Magic Christian Music
Year: 1970
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If you want it, here it is come and get it
Mmmm, make your mind up fast
If you want it, anytime I can give it
But you better hurry cause it may not last

Did I hear you say that there must be a catch
Will you walk away from a fool and his money
If you want it, here it is come and get it
But you better hurry cause it's going fast

If you want it, here it is come and get it,
Mmmm, make your mind up fast
If you want it, anytime I can give it
But you better hurry cause it may not last

Did I hear you say that there must be a catch
Will you walk away from a fool and his money

Sonny, if you want it, here it is come and get it
But you better hurry cause it's going fast
You'd better hurry cause it's going fast
Fool and his money

Sonny, if you want it, here it is come and get it
But you better hurry cause it's going fast
You'd better hurry cause it's going fast
You'd better hurry cause it's going fast

fish fry

Deep fried catfish and hushpuppies

Yesterday was our local geology club's annual fish fry and rock swap. One of our member families hosts this October event every year. He fries the best catfish and hushpuppies anywhere. Members started gathering in our host's backyard around ten yesterday morning for food, fellowship and a little bit of rock swapping and selling. Several people brought tables and boxes of rocks, minerals and fossils to swap or sell. A couple of the younger members of the club set up tables and gave the adult swappers a run for their money. The boys' rocks were nicely displayed and priced to sell. Everyone who attended the fish fry brought a side dish, salad or dessert to share with the crowd, and by two o'clock we were all just about to full to leave.

I didn't count the number of people attending, but I would estimate about 25 or 30 . . . a pretty nice number for a busy fall Saturday afternoon. Next weekend, our club has a geode-collecting field trip planned. That should be fun!

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Song 185: Chameleon
Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Album: Pendulum
Year: 1970
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You took me runnin' up a wrong way street.
When we got there, you said, "Can't you read ?"
I must be blind, but now and then I see
Another number where mine used to be.

You keep on changin' your face, like a Chameleon.
You keep on changin' your face like a Chameleon.

I say what's up, and then you say it's down.
I see triangles, and you say it's round, round, round.
Saw an empty glass; you said it's full.
Lord, it's so hot, then you come on cool, cool.

fluorescents

For the past three weeks I have been working on a presentation about fluorescent minerals. Several months ago the board of directors of our local geology club asked me and another member to present a program to the membership and last night was the night. I was a bit nervous. I have only been collecting rocks, minerals and fossils for about ten years. Having been the newsletter editor and being the webmaster for the club has some advantage. I have done a tremendous amount of research over the years. The facts must be correct and timely for this club. A lot of the members are just regular people like me, but there are a lot of professional geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists and others in the club who take geology very serious.

Talk about nervous. I was a wee bit nervous last night. My wife and I got to the club meeting about an hour early so I could set up my Mac, LCD projector, UV lights and a large display of fluorescent minerals. Two other members of our club brought displays of fluorescent minerals also. After I gave my presentation about the characteristics and colors of fluorescent minerals, the other presenter told about his recent visit to a fluorescent mineral society meeting in New Jersey and his adventures in the mines there to collect fluorescents.

The evening was a great success. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. There were lots of questions, and we invited everyone up to view the minerals up close after the presentation was finished. About 80 members and visitors attended.

The picture above is a snapshot of one of my Powerpoint slides from last night. I actually photographed several of my mineral specimens the other night. I photographed them in visible light and under ultraviolet shortwave and longwave light. The particular specimen depicted in the picture above is one of my aragonite minerals. Under visible light it is white. Under shortwave UV it is a very nice pale blue (as you can see). I really enjoy collecting and viewing flourescent minerals.

BTW: Our website has had almost one million visits since we started tracking in January 2001.

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Song 184: Can't Buy Me Love
Artist: The Beatles
Album: Hey Jude
Year: 1970
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Can't buy me love, love
Can't buy me love

I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright
I'll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright
'Cause I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love

I'll give you all I got to give if you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love

Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love, no no no, no

Say you don't need no diamond ring and I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of thing that money just can't buy
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love

my favorite things

The Count of Monte Cristo was on ABC Family last night. (r)ouge said she had seen it twice already, but she had to be in just the right mood to watch it because it is so long . . . three hours or so on TV. We talked about long movies we have seen and almost immediately we both mentioned The Sound of Music and the fact that we both love that movie. I could watch The Sound of Music any time. (r)ouge began to sing raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens and then went into humming mode because she couldn't remember the words and neither could I. Two minutes and a google search later and we had them. She can sing. I cannot. So I was content to listen as she sang My Favorite Things almost as well as Julie Andrews. If only (t)onks had been home to sing with her.

BTW, The Count of Monte Cristo is a great movie too, especially the last scene and the best line . . . I'm a count, not a saint.
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Song 183: My Favorite Things
Artist: Julie Andrews
Album: The Sound of Music
Year: 1965
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Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleighbells
And schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winter that melts into spring
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel...so bad

the trail before autumn

It won't be many more days before the young forest that this trail crosses yields to fall colors and then the brown of winter. I have enjoyed hiking this trail this year more than ever. I feel as though I have come to know it quite well. The top picture is representative of the sandy trail that traverses one of my favorite sections. During rainy times, this section easily fills with water, making it a challenge to navigate. Of course this summer has not been a typical summer. This section has not flooded for months. The young stand of trees on either side of the trail almost gives you a feeling that you are walking through a tunnel.

In contrast to the sandy trail, another one of my favorite sections is the one in the bottom picture. This section is also filled with young trees, but it is spacious. I can see for a couple of hundred yards in all directions when I hike through this section. The trail is not as soft as the sandy section, but it is comfortable to hike, blanketed with a nice ground cover of leaves from seasons past.

I'm looking forward to hiking this trail during the winter months. Until this season, I didn't notice the variety of landscape and texture that it portrays. I owe this heightened awareness to two things: an increased interest in digital photography and the fact that I blog regularly now. I have found that those two things have encouraged me to be more observant. More curious. To pay closer attention to detail.

I'm curious to know how other bloggers view the world around them. I would love to read your comments. See your blog. If you have a daily online journal, leave a comment. I'd like to pay it a visit.

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Song 182: Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin III
Year: 1970
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Ah caught you smiling at me,
Thats the way it should be,
Like a leaf is to a tree, so fine.
Ah all the good times we had,
I sang love songs so glad
Always smiling, never sad, so fine.

*as we walk down the country lanes,
Ill be singing a song,
Hear me calling your name.
Hear the wind within the trees,
Telling mother nature bout you and me.

Well if the sunshines so bright,
Or on our way its darkest night
The road we choose is always right, so fine.
Ah can your love be so strong
When so many loves go wrong
Will our love go on and on and on and on and on and on?

* chorus

My, my la de la come on now it aint too far,
Tell your friends all around the world,
Aint no companion like a blue eyed merle.
Come on now well let me tell you,
What youre missing, missing, round them brick walls.
So of one thing I am sure,
Its a friendship so pure,
Angels singing all around
My dog is so fine.
Yeah, aint but one thing to do
Spend my natral life with you,
Youre the finest dog I knew, so fine.
When youre old and your eyes are dim,
There aint no old shep gonna happen again,
Well still go walking down country lanes,
Ill sing the same old songs,
Hear me call your name.

wings and roots

(r)ouge is a senior this year. It's so hard to believe she's that old. We visited a local college yesterday, checking out the art department and talking to a professor or two. (r)ouge was encouraged by what she saw and the answers she received for her questions about scholarships, classes, and the campus in general. I think she will do well if she decides to attend here. (t)onks goes here already. She's a junior. She's worn out most of the time. She's a very talented artist. Very meticulous. She could have chosen an art degree path, but she chose biomedical engineering instead. I sit and watch her doing her homework sometimes when she comes home on the weekends, and the content and intensity of it baffles me!

(r)ouge and (t)onks will find their niche in life and I have confidence they will do well. Just as long as they make enough to take care of their aging parents when that time comes . . . and I hope it is a long time coming. Who knows where they will settle down, when they will have families of their own, whether they will live near us or near eachother, on even in this country. They both have big plans. The best my wife and I can do is support them, encourage them, love them and be here when they need us.

There are two things we can give our children in life . . . wings . . . and roots!

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Song 181: Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Album: Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Year: 1970
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When you're weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I'm on your side. when times get rough
And friends just cant be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

When you're down and out,
When you're on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
Ill take your part.
When darkness comes
And pains is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Sail on silver girl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
Im sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.

Bridge Over Troubled Water is an ageless song. This song and You've Got A Friend by James Taylor have always been my blues-adjustment songs. They bring me up when I'm down . . . not that I'm in a bluesy mood today. Bridge just happened to be the song that came up next on the list of songs over the decades that I have compiled.

if artists ruled the world: part five

Here a couple of images from the crafts fair this past weekend. The man in the top picture is making a broom. The bottom picture shows a variety of vases and containers from a potter who traveled across several states to be here.

natural dyer
The natural dyer and her family drove in from Middle Tennessee to demonstrate the use of natural materials to dye fibers (her husband and her daughter are demonstating chain mail jewelry making). Theirs is an amazing story. For several years she demonstrated at this show, then a career change drew her to Colorado . . . too far away to justify her coming back to the show for a few years. Another move brought her and her family to the Gulf Coast. She pciked up right where she left off and began demonstrating here again. Two years ago they lost their house and almost all their worldly possessions during Hurricane Katrina. When they returned to try to salvage some of their belongings, one of the few things she was able to save was her spinning wheel. They missed the show that year, but were back last year and this. They are great family friends. The natural dyer taught my wife to spin way back when.

photographer
Photographer guy has been coming to this show for as long as I can remember. His mom is the polymer clay artist and thinkologist that I told you about yesterday. It wasn't until last year that he and I even spoke to each other very much, but last year several of us went out to dinner one night and he and I discovered that we have a lot in common. We both love photography, classic rock and roll and hiking. This year we spent a lot of time talking, sharing photo techniques and tips, comparing pictures and cameras, and planning get-togethers so my family and his can visit between craft shows this coming year.

A note about the banner below
October 15 is Blog Action Day. Over 7000 blogs (so far) have signed up to post an environmental message on that day. I will be one of them. Click on the banner to find out more. If you haven't signed up, please consider adding your name to the list of participating blogs.



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Song 180: Black Magic Woman
Artist: Santana
Album: Abraxas
Year: 1970
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if artists ruled the world: part four

The images above are from this past weekend's craft show. The top one is from an artist who creates pottery, sculpture and art entirely from recycled paper . . . not just recycled, it's his junk mail. He includes a list with each piece that tells what items of junk mail were used to create the piece. The bottom picture is one of a miniature train at the local model train society's booth.

stone carver
I spent a lot of time this year talking to some of my long-time friends and favorite artists at the show. One of those friends is the stone carver, who also makes paper and creates some incredible art. His wife does her own cabachons and creates fantastic jewelry. They have been demonstrating craftsmen at this show for 33 years. What a great accomplishment! The stone carver and I were talking about one year at the old location when a monsoon came roaring through one night. At that particular show he was selling mostly hand-made paper sculptures. They were set up on pedestals under an umbrella-type tent and during the night the wind and rain torn the tent down. The next morning all his newly-made sculptures were floating in puddles of rain water. What a disaster. Luckily the tent he now occupies is huge and it can undergo a lot of bad weather before it actually incurs damage.

polymer clay artist and thinkologist
She's in her early fifties and one of the neatest people you could ever meet. During the show she and I were talking about the fact that "we are hippies, all grown up. The artists right here are what happened to the hippies of the sixties. The only difference is we never did drugs, so we remember what that movement was all about. If all the artists that do shows like this ruled the world, we would all get along, we would take care of each other, help each other. We would make our own stuff" . . . build our own furniture, make our own clothes, our own jewelry, our own pots, plates, cups, spoons, knives and brooms. We would grow our own food, make our own bread, our own molasses and candy, our own sauces and seasonings. We wouldn't have a lot of money, but we wouldn't need a lot of money. "Except for cars and air conditioning," my daughter (r)ouge added . . . "because of global warming of course." The chair-maker next door even made his own air conditioning, driven by foot power.

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Song 179: Bell Bottom Blues
Artist: Derek and the Dominoes
Album: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Year: 1970
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Bell bottom blues, you made me cry.
I don’t want to lose this feeling.
And if I could choose a place to die
It would be in your arms.

if artists ruled the world: part three

These are scenes from the crafts fair. The top one is actually minature pumpkins. The largest one was about four inches in diameter. The bottom picture depicts a variety of didieridoos being sold by the Didieridoo Man.

didieridoo maker and musician
Aboriginal sounds spill across the lawn as the didieridoo maker plays one of his hand-crafted wooden musical instruments, all while keeping time with his shaker-laiden leggings and hand-held rythmn sticks. His music draws a crowd of fairgoers curiour to see its origin. This is his second year to be a craftsman at this show. Two years ago (he wasn't here last year) (r)ouge talked me into buying her one of his didieridoos, and she has become very good at making music with it. It takes a special talent to get your lips to vibrate and create the music. The didieridoo maker wants to dig deeper into the technical aspects of the instrument and perhaps find a way to introduce it into more world music as a dominant instrument, instead of just a novelty. I could see Paul Simon or Mickey Hart incorporating it into their music.

adult who teaches mentally challenged adults
Even the people who attend this show are cool. One lady spent a great deal of time in our booth, looking at and examining a variety of things my wife has created over the past year. She finally made her selections . . . a leather and bone bracelet with blue beads, a bead and stone bracelet, and a miniature basket filled with hand-spun, naturally-dyed wools. She told me that she was on an ideaspotting field trip, trying to find things that she could use as teaching ideas for her class. She said they all have talents and special abilities, she just has to find ways to help bring those talents to the surface. We talked about how the colors and shapes a person uses in their art reveals their inner thoughts and feelings. Knowing their emotions helps her determine what type of teaching aids to use with each individual adult. The world should be filled with people like this lady. She cares about her adult students, and it shines through.

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Song 178: Ashes, The Rain and I
Artist: James Gang
Album: James Gang Rides Again
Year: 1970
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Sometimes I sit and I stare at the rain
Isn't rain filled with sorrow?
Wonder if I'll see my home again
Will it be dry tomorrow?
Time passes softly and I'm a day older
But still I m living days gone by
Ashes to ashes, the rain's turning colder
Finding tomorrow, the ashes, the rain and I

if artists ruled the world: part two

The second day of the crafts fair is behind us and it was incredible. School children flooded the fair grounds this morning, asking questions and soaking in all the sights and sounds. The juggler clown on stilts. The wooden-top maker. The broom maker. Chair maker. Weavers. Knitters. Spinner. Potters. Photographers. Painters. Illustrators, Jewelry makers. The grist mill. Fresh baked biscuits from a wooden stove. Fresh apple cider. Stone carvers. Metal workers. Toy makers . . . fresh donuts. Strawberry chicken crepes. Chicken kabobs. Irish dancers. African drum core.

raku artist
I knew the artist was knowledgeable in geology when I strolled into his tent and much of his raku art was perched on fossiliferous limetone slabs. I asked if I could take some pictures and I commented on the limestone. After a twenty minute visit he had learned that my family and I are amateur geologists and that our part of the country is rich in Devonian and Cretaceous marine fossils. I had learned that he earned his degree in geological engineering in the eighties. During his senior year in college one of his professors suggested that he take at least one course that was not related to his major. He chose ceramics for non-artists. His ceramics professor taught him the art of raku firing. The top photo shows some of his whimsical raku art. This is his first year to be an exhibiter at this fair.

wood carver
The eagle carver has been a demonstrating craftsman at this fair for as many years as I can remember. He's one of the many great friends that my wife and I have made at the fair over the years. We only see him once a year for four days, but it's always a great time. The bottom picture above is of his most-prized carving. It's a 175 pound American Bald Eagle, hand-carved and hand-painted. The wing span on this magnificent bird is 84 inches and it would take a box 6 feet by 6 feet by 6 feet to store it. He brings it to the fair in several pieces and assembles it here. He crved the eagle from the specifications of the largest recorded Bald Eagle that he discovered in an ornothologist book several years ago. The entire sculpture (including the eagle, the fish it holds in its talons, and even the river stones) is carved from wood, except the splashing water at the base of the sculpture. The water is hand-molded acrylic. The inspiration for his eagle was taken from a photograph called Hunting at Reelfoot Lake. To get an accurate depiction of the river rocks to use as his reference for the base of the sculpture, he traveled to East Tennessee and waded out into a mountain stream to take pictures of the rocks. The eagle is depicted in a forward trust position, so the sculptor drilled a hole from the top of the eagle all the way to the base (42 inches) and inserted a 42-inch-long steel rod to help insure that the eagle did not become unbalanced. To his surprise, when the sculpture was fisnished and he added the wings to it, the expansiveness of the wings perfectly balanced the entire piece. An engineering feat. I love talking to him about this and his other bird wood carving.

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Song 177: Are You Ready?
Artist: Pacific Gas and Electric
Album: Are You Ready?
Year: 1970
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There's rumors of war
Men dying and women crying
If you breathe air, you'll die
Perhaps you wonder the reason why
But wait! Don't you worry
A new day is dawning
We'll catch the sun, and away we'll fly...

Are you ready to sit by His throne?
Are you ready not to be alone?
Someone's coming to take you home
And if you're ready, then He'll carry you home

(Are you ready?)

People say that He won't come
And I don't know what say you
But if He should, would you be the one?
I've got a little question I'd like to ask you

Are you ready to sit by His throne?
Are you ready not to be alone?
Someone's coming to take you home
And if you're ready, then He'll carry you home

(Are you ready?)

Brothers and sisters, I have many
Stumbling along to do their thing
Love is a song, it's better than any
It's better for music, it's easy to sing

Are you ready to sit by His throne?
Are you ready not to be alone?
Someone's coming to take you home
And if you're ready, then He'll carry you home

Are you ready to sit by His throne?
Are you ready not to be alone?
Someone's coming to take you home
And if you're ready, then He'll carry you home

(Yes, I'm ready)
Are you ready? (Yes, I'm ready)
Are you ready? (Yes, I'm ready)
I've got to know, yeah (Yes, I'm ready)
You sound real good (Yes, I'm ready)
Are you ready? (Yes, I'm ready)
Gonna be sunshine again (Yes, I'm ready)
And the flowers growing (Yes, I'm ready)
Children playing (Yes, I'm ready)
Gonna be all right (Yes, I'm ready)
You've got to be ready (Yes, I'm ready)
I know you're ready (Yes, I'm ready)
Say it loud one more time (Yes, yes, I'm ready)
Oh, yeah (Yes, yes, I'm ready)

if artists ruled the world: part one

The first day of the annual arts and crafts fair is history. Here are a few of pictures from the day. The top one and the middle one are from a couple of metal artist booths. The middle piece reminded me of our dog, (f)uzzhead. I call this one (m)etalhead. The bottom picture is a picture of my wife demonstrating one of her many talents . . . spinning.

I had an opportunity to talk to several of the artists today. Here are a couple of snippets.

quilter
The sweet, little 84-year-old lady two booths down from ours reminds me of my mother, who will be 90 this year. She told me, "One regret that I have is that I never learned to spin, but there are only so many things you can do in a day, and I really enjoy quilting." "I have a five-year spiral-bound calendar (from a cheap catalog) that helps me keep track of things like appontments and important dates to remember, like when the last time I visited my good friend was, or the last time I changed the batteries in the smoke detector." I love her perspective on why older people don't have the memories they once did. She said, "Older people don't remember things that happened yesterday because those little details aren't as important to them as they once were. I can remember lunch with a friend at a smorgasbord forty years ago because my brain recorded it as an important event at the time, and I still have the recording."

beekeeper
Mr. and Mrs. L have been artists at this fair as long as my wife and I have been, and longer. They always have the corner booth in our tent and we can always count on them being the first ones to set up the day before the fair starts. They told us last year would be their last one. They insisted they were'nt as young as they used to be and the fair was a lot of work for them. I was surprised when I arrived yesterday and saw them setting up their booth. Mr. L told me, "Well, I thought last year would be our last one, but we just can't stop coming back!" I'm really glad they're here. They're great friends and they make the best honey candy in the world.

More tomorrow.

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Song 176: American Woman
Artist: Guess Who
Album: American Woman
Year: 1970
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American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don’t come hangin’ around my door
I don’t wanna see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin’ old with you
Now woman, I said stay away,
American woman, listen what I say.

American woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don’t come knockin’ around my door
Don’t wanna see your shadow no more
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, I said get away
American woman, listen what I say.