Holidays


















This is Hazel. She had a great time opening presents. It was the biggest, best nest she ever saw. Covered the entire room, and the whole thing was carpeted. In this photo she can be seen hanging around with the man of the house.

























Thanksgiving Morsa wore the hat, then donated it to Hazel for a house. When she is inside, Hazel thinks she might still be on Morsa's shoulder, but she is not really sure.






















This one may be reading up on vermin control, it's hard to say. He just smiled when I asked him.

It's never to early to start planning.


















This is about Christmas, the birth of a man of peace.

I thought this was a pretty amazing photo. I did a screen capture to get this one. The original is much better. There is another great shot of the protestors swimming. They are in a slide show here.

Sugar Factory

I was reading the news online the other day and found myself on a website that reminded me of the trip to NYC.
























We gave this place a pretty close look because the transplant wants to live there one day. I didn't realize at the time that the place had shut down so recently.

The article I was reading was about the recent changes to the bankruptcy laws, and it was describing the line of folks outside of the Alexander Hamilton Customs House in lower Manhattan with a link to pull up a site to view the building and its interesting statues.

Then I started looking around.

Here is the site.

Nose















Smell that?

m and e make love!

The last moments between Nguyen and his mother.

"Well I actually wasn't in the room when that happened but there was a grille and they were able to hold each other's hands and Kim was able to, at least for some time, I'm not sure how long, was able to touch Van on the face," he said.

THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF THIS GOING AROUND . - bb

Look. You want evil? Groupthink is evil. Mediocrity is evil. Hopelessness is evil. Decision by committee is evil. Glittery kitten sweaters are evil. Loveless marriage is evil. McDonald's marketing is evil. Spiritual homogeny is evil. Family sitcoms. Microsoft Windows. Disney cruises. Food poisoning. Yeast infections. Cruelty.

As for the rest, these warmongers and power sluts, well, theirs is merely an evil bred of ignorance and gurgling ego and impotent weeping in the night. Theirs is an evil so lukewarm and spongy it makes you recoil and shudder as if you accidentally touched a raw calf's tongue at the Japanese market. Hell, I can find better, more gut-wrenching evil in the Wal-Mart music aisle under "Simpson, Ashlee." The others, they're just the same ol' boring noisemakers howling into the Void.

Langroise Trio
Geoff, Dave and Sam














Here is what we did on Friday night. These guys were spellbinding.

It was quite an evening. We almost began the concert three times, only to be inturrupted by another group of people coming into the room. We were sold out, and people just kept on coming. Twice, after starting the introducion, I had to carry in extra chairs and help people find all the empty seats in the room. At last, about 15 minutes after the scheduled start, we were ready. Geoff, Dave and Sam were great about the whole ordeal, and just started talking to the audience until everyone sort of settled down.

They played wonderfully, and the crowd rewarded them with warm applause. At the break Geoff said this is one of the most amazing places I have ever played. Sam asked if they could come back. By the middle of the intermission they had sold all the CDs they had brought along.

During the second half they were intrurrupted once by the train whistle just on the downbeat when they were about to start a piece, and again during the middle of a piece when the diswasher came in the backdoor and began to dig ice out of the machine in the back of the room. These guys just sort of ground to a halt and waited. As the diswasher left, with his two buckets full, the door was slammed shut, locked at his back, and after a thunderous applause, we were off to the races again.

I didn't think I would ever see a classical combo do an encore, but they were ready again.

It was a wonderful evening.

Invade, Conquer, Occupy.















It's Halloween. I had my camera out to catch some goblins, but they have come and gone, and I don't have a single image. The treats are all gone, and I'm hiding in the dark, in the basement, trying to wait them out.

This is the only picture I got.















I just looked at that first photo, and noticed the blue flare. I'll have to keep a sharp eye out for those.

Road Trip














Ely. My fall trip. Ten hours of driving for a four hour meeting.















Austin, Eureka, Ely; its like driving into the past. The places all look like they had their best days many years ago. It's interesting how much they all feel like towns I remember from childhood trips to the Applachian Mountains. Mining towns.















Lots of churches, but almost all of them seem deserted. This one is about half pink.

I went downtown last Friday night with my camera. Thought I might see what kind of images I could capture in the dark. What I found out was that people were very curious about what I was doing with a camera and tripod on the streets at 10:30 PM. A number of people went by, and most of them stopped to talk, and then asked me to take their picture.















These two guys were driving down the steet, saw me, then stopped, backed up and found a parking place. They got out of the car and posed for me in the glow of a neon light in the window of the Dubble SS Saloon.















The Shonehouse was my last shot. A cold autumn wind was whipping down the street and it was time to go home.

On Message

I knew that Lewis Latham was a liberal, but man, he is really getting mad now. Did you read the latest? Make the good ol' US of A the best damn fascist state the world has ever seen, since we are already well on our way.

I must admit, my knowledge extends about as far as the results witnessed in Germany, Italy and Spain, and I had little idea about the background ideology.

It will be interesting to see how this is received. The man's courage to speak his mind is something to behold.

For more background here is the 1995 Umberto Eco article Latham refers to.

No Direction Home














If you are a fan of Bob's, and of course we all are, I highly recommend this documentary. I watched it on my local PBS station and was enthralled. This film, along with Bob's recent book, provides more insight into his life, and his character, than anything I have read or seen in forty years. We've had glimpses, and hints, "I'm just a song and dance man," but never anything that explained as well his feelings about what was happening to him during his meteoric rise to fame.

I can't wait to watch the DVD so I can actually see the film without the snow, and diagonal, fuzzy, red, interference lines, scrolling across the screeen.

And yeah, he is still out there. The Fall European Tour starts October 17 in Stockholm.

If only it were that easy.

From the Associated Press's coverage of the Dalai Lama's visit to Rutgers University over the weekend:

As the Dalai Lama neared the end of his speech, he explored the difference between attachment and compassion, attachment being a selective connection shared by friends, he said, while compassion is an 'unbiased' act.

Nearby, a former flight attendant, Kathleen Davis, squealed. She had been taking notes on a pink piece of paper and pointed to the words 'attachment' and 'compassion'.

"That's it!" she said. "Its one or the other. I've got goose bumps."

He did seem to like the Key to the City of New York he received later in the day.

Weatherman: Mobsters caused Katrina: "An Idaho weatherman says Japan's Yakuza mafia used a Russian-made electromagnetic generator to cause Hurricane Katrina in a bid to avenge itself for the Hiroshima atom bomb attack -- and that this technology will soon be wielded again to hit another U.S. city."

RARA















Went to the big National Championship Air Races in Reno over the weekend. This event attracts a crowd of over 230,000 they say. It's all about the horsepower and speed and there is nothing else like it in the world.

A big part of the event was the airshow that takes place between the races. One of the highlights for me was the Canadian Snowbirds demonstration team. They fly nine small jets in very close proximity. It was cool. Many thanks to my host, the wooly bugger.

Fool on the Hill

And the eyes in his head,

See the world spinning round.















Nick, standing on Winnemucca mountain. Here is a young British man who has spent the last couple of weeks in a very different environment than I suppose he is accustomed to.

Friends of Morsa who came and spent the weekend with us.

The Storm after the Storm

David Brooks has an interesting article today in the New York Times concerning the aftermath of the hurricane:

Hurricanes come in two waves. First comes the rainstorm, and then comes what the historian John Barry calls the "human storm" - the recriminations, the political conflict and the battle over compensation. Floods wash away the surface of society, the settled way things have been done. They expose the underlying power structures, the injustices, the patterns of corruption and the unacknowledged inequalities. When you look back over the meteorological turbulence in this nation's history, it's striking how often political turbulence followed.

Cross-country cyclists find new threat in White Pine County

Friday, Aug 12, 2005

A group of bicyclists traveling from Philadelphia to San Francisco to raise money and awareness for cancer research had an adventure after leaving Ely and before arriving in Eureka.

When available the riders have been posting messages on a travel journal on the website www.pennride.org.

The big Nevada highlight came on the ride from Ely to Eureka. Halfway up our last climb of the day, Tim was... parents, stop reading here... [Joe now writing] chased for about 4 or 5 minutes uphill by a mountain lion. I was at the top of the hill, and Tim arrived, panting like crazy, and looking kind of wild. It turned out that he had seen a lion cross about 100 metres (this isn't Tim writing, I swear) in front of him, and then, when he passed it, it gave chase and ran after him up the hill for around a mile. I knew he was serious when he met me at the top saying, "Joe, do you have cell service? We have a legitamite [sic] emergency." We flagged down two cars to warn the others still en route of the danger. Luckily everyone made it into town safely, and we have a lovely stay in the county fair grounds. [Joe done writing]Parents, you can start reading again.

Broken lines, broken strings,
Broken threads,broken springs,
Broken idols, broken heads,
People sleeping in broken beds.
Ain't no use jiving
Ain't no use joking
Everything is broken.

My website is broken,
My email is broken,
My heart is broken,
Everything is broken.

My friends over at the-onramp.net have fallen and can't get up. And therefore gbae.org is nowhere to be found, and when last seen, was running naked, with no page headers, navigation buttons, footers etc. And I can't log into the web based email they provide us, which of course is the tool I need to correspond with our audience and artists alike. So this whole enterprise is under attack.

So in the meantime I've created the poster above and was seeking some feedback, so Morsa, as my only steady audience and commentor, you need to say something. Oh, I forgot, Morsa has moved out, taken a little trip, and then moved in. She has dropped off into silence.

Everything is broken.

Central Great Basin Curvilinear Style Rock Art



















I made a trip down to Ely recently and along the way drove out to have a look at the petroglyphs near the Hickison Summit. The site is well marked and has nice little picnic and camping area (but no water). There was no information or explanation of the rock art available. Comments left by visitors in the log book indicate the informational brochure box has been empty a long, long time.

These raised forms seem to be some of the primitive art works, but how is that accomplished? Does the act of carving compress and harden the rock, so that over time as the surrounding sandstone erodes, the figures become a raised relief?
























The Hickison Summit lies between the Monitor Valley and the Big Smokey Valley at about the center of Nevada.

This little spot reminds me of home.

Under the Western Sky



















Out here in the Big Empty we sure have some sky.

West 5oth Street NYC

I may have been standing in the center of 5th Avenue when I took this picture. I'm not sure, but it was near there anyway. Been wondering what that guy was packing.

Under the Marcy Avenue Station



















The J, M, and Z subway lines run over the Williamsburg Bridge and the first stop in Brooklyn is this elevated station. Very loud under here when the trains roll in and out of the station, and on the street level it seems all most surreal. I can't image what it must be like to work in one of the businesses under here, would drive me crazy in a few days. Very interesting place. Here is a panoramic view.

People














Lots of people on the streets, everywhere, all the time.

Built Environment
























Lots of glass and steel. We had to take cover in the atrium of a building during an afternoon rain shower. Fed the birds trapped inside, watched the people, including a couple practicing dance steps while watching thier own reflections in the windows. Folks here don't seem to worry about what others will think about them, so they just carry on. It's very refreshing.

NY
















I keep thinking about these photos, and my mind keeps coming back to this one.

Under the Boardwalk















When your shoes get so hot you wish your time feet were fireproof, there may be a better escape than under the boardwalk. I'd suggest the mountains, with water so cold it's startling. This lovely little spot is not far away. This is where I spent the weekend floating around with the Wooly Bugger.

ESB




















This is what they call a landmark. Seems larger than most similar units in my neighborhood. We whimped out when it came to the queue, lunch seemed more important at the time, so we visited a hole in the wall occupied by three lunch nazis. Then passed the time eating in Herald Square.

WOW















So this is near one place we came up to street level. Around the corner from the job. This photo pretty much sums up what's going on in that part of town. Shot through the window from the lobby of the Trump Tower ....... golly!

Transport















So, the old Windows NT machine to the rescue. Maybe it's me, and mine, not them.

Made one trip standing at the very front of the first car, so I could take some snaps as we made our way through the labyrinth. I think this is the 57th Street Station.

Frustrated

Here we go again. I've been unable to load any images. Thought it was a problem using Google's Hello on my windows 98 machine, cause that hasn't been working for me for months. But now I'm unable to load any images from the windows xp machine in my office. I just get a "uploading image, please wait" message, then nothing happens. Also tried using the "add image" button on the blogger "create post" screen, and that looks good for a bit, but alas it fails as well. I guess that's what happens when a great idea like blogger gets popular, then can't support itself because of the demand, so gets bought up by Google (which was a great tool until commerce took over) and then promotes the shit out of it so every single human on the planet gives it a try, then they add more features, still all at no cost, but offer no form of support except letting users post messages to each other....the blind leading the blind....

Vanishing Point



Does this look like the focal point of one of the hippest spots on the planet? Turns out that it is, and this is where we started and ended our journey into the city each day.

Thinking back on it, seems like we were participating in a game of Zelda, or maybe Metriod. Thanks to our hosts, the approach and departure from these terminals were executed with great precision. Seems like folks raised on video games have brought those skills to riding the subway, making a game of finding exactly the correct position on the platform to wait for transport to the next level, repeating the process on the train, taking the correct seat in preparation for entry into the overworld.

By the way, you can even find local blogs organized by stops on the subway trains in NY.

nyc


There and back. It's only 2500 miles from here to there, but feels more like we have returned from another galaxy. We arrived home when one of the biggest events of the year was underway, with every motel room sold out, and yet, by comparison, the streets seemed deserted.

We had a great time and will have to post more photos and some comments as time allows, but right now, I have to Get Behind the Mule, and Plow.

A city like a web to intricate to understand,
and I'm not going to try.


Went to see the gypsy,
Stayin' in a big hotel.
He smiled when he saw me coming,
And he said, "Well, well, well."
His room was dark and crowded,
Lights were low and dim.
"How are you?" he said to me,
I said it back to him.

I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."

Bling~Bling

So the big Reno Rodeo is coming up soon. The "Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West". The local tv stations are doing lots of short features covering the run-up to the event. On the morning news the other day they cut to a local western wear store to discuss what's in style to wear to the rodeo this year. The store owner said "This year it's all about the 'BLING'." A lovely young model was standing nearby to showoff all the rinestone, silver, and jewel covered boots, pants, belts, blouses, vests, hats and even a holster for the ever present cell phone. Looked almost like she stepped off the cover of a 2000 Cash Money recording, except of course she was a cowgirl in western wear, and it was mostly silver not gold. I couldn't see her rims. She too said "It's all about the bling-bling".

Funny, how even the die hard cowboys in Nevada are being affected by rap music culture.

Imagine that.


Bling-Bling

Summer Time


Seems like this has turned into a local weather blog, but then when you wake up on a fine June morning and find fresh snowfall on the mountains, it seems worth a mention.

Big River

The Humboldt - In Flood


From Winnemucca Mountain, looking upstream, from about Reinhart Lane to Button Point.

Bloody Run Hills


Some times I wonder how this range came by the name "Bloody Run Hills". Not too many places you'll find such a nice view on the way to the local dump. Infrastructure!

Extra Water


The Humboldt is at flood stage, the highest the water has been in 20 years. The folks are a bit on edge as the stuff starts to creep into town. At this point nothing is threatened and the predictors think we're near the peak. This shot was taken just minutes before the highway department closed down Reinhart Lane because there is too much water running over it to allow traffic continue.

heavytrash: :

'Something there is that does not love a wall?
That wants it down?'
-Robert Frost, Mending Wall

I was stumbling around today, and happened across this.

Interesting, a group called "Heavy Trash" is building viewing platforms outside of gated communities, so the rest of us can have a peak inside.

2:00 PM and it's snowing really hard. Snow flakes as big as ashtrays. The kind you can easily catch on your tongue. Day before yesteday was beautiful, yestday was windy, and by Sunday it will probably be sunny and warm again. Ah Spring.

Live frog found in airline meal:

"An airline passenger received a shock when she found a frog in her in-flight meal, New Zealand authorities say. "

Apples, oranges, frogs; all kinds of things trying to sneak into that county.

Crow


So the David Jacob-Strain Band is coming to Winnemucca in just three days, and at last check we had only sold about 25 tickets. I'm worried, so I have to get to work and see if I can't peddle some more. But the thing is, I'm going to miss this show myself and I hate that, and it's because of the JOB. Rats!

Oh, I haven't given up, but I have been real busy. I have to make a trip to Carson City on Wednesday to appear at the Commission on Economic Development, and then participate in a panel discussion on "Water and Its Impact on Economic Development" at the Rural Nevada Water Association meeting at the Silver Legacy in Reno on Thursday afternoon. So needless to say, I've been trying to learn something about economic development and something about water for the past couple of weeks....

The tulips are coming up though the decorative rock again, and the daffodils are blooming in the backyard. For a week or so it looked like summer was on the way, but the last couple of days remind us that it's still spring. We had heavy sleet at times, then sunshine, then sleet again with thunder.

Frank Zappa said:

"Winos don't march."

This came to me while thinking about the recent death of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.

Shoveling Snow With Buddha

In the usual iconography of the temple or the local Wok
you would never see him doing such a thing,
tossing the dry snow over a mountain
of his bare, round shoulder,
his hair tied in a knot,
a model of concentration.

Sitting is more his speed, if that is the word
for what he does, or does not do.

Even the season is wrong for him.
In all his manifestations, is it not warm or slightly humid?
Is this not implied by his serene expression,
that smile so wide it wraps itself around the waist of the universe?

But here we are, working our way down the driveway,
one shovelful at a time.
We toss the light powder into the clear air.
We feel the cold mist on our faces.
And with every heave we disappear
and become lost to each other
in these sudden clouds of our own making,
these fountain-bursts of snow.

This is so much better than a sermon in church,
I say out loud, but Buddha keeps on shoveling.
This is the true religion, the religion of snow,
and sunlight and winter geese barking in the sky,
I say, but he is too busy to hear me.

He has thrown himself into shoveling snow
as if it were the purpose of existence,
as if the sign of a perfect life were a clear driveway
you could back the car down easily
and drive off into the vanities of the world
with a broken heater fan and a song on the radio.

All morning long we work side by side,
me with my commentary
and he inside his generous pocket of silence,
until the hour is nearly noon
and the snow is piled high all around us;
then, I hear him speak.

After this, he asks,
can we go inside and play cards?

Certainly, I reply, and I will heat some milk
and bring cups of hot chocolate to the table
while you shuffle the deck.
and our boots stand dripping by the door.

Aaah, says the Buddha, lifting his eyes
and leaning for a moment on his shovel
before he drives the thin blade again
deep into the glittering white snow.

Billy Collins

Happy Valentine's Day

Smiley


What you see here is me taking some advantage of Morsa. I'm hopeful that someone in her vast net of friends will provide me with some technical assistance.

So I'll get right to it. Here is the question. How do I get my website to rise to the top of the list when I google the name of my delightful little city?

A Cartoon


Lewis Lapham's Notebook in the current issue of Harper's explains the recent election about as well as anything I've seen. (I did have to keep the dictionary at close hand, and took me three readings to finally get it.)

SpongeBob and Friends: Splendor in the Kelp:

"SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg, who has a background in marine biology, had to be aware that in creating a cartoon sponge he'd be opening himself up to charge of marine-based immorality. Sponges can reproduce asexually, for example. And if Dobson's followers don't object to that, I'm sure they'll be distressed to learn that they also can be hermaphrodites. Single sponges not only produce both sperm and eggs but are broadcast spawners, indiscriminately releasing sperm in such profusion as to turn seawater smoky white.

Life in the sea, in fact, is largely about reproduction, not traditional family values. "

Ah, here is someone that may actually provide Microsoft with a challange!
Google Hires Web Browser Programmer:

I've missed the reading about tools in the Whole Earth. But have discovered that Kevin Kelly is keeping up the tradition on line.

COOL TOOLS

Here is an example:

Catagory -- Learning

Best audio university

The concept is exquisite. Scour the world for the best professors and record their lectures. Paying customers get world-class university courses, at less than world-class university prices, while attending the class at their convenience. I've audited a dozen classes this way (while driving). My favorite so far is Robert Greenberg's celebrated forty-eight lessons on "How to Understand and Listen to Great Music." It was absolutely superb. No, it was stellar. More than a music appreciation class, it was a view of western civilization through music. Professionally recorded, lively, insightful, fast-paced, authoritative, and memorable. What more could you want from college on a cassette? Other favorites have been an overview of Egyptian history taught by a mummy expert and a decent introduction to western philosophy. The Teaching Company catalog lists an eclectic range of other seminars; I'd love to hear recommendations from others. One caveat: these courses seem expensive for many individuals. But they are a) way cheap for college, and b) way cheap by the tape (most courses are at least forty or so tapes; also available on DC, DVD, and other formats). You can also check your library, which is where I borrow mine from, or form a course club to share costs.

-- KK

The Teaching Company

Radical!

Every since our personal source of music dried up I've felt real disconnected. Been listening to the same 65 CD's loaded on my computer at work in a shuffling rotation. But not catching anything new or interesting. Those of you that know, understand that the alternatives (radio etc.) in the Big Empty are pretty limited to the hits of the 50's, 80's, or 00's top 40. Today I rediscovered net radio. I used to listen to the Village Voice Radio, with everything,Bennie Goodman, Frank Zappa, Ani, Mos Def, Greg Brown, Eminem, Lou Reed, Hank Snow, Iris Dement, Bob Marley, anyway, an amazing mix of great music.....but their net radio feature is gone.

I do however still have KEXP from the University of Washington in Seattle. It's a great station and keeps a running archive of everything they played....both text and audio archives....so you can go back and hear it again if you'd like. Check it out.

If you have any recommendations for additional stations, the kind you actually listen to, let me know.

Huh?

"I believe that human consciousness is a conjuring trick, designed to fool us into thinking we are in the presence of an inexplicable mystery. Who is the conjuror and why is s/he doing it? The conjuror is natural selection, and the purpose has been to bolster human self-confidence and self-importance - so as to increase the value we each place on our own and others' lives."


The New York Times > Science > God (or Not), Physics and, of Course, Love: Scientists Take a Leap:

Big Trees

My profile says "Big Trees".
Here are some.

Snow Jam

So here we were, at what turned out to be the beginning of an adventure. A simple ride turned into another very memorable road trip.

With all the real tragedy occurring in the world, its pretty easy to see that this was actually more fun than anything.

I've got lots of pictures to share and I'm trying to figure out the best way to do it. Thinking I'll copy all the photos to CD's and distribute them......Otherwise this could take weeks, to share about 150 pics.